The city of Aberdeen is tightening its belt regarding hiring for positions that are not “mission critical,” with a freeze on filling those jobs.

“The 2024 budget has a deficit of over $3 million of the general fund,” city documents state. “The city administrator is requesting the council authorize a hiring freeze for non-mission critical positions until the financial position of the city has improved.”

Ruth Clemens, Aberdeen’s city administrator, explained the reason for the freeze and why it can work.

“When cities experience budget shortfalls, one tool that we can use is the hiring freeze process,” Clemens said. “The city saves money by not hiring for vacant positions.”

Clemens said she proposed the idea to Aberdeen Mayor Doug Orr.

“The mayor approved the idea and (then) later the council approved (it),” Clemens said. “There are many ideas that the mayor, directors and I have come up with to balance the budget. We will present those proposed approaches when the budget is presented to the council.”

Since the freeze is for “non-mission critical” jobs, Stan Sidor, Aberdeen city councilor, broke down what are “mission critical” jobs.

“In terms of ‘non-mission’ critical, it is perhaps better to focus on those positions that are ‘mission critical,’” Sidor said. “(Those) include police and fire personnel, along with other positions necessary to ensure proper functioning of the city’s operations. These will be further defined by the city administrator and mayor.”

Sidor said he didn’t think a hiring freeze needed “formal action by the council.”

“The city admin and-or mayor should have the power to freeze hiring without council approval,” Sidor said. “However, as I understand, after consultation with legal counsel and our HR director, Dani Smith, it was decided to ask the council to approve the freeze.”

The resolution, which the city council approved Sept. 11, states a vague timing. The financial state of the city has been a longstanding topic at this point.

Sidor considers the resolution to be “a reasonable and appropriate step to take considering the city’s current financial position — an operating deficit of nearly $3 million is projected for this year.”

“The mayor and city administrator are working diligently to develop and present a budget for the coming year — 2025 — (which) will be balanced, with no deficit spending or need to dip into any reserves,” Sidor said. “If this can be achieved, it will be important to see how the city’s operations — income and operating expenses — perform in the next year.”

Sidor said in order to remove the hiring freeze, Clemens and Orr will need to ask the council at a future date “when we believe the city has achieved its desired goal of operating with fiscal responsibility and a balanced budget.”

Clemens said she does not have an estimate of how long the freeze will last. Sidor painted the timeline as a potentially lengthy one.

“I expect the freeze will likely remain in place well into the coming year, and perhaps somewhat beyond that if necessary,” Sidor said.

Contact Reporter Matthew N. Wells at matthew.wells@thedailyworld.com.