Concerned over a tight budget, Yazoo County supervisors instituted a hiring freeze this week.
The Yazoo County Board of Supervisors approved the freeze during a work session Wednesday afternoon. With some departments potentially going over their budget, county leaders are concerned about the remaining three months left in the fiscal year.
Supervisors are also taking a hard look at finances with unexpected costs coming storm debris removal, courthouse renovations and replacing equipment.
“This board is determined not to raise taxes,” said Board President Cobie Collins. “We are doing what we have to do to ensure that. Placing a hiring freeze across the county is just one step.”
Collins said he knows that many department heads will be frustrated with the hiring freeze, but he said it is something that has to be done to stabilize the county’s tight budget.
“We can’t afford to hire as many employees as our department heads would like to have,” Collins said. “We are trying to operate with the bare minimum. Even with the road department, no one has extra employees.”
Collins said within his district’s own road crew, he has lost three employees.
Due to the tight budget, the county could not participate in its annual summer youth program this year. Collins said that the supervisors are disappointed because that particular program has been so successful in the past.
“We have shown a tremendous amount of success in the past in hiring young kids in Yazoo County,” Collins said. “But it was something we couldn’t afford to do this year.”
One department that has significantly gone over budget this year is the Yazoo County Regional Correctional Facility.
Supervisors are limited in their authority over the regional jail, but its operational costs are anticipated to reach nearly $200,000 over budget by the end of the fiscal year.
One of the major expenditures within the jail is personnel. But with the hiring freeze, supervisors are hoping some money can be saved.
When the regional jail first opened about six years ago, the entire facility was operated with a total of 42 employees. Under the leadership of Warden Gary Edwards, the jail now has a total of 53 employees.
“The budget for the jail has gone significantly over,” said Supervisor Jayne Dew. “We are being financially responsible by putting a hiring grip on this.”
As of June 30, the jail has about $600,671 left within its budget that has to last for the next three months. Based on the financial trend of the jail’s expenditures, the jail could go at least $200,000 over budget.
