County likely to enact hiring freeze

With budget-setting season in full swing and facing a state budget crisis, sluggish economy and drastic cost increases, the Kings County Board of Supervisors is expected to announce a hiring freeze in county government Tuesday.

The freeze, effective immediately, pertains to any county department with vacancies.

The move comes as no surprise, as officials last week adopted a preliminary budget that would make no layoffs but eliminate 8.85 full time equivalent positions and assume no growth across the board.

All of these positions are vacant positions, Assistant County Administrative Officer Deb West has said last week.

The board is also poised to make an appointment to the Local Assessment Committee for the Waste Management's Hazardous Waste Facility Expansion Project.

The four applicants for the community-at-large position are: Darrell Frey, resident of District 2 (Corcoran-Kettleman City-Avenal), Karl Kassner, resident of District 2 (Corcoran-Kettleman City-Avenal), David Block, resident of District 4 (Hanford-Armona), Allan Burke, resident of District 5 (East Hanford).

In other business, the board will:

renewing the resolution of local emergency due to drought,

consider authorizing the chairman to sign the grant application for funding a program that provides health care coverage for children 0-18 years of age.

The reporter can be reached at 583-2429.

(June 30, 2008)