By admin 
BUNCOMBE COUNTY, N.C. (WLOS) — Recovery after Hurricane Helene is still a top priority in Buncombe County as a hiring freeze takes effect.
This has reached far and wide, only excluding the most essential of county employees: first responders in 911 services.
Buncombe County officials say that in the immediate aftermath of Helene, multiple first responder departments were reassigned to hurricane relief, which had hiring managers in positions to directly help residents. This, in turn, did not leave room for them to hire new staff, the county says.
BUNCOMBE COUNTY IMPLEMENTS HIRING FREEZE, IMPACTING DOZENS OF POSITIONS
Once they returned to their regular responsibilities, hiring resumed. That was until this past December when the county enacted a county-wide hiring freeze, Buncombe County spokesperson Lillian Govus explained.
“Once we started seeing how the storm was impacting revenues, we knew that to be responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars, we couldn’t continue to hire individuals when we’re looking at potentially tens of millions of dollars of revenue that we will not see as a county due to reduces sale tax and property taxes,” Govus said.
Buncombe County officials believe that this action will save $2 million by the end of the fiscal year, June 30.
“There are always things that impact revenue, like the storm,” Govus said. “If there is some sort of other change in a positive direction, then we’ll lift that hiring freeze.”
News 13 asked how many vacancies this includes. Govus told News 13 that this means more than 80 vacancies across the county.
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While these 80 positions most likely will not be filled for months, Govus says current county employees do not need to worry about a severance package, as there are no planned layoffs ahead. Govus added that pay will also not be affected.
However, staffing could be affected, with county libraries having a modified schedule and redistributed staff beginning on Jan. 25.
“This is tough – to be looking at our staffing landscape, looking at our service landscape, and not being able to be as robust as we once were. But, we’re very hopeful to get back to that point,” Govus said.
On Thursday, Jan. 16, Buncombe County officials will meet with county schools to see how this hiring freeze will affect their budget and functionality.
All job postings outside of 911 services have been pulled down until the freeze is lifted.