County Lifts Hiring Freeze for County Clerk’s Office

The Johnson County Commission voted to lift the hiring freeze to allow the County Clerk to hire a person to fill an existing position that has already been funded for the current fiscal year.

Clerk Vicki Edelman lost one of the full-time employees and those in the office have done the best they can being short-handed.

She said she doesn’t want to permanently lose that position.

Commission Chair Bill Novotny said the county currently has a hiring freeze due to decreased valuation, and the commission had to dip into reserves to balance the current budget.

He said everyone needs to be aware that if the clerk is allowed to hire for the vacancy, that person would be the first to go if they are forced to lay off employees in the future, under their “last in, first out” policy.

The commission voted to lift the hiring freeze on a 2 to 1 vote, with Commissioner Novotny voting “no.”