Whether it is a 911 call or a weekly trash pickup, the city of Norfolk is struggling to fully staff its essential services.
The problem is deeper than a lack of interested candidates. Officials admit the city’s hiring process is slowing things down, hurting hiring efforts and can be made more efficient.
Norfolk is halfway through an eight-week initiative called the Talent Accelerator Program through the nonprofit Work for America. It's one of 12 cities, including New York and Pittsburgh, auditing and reimagining its recruitment workflow, said Pamela Marino, Assistant Director of Human Resources for the city.
The goal is to build a step-by-step diagram of every hurdle an applicant faces before they are hired and then address the bottlenecks in the city’s process.
Marino said Norfolk’s struggle is not unique. According to a new national report from the Public Sector HR Association, the average city government requires 90 steps to hire a single person, a statistic Norfolk officials say is a warning sign.
“We share similarities with other cities about some of the issues that are affecting all of us,” Marino said. “ As a result, that’s some frustration for the candidate who applies.”
The stakes were made clear during an apartment fire on Sewells Point Road in late 2024. The city’s 911 dispatching center has been understaffed for years.
After waiting about 10 minutes for 911 to answer the phone, Navy sailor Gabriel Journey rescued an older woman and her disabled son from a burning building himself, according to a report from WTKR. Without enough people to man the phones, Norfolk’s 911 center was unable to meet its 15-second answer-time goal.
According to 911.gov, vacancy rates at emergency centers across the country averaged about 25 percent between 2019 and 2022.
In 2023, Norfolk's 911 dispatch center faced a 52% vacancy rate, with 36 open positions out of 79 jobs, according to a report Norfolk Police Chief Mark Talbot presented to Norfolk’s City Council last July. By 2025, the city increased its total staff to 84 positions. WhileWTKR reported the number of empty dispatcher jobs was cut to 17 by late 2025. The Norfolk Police Department says the improvement has made a difference for callers; the average 911 answer time dropped from 46.1 seconds in 2023 to 33.3 seconds in 2025.
The city has since brought on more dispatchers by offering a $5,000 signing bonus and starting salaries between $40,362 and $45,000, according to the city's current job listings on GovernmentJobs.com, but hiring remains a challenge across departments. According to the city's 2026 adopted budget, demand on several essential service programs outpaces staffing, including facility maintenance and animal care.
Marino said interest in city roles remains strong, "If you work for the city, you're a special kind of person because you really have the public in your focus and your heart,” she said. But she acknowledged the experience of applying could be better.
The goal of the Talent Accelerator Program, she said, is to make sure the hiring process reflects that dedication from the beginning.
The Talent Accelerator Program, which is free to participating cities, is delivered in partnership with Jobs for the Future, a national nonprofit. Marino said the city was already looking for ways to streamline hiring before being accepted into the program.
"At the end of these eight weeks, we will have a very detailed process map that we can look at," Marino said.
The program will end in June.
