Local News in Brief : Vote on Hiring Freeze Set

The Hawthorne City Council on Monday agreed to vote Jan. 25 on whether to impose a freeze that would require council approval for hiring city workers.

The hiring freeze, proposed by Councilman Steven Andersen, would not apply to existing vacancies in the Fire Department, but would apply to other departments that are currently short-staffed.

Also scheduled for Jan. 25 is a vote on whether to impose fees for Fire Department services such as annual inspections and fire extinguisher checks. The council is seeking to cut back expenses and raise revenues because city voters in November rejected an additional tax that would have provided $300,000 a year to establish Hawthorne’s second paramedic unit.

Opponents of the tax, including former city Planning Commissioner Ray Sulser and unsuccessful mayoral candidate Kathleen Corsiglia, have urged that a study be undertaken to determine whether the county could provide fire and rescue services more cheaply than the city.