While Gilbert is one of the largest towns in Maricopa County, it hosts one of the lowest levels of full-time employees in comparison to its population.

While a lean government is appreciated by many in Gilbert, others raise concerns about overworking employees.

Councilmember Kenny Buckland has voiced his concerns about these low staffing levels in Gilbert in the past. In June 2025, Buckland took the podium during a town council meeting and urged the other council members to consider the impacts of low staffing levels.

Since then, full-time staffing levels have risen slightly, but Buckland expressed doubt over whether the increase is enough.

Each year cities in Arizona publish an annual comprehensive financial report in which they record the amount of full-time employees working within the municipal government. In 2024 Gilbert had the lowest staffing levels per 1,000 residents among major East Valley cities.

According to this report, full-time employment levels in Gilbert increased from around 5.88 full-time employees per 1,000 residents in 2024 to around 6.08 in 2025, Buckland said.

Buckland formerly worked for the Gilbert Police Department for more than 20 years and said he saw the issues of low staffing firsthand during his time there. He said low staffing levels led to challenges such as being short patrol officers and steep overtime expenses for the department.

While Buckland has stressed the need for increased full-time employment levels, he also cited the importance of efficiency within the government.

“What I want is an analysis on where we need to be, so that we're both efficient and effective, and responsible with taxpayers' money, but we're not killing our people,” Buckland said.

While Buckland has continued to highlight the issue of low staffing, other council members have disagreed about the issue’s urgency. 

“I’m not going to say we're not understaffed because we probably could use some people, especially police and fire,” Councilmember Jim Torgeson said. “But I'm far from hitting the panic button on being understaffed.”

Torgeson also cited high levels of outsourcing as a reason he believed Gilbert’s full-time employment levels fell below other cities. He said the government's efficiency is a strength of the town.

“There are certain things that are that can be considered low, and certain things that can be considered efficient,” Torgeson said.

While he said some departments could benefit from more employees, he applauded the town’s working conditions as a whole.

“Gilbert's a great place to work, and your work environment includes the amount of the workload,” Torgeson said.

While other town employees also commended Gilbert’s work environment, they cited the need to continue supporting town employees while dealing with low staffing levels.

Town Manager Mario Paniagua identified the need to take into account budget constraints when considering the issue of low staffing.

“Although we face long-term financial constraints … we have found ways to address the most critical needs,” Paniagua said in a written statement.

Paniagua said the town weighs hiring requests against other community priorities and available funding.

Paniagua emphasized the importance of town employees’ work and raised potential issues stemming from overworking them.

“Our employees are one of Gilbert’s greatest strengths,” Paniagua said. “Serving our community is a big responsibility, and we understand that when our staffing is stretched too thin, it can lead to long-term challenges with employee turnover and burnout.”

Looking forward, Buckland identified staffing as an important issue for the town and outlined goals for staffing levels in the future.

“I want to see improved staffing, and particularly at the leadership level, where they can take time to reflect, improve areas that we need to improve and do the very best they can,” Buckland said. “But not in 80 hours a week, in closer to 40.”

Sophia Keeling is a student in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Arizona State University.

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