Half Moon Bay keeps 30% staff vacancy rate

The process will be a chance for staff to voice concerns around workload and include an employee survey, Mayor Debbie Ruddock said, advising staff not to be fearful. Chidester confirmed the effort will not include layoffs of existing employees.

“Part of this process is reinventing the workplace. It’s a chance to see what's not working so well,” Ruddock said. “I wouldn't be fearful of this process. I’d embrace it and say, ‘How can I make this process work better for me and for us?’” 

The city has made it a priority to bounce back from its structural deficit — currently $3 million — in recent years, Chidester said, including the successful passage of a new half-cent sales tax. This fiscal year’s budget shows $25.3 million in expenditures and $23.8 million in expenses.

Chidester lauded staff for working through the period of increased vacancy and taking on new responsibility. 

“We’ve held some really important vacancies open … rather than just going back and filling them, staff has girded up their loins and worked really hard to fill those gaps while we evaluate the future of the city,” he said. 

The currently-vacant positions include assistant city manager, assistant to the city manager, the communications director department head position, and a management analyst and accounting technician position. 

A large part of the city’s contract with Matrix will evaluate which positions to bring back, which to eliminate and which to move around, Chidester said. 

“I held these positions open so we'd have some salary savings and some flexibility to make changes in all of our departments,” he said. 

Vice Mayor Deborah Penrose also thanked staff for their diligence during the city’s time of financial frugality. 

“They’ve been patient, they've been hardworking and this is being done as much for them as it is for the city manager. They're taking responsibility and grabbing the reins and going for it, despite the fact that they have to do much more than they should be doing,” she said. “Let us get through this and things are going to get better.”