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Unions warn of service disruptions as county reports 2025 vacancy and recruitment trends
Summary
HR presented a fiscal‑year 2025 vacancy and recruitment report showing thousands of authorized FTEs and hundreds of current vacancies; unions and staff said vacancies, potential position eliminations and forthcoming budget decisions risk service reductions, especially in social services, pharmacy and custody functions.
Human Resources staff presented the annual AB 2561 report on county vacancies, recruitment and retention for calendar year 2025. The presentation covered authorized full‑time equivalents (FTE), monthly vacancy rates, recruitment timelines (from posting to offer) and retention metrics; staff reported efforts to fill vacancies through external recruitment, referral programs and targeted incentives for hard‑to‑fill classifications.
HR said the county’s authorized workforce totaled about 4,732 FTEs at one reporting point and that vacancy rates fluctuated through late 2025, with periodic peaks in certain months; the office identified recruitment delays that extend average posting‑to‑hire timelines (examples in the packet cited multi‑month lags). Staff noted recruiting and retention challenges driven by high local housing costs and private‑sector competition and described incentive proposals for critical roles.
Union representatives (Local 721 and Local 620) told the board that vacancy rates and proposed position eliminations will strain services. Local 620 speakers described front‑line impacts in pharmacies, technology and social‑services teams and warned that eliminating positions will not reduce demand for services; they urged the board to protect direct‑service staff and to avoid cuts in social‑services programs that support vulnerable residents.
Board members asked HR for further breakdowns by department and for transparency about positions slated for elimination. HR said staff would provide additional detail and that employee notices for any position eliminations would be issued as required; the department outlined planned recruitment campaigns, marketing and programmatic supports.
The board accepted the report and approved recommended procedural items (receiving and filing the AB 2561 report). Several supervisors stressed the human impacts of staffing decisions and asked that departments prioritize front‑line retention where possible.
