BERLIN – Worcester County officials instituted a hiring freeze this week as the annual budget process gets underway.
Citing a drop in revenues, county leaders said the hiring freeze was an attempt to save the county from depleting its budget stabilization fund in an effort to balance the FY 2016 spending plan.
“The county has lost over $40 million in property tax revenues since FY 2009 due to declining assessments,” Worcester County Commissioner Jim Bunting said, “and property tax revenues are projected to decline by another $4 million in FY 2016.”
The hiring freeze, which was approved by the Worcester County Commissioners in closed session March 3, is the county’s first since 2008, according to Public Information Officer Kim Moses. In 2010, rather than fully lifting the hiring freeze, county leaders began evaluating the need to fill vacancies on a case-by-case basis.
“The commissioners added another level of approval to the hiring process,” Moses said. “Budgeted department vacancies would require approval from the commissioners before being posted or advertised.”
At the moment, the county only has three vacant positions, Moses said, two of which are in the solid waste department. The first, a landfill attendant job, comes with a $27,227 annual salary. The second, a recycling worker, is tied to a $25,272 salary.
The county’s other open position is that of a building inspector. Instead of hiring someone for the $37,336 position, the county will use a part-time contractual worker.
“The positions are important,” Chief Administrative Officer Harold Higgins said. “However, at this time, the departments are reallocating duties and responsibilities in the short term to make ends meet.”
Moses said that though the number of positions affected was limited to three, the hiring freeze was designed to provide the commissioners with the maximum flexibility possible as they began working to balance the FY 2016 budget.
Moses said the hiring freeze did not extend to the Worcester County Board of Education, as it only pertains to departments over which the county commissioners have direct administrative authority.
In February, officials from the county’s finance department reported that property tax revenues were expected to drop to $117.7 million in FY 2016. Income tax revenue is also projected to be down, and the county has just $17.6 million in budget stabilization funds remaining. Finance Officer Phil Thompson estimated that $7.1 million of those funds would be needed to balance the FY 2015 budget, leaving just $10.5 million to cover shortfalls in FY 2016.