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Council receives AB 2561 vacancy report; police staffing and hiring timelines draw scrutiny
Summary
Arcadia staff presented the city’s AB 2561 report on vacancies, noting the city has 314 full-time positions with a modest vacancy increase; council focused on police staffing, where the chief reported nine vacancies in sworn ranks and an average four-to-five month hiring timeline. Former mayor April Velado urged an investigation into alleged officer misconduct.
Arcadia city staff on Tuesday presented the council with the city’s second annual report under Assembly Bill 2561 on vacancy rates, recruitment and retention, prompting lengthy council questions about police staffing and a public allegation about officer conduct.
Human Resources Manager Sairi Stepanian said AB 2561, which took effect Jan. 1, 2025, requires public agencies to report vacancies at a point-in-time. Staff said the city has 314 budgeted full-time positions across nine departments and that, between Jan. 1, 2025 and Jan. 1, 2026, total vacancies showed a nominal increase while some bargaining units saw decreases. Stepanian added that "in totality we received 7,276 applications" in 2025 and that five of the positions listed as vacant have already been filled.
Much of council discussion centered on public safety staffing. Police leadership told the council there are 12 authorized sergeant slots (with roughly three vacancies) and roughly 62 sworn officers currently employed, leaving nine vacancies in sworn ranks. The Police Chief said time-to-hire for sworn officers typically averages "four or five months," and said priority-1 response times are roughly three minutes for in-progress incidents.
Councilmembers and staff described measures underway to speed hiring, including consolidating exam components into single days, earlier recruitment for impending retirements, use of signing bonuses, and lateral recruitment from other agencies.
During the general public comment period, former Mayor April Velado said she had emailed City Manager Dominic and Police Chief Nakamura about an officer she says "stalked, harassed, and intimidated" her and another resident in October 2025 and said she had not received a response; she urged the manager and chief to investigate and suggested criminal investigation where appropriate. The council did not announce any follow-up action on that allegation during the meeting.
The AB 2561 presentation was received and filed as an informational item; staff offered to supply additional detail on sworn-specific application counts on request.
