Primary Department: County Administration
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Jesse Dickerman, Interim County Administrator
Secondary Department: Management and Budget
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official: Daniel Ramos, Executive Director
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Discussion Item
Project ID (if applicable): N/A
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Current Participation (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: Choose an item.
Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): Choose an item.
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request for discussion and possible action on hiring freeze exemptions for PCNs in non-exempt departments.
end
Background and Discussion:
At the September 9, 2025, Commissioners Court meeting, the court discussed and amended the FY26 Proposed Budget, in that, the Court adopted a Hiring Freeze Policy. The hiring freeze is in effect for the duration of Fiscal Year 2026, and began with the September 20, 2025, pay period and ends on September 30, 2026, unless otherwise rescinded by Commissioners Court.
The hiring freeze policy allows for certain exemptions for either a whole department or a classification. Per the hiring freeze standard operating procedure (SOP), departments may request additional position exemptions as operational needs change. The Office of County Administration (OCA) will submit an item to Commissioners Court with all the requested exemptions and include a recommendation. All exemptions to the policy require Commissioners Court approval.
The attached Hiring Freeze Request Forms include justification for the request provided by the department, a fiscal summary reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and a recommendation from OCA.
Expected Impact:
The FY26 budget includes $25 million in hiring freeze savings that will be accrued throughout the fiscal year.
Approval of additional exemptions will decrease the total hiring freeze savings accrued in FY26. OCA and OMB will provide progress updates and savings projections related to the hiring freeze at the November 13, 2025, Commissioners Court meeting.
Alternative Options:
Commissioners Court could choose to take no action, approve, or disapprove the requested exemptions.
County Strategic Plan Goal: Choose an item.
County Strategic Plan Objective: Choose an item.
Justice/Safety Initiative (Goal 1): Choose an item.
Infrastructure Initiative (Goal 2): Choose an item.
Economy Initiative (Goal 3): Choose an item.
Health Initiative (Goal 4): Choose an item.
Climate/Resilience Initiative (Goal 5): Choose an item.
Housing Initiative (Goal 6): Choose an item.
Additional notes related to the Strategic Plan:
Prior Court Action (if any):
|
Date |
Agenda Item # |
Action Taken |
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9/9/2025 |
#2 |
Approval of the Hiring Freeze SOP with all the exemptions included with these three additional ones: exempting HART, RISE, and Purchasing |
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10/16/25 |
#2 |
Approval of the recommendations from OMB/OCA on the additional hiring freeze exemption requests submitted by departments |
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Location:
Address (if applicable):
Precinct(s): Choose an item.
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Fiscal and Personnel Summary |
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Service Name |
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Current Fiscal Year Cost |
Annual Fiscal Cost |
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Labor |
Non-Labor |
Total |
Recurring Expenses |
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Funding Sources |
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Existing Budget |
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Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Total Existing Budget |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Additional Budget Request (Requires Fiscal Review Request Form) |
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Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Total Additional Budget Request |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Total Funding Sources |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Grants - Proposed Budget (For Grants Items only) |
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Labor |
Non-Labor |
Total |
No. of Grant Years |
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Local Match Source - Existing Budget: Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Local Match Source - Additional Budget Request: Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Grant Funds Applied for/Awarded (Total) |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Personnel (Fill out section only if requesting new PCNs) |
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Current Position Count for Service |
- |
- |
- |
- |
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Additional Positions Request |
- |
- |
- |
- |
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Total Personnel |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Anticipated Court Date: 10/30/2025
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): Click or tap to enter a date.
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or ARPA related item
Contact(s) name, title, department:
Jesse Dickerman, Interim County Administrator, Office of County Administration
Daniel Ramos, Executive Director, Office of Management and Budget
Attachments (if applicable): Hiring Freeze Request Forms