The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to accept an annual report on the city's job vacancies and recruitment efforts, satisfying a state requirement that local governments publicly account for their staffing before adopting a final budget.
Mayor Pro Tem Jesse Zwick was absent from the council meeting. The council took the vote at the conclusion of the item, following Human Resources Manager Stephanie Swofford's presentation and a round of questions from council members.
The hearing fulfilled obligations under Assembly Bill 2561, the 2024 law codified as Government Code Section 3502.3, which requires public agencies to report annually on vacancy levels, retention efforts and any policies that may be hampering hiring. The law took effect Jan. 1, 2025, and mandates that the presentation occur before a final budget is adopted.
Citywide, Santa Monica ended 2025 with a vacancy rate of 7.54%, or 158 openings among 2,123 budgeted full-time-equivalent positions, Swofford said. The city has "pretty low vacancy rates," she said, noting that only one employee group, the Executive Pay Plan, exceeded the 20% threshold that can trigger additional reporting. Because that group is non-represented, no enhanced reporting was required.
A total of 417 vacancies opened during the year, with about 22% tied to 92.5 newly budgeted positions added in the fall, Swofford said. The remainder stemmed from internal promotions, retirements and separations. The city filled 134 positions, 40 through open competitive recruitment and 94 through internal promotion.
Swofford highlighted two bright spots. The city hired 85 motor coach operator trainees across nine training classes, promoting 42 to full operators. The Police Department, she said, adopted new software that keeps applicants engaged through the hiring process, driving vacancies in that department to among the lowest in the city.
The most pointed discussion centered on a department not flagged in the report's aggregate numbers. Councilmember Dan Hall noted that construction inspectors and local contractors had testified earlier in the evening and asked City Manager Oliver Chi for his reaction.
"There is absolutely a problem with the compensation structure right now in the building inspector operation," Chi said, acknowledging a "dire need" to adjust some salaries there.
Chi said any fix is complicated because three bargaining units represent workers in the building operation, requiring coordination before salaries can be adjusted. He added that the city had scheduled meetings with affected employees in the coming weeks. "We're confident we'll come up with a solution here within the next month or two," he said.
Chi pointed to a citywide classification and compensation study as the city's primary long-term tool for realigning pay. The study kicks off in June and is expected to be finalized in early 2027. The comprehensive approach is necessary, he said, because "anytime you make an adjustment in one part of an organization, it will bump up against others. There are internal salary relationships to think through."
Hall also pressed Chi on employee engagement surveys. Chi said the Human Resources Department is assembling an organizational health survey to be deployed within the next couple of months. "It will be something we do continuously," he said, adding that the city is still determining how often to conduct comprehensive and quick-pulse versions.
Councilmember Natalya Zernitskaya asked which classifications carried the highest vacancies. Staff identified Public Works roles, including maintenance workers and bin truck drivers, along with public services officers. Officials said the December figures predate ongoing recruitment efforts and that conditions have improved since, with a new eligibility list helping fill some Public Works positions. Zernitskaya asked whether the city was pursuing apprenticeship programs; staff said such partnerships are attractive but difficult to launch while departments are short-staffed and lack capacity to train new workers.
Swofford outlined broade r recruitment challenges, including a competitive labor market, shifting perceptions of public-sector work and financial constraints on salaries. "It's pretty brutal out there right now," she said of the competition for talent. The city's strategies, she said, include refining minimum job qualifications, benefit enhancements, a winter closure program, telework for eligible positions and targeted equity increases to improve internal alignment and external competitiveness.