Mayor James J. Fiorentini > Press Release

January 30, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Mayor Orders Hiring and Spending Freeze for City of Haverhill

Mayor James J. Fiorentini today announced that he is immediately ordering a hiring and spending freeze for the remainder of the fiscal year. 

Fiorentini ordered a freeze on all new, non-essential hires.  The hiring freeze will leave a number of positions in the City vacant. 

Fiorentini also ordered that all expenditures of $500 or more must be personally reviewed and signed by him.

The Mayor said that he was determined to strictly limit all spending in the City prior to next year budget.

Fiorentini stated:

“I have ordered an immediate freeze on all hires in the City.  We will leave a number of positions vacant until we put together the FY09 Budget.

“We know that we will have a large budget deficit in FY09.  We have seen this coming for some time and have been planning for it.  We’ve been building up our tax base, making structural changes to health insurance and reorganizing city government.

“Even with these long-term structural changes, we know we have a deficit in FY09.  It would be foolish to hire people at this point since under our union agreements the last people hired are the first ones let go in a lay-off.” 

Fiorentini also stated that all expenditures of $500 or more must be reviewed by him personally:

“We are not going to spend one nickel more that is absolutely necessary.”