HOUSTON — Mayor John Whitmire plans to impose a hiring freeze affecting all city departments except fire and police, a city spokesperson confirmed.
An exact timeline has not been set, but an official announcement from the mayor’s office is expected within a week, the spokesperson said. The freeze aims to cut expenses and improve efficiency, according to a statement from the mayor’s office.
“A hiring freeze is an opportunity to cut expenses, ensuring that our personnel needs are reassessed to benefit the organization and taxpayers,” the statement read. “Houston has many great, hardworking employees, but the efficiency study indicated that there are too many for an organization the size of the city.”
The study, conducted by Ernst & Young and published in February, reviewed city spending and resource allocation. It found issues including misuse of city credit cards, contracting irregularities and instances of “fake promotions” where employees were given managerial titles with few or no subordinates.
Following the study’s release, Whitmire wrote in a Feb. 11 memo to city council members that the findings presented an opportunity to rebuild public trust.
“This assessment confirms what many of us already knew: We have work to do to build a government that truly earns the trust of its residents,” Whitmire wrote.
“By acting on these findings, we can create a city government that is more transparent, efficient and focused on delivering results. We can show Houstonians that their government works for them and that every decision we make is rooted in accountability and service.”
The hiring freeze comes as city officials face a $350 million budget shortfall. City Controller Chris Hollins warned in early February that without “drastic” spending cuts, he would be unable to certify next year’s budget.
A recent court ruling in a yearslong dispute over drainage funding will require the city to allocate an additional $100 million toward street and drainage improvements, further straining the budget, Hollins said.
“That means simply that we are going to run out of money,” he said.
