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Conduct a public hearing and receive a presentation from the Solano County Department of Human Resources on the status of County vacancies, recruitment and retention as required annually by Government Code Section 3502.3 as added by AB2561 effective January 1, 2025
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Published Notice Required? Yes ____ No _X _
Public Hearing Required? Yes __X__ No _ _
DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATION:
The Department of Human Resources (Department) recommends the Board of Supervisors conduct a public hearing and receive a presentation from the Solano County Department of Human Resources on the status of County vacancies, recruitment and retention as required annually by Government Code Section 3502.3 as added by AB2561 effective January 1, 2025.
SUMMARY:
In 2024, Assembly Bill 2561 (AB2561) was passed and added to Government Code as §3502.3. The new code requires public agencies to conduct a public hearing to present the status of its vacancies and recruitment and retention efforts. The hearing must be held annually and prior to the adoption of the annual budget. As part of the presentation the public agency shall identify any necessary changes to policies, procedures and recruitment activities that may lead to obstacles in the hiring process. The recognized employee organizations shall have the opportunity to make a presentation during the public hearing; no bargaining units requested to present. Bargaining units where vacancy rates meet or exceed 20% of the authorized full time positions may request the agency include specified information including: 1) the total number of job vacancies in the bargaining unit; 2) total number of applicants for vacant positions within the bargaining unit; 3) the average number of days to complete the hiring process from when a position is posted; and 4) opportunities to improve compensation and other working conditions.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact. The costs associated with preparing the agenda item are nominal and absorbed by the Department’s FY2025/26 Working Budget.
DISCUSSION:
As of February 28, 2026, the County has 3289.50 allocated positions, and its overall vacancy rate is 10.55%. On February 28, 2026, there were 347.20 vacancies. There were 347 FTE terminations, comprised of 83 retirements, 147 resignations and 23 involuntary terminations. It is important to note that of the 3289.50 vacancies, 117.50 FTE are unfunded positions, which cannot be filled; therefore, the actual vacancy rate is 7.24%. The County processed 764 FTE hiring transactions between March 1, 2025, and February 28, 2026. These hires are comprised of new hires, promotions, transfers, demotions and rehires. As of pay period March 1, 2026, the vacancy rate has decreased 0.74% from 8.40% to 7.66% for requisitioned positions as compared to the same pay period in 2025.
Of the 21 employee units, one bargaining unit ( Unit 11) has a vacancy rate that meets or exceeds 20% based on allocated full-time positions. Unit 11 has 22.35 allocated positions, 8.60 which are unfunded for FY2025/26. The vacancy rate based on allocated positions is 50.34%, however, the vacancy rate for budgeted FY2025/26 positions is 19.3%. Position specific vacancy data for Unit 11, is outlined below. This data represents positions with recruitments opened between February 2025 and February 2026.
Unit 11:
Psychiatrist
Number of Requisitions: 5
Average Number of Applicants: 4
Number of Eligibles on List: 2
Hires: 2
Average Days to Fill: 165
Clinic Physician
Number of Requisitions: 1
Average Number of Applicants: 4
Number of Eligibles on List: 4
Hires: 0
Average Days to Fill: N/A
Dentist
Number of Requisitions: 3
Average Number of Applicants: 31
Number of Eligibles on List: 12
Hires: 0
Average Days to Fill: N/A
The statistics above underscore the difficulty Solano County has in filling health care positions. The County has been most successful in filling two Psychiatrist positions in January 2026 and March 2026. A 2025 Supply and Demand Modeling for California’s Behavioral Health Workforce report by the California Department of Health Care Access and Information indicates that all 58 counties are projected to face a shortage across all behavioral health roles. Additionally, a 2024 research report titled, Understanding Dental Workforce Issues in California, authored by the San Diego County Oral Health Coalition indicates that while California “has the greatest number of dentists per population of any state in the US […] there are 78 population-specific shortage areas.” Solano County is one of the shortage areas with 2.0-3.9 dentists per 5000 population.
The Clinic Physician and Psychiatrist classifications are eligible for a recruitment and retention bonus provided through Partnership Health Plan ranging from $20,000 to $100,000 depending on the classification and length of service. Additionally, the County offers a separate $30,000 bonus for Psychiatrists who complete 24 months of service; paid in two annual installments. Dentists, Clinic Physicians and Psychiatrists are also eligible for student loan repayment up to $70,000 over an eight-year period, as well as $3,000 for moving expenses when relocating to Solano County.
In 2025, a comparable agency compensation study was performed prior to the start of negotiations; the study did not support additional equity adjustments as indicated in prior years for the physician, psychiatrist or dentist classifications. According to the study, Psychiatrist and Clinic Physician salaries were 15% and 3.4% above the median respectively, and Dentist was less than 1% below median. Additionally, the County offered a 3% cost of living adjustment for the 1st year of the contract, and another 2% and 1% for 2nd and 3rd years of the upcoming contract. The County continues its partnership with Tuoro University which specializes in health sciences, medicine and education, to provide internships for students. The reality is that there is limited supply of qualified people in the medical field. This coupled with the fact that public entities are unable to compete in salary with private hospitals (although overall benefits packages are competitive), means that rural counties have a much more difficult time finding candidates.
Solano County’s current approach to recruitment and retention has included implementing new Human Resources (HR) tools for recruitment and onboarding, which has broadened the County’s reach to applicants and streamlined new hire document processing. HR has also increased its presence in-person career fairs, attending twelve in 2025 compared to three in 2024. As of April 15th, HR attended ten (10) job fairs in the current year. The County continues to provide flexible schedules and telework where the impact to services is minimal. Recently, the County updated its comparable agency list for review of position classification information and began an inclusive workforce study. It also continues to provide internship opportunities to externals and training and development as well as tuition reimbursement for current employees.
The County understands the current efforts may not be enough for its recruitment and retention purposes and continues to work towards evolvement of current efforts, as well as exploration of other means to recruit and retain staff. Some areas the County will explore include updating Civil Service Rules, so they are more relevant to today’s recruitment needs and conducting a classification study to ensure job specifications are reflective of the work performed today and that minimum qualifications contain viable pathways such as substituting experience for education where feasible. The County will also explore middle and high school outreach efforts to conduct early introductions into Civil Service jobs, and a more direct, targeted outreach to identify potential candidates for hard to fill occupations as well as partnering with local adult schools to prepare applicants for entry level positions.
ALTERNATIVES:
The Board of Supervisors could elect not to receive the presentation or conduct the hearing; however, the Department would not recommend this alternative since it would be non-compliant with California law.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
Pursuant to the requirements, the Department notified all county bargaining groups of the public hearing and their right to presentation during the public hearing. No bargaining unit requested to present.
CAO RECOMMENDATION:
APPROVE DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATION