TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Talyn Mirzakhanian, City Manager
FROM:
Lisa Jenkins, Human Resources Director
SUBJECT:Title
Conduct a Public Hearing and Consideration of an Informational Report Regarding the Status of Vacancies and Recruitment Efforts, Pursuant to AB 2561, and Authorize the Over Hire of One Police Captain on an Ongoing Basis. (No Budget Impact) (Human Resources Director Jenkins)
(Estimated Time: 30 Mins.)
A) CONDUCT PUBLIC HEARING
B) RECEIVE AND FILE REPORT
C) DISCUSS AND PROVIDE DIRECTION
Body
_________________________________________________________
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council conduct a public hearing and receive a presentation regarding the status of vacancies and recruitment and retention efforts, and review and discuss information provided regarding police department recruitment and retention efforts. Additionally, staff is requesting the authorization of the over hire of one Police Captain position.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
There are no fiscal implications associated with the report and presentation. If approved, it is projected that the over hire of the Police Captain can be funded in Fiscal Year 2026-27 through salary savings from anticipated vacancies and/or employee leave (unpaid). Staff will return to Council during budget update reports throughout the year to provide updates on staffing and ensure the availability of ongoing funding for the over hire position.
BACKGROUND:
The Meyers-Milias-Brown Act (MMBA) governs labor-management relations and collective bargaining for many public agencies in California, including for the City of Manhattan Beach. Effective January 1, 2025, Assembly Bill 2561 (“AB 2561”) amended the MMBA to add Government Code Section 3502.3, which requires that public agencies present the status of vacancies and recruitment and retention efforts during a public hearing before the governing board at least once per fiscal year, prior to the adoption of the final annual (or multi-year) budget. The first report required under this law was delivered in June 2025 based on data available as of May 2025.
Prior to this requirement, staff had presented to Council an update regarding Police Department and citywide staffing and recruitment in December 2023. As part of this report, the Council modified recruitment and retention incentives for Police Department and other employees. Prior to this report, the Council received various updates on public safety staffing, including considering modifications to police recruitment and retention incentives.
DISCUSSION:
The stated legislative intent of AB 2561 is to address vacancies in local government as a widespread and significant problem that impacts occupations across wage levels and educational requirements, as high job vacancies impact public service delivery. In addition to the immediate impacts to public service delivery, employees who pick up the additional workload due to vacancies experience burnout and increased turnover, which can further exacerbate staffing challenges. The bill established that there is a statewide interest in ensuring that public agency operations are appropriately staffed so that high vacancy rates do not negatively impact public service or employee relations. As such, in addition to the required annual presentation on vacancies and recruitment and retention efforts, if the vacancy rate for a particular recognized employee organization (“bargaining unit” or “employee association”) exceeds 20%, the public agency shall, at the request of the bargaining unit, also present on the number of vacancies, number of job applicants, number of days to complete hiring process, as well as opportunities to improve compensation and other working conditions. Within the public sector as a whole, some agencies have grappled with vacancy rates exceeding 20% in the past several years. There are many factors that are involved with the state of public sector hiring, including public sentiment about public employees, in particular police officers, competition with private companies regarding compensation, benefits and the work environment, availability of labor, especially in high demand professions, and various economic factors, such as inflation and unemployment rates.
The number of full-time positions filled by City recruitment efforts on an annual basis has significantly increased over the last several years. This is due to overlapping factors, an increase in both voluntary resignations and total separations (which includes retirements, voluntary resignations, and involuntary separations), and the addition of new full-time positions. In recent years, the City has increased staffing in order to meet the demands of the community, with the vast majority of new positions approved being in the delivery of core services, including public safety (both sworn and non-sworn), Public Works, and Community Development, as well as a number of positions that provide internal support to all City departments. Some of these increases are related to the insourcing of work previously performed by an outside contractor in a more efficient, effective, or cost-conscious way, such as the insourcing of pressure washing services in Public Works and additional ambulance rescue in the Fire Department. In the majority of cases, the cost of a consultant or contractor to provide comparable City services at the levels expected by the community would be a higher cost than to directly hire an employee, such as professional civil or plan check engineering services. Other position vacancies are backfilled with overtime and part-time staffing to meet workload demands.
