HomeMy WebLinkAbout(P5) Council Discussion - 110723CITY OF
PORT ARTHUR
Vacancy List Presentation
November 7, 2023
Overview
High demand and short supply for skilled workers in the workforce means that filling departmental vacancies continue to be a challenge. When new job vacancies arise, we often face challenges with filling the positions depending on the position, skill level and experience. The process of hiring can be overwhelming to all involved.
The Human Resources Department continues to work with the all -City departments to fill vacancies as promptly and efficiently as possible, while adhering to all applicable city policies, description requirements, and state and federal employment laws.
The number of vacancies will fluctuate with every update due to ongoing terminations, retirements, resignations and other reasons.
Human Resources and Department Heads review job descriptions of open positions on an on-going basis to ensure they are accurate and are specific to the description . Adjustments are sometimes necessary, and changes are agreed upon by both Human Resources and the Department Head .
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Current Vacancies
When comparing the vacancy listing to the personnel
schedule in the FY 23-24 budget, the City has approximately
seventy-six (76) vacancies within various departments. The
bulk of the vacancies are in the Utility Operations, Public
Works and Transit Departments. Of the seventy -six (76)
positions, twenty -seven (27) are in the referral phase. The
referral phase includes interviewing and recommendations.
There are approximately twenty (20) newly posted positions
in different departments. Several said positions have been
posted internally and externally simultaneously.
Within the last year, the City has had some retirements,
resignations and/or terminations for various reasons.
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Posting of
Positions
Internally and Externally
According to Section 17 -22 – Filling of Vacant
Regular Positions – all non-professional and non -
supervisory positions shall be posted for bids on
the bulletin boards and maintained by the Human
Resources Department for seven (7) consecutive
calendar days. Regular, probationary, and
employees classified as City temporaries shall be
allowed to submit bids. This initiates the interna l
process.
These positions are considered prior to
consideration of external applicants. If there are
not successful candidates within the organization,
the position will be posted to external applicants
for the same number of days unless specified by
the department. It will then be posted continuous
until filled with the City Manager’s approval.
For positions which require a special licensure or
skillset, the position can be posted internally and
externally with the approval of the City Manager.
If the position is posted for seven (7) days, an
adequate number of applicants who meet the
minimum qualifications are referred to the
department for review and/or interviews.
There are occasions when a posting will need to
be re -posted several times to obtain the best
candidate for the position.
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Departmental Vacancies
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Utility
Operations Public Works Transit All Others
Positions 20 26 7 2 3
All Other Departments include Police
Non-Civil Service, IT, Finance (including Accounting and Purchasing, Library,
Development Services, Parks and Recreation, City Secretary-Municipal
Court and Human Resources.
Reasons for Vacancies
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•Competitive Workforce
In a study conducted in 2021 by the Center for State and Local Government Excellence (SLGE), recruiting
and retaining state and local government workers is the most difficult it has been in decades. Governmental
agencies, such as the City of Port Arthur, are hiring, but human resource professionals face competition
from the private sector, accelerating retirement rates and a shortage of applicants for public safety, health
care, engineering and information technology jobs.
•RetirementsEmployees who are retirement eligible are choosing to vacate positions within the City. We have been very
fortunate to have many employees with 20+ years within the organization. We have had one since our last
report. We have received notifications for at least two more who will be retiring within the month of May.
•Terminations/ResignationsWithin this period of reporting, there have been numerous terminations/resignations. AWOL, job
performance and resignations make up this number. As it relates to resignations, employees are leaving for
less stress and scrutiny and what they believe are better opportunities.
Status of Vacancies
Status of Position
Posted Internally/Externally
Posted until Filled
Referrals
Interviews Held/Awaiting
Recommendation
Other
Approximate Number of Positions
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20
6
27
7
16
Summary
The Human Resources office receives a pplications for
various positions daily. Individuals apply and often times
do not meet the minimum qualifications for the position
for which they are applying. Human Resources and
department heads make a conscious effort to hire the most
qualified and skilled individuals for open positions.
Organizations paying competitive wages do not make it
easy for us to attract and retain employees within the City.
It should be noted, according to the Bureau of Labor
Statistics, the national unemployment rate is 3 .9%, while
Texas’s rate is 4.1%.
The HR Department has been, and will continue to,
participate in various job fairs to attempt to obtain
qualified applicants.
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THANK YOU
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