| Minner puts stop to hiring |
Order exempts key jobs and some departments
By PATRICK JACKSON
Gov. Ruth Ann Minner has ordered a freeze on hiring for most state jobs other than those providing essential services, such as police, prison guards or nurses.
The hiring freeze ordered late Tuesday does not cover departments Minner does not directly control, such as the Attorney General's Office or the courts, spokesman Gregory Patterson said.
The order formalizes Minner's December call for department heads to indefinitely delay filling many vacant jobs, Patterson said.
The state now employs about 16,380 people, excluding teachers and other public education employees, according to the personnel office. About 2,710 positions are vacant.
Minner addressed the hiring freeze and the state's eroding budget outlook at a Wednesday state Chamber of Commerce luncheon.
The state needs to cut about $75 million from Minner's proposed $2.3 billion 2003 budget, which now is being considered by the General Assembly.
The cuts are needed because of declining projected revenue for the current budget and for the budget year than begins July 1.
The Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Council has dropped revenue estimates for the 2003 budget year by almost $170 million since June. The council cut its estimate by $55 million on Monday.
But Minner said Wednesday the signs are not all bad for the coming year.
She told the business group there are signs the economy may be turning around and that she thinks the state will weather its current cash crunch.
Minner said her finance team is working to present lawmakers with a plan to deal with the needed budget cuts when lawmakers return from their Easter break in April.
Minner said she would not ask lawmakers to spend 100 percent of the money available to the state to cover the budget gap.
By law, the state may only budget to spend 98 percent of estimated revenues, unless the General Assembly approves a higher expenditure level.
"I am going to do everything I can to stay within the 98 percent limit," Minner said. "Doing that last year gave us the cushion we needed to end this year in the black, and we may need that cushion again."
That impressed Wilmington accountant John Wheeler, who attended the luncheon.
"I think that's very smart," Wheeler said. "It's important to keep some money back. I think she's doing the right thing in saying that."
Minner said she also opposes tapping into the state's $128 million "Rainy Day Fund" to get through the budget crunch. That fund has been amassed from surpluses in previous years.
Minner said that money should only be used for one-time emergencies and not for operating cash.
State Chamber President Suzanne Moore said she thinks the governor is taking the right steps to deal with the state's tight finances.
"She's making some tough choices - no one wants to look at cutting money in some areas, but it's what she has to do," Moore said.
Minner said department heads reporting to her could get authorization to fill a position, but would have to make a very strong case that the job was essential.
Budget Director Peter Ross said he wasn't sure how much money the freeze might save in the remainder of this year.
"It's a hard number to get a handle on," Ross said.
Minner said no part of the budget would escape scrutiny. When she ordered cuts in the current budget in December, Minner spared the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families. She said that protection is now gone.
In her January State of the State address, Minner said she planned no pay raises for state employees, but would not lay off state workers. She said Wednesday she does not want to lay anyone off, but "everything is on the table."
Michael Begatto, executive director of Council 81 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, said he was concerned about the possibility of layoffs, but didn't want to comment further.
Reach Patrick Jackson at 678-4274 or pjackson@delawareonline.com.