The following are the current vacancy rates as of May 1, 2026, broken out both by employee bargaining unit and by department.
Citywide Vacancy Rate (by Bargaining Unit)
|
Employee Group |
Budgeted* |
Filled |
Vacancies |
Vacancy Rate |
|
Unrepresented Employees |
31 |
26 |
5 |
16.1% |
|
Firefighters Association (MBFA) |
30 |
28 |
2 |
6.7% |
|
Mid Management Association (MBMEA) |
61 |
52 |
9 |
14.8% |
|
Police Management Association (PMA) |
7 |
7 |
0 |
0.0% |
|
Police Officers Association (POA)** |
64 |
58 |
6 |
9.4% |
|
Teamsters** |
155 |
147 |
8 |
5.2% |
|
TOTAL |
348 |
318 |
30 |
8.6% |
Citywide Vacancy Rate (by Department)
|
Department |
Budgeted* |
Filled |
Vacancies |
Vacancy Rate |
|
Community Development |
39 |
38 |
1 |
2.6% |
|
Finance |
21 |
19 |
2 |
9.5% |
|
Fire |
41 |
38 |
3 |
7.3% |
|
Human Resources |
8 |
6 |
2 |
25.0% |
|
Information Technology |
12 |
10 |
2 |
16.7% |
|
Management Services |
10 |
8 |
2 |
20.0% |
|
Parks & Recreation |
21 |
19 |
2 |
9.5% |
|
Police** |
119 |
112 |
7 |
5.9% |
|
Public Works |
77 |
68 |
9 |
11.7% |
|
TOTAL |
348 |
318 |
30 |
8.6% |
*This number does not include elected officials, although these positions are counted as full-time equivalent positions in the budget.
**Police Academy Trainee positions are part of the Teamsters labor association during the academy, but not budgeted Teamsters positions. Because they are for the purpose of eventually filling sworn Police Officer positions, Police Academy Trainee positions are not considered when calculating vacancy rates. The two employees currently in the academy do not reduce the vacancy rate for either POA or Teamsters. They also do not reduce the vacancy rate for the Police Department as a whole or the Citywide vacancy rate.
The City currently includes a 6% vacancy factor in the budget, to account for the fact that some level of vacancy will always be present in any organization due to employee attrition, promotions and approved position changes. The current vacancy rate of 8.6% is therefore 2.6% above budgeted staffing levels.
The following captures an overview of key hiring, recruitment, and retention trends over recent years for full-time employee (FTE) equivalent positions.
Hiring, Recruitment, and Turnover Statistics for Full-Time Positions
(2018/19 - 2025/26)
|
|
FY 26* |
FY 25 |
FY 24 |
FY 23 |
FY 22 |
FY 21 |
FY 20 |
FY 19 |
|
Total FTE |
354 |
353 |
333 |
318 |
305 |
309 |
307 |
306 |
|
New FTE |
1 |
20 |
15 |
13 |
(4) |
2 |
1 |
4 |
|
FTE Positions |
53 |
76 |
62 |
83 |
69 |
31 |
23 |
24 |
|
Filled |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FTE New Hires |
29 |
39 |
36 |
40 |
36 |
19 |
11 |
12 |
|
Separations (Total) |
34 |
35 |
23 |
29 |
42 |
31 |
24 |
18 |
|
Voluntary |
27 |
17 |
15 |
22 |
29 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
|
Resignations |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Recruitments |
36 |
49 |
46 |
61 |
46 |
24+ |
n/a |
n/a |
|
Applications |
3,720 |
4,023 |
3,191 |
3,353 |
2,696 |
1,175+ |
n/a |
n/a |
|
Time-to-Recruit |
34 |
30 |
32 |
28 |
31 |
63 |
82 |
61 |
*Represents Year-to-Date in Fiscal Year 2025-26
+Application Tracking System (NEOGOV) was implemented in October 2020
The City has taken various steps since 2020 to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of recruitment processes and keep up with the increased demands for recruitment while keeping the vacancy rate as low as possible. At the end of 2020, the City began using the NEOGOV applicant tracking system to automate recruitment processes, allowing for online applications and an easier management of applicants throughout the recruitment and selection process. While staffing in Human Resources has remained static for full-time FTE’s, the addition of a part-time HR Manager in 2021 to oversee recruitment and selection has been instrumental in keeping up with the volume of recruitments and vacancies in the past several years. Under this direction, staff has reevaluated recruitment processes, including streamlining and consolidating testing components, scheduling continuous testing with greater frequency, and reevaluating the type of testing used for specific City positions. Average recruitment timelines have decreased from 63 days in FY 2021 to an average of 31 days over the past 2 fiscal years. While continuous and executive recruitments do not count toward this number, it demonstrates an ongoing commitment to reducing the time-to-hire for vacant positions. Further, the City has developed programs to enhance our recruitment pipeline into City employment. Specifically, the City has created its own “temporary Office Assistant pool”, creating an internal pool of temporary employees available on an as needed basis with short notice to substituted for employee vacancies or leaves to provide extra administrative help. Many of these employees have transitioned into other positions with the City, including different part-time assignments as well as full-time employment. The Fire Department has civilianized the Fire Prevention bureau and created Fire Apprentice positions, and the Police Department has revamped its Police Explorer and Police Intern programs, which have yielded a pipeline of future Police Officers and support staff.
