Berkeley City Manager Paul Buddenhagen initiated a citywide hiring freeze earlier this week in order to help address a budget deficit heading into the next fiscal year.
In an email to city employees, Buddenhagen said Berkeley has been relying on “one-time resources” to fund operations and, in the absence of those resources, the city is facing a projected budget deficit.
“In addition, the City’s fiscal condition is negatively impacted by the uncertainty of federal resources, a challenging economic environment, and the prospects of a recession,” Buddenhagen wrote.
Therefore, a hiring freeze is needed if the city wants to stop sliding into the red during the next fiscal year and beyond.
“Because of existing high vacancies in some departments, we are often working hard to serve the community with limited resources, and I recognize this hiring freeze exacerbates these challenges,” he wrote. “This action is meant to immediately slow down deficit spending as we work hard to thoughtfully address the budget challenges in these uncertain times.”
Buddenhagen didn’t say what the projected deficit is or how much the hiring freeze is expected to help and a city spokesperson said Wednesday that they aren’t releasing that information publicly.
According to city budget documents, Berkeley is currently working with a budget that has $675 million in revenue and $793.3 million in operating and capital expenses this year and $698.7 million in revenue with $783 million in expenses for 2026.
Those operating deficits were closed using savings from prior years’ budgets, bond proceeds collected in prior fiscal years and grants.
It appears that city officials now expect that one or more of those options won’t be available in the coming budget cycle.
“The hiring freeze means all Departments under the City Manager’s purview will suspend hiring activities. The City Manager will grant exceptions to hire on a case-by-case basis,” according to a statement from city officials. “Positions performing duties that protect public health and safety; mandated City functions; or essential municipal services will be prioritized in hiring during the freeze.”
A spokesperson for Mayor Adena Ishii said she wasn’t available to comment Wednesday.
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