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2018 Eligible Retirees / To-Be-Vacated Management Positions / Preparing Successors

Council File 17-1098

In progress — the city is actively monitoring how departments are building bench strength to replace retiring managers and supervisors, with the Personnel Department submitting regular updates and the Council periodically reaffirming the succession-planning directive to ensure institutional knowledge doesn't walk out the door.

Introduced
2017-09-26
Last changed
2026-09-09
Status
open
Expires
2028-09-09
Committee
Personnel and Hiring Committee
Mover
PAUL KORETZ
Second
MITCHELL ENGLANDER
References
Related Council File: 08-3148

Brief

Councilmember Paul Koretz moved to require the Personnel Department to identify management positions that will soon be vacant due to retirements and develop successor preparation plans. The Personnel Department has submitted periodic reports since 2018 on succession plans submitted by city departments. The file was adopted by full Council in January and May 2018, and again in September 2023 and June 2024. It remains pending in the Personnel and Hiring Committee, which continued the item indefinitely at its September 9, 2026 meeting after reviewing an updated Personnel Department report.

Full summary

This motion, introduced by Councilmember Paul Koretz and seconded by Mitchell Englander in September 2017, responds to a looming wave of retirements among supervisory and management employees. The motion cites a 2016 City Controller analysis finding that 46 percent of the city workforce would be eligible to retire in 2018. While historically only about 11 percent of employees retire the moment they become eligible, the sheer scale of potential departures raised urgency around leadership continuity. The backdrop was significant: a 2009 Early Retirement Incentive Program had already pushed nearly 2,900 employees out the door to help close a $405 million budget deficit, and another 3,600 civilian employees retired in the years that followed, draining supervisory and management ranks of accumulated expertise. The motion directed the Personnel Department to report within 45 days on succession plans already submitted by city departments, flag areas of particular concern where management vacancies could disrupt services, and recommend concrete steps for building a qualified internal candidate pool. It also called for recommendations on knowledge transfer — ensuring that experienced employees pass on institutional knowledge before they leave. The motion built on a workforce planning program launched in 2009 under Council File 08-3148, in which the Personnel Department first recommended that all departments develop succession plans. Since the motion was adopted by the full Council in January and May 2018, the Personnel Department has submitted periodic succession plan overviews. The Council formally adopted the item again in September 2023 and June 2024 — the latter by a vote of 12-0-3 — each time following committee review of updated Personnel Department reports summarizing how departments have responded to the succession planning directive. The June 2025 and August 2026 reports continued this pattern, providing updated snapshots of departmental submissions. Rather than closing after an initial report-back, this file has evolved into an ongoing oversight mechanism: the Personnel Department submits annual or near-annual updates, the committee reviews them, and the Council periodically reaffirms the directive. As of September 9, 2026, the Personnel and Hiring Committee continued the item to a date to be determined, keeping the file in active but indefinite status. The repeated adoptions and continued reporting reflect the city's recognition that succession planning is not a one-time fix but a sustained institutional responsibility.

Activity (46)

