Countywide : Two Transportation Agencies OK Freeze

The boards of Orange County’s two top transportation agencies imposed a joint hiring freeze Monday as they moved toward a merger.

Orange County Transportation Commission officials said the freeze, which is intended to prevent inflated staffing levels when the two agencies consolidate operations, might affect about five positions at the 40-employee agency. That agency serves primarily as a policy and planning organization.

But officials at the Orange County Transit District, which employs more than 1,500 people, said they don’t yet know how many positions would be left vacant under the freeze, approved Monday during a rare joint meeting of the OCTC-OCTD boards.

A committee will review exceptions to the freeze, which specifically exempts new bus drivers, mechanics and employment offers already tendered.

The hiring freeze, proposed by Supervisor Roger R. Stanton, who serves on both boards, caught officials by surprise.

The idea initially drew a cold response from OCTD board member William Farris and OCTD General Manager James P. Reichert, who wanted to study the issue for several weeks to see what key positions would be adversely affected.

Farris ended up opposing the freeze, but Reichert went along with it after he gained assurances that emergency situations would be reviewed by a three-member committee.

The two boards established June 30, 1991, as the target date for completing a detailed merger plan. They also established Dec. 31 as the target date for merging the functions of the two agencies’ legislative and community/government relations departments.

Legislation to merge the agencies was signed last week by Gov. George Deukmejian. A new, 11-member board will oversee the consolidated authority, with membership consisting of six city representatives, four county supervisors and an at-large public member selected by the first 10.