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Benicia HR presents AB 2561 vacancies and recruitment report: "about 15% below market" salaries cited
Summary
Human Resources Manager Kim Emboden presented the AB 2561-required report for calendar year 2024, showing a 4% average vacancy rate, an average 103 days to fill vacancies, bargaining-unit vacancy breakdowns, and ongoing recruitment/retention challenges including geography and salaries cited as roughly 15% below market on average.
Human Resources Manager Kim Emboden presented the council with the statutory annual report required by AB 2561 covering calendar year 2024 vacancy and recruitment metrics.
Emboden said the city began 2024 with 232.75 authorized full-time positions and ended the year with 222.75 after mid-year adjustments. The report shows a 4% average vacancy rate for the year (a high month of 7.2% and a low of 1.3%), and an average of about 103 calendar days to fill a vacancy in 2024. Emboden summarized vacancy rates by bargaining unit (dispatchers ~7.1%, firefighters 0%, police managers 0%, police officers ~7.1%, Benicia Public Service Employee Association ~6.8%, professional/supervisory ~9%, mid-managers ~14.3%, senior managers 0%). She said 22 vacancies were filled during 2024, eight of which were new recruitments and 14 filled by promotion.
On recruitment and retention challenges, staff highlighted geography and housing costs, an overall talent-pool decline since the pandemic, and salaries that staff characterized as roughly "about 15% below market" on average — a figure Emboden said was derived from agreed comparator cities used during collective-bargaining data collection. Emboden also described a work-from-home hybrid guideline (up to two days a week when appropriate) and pointed to non-salary retention measures such as wellness programming and job-description updates.
Councilmembers pressed on details — what constitutes the local 'market' used for comparisons, why the year-end vacancy spike occurred (retirements and a hiring‑freeze/review), and whether bargaining units participated in the presentation (Emboden said they had been invited but did not present). The council moved to accept the AB 2561 informational report; the motion passed on roll-call vote.
