Editorial
The big chill is not a freeze

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Last summer, the mayor declared many city job openings would be frozen due to budget constraints: "Mayor Greg Nickels Orders Immediate Hiring Freeze as City of Seattle Faces Worsening Revenue Forecast," proclaimed an Aug. 15 news advisory.

Since that time, as Seattle Times reporter Bob Young revealed, city officials have authorized the hiring of 1,052 employees. In fairness, about half of the total were technically exempt from the freeze, because their salaries were paid by grants or levies.

But freeze, it turns out, is a political phrase applied to make the mayor look like he's a tough budgeteer with a firm grip on finances. There are some cases in which the mayor has made difficult cuts and taken strong steps to keep spending under control. But his hiring policies are not a good example of budgetary discipline.

City positions are not frozen, as in "formed into ice" or "hardened or solidified by cold," as the dictionary defines the term. Any time a government entity authorizes hiring a thousand staffers, even if they are not added positions, in a short period of time, the word freeze becomes bogus.

In reality, the mayor is applying controls to the employment process. Most new hires have to be justified before they receive a waiver. A panel of three executives who report to the mayor review waiver requests. The panel so far rejected 140 requests, a small percentage of the