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Legislator Elane Daly, D-Auburn, proposed a resolution to institute a three-month hiring freeze that will be reviewed by the Legislature's Ways and Means Committee at its meeting Tuesday. Daly is the chair of the committee.

According to the resolution, the restriction would apply to all full-time, part-time and temporary positions. It would include vacant positions or those that are expected to be vacant.

There would be some exceptions. The positions that could continue to be filled during the freeze include county or social services attorney staffing, caseworkers, dispatchers, jail custody officers, seasonal workers and social workers.

These exceptions would ensure "the continuity of mandated and critical services," the resolution states.

If the Legislature approves the hiring freeze, it would be in effect from June 1 through Aug. 31.

Lawmakers issued warnings about the budget crisis in the last year. The Legislature voted in June 2024 to delay filling positions until they received a budget update. Hiring resumed that summer.

Daly's resolution outlines the budgetary challenges facing the county. She notes there are "significant financial pressures due to state-mandated costs and rising operational costs," which have resulted in a decreased fund balance.

There has been finger-pointing over who is to blame for the county's budget woes. Some legislators have pointed to the 2024 budget, which was approved by the Legislature's former Republican majority at the end of 2023, that called for using more than $7.1 million from the county's fund balance. The size of the budget grew from $172 million to $188 million that year, a large increase compared to past spending plans.

The 2025 budget approved in December increased spending from $188 million to $192 million. The Legislature used $5.6 million from the county's fund balance and slashed nearly two dozen positions.

The temporary hiring freeze isn't the only action the Legislature is considering to address its budget crunch.

A resolution to hold a public hearing on overriding the property tax cap in 2026 will be on the full Legislature meeting agenda next week. The Legislature took similar action last year, but ultimately kept the property tax levy increase within the cap for this year.