The City Council has also authorized creative recruitment and retention benefits within the last several years. The recruitment bonus for Police Officers has been reviewed and addressed multiple times, and the City Council also previously expanded the ability to provide monetary recruitment incentives for other demonstrated hard-to-fill positions in the City. Additionally, the referral bonus for Police Officers was expanded to allow any City employee the ability to receive a referral bonus for the referral of a successful Police Officer. The City Council has also approved creative benefits to aid in recruitment and retention, such as adding a birthday holiday for City employees, providing a half-day holiday for Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve for non-sworn employees, and adding other wellness benefits, such as the Calm App and Active and Fit memberships for City employees. Successful negotiations with the four labor groups with contracts that expired in 2025 provided an additional avenue for recruitment and retention efforts, addressing compensation gaps in the surrounding labor market and historical inflation concerns over the several prior years.
While the recruitment efforts of the City have been largely successful, this does not negate the fact that significant challenges exist in the labor market, especially as to the recruitment and retention of highly qualified individuals in certain positions, including executives, Police Officers, engineers, and accounting professionals. Staff has conservatively applied the authorization to provide the “hard-to-fill” recruitment bonus and limited it to those positions that have been continuously hard to fill after multiple recruitment efforts. The open positions currently advertised as “hard-to-fill” eligible for this bonus are Police Officer (lateral and academy graduate) and Senior Civil Engineer.
This report also provides an opportunity for staff to update Council on Police Department recruitment and retention activities and to respond to Council requests regarding Police Officer recruitment incentives. In February of this year, as part of the quarterly budget update to Council, staff proposed the addition of a Deputy Police Chief, at a similar position level to the Deputy Fire Chief approved in 2024, offset by funding from two vacant Police Officer positions. The City Council did not authorize the position, and requested that staff return with additional information regarding police recruitment efforts and alternatives to hiring a Deputy Police Chief. Specifically, Council requested to revisit the discussion on staffing and incentives for police recruitment, including how other agencies’ hiring incentives have correlated with successful hiring. Additionally, Council requested information regarding alternatives for the Deputy Police Chief that may provide support at a commensurate level.
The City hires both Lateral/Academy Graduate candidates as well as Police Academy Trainee candidates (PATs or trainees) to become Police Officers. Lateral candidates are currently working as Police Officers in other organizations and academy graduate candidates have attended a police academy but do not yet have the required agency experience. Finally, trainee candidates are entry-level employees who do not yet have training and experience in law enforcement.
At the time of last year’s recruitment and vacancy update, there were 11 total vacancies within the Police Department, with 6 sworn vacancies. Currently, there are 7 total vacancies within the Police Department, and 6 sworn vacancies remain. Currently, the Police Department has the second lowest vacancy rate among all City Departments, at 5.9%. Additionally, there are two Police Academy Trainees who are in the academy, who do not count against the vacancy rates within the department but are slotted to fill two of the vacant Police Officer positions. If these positions were counted against the officer vacancy rate, the total sworn vacancies would be four, and the departmental vacancy rate would be five, which results in a departmental vacancy rate of 4.2%. An additional two Police Academy Trainee candidates have been given employment offers and have a confirmed academy start date of June 1, 2026, and 2 additional candidates completed the background process but do not yet have a confirmed start date, and 10 remaining in the background process. While the number of existing candidates in progress indicates a strong ability to continue the pace of hiring until full staffing is achieved, staff remain committed to continuously testing and processing the many applications received for Police Officer to ensure a continuous recruitment pipeline.
