Hernando Officials Signal Hiring Freeze for Coming Budget Year
HERNANDO - A Hernando official told the Board of Aldermen the city should add no new employee positions in the next fiscal year, following data on recent payroll growth.
At an Aug. 27 budget workshop, an official speaking during the session, whose identity was not confirmed in the meeting record, said, "I would be in favor that we have no new position added this next budget year at all." The remark came after a board member, referred to in the discussion as Kitchen, presented figures showing roughly 17 to 20 positions had been added to the city payroll over the past two years. Other board members voiced agreement with the proposed freeze during the workshop.
Despite the discussion, a previously requested expansion of police department civilian and patrol positions remained partially reflected in the draft budget presented at the workshop.
The exchange marks a concrete restraint-on-spending signal as Hernando works toward adopting its budget for the coming year. Whether the no-new-hires commitment holds, given the pending police department requests, remains to be seen once the board finalizes the budget.