Citing budget concerns, Piedmont city leaders, on Tuesday, enacted a hiring freeze for all city departments, effective immediately.
The unanimous vote followed a motion by Council Member Bobby Hardin, who had suggested such an action at previous meetings.
Job openings that are currently posted are still expected to be filled. Additionally, potential openings created by future employee retirements will be decided by the council on a case by case basis.
The council also considered awarding city employees with an end of the year longevity incentive, but couldn’t agree on what that should entail. It was first discussed to give employees a $50 bonus with an additional $10 for each year of employment. However, this option, which would cost the city about $13,000 was never put to a vote.
Council Member Hardin then made a motion to give all employees a day off on Friday, December 22nd. This motion failed to pass, resulting in a tied vote of 4 to 4.
The finial option, presented by Council Member Terry Kiser, was to give each employee an additional personal day to be used at any time throughout the year. This motion also failed to pass, again ending in a tied vote.
In other business, the council approved the 2017 employee holiday schedule.
Bills for payment were approved in the amount of $306,705.37.
The next regular Piedmont City Council Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, January 2nd, following the work session, which is set for 5:30pm.