The following chart represents application, testing and hiring data from January 2024 through April 2026.
Police Officer Recruitment Numbers - January 2024 - April 2026
|
Classification |
Applications |
Written |
Interview |
Eligible |
Hired |
|
|
|
Participants |
Participants |
Candidates |
|
|
Police Academy Trainee |
1163 |
514 |
241 |
137 |
14 |
|
Police Officer Lateral/AG |
142 |
n/a |
17 |
10 |
2 |
|
Total Police sworn |
1305 |
514 |
258 |
147 |
16 |
For Police Officer in particular, the testing, selection and vetting process, including the comprehensive background investigation, academy training for recruits, and the probationary period for new officers, are rigorous to ensure that the individuals vetted can meet the physical and mental demands of being a Police Officer, and meet established standards and expectations while on the job. These recruitment statistics represent an approximately 1% selection rate of the total applicant pool, and approximately 3% of the candidates who tested in some component. Following placement on an eligible list, candidates then undergo a comprehensive background investigation, required under State law and to determine that candidates meet departmental standards. To illustrate the pass rate through the background investigation process, in the past year (May 2025 to present), 67 Police Officer candidates participated in one or more phases of the background investigation process. In the same period, 47 did not pass or withdrew from the background investigation, and only 8 successfully completed the background to be hired (12 candidates are still in process), which represents a 14% passing rate during the background process.
Once an employee successfully passes the background investigation and is hired, the vetting process continues. For Police Academy Trainees, the City sends new employees to a police academy (approximately six months in duration). Following academy graduation for Trainees or hiring for Lateral or Academy Graduate Officers, all Police Officers serve a probationary period that includes field training and observation (12 months for lateral hires and 18 months for trainees). The probationary period is also considered to be part of the testing of the individual’s skills and abilities to successfully function as a Police Officer, and for the new hires to ensure that the profession and department are the right fit for them. As such, some degree of attrition during this time is normal and expected to ensure that the caliber of new hires is aligned with the community’s expectations. To illustrate this point, 17 new hires have started since January 2024, and four have either resigned or not passed their initial training period.
The City Council has reviewed recruitment bonuses for Police Officers on several occasions in recent years, including February 2023 and December 2023. After modifications made during this review process, the City’s recruitment bonuses for Police Officer are currently as follows:
• Recruitment bonus for incoming Police Officers in the range between 3% and 10% of the individual’s starting annual salary, at the discretion of the Police Chief and with City Manager’s approval. This bonus is primarily offered to experienced lateral Police Officers, and the maximum incentive available is $13,058, paid in two installments.
• Referral bonus for any City employee who refers a successful candidate for Police Officer or Trainee of 5% of the Police Academy Trainee annual salary. The current referral bonus is $4,429, paid in two installments. Employees directly involved in the Police Department’s recruitment function, Human Resources employees, and executive employees in the City’s executive team are not eligible for this bonus.
The City Council requested information regarding other agencies’ recruitment incentives. As is demonstrated in the chart below, hiring incentives vary widely across other agencies surveyed, and do not appear to correlate with an agency’s staffing levels. As an example, Santa Monica indicates full sworn Police Department staffing levels, despite not having a recruitment bonus or hiring incentive. Meanwhile, the City of Torrance has the highest recruitment incentive of up to $100,000 for lateral Police Officers, but maintains a vacancy rate of 20%. The City of Manhattan Beach maintains the recruitment bonus with a maximum of approximately $12,000 (10% of starting base salary), at the Chief’s discretion. Staff does not believe raising the recruitment bonus will result in an influx of qualified lateral candidates, and prefers to focus efforts on ensuring that employees experience a desirable career trajectory with varied assignments and a productive work environment. To that end, Staff will continue to invest in professional development opportunities, diverse assignments, and workplace initiatives that enhance employee satisfaction and retention. Additionally, staff continues to explore ways to make the recruitment, selection and candidate engagement process more efficient and effective. At the time of this report, staff believes the approved recruitment incentive is sufficient to continue the robust pool of candidates. However, if Council wishes to consider additional recruitment incentives, staff requests direction on what incentives Council would like to consider.
