Committee hears progress on transfers as city pares down eliminated filled positions, LAPD still concentrated

The Special Personnel and Hiring Committee heard an update Feb. 26 on the city's effort to place employees affected by position eliminations.

"As of 07/01/2025, there were 595 eliminated filled positions," Kimberly Squire of the CAO office told the committee, and "there are now 184 eliminated filled positions with 152 of them in the police department." Squire said the figures reflect data as of Feb. 12, 2026 and that updated numbers will be supplied at the next meeting.

Why it matters: large concentrations of affected positions within a single department raise risks for employees and operations during budget implementation, and the committee has kept the item on its regular monitoring list throughout the fiscal year.

Personnel staff described an expedited transfer portal designed to match employees from eliminated classifications into city vacancies. Committee members were told there are about 407 citywide vacancies identified for transfers, 188 conditional job offers had been made since the last report, and 120 transfers were completed. A personnel staffer said, "Presently, we have 407 vacancies across the city'an increase of 17'that we can move people into." The office noted not all vacancies align perfectly with affected classifications.

Committee members focused on the heavy concentration of affected positions in LAPD. "We identified 5 different classifications for LAPD," Steve Rivera of the personnel department said, and the department expects to narrow those to roughly "4 to 5 individuals that we would need to find a home for." Commander Mario Mota (LAPD) told the committee internal outreach'including a December roadshow and targeted emails to commanding officers'increased applications, and that the department planned to transfer 32 people out of sub-authorities by about March 20, leaving an estimated 78 employees still in sub-authority status.

Committee members pressed personnel on whether the remaining non-LAPD positions (about 32) could be matched to vacant roles; personnel said many of those are internal to the department and that they were confident most could be placed through transfers and attrition. Personnel staff cautioned that some classifications are truly unique and may require additional time or alternative solutions.

The committee did not take final action on the report; Chair Tim McOsker said the matter would be held for continued monitoring and that personnel would return with updated figures.

Next steps: personnel will provide updated counts and a timeline at the next committee meeting so the council and budget committees can consider the staffing implications during budget deliberations.