HomeMy WebLinkAbout09 ASSEMBLY BILL 2561 COMPLIANCE
Agenda Item_______
Reviewed:
AGENDA REPORT
City Manager_______
Finance Director_______
MEETING DATE:JANUARY 20, 2026
TO:ALDO E. SCHINDLER, CITY MANAGER
FROM:DERICK YASUDA, DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES
SUBJECT:ASSEMBLY BILL 2561 COMPLIANCE
SUMMARY:
Pursuant toGovernment Code section 3502.3, public agencies are required to present the status
of their vacancies and recruitment and retention efforts in a public hearing at least once per fiscal
year. This presentation ensures compliancewith the law.
RECOMMENDATION:
Receive and file.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact associated with this item.
CORRELATION TO THE STRATEGIC PLAN:
This item correlates to Goal B (Public Safety and Protection of Assets) and Goal E
(Organizational Excellence and Customer Service) byproviding information on the City’s ability
to recruit and retain talented staffto ensure Tustin is an attractive, safe, and well-maintained
community in which people feel pride.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION:
On September 22, 2024, Governor Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 2561 (AB 2561),
which amends the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act (MMBA) effective January 1, 2025 to create a new
obligation for public agencies to publicly present at least once per fiscal year on the status of
their vacant positions and the agency’s efforts to recruit and retain employees.
In passing AB 2561, the State Legislature declared a) job vacancies in local government are a
widespread and significant problem for the public sector across a range of occupations, b) high
job vacancies impact public service delivery and impact employees by imposing heavier
workloads, leading to burnout and increased turnover that further exacerbate staffing challenges,
City Council AgendaReport
Assembly Bill 2561 Compliance
January 20, 2026
Page 2
and c) there is statewide interest in ensuring public agencies are appropriately staffed and high
vacancies do not undermine public employee labor relations.
AB 2561 also added section 3502.3 to Government Code, which creates new reporting
obligations for all public agencies related to their staffing. A public agency must present the
status of their position vacancies and recruitment and retention efforts during a public hearing
before the agency’s governing body at least once per fiscal year. During the presentation, the
public agency must identify any necessary changes to policies, procedures, and recruitment
activities that may lead to obstacles in the hiring process. If the governing body will be adopting
an annual or multi-year budget during the fiscal year, the presentation must be made prior to the
adoption of the final budget.In addition, the recognized employee organization for each
bargaining unit is allowed to make their own presentation to the governing body during the same
public hearing if they wish. Recognized employee organizations have beennotified of this
agenda item and, upon request, will be provided an opportunity to address the City Council
during the public hearing.
Public agencies have additional obligations if the number of job vacancies within any particular
bargaining unit meets or exceeds 20% of the total number of authorized full-time positions for
that bargaining unit. In these situations, upon request of the bargaining unit’s recognized
employee organization, the public agency is required to provide additional related information
during the presentation: the total number of vacancies within the bargaining unit, the total number
of applicants for vacant positions within the bargaining unit, the average number of days to
complete the hiring process from when a position is posted, and opportunities to improve
compensation and other working conditions.
Vacant Positions
The City currently has 333.50 authorized budgeted positions across all departments (including
one half-time position). As of January 1, 2026, the City has 27.50 total vacancies, for a vacancy
rate of 8.2%. Recruitment efforts are ongoing to fill these vacant positions.
Current vacancy rates for each represented employee bargaining unit and unrepresented
employee group are listed below. No bargaining units have a vacancy rate at or above 20%.
Represented Employees
Bargaining Unit Vacancies Authorized Vacancy
Positions Rate
Tustin Municipal Employees Association (TMEA) 11.5 106.50 10.8%
Tustin Police Officers Association – Police 0.028.0 0.0%
Management Unit (TPMA)
Tustin Police Officers Association – Police Officer 4.076.0 5.3%
Unit (TPOA)
Tustin Police Support Services Association 9.047.0 19.1%
(TPSSA)
City Council AgendaReport
Assembly Bill 2561 Compliance
January 20, 2026
Page 3
Tustin Police Support Services Management 0.09.0 0.0%
Association (TPSSMA)
Unrepresented Employees
Employee Group Vacancies Authorized Vacancy
Positions Rate
Confidential 0.0 7.0 0.0%
Executive Management0.0 9.0 0.0%
Management 3.0 41.0 7.3%
Supervisory0.010.00.0%
The City also employs a number of unrepresented part-time non-benefitted employees in
temporary or seasonal positions (primarily to support Parks and Recreation programs). The
staffing of part-time non-benefitted employees varies throughout the year based on the City’s
needs, therefore in contrast to regular City positions, part-time non-benefittedpositions are
budgeted by total dollars, not by a specific number of authorized positions. As a result, there are
no vacantpart-time non-benefitted positions.
Recruitment and Retention Efforts
Vacancies occur on a regular basis for a variety of reasons, including retirement,seeking
employment elsewhere in the public or private sector, or failing to meet the City’s standards and
expectations for job performance. When a vacancy exists, Human Resources staff collaborates
with the impacted City department to determine the most effective way to fill the position.
The City’s recruitment process is flexible and adaptable based on the specific type of job and
the circumstances surrounding the vacant position. For example, the City may conduct an open
recruitment using City staff or through an executive recruiter, conduct an internal promotional
recruitment if a pool of well-qualified internal candidates exists, keep recruitments for hard-to-fill
positions open on a continuous basis rather than on a limited timeline, or use a targeted
recruitment and selection process to expedite the hiring of a qualified candidate without a
traditional recruitment process.
The City generally posts job opportunities on the City’s website, which is synced with
governmentjobs.com, a leading online recruitment source for local government positions. The
City also posts job announcements on industry-specific websites, Careers in Government (a
recruitment site focused on public sector jobs), and general job sites such as Indeed. The City
has also recently increased its presence on social media by utilizing LinkedIn to post frequent
updates on employment opportunities and to spotlight employees who are newly hired or
promoted from within.
Like most public agencies throughout the state, the City has experienced challenges recruiting
and retaining high quality employees in recent years. Contributing factors include competition
with the private sector, negative perception of government, retirements due to aging of the
City Council AgendaReport
Assembly Bill 2561 Compliance
January 20, 2026
Page 4
workforce, generational changesand evolving employee expectations, high cost of living in the
region, reduced pension benefits for newer employees due to changes in state law, and the
City’s budgetary constraintsand limits on the compensation that can be provided.
The City continuously reviews our policies, procedures, and recruitment activities to identify
potential obstacles and improve staffing outcomes. With the full support of the City Council, the
City has made a concerted effort in recent years toimprove recruitment and retentionof
employees through a number of actions:
Communicating and collaborating with employee association representatives to
understand the concerns of their members and address them to the extent possible
Conducting total compensation surveys to evaluate the City’s position in the local labor
market for various positions
Negotiating multi-year agreements with represented employee bargaining units that
improve the City’s compensation package in ways that are designed to improve
recruitment, retention, and morale
Trying new approaches for especially difficult to fill positions, such as hiring incentive pilot
programs for lateral Police Officersand Police Communications Officers
Evaluating and updating job classifications and position requirements to reflect current
needs and market trends
Expediting the hiring process when feasible
Increasing the number of authorized budgeted positions
Implementing a formal telecommuting program for eligible positions
Offering alternative work schedules with compressed work weeks (e.g. 9/80, 4/10, 3/12.5)
Investing additional resources in staff development and employee appreciation programs
Going forward, the City will continue to evaluate employee recruitment and retention and make
changes as necessary to ensure the City has the talent necessary to provide outstanding service
to the Tustin community.
_____________________
Derick Yasuda
Director of Human Resources