Extension of City’s Hiring Freeze Expected

The city of Los Angeles, which adopted an emergency hiring freeze in November, is likely to extend the freeze through much of this year despite optimism that layoffs will not be necessary to balance the 1991-92 budget, City Administrative Officer Keith Comrie said.

Comrie, who met with Mayor Tom Bradley and a number of city department heads to study revenues in the year ahead, said early forecasts tend to confirm the $120-million budget shortfall that officials began predicting last autumn.

With the recession showing signs of lingering, revenues in the $3.6-billion city budget are expected to grow by only 4%, the smallest increase since the 3% rise in 1982-83, Comrie said. In typical years, revenues increase by 8% or 9%, he added.