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Commission hears hiring, vacancy and recruitment challenges across departments
Summary
Department directors told commissioners that personnel and contract costs drive recent budget increases, that specialized vacancies are hard to fill, and that the city is using targeted recruitment, salary adjustments and headhunters to close critical positions.
Department directors and human-resources staff told the commission that personnel costs are the principal driver of recent operating cost increases and that persistent vacancies are forcing departments to rely on consultants or overtime.
Leah Rockwell, director of parks and recreation, told commissioners that contractual services and higher bid prices are raising Parks costs, while Lisa Hathaway, library director, said personnel remains the largest area of budgetary growth for her department. Kevin (engineering) said his department is using professional-services contracts to cover about seven key vacancies and that consultants frequently cost more than an in-house hire.
Jade Green, director of housing and community development, said her department had 12 vacancies when she started 90 days ago and that the department is about 50% filled now after active recruiting. Renee Goveg, chief human-resources officer, highlighted workforce-housing and candidate availability as constraints: "We've lost some exceptional candidates who accept the job ... they can't find a place to live," she said, describing local housing shortages as a recruitment barrier.
Commissioners pressed staff on whether any departments could absorb small staffing reductions; Johnson and directors warned that cutting filled positions would likely reduce service levels and that prior recession-era layoffs had resulted in long-term operational strain. The panel discussed tactical responses including targeted salary flexibility (department directors may approve limited salary increases at hiring), revising job descriptions to broaden candidate pools, using headhunters for hard-to-fill roles and closer partnerships with local universities and internship programs to build pipelines.
Directors also described operational efficiencies under way — permitting software for the film commission and parks permitting, use of automated library systems that reduced manual check-in labor, routing software for solid-waste trucks and pilot AI tools to speed planning and building review. Staff agreed to provide commissioners with additional data on specific contract-dollar breakdowns and park pavilion revenues upon request.
No formal staffing cuts were proposed at the meeting; commissioners and staff agreed to continue department-level reviews as part of the FY27 budget cycle.
