University of Cincinnati professor weighs in on Butler County’s cost-cutting plans
Butler County considering hiring freeze in uncertain economy, Journal-News reports
The University of Cincinnati’s Michael Jones was featured in a Journal-News article that details Butler County’s potential hiring freeze and how the county has been managing its budget since the pandemic.
The report, also featured on Cincinnati’s WCPO, explained why County Commissioner Don Dixon finds the current economic conditions “terrifying” and warranting major cost-cutting measures.
Michael Jones, an associate professor of economics in UC’s Lindner College of Business, agrees that even if policies like broad tariffs are walked back, it is hard to undo the effects afterward. Jones told the Journal-News, “Hiring freezes can be prudent with so much uncertainty in the economy. It’s often better for an organization to be temporarily strained by resources than to hire and then fire in a short period of time.”
The Journal-News, citing the county commissioners’ monthly financial dashboard, says acute personnel expenses have increased 23.6% since 2019. This quarter, they have already spent $21 million out of an annual budget of $84.3 million. Staffing levels have remained fairly consistent in the years following the pandemic-driven budget cuts. But pay increases have had the biggest impact, with county staff agreeing to “out-of-the-ordinary” raises in order to gain new employees, and entice current staff members to stay.
Dixon was adamant on the importance of cost-cutting measures. “We’re in territory we don’t know what’s going to happen; stock markets are falling 1,000, 1,500 points in one day. We’ve had the worst April since the Depression. Think about that. To me that is terrifying,” he said. “I think we need to put some policy in place to restrict any new hiring, only replacements. We’re going to put a freeze across the board on everything. This could get very, very serious and we need to be in front of it, not behind it.”
Read the Journal-News Article.
Featured image at top of stack of 100 dollar bills. Photo/Adobe Stock
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