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Human Resources seeks 24% budget increase to tackle high early turnover
Summary
Yerai Brown told the city council the Human Resources department is asking for about a 24% budget increase—driven largely by one additional HR position and professional services—to implement digital recruiting, preemployment skills assessments, and onboarding aimed at reducing early employee turnover.
Yerai Brown presented the Human Resources department's proposed FY 2025–26 budget and strategic initiatives, saying the department supports the full employee life cycle and is aiming to reduce turnover by 15%. Brown told council the department is requesting an overall budget increase of about 24%, with the single largest driver being an additional HR staff position and related professional services to implement digital background checks, skills assessments and onboarding tools.
Brown highlighted turnover patterns and retirement risk, reporting that about "25% of our active employee population" are Juice employees and that voluntary resignations make up a large share of separations. "Voluntary resignation is making up up 60 of our separations," she said, and added that most voluntary resignations occur within the first five years: "we are losing the bulk of our people within that 1st 5 years." She said the city has 97 employees currently eligible for retirement—about 20% of active staff—and another 52 who could retire within five years, a combination she called a substantial knowledge‑loss risk.
To address retention and selection, Brown described several planned initiatives: move from paper to digital applications, pilot preemployment skills assessments, a monthly new‑hire orientation, a citywide learning‑management system, and a comprehensive succession and knowledge‑transfer program. She also said the department will revamp exit and stay interviews to capture why employees leave and why longer‑tenured staff stay. "By doing preemployment skills assessments, we can filter out people and be able to see exactly what they're capable of doing for specific positions," Brown said.
Council members praised the presentation and indicated questions about leadership and staffing were addressed during the presentation. The presentation did not include a formal vote on the HR budget request during this meeting; Brown framed the proposals as priorities that underpin the department's request for additional headcount and professional services.