  • 2026-09-09 Personnel and Hiring Committee continued item to a date to be determined.
  • 2026-09-04 Personnel and Hiring Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on September 9, 2026.
  • 2026-08-20 Personnel Department document(s) referred to Personnel and Hiring Committee.
  • 2026-08-18 Document submitted by Personnel Department, dated August 18, 2026.
  • 2025-08-08 Personnel and Hiring Committee continued item to a date to be determined.
  • 2025-08-04 Personnel and Hiring Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on August 8, 2025.
  • 2025-07-02 Personnel Department document(s) referred to Personnel and Hiring Committee.
  • 2025-07-02 Document(s) submitted by Personnel Department, as follows:Personnel Department report, dated June 27, 2025, relative to an updated overview of submitted succession plans.
  • 2024-06-28 Council action final.
  • 2024-06-28 Council adopted item forthwith.
  • 2024-06-25 City Clerk scheduled item for Council on June 28, 2024.
  • 2024-06-18 Personnel, Audits, and Hiring Committee noted and filed item(s).
  • 2024-06-14 Personnel, Audits, and Hiring Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on June 18, 2024.
  • 2024-06-11 Personnel Department document(s) referred to Personnel, Audits, and Hiring Committee.
  • 2024-06-10 Document(s) submitted by Personnel Department, as follows:Personnel Department revised report, dated June 10, 2024, relative to an overview of submitted succession plans.
  • 2023-09-29 Council action final.
  • 2023-09-27 Council adopted item, subject to reconsideration, pursuant to Council Rule 51.
  • 2023-09-22 City Clerk scheduled item for Council on September 27, 2023.
  • 2023-09-19 Personnel, Audits, and Hiring Committee noted and filed item(s).
  • 2023-09-15 Personnel, Audits, and Hiring Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on September 19, 2023.
  • 2023-09-14 Personnel Department document(s) referred to Personnel, Audits, and Hiring Committee.
  • 2023-09-14 Document(s) submitted by Personnel Department, as follows:Personnel Department corrected report, dated June 26, 2023, relative to an overview of submitted succession plans.
  • 2023-06-26 Personnel Department document(s) referred to Personnel, Audits, and Hiring Committee.
  • 2023-06-26 Document(s) submitted by Personnel Department, as follows:Personnel Department report, dated June 26, 2023, relative to an overview of submitted succession plans.
  • 2023-03-21 Personnel, Audits, and Hiring Committee noted and filed item(s).
  • 2023-03-17 Personnel, Audits, and Hiring Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on March 21, 2023.
  • 2023-01-13 Council rereferred item to Personnel, Audits, and Hiring Committee, pursuant to Council Action of January 13, 2023, Council File No. 23-2000.
  • 2022-09-21 Personnel, Audits, and Animal Welfare Committee continued item to .
  • 2022-09-16 Personnel, Audits, and Animal Welfare Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on September 21, 2022.
  • 2022-08-09 Personnel Department document(s) referred to Personnel, Audits, and Animal Welfare Committee.
  • 2022-08-03 Document(s) submitted by Personnel Department, as follows:Personnel Department report, dated July 22, 2022, relative to updated succession plans submitted by City departments.
  • 2018-05-02 Council action final.
  • 2018-05-01 Council adopted item, subject to reconsideration, pursuant to Council Rule 51.
  • 2018-04-19 City Clerk scheduled item for Council on May 1, 2018.
  • 2018-04-18 Personnel and Animal Welfare Committee noted and filed item(s).
  • 2018-04-13 Personnel and Animal Welfare Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on April 18, 2018.
  • 2018-04-03 Personnel Department document(s) referred to Personnel and Animal Welfare Committee.
  • 2018-04-02 Document(s) submitted by Personnel Department, as follows:Personnel Department report, dated March 30, 2018, relative to an overview of updated succession plans submitted to date by all City departments.
  • 2018-01-30 Council action final.
  • 2018-01-26 Council adopted item, subject to reconsideration, pursuant to Council Rule 51.
  • 2018-01-19 City Clerk scheduled item for Council on January 26, 2018.
  • 2018-01-17 Personnel and Animal Welfare Committee noted and filed item(s).
  • 2018-01-12 Personnel and Animal Welfare Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on January 17, 2018.
  • 2018-01-12 Personnel Department document(s) referred to Personnel and Animal Welfare Committee.
  • 2018-01-11 Document(s) submitted by Personnel Department, as follows:Personnel Department report, dated January 11, 2018, relative to the Personnel Department's report back with an overview of succession plans submitted to date by all City departments.
  • 2017-09-26 Motion document(s) referred to Personnel and Animal Welfare Committee.

Documents (24)

Council votes (1)

  • 2024-06-28 Vote — 12-0-3 · Regular

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