In its latest attempt to address a gloomy economic forecast, Orange County has imposed an across-the-board hiring freeze and begun preparations to trim more than $60 million from its budget, officials said Monday.
The freeze comes as Orange County budget officials confront a drop in sales tax revenue, possible reductions in state financing and another byproduct of a down economy -- fewer people willingly leaving their jobs.
Orange County, which employs more than 17,000 workers in fields ranging from social work to law enforcement, ordinarily has about 10% of its budgeted employee positions unfilled.
But with the economy down, only about 6.5% of the county's jobs are vacant.
"People are less likely to leave a stable employer" in difficult economic times, said Frank Kim, the county's budget director.
The higher-than-normal number of workers is one reason the county spent about 3.5% more than budgeted during the first three months of its fiscal year, Kim said.
The county imposed the hiring freeze last week, even after officials identified $32 million in other cutbacks, primarily from deferring construction and planned purchases, such as $470,000 earmarked for technology that would make it easier for department heads to place items on Board of Supervisors' agendas.
"When things are tight you have to shake things out in the system that are not as high a priority as others," Supervisor Chris Norby said. "Our main source of income, property tax, is down. Sales taxes are down. We haven't seen the bottom, and I don't know when we will. But our revenues are a reflection of the economy."
Additional cuts include the postponement of construction projects involving the county's Healthcare Agency and library system. Meanwhile, county workers remain concerned about the prospect of layoffs.
"The Social Services Agency has been meeting with our members, indicating that there's going to be severe reductions and that employees should be considering a furlough program in which they take unpaid days off," said Nick Berardino, general manager of the Orange County Employee Assn.
Berardino said he thinks county officials would be wise to seek input from employees about other ways the county could save money.
