Glendale reports modest vacancy declines but flags utility hiring needs under AB2561

As required by Assembly Bill 2561, staff presented the city’s workforce and vacancy report for calendar year 2025 during the May 28 public hearing.

Highlights from the report included that Glendale had 1,651 full‑time salaried positions in December 2025, a 13.5% average vacancy rate during 2025 (high of 16.5%, low of 11.1%), and filled 180 vacancies in 2025 through a mix of internal promotions, open recruitments and continuous recruitments. The city’s reported annual turnover rate was 4.6%.

Staff noted that certain hard‑to‑fill classifications — notably engineering and utility (GWP) roles tied to the Grayson repower — posed recruitment challenges. GWP staff and HR said some positions had been placed on hold during the repowering work and that apprenticeship and hiring efforts are being ramped as the plant returns to service.

Requests for updated data and next steps

Council members asked for updated vacancy information for 2026 (staff said AB2561 reporting covers calendar-year data to Dec. 2025 but agreed to provide updated figures through May 2026). Staff also described recruitment timelines by recruitment type (average fill times varied: continuous recruitments ~72 days, open recruitments ~130 days, promotional recruitments ~48 days).

What comes next: staff said they will provide updated vacancy figures through May 2026, continue active recruitments for utility positions, and relay timeline estimates for filling critical classifications. The council will consider these workforce constraints as it finalizes the FY26–27 budget.