County OKs Hiring Freeze, Warns of 5% Budget Cut Plans

Facing an estimated fiscal 1992 budget deficit of at least $29.3 million, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors Monday approved a hiring freeze on its labor force of nearly 17,000 employees.

The supervisors also directed county departments to begin preparing for budget cuts of at least 5% as deliberations began on the $1.74-billion budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

The county must await the outcome of budgetary decisions in the Legislature before making its spending plan final. But Assistant Chief Administrative Officer David Janssen warned the board that the deficit could balloon to $40 million if state legislators give final approval to two more pieces of legislation that would reduce counties’ revenue.

A planned reduction in state funding for trial courts would cost the county another $3.2 million, and repeal of a law that allows counties to charge cities for jail booking fees would add about $8 million to the deficit, Janssen said.

Critical law enforcement employees such as jails guards and selected other employees would be exempt from the hiring freeze, which will begin July 1. One goal of the freeze is to create more job vacancies to lessen the impact if layoffs should be necessary, Janssen said in a report to the board.

There are now 1,187 vacancies among the county’s staff of 16,819 employees.