Monterey County Board of Supervisors approve hiring freeze of certain county positions

COUNTY OF MONTEREY, Calif. (KION-TV) -- County of Monterey Board of Supervisors approved implementing a hiring freeze of certain county positions during a meeting on Tuesday.

The vote was unanimous in favor of the freeze, which the county says could impact infrastructure type projects.

A motion was also approved to have the CAO develop hiring freeze administrative guidelines for exemption to return to the board by November 12.

County of Monterey hiring freeze discussion

The County of Monterey Board of Supervisors will be meeting tomorrow to discuss a hiring freeze in response to a projected budget deficit.

According to the county, they're under financial pressures due to the inflated housing market, dwindling grant resources and rising labor expenses.

County officials add that a large part of this funding includes emergency disaster repose costs being delayed, or no federal and state reimbursements at all.

Although a potential hiring freeze will not impact positions funded by the state or federal government, the repercussions could be felt in other ways.

"Projects might have to be delayed, for example, infrastructure type projects, depending on where the revenue sources come from," said County Communications Director Nick Pasculli. "If we're able to get grants, which we're very aggressive in pursuing, our hope is that we will continue to provide the same great service."

To help reduce costs, county officials are expected to consider alternative options later this month, according to Pasculli. The county says that the projected budget deficit for next fiscal year could total $20 million.

Another budget discussion will take place on Wednesday. The County of Monterey will host a virtual meeting in regards to the county's budget priorities.

County officials are expected to address said fiscal challenges as well as how they plan to address the problems.

Wednesday's meeting will take place online from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the county's Facebook and YouTube pages.