Jo Co Comm Rescinds County-Wide Hiring Freeze

Johnson County’s Commissioners have voted to rescind the county-wide hiring freeze that has been in place for a number of years.

Up until Tuesday’s vote, any county department head needing to hire has needed to come before the commission to get approval before making the hire.

County Commissioner Bob Perry had asked for a discussion on possibly rescinding the policy, and explained why he thought it needed to change, with Commissioner Jeff Shelley in agreement.

Commission Chair Bill Novotny explained that when the policy was put in place, the county was facing tough economic times, and it gave the commission more oversight over the departments.

He did mention that department heads need to understand that, due to the volatility of the budgets, hiring someone now may require eliminating the position during annual budget talks.

After more discussion, the commission voted to rescind the policy with Novotny voting against.