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Belmont staff report steady vacancies and turnover; city cites hiring challenges for specialized roles
Summary
City staff reported a 2025 average vacancy rate of 5.8% (peaking at 9.3%), 21 vacancies over the year and an average turnover rate of about 7.15%; staff said some senior and specialized positions remain hard to fill and described steps to shorten time‑to‑hire and promote internal advancement.
City human-resources staff presented the annual vacancies, recruitment and retention report Tuesday, telling the council the municipal workforce comprises 139.75 full‑time budgeted positions and that the average vacancy rate for 2025 was 5.8% with a high point of 9.3%.
The presenter said the city recorded 21 vacancies during the year and an average turnover of roughly 7.15%. Staff noted that about 25% of the current workforce is eligible to retire immediately, which they said heightens the importance of succession planning and internal promotion pathways.
Staff described the recruitment process—requisition, eligibility list, conditional offers, background checks and onboarding—and said typical time‑to‑hire for many recruitments can be as short as 36 days but that specialized executive or technical roles can take much longer in practice. The city cited a lengthy recruitment for an assistant public works director/city engineer position but said the hire was completed and the city is actively recruiting for the administrative services director role and community service officer positions.
Councilmembers asked for context about turnover and whether the city has recruited private‑sector workers affected by recent layoffs. Staff said the city uses CalOpps, LinkedIn and private staffing partners, and reported robust applicant pools for several recent openings (dozens to hundreds of applicants for some postings).
Staff identified competing private‑sector wages, commute times and housing affordability as factors that make recruitment challenging for some positions and said the city is pursuing internal promotion, flexible scheduling and process improvements to reduce time to hire.
Next steps: Staff will continue targeted outreach, use private‑sector recruiting partners for hard‑to‑fill positions and return to council with follow‑up metrics and recommended retention actions as appropriate.
