Three months into the fiscal year, County of Monterey implements a hiring freeze.

On June 20, the County Board of Supervisors approved a $2 billion budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year. Just three months later, looking ahead to a projected $20 million deficit for 2025-26, the supervisors voted on Oct. 15 to implement a hiring freeze.

The pause applies only to the vacant positions – both new and existing – within the 3,594.7 authorized roles funded by the general fund across 22 departments.

Budget figures, dependent on the economy via sales and property taxes, have been strained; compounded by the expiration of one-time federal funds given to the county to sustain critical jobs during the pandemic.

Wage studies also led to increases in employee salaries and benefits to ensure jobs remained competitive. In late August, the County and SEIU 521 announced a 12-percent pay increase over three years, the largest increase for county employees in 20 years. These increases are not set to take effect until the next fiscal year.

“In some instances, we’ve been able to spend more than what we had,” says Assistant County Administrative Officer Ezequiel Vega Rios. “Now we have to adjust to that new reality of not having as much revenue. Although the local revenue has increased from what we were receiving three years ago, it hasn’t increased significantly or at the same pace that expenditures have grown.”

The implications of a hiring freeze can vary across departments, particularly those where a majority of the costs go to personnel.

In the Sheriff’s Office, the hiring process can be lengthy – not only must candidates meet many credentials, but it can also take up to six months before a trained individual is on the job.

The District Attorney’s Office is actively recruiting. “We have 40 active prosecutors right now and we’re down 20 percent. I have the minimal amount of prosecutors to cover my court obligations. That’s huge,” says Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine Pacioni. “I have two retired annuitants. They’re not permanent county employees, so once their hours are completed, they can’t work anymore. If there’s a hiring freeze, I can’t replace them either.”

Oftentimes, departments collaborate to provide services, especially in emergencies. The Department of Emergency Services is a key example where their ability to respond is influenced by other departments, like public health and social services.

“Every element of our office touches at least one other office. So when we talk about budget impacts, they might not always be direct to our department, but that means there’s one less body to build a very necessary seat in our overall response to a disaster,” says Department of Emergency Management Director Kelsey Scanlon.

On Nov. 12 the County Board of Supervisors plans to issue guidelines for assessing which positions are deemed critical. Doing so, according to the County Administrative Office, will help prevent layoffs in the future.

Instead of determining which roles are critical and which to cut, Pacioni argues that there should be an exemption for specified core services. “I definitely think that I have an argument to fill these attorney positions,” she says, “but also that the positions aren’t permanently cut, which is what they’re talking about doing.”