Sworn Vacancy Rates and Recruitment Incentives for Comparator Agencies
|
Agency |
Sworn Vacancy |
Recruitment Incentive |
|
|
Rate |
|
|
Manhattan Beach |
8.45% |
Lateral: 3% - 10% of starting base salary = $13,058 |
|
|
|
maximum |
|
|
|
|
|
El Segundo |
3% |
Entry/Recruit: $10,000 |
|
|
|
Lateral: $40,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
Hermosa Beach |
5.3% |
Entry/Recruit: $30,000 |
|
|
|
Lateral: $40,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
Torrance |
20% |
Entry/Recruit: $20,000 + $20,000 for Veterans |
|
|
|
Laterals: $50,000 + $20,000 for Veterans + |
|
|
|
$5,000 per year of investigative experience (max |
|
|
|
3 years) + $5,000 per previous special |
|
|
|
assignment (max 3) |
|
|
|
|
|
Newport Beach |
2.7% |
n/a |
|
|
|
|
|
Hawthorne |
8.5% |
n/a |
|
|
|
|
|
Inglewood |
10.5% |
Lateral: $40,000 |
|
|
|
Pre-Service: $30,000 |
|
|
|
Entry/Recruit: $15,000 for B.A/B.S.; $10,000 for |
|
|
|
Veteran |
|
|
|
|
|
Beverly Hills |
9.7% |
Lateral: $45,000 |
|
|
|
Entry/Recruit: $35,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
Santa Monica |
2.1% |
Lateral: 5% over their current step if it falls within |
|
|
|
their salary range |
|
|
|
|
|
Redondo Beach |
5.1% |
Lateral: $10,000 |
As the City does not consider Police Academy Trainees to “count” against the overall vacancy rate for Police Officers until they pass the academy, they do essentially underfill an officer position. While staff attempted to obtain like-for-like comparisons in other agencies, it’s possible that some of the vacancy rates provided did include academy trainees as part of their sworn count.
During the Mid-Year Budget update in February, Council requested staff return with alternatives to the “second-in-command” Deputy Police Chief requested. As staff maintains that the Deputy Police Chief would add necessary executive level support and capacity within the Police Department’s command structure, additional options were considered. The ongoing need for additional executive and high-level management support is exacerbated by the upcoming World Cup and Olympics, hosted in Los Angeles and requiring significant staff time and engagement to ensure preparedness, and is also exacerbated by current staffing challenges. There has currently been a rotation of acting Police Captains from the Lieutenant rank to fill in for a long-term leave, which does not provide the continuity in that rank. While the Police Department would like the option to ask Council to reconsider a Deputy Police Chief at a future date, an interim solution is to promote a Lieutenant to Police Captain in a a long-term over hire, which would allow permanent placement into the role. The Police Department has historically been authorized to over hire beyond budgeted staffing levels, and previously over hired at higher levels (e.g. over hiring at a Lieutenant level due to a long term leave) through administrative action, by way of keeping a lower level position vacant. Given Council’s recent discussion regarding the Deputy Police Chief and request to consider alternatives, staff would like to confirm with the City Council that this authorization extends to the Police Captain rank.
This report meets the requirements of Government Code 3502.3 for the agency’s annual report on vacancy, recruitment and retention efforts. Additionally, representatives from all City bargaining units were notified of the public hearing and their option to make a presentation, in line with Government Code 3502.3(b).
Staff will return at least annually for updates to the City Council on employee vacancy rates, recruitment and retention efforts, or more frequently if requested by the City Council.
PUBLIC OUTREACH:
A Public Hearing notice was published in The Beach Reporter on April 30, 2026, and required postings were made at City facilities. Additional outreach was conducted using eNews notifications.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney has reviewed this report and determined that no additional legal analysis is necessary.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. PowerPoint Presentation