Gwinnett County Working on Closing Budget Gap

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA – The Gwinnett County Commission voted Tuesday (Feb. 22) to require that all vacant jobs be held open for a minimum of 90 days. The commission’s action, which extends a general hiring freeze that has been in place since August 2008, is expected to save the county at least $2.2 million this year. Gwinnett County currently has 210 vacant positions funded for the 2011 fiscal year. New vacancies would result in further savings.

The commission’s action is part of an ongoing effort to close an $18-million gap between budgeted expenditures and projected revenues, according to an announcement by Gwinnett County. About $1.8 million of the projected savings will occur in the general fund. The budget gap now stands at $14.4 million combined with recent decisions to raise county ambulance transport fees and the sale of right-of-way to the Georgia Department of Transportation.

The 90-day hiring freeze allows county department directors and managers to re-examine the need to fill vacant positions and determine whether the work could be reassigned to other employees. “These challenging economic times have presented those of us in government a tremendous opportunity to more closely examine our priorities and to find new ways to innovate with the goal of becoming a more efficient, more effective organization,” Gwinnett County Administrator Glenn Stephens stated in the announcement.

“These are difficult times,” said Commission Vice Chair Shirley Lasseter in the announcement. “Gwinnett County families and businesses are having to tighten their belts and do more with less. County government can be no different.”

“At the same time,” she continued, “we cannot and will not compromise the county’s ability to deliver essential public services that the people of Gwinnett County expect and depend upon. Since 2008, we have reduced the county’s overall workforce through reductions in force, retirement incentives, and the elimination of certain vacant position. We want to continue reducing our workforce where it makes sense, but we do not want to cripple our operations or undermine our ability to meet the public’s needs. This approach gives us a mechanism to encourage department directors to evaluate, over a finite period of time, whether vacant positions are needed before seeking to refill them.”

The resolution passed by the commission gives Stephens the authority to grant exceptions to the 90-day hold period. “We recognize there will be times and situations where it will be necessary and in the larger public interest to go ahead and fill a vacancy immediately,” Lasseter said.