County tightens belt on potential new job hires

County supervisors aim to reduce a budget shortfall in part by freezing county funding to fill vacant jobs.

During their Jan. 26 meeting, Chair Josh Evans explained that the idea is to require the board’s approval before filling any vacant position, including jobs in constitutional offices that require some county funds and are not wholly funded by the state.

County Administrator Larry Barton emphasized that it simply means the county will look at its budget before agreeing to provide the funds to fill a vacancy. The county is experiencing a shortfall now, and next year’s numbers are not looking good, he said.

Barton has said the county could face as much as a $1 million shortfall by May, Evans said.

When asked by Supervisor Ron Peters, Evans said he believes there is at least one vacant position at this time. Later in the discussion, he noted that a constitutional office has a vacancy. The suggestion is to say that if such a position is 100 percent county funded, it will stay vacant until supervisors review the financial implications.

The board agreed, with Peters noting that any department should have the opportunity to show supervisors the justification for filling a job based on workload needs.