Corroon orders hiring freeze
Not all future new hires will be nixed, however. Corroon ordered a so-called soft hiring freeze, and will examine each hire individually to see if the position is really needed.
"We feel it's time for us to start tightening the belt and looking a little more closely at what we're doing," Corroon said.
The budget is bleak. County number crunchers estimate Salt Lake County could lose $5.3 million in sales tax revenue by year's end.
The freeze only affects the six departments in the mayor's portfolio, but both Corroon and County Council Chairman Michael Jensen urged the eight independent elected officials to follow suit.
"We want everybody to really take a hard look at all of their personnel, if they are needed or if they can do without," Jensen said.
Corroon hopes the freeze will save 1 to 5 percent in personnel costs.
The county is in the middle of mid-year budget adjustments, a time government officials typically ask for more money or more employees to make up for what they forgot to ask for six months before.
The mayor did ask for a few things — $65,000 for refugee housing, $149,000 for two new employees in the Legal Defenders Office to represent death penalty defendants, and $334,000 to cover rising rent and health benefit costs at the Emergency Operations Center.
E-mail: ldethman@desnews.com
Recent comments
Why doesn't Caroon teach the commissioners in Utah County how...
Teach Utah County Commisshes | June 17, 2008 at 11:42 p.m.
Oh how quickly we forget about the former mayors hair dresser/Exec...
Re: "Hiring Freeze" | June 17, 2008 at 8:09 p.m.
It sounds like they are going to start making lay--offs. Hopefully...
Anonymous | June 17, 2008 at 2:23 p.m.
