Council receives AB2561 vacancy report as police union urges higher pay to retain officers

City staff presented Montclair’s first annual AB2561 vacancy report on June 2, reporting 205 approved full-time positions and 22 vacancies—an 11% overall vacancy rate—and asked the council to receive and file the presentation to satisfy the statute’s public-hearing requirement.

What staff reported

Assistant City Manager Marsha Richter said the report covers full-time positions only and uses a May 23 cut-off date for counting vacancies. Richter told the council no bargaining unit exceeded the 20% vacancy threshold that would trigger a more comprehensive analysis; she summarized recruitment activity (about 43 hires so far this year, nearly 2,000 applications reviewed) and retention measures including benefit comparisons, hiring bonuses for police, training partnerships and other incentives. Richter noted some recruitments were on temporary hold while the city finalized budget projections for fiscal year 2025–26.

Police union message

Rick Dominguez, a sergeant and president of the Montclair Police Officers Association, used the public-hearing forum to press the council on pay and retention. He said Montclair has struggled to retain officers because nearby departments routinely offer higher pay and better opportunities, and that the city has lost specialized units (traffic unit, special enforcement) and school resource officers in previous staffing crunches. Dominguez urged the council to prioritize sustainable pay increases, arguing that residents approved a sales-tax measure in 2020 to preserve essential services including public safety and that investing in retention produces operational benefits (he cited a 2024 investigative success tied to a newly created analyst position).

Council questions and staff clarifications

Councilors asked technical questions about the AB2561 counting rules (the law captures the vacancy snapshot on the stated cut-off date), whether contracted positions are counted in the report, and when the city would revisit budgeted positions. Staff explained that positions on the city’s books—funded or unfunded—appear in the count until budgets are adjusted for the following fiscal year; contract staff performing duties do not change the statutory reporting requirement for funded positions. Council members also discussed the allocation of Measure L revenue and recent pension-related costs that have constrained general-fund capacity.

Action and what’s next

After discussion, Council Member Lopez moved and Council Member Rue seconded a motion to receive and file the AB2561 presentation; the motion passed 5-0. Staff said no further council action is required tonight; department-level personnel discussions and the broader budget deliberation will continue in the next budget meeting. The council noted closed-session labor negotiations are pending.