In case you missed it: City of Austin announces full hiring, wage freezes

Editor's Note: This is an abridged version of the full blog. Point is, if the City of Austin is retrenching due to a downturn in the economy – freezing hiring and pay increases – why not Hays County?

From the Statesman.com City Beat blog

By Marty Toohey | Friday, January 16, 2009, 12:55 PM

The City of Austin has put a full hiring freeze in place, and no position within the city will be filled unless City Manager Marc Ott approves it, according to memorandum sent today by Ott's office.

"As we move forward in considering the cost reduction menu," Ott wrote to city employees, "I will do everything I can to avoid employee layoffs and pay cuts things that are already happening all across the country in both the public and private sectors."

Although the memo does not address standard cost-of-living raises, it does address another way the city increases wages. One-third of the city's employees have their pay scale evaluated once every three years, so that in a three-year period everyone's payscale is looked at. This process could result in higher wages. It has been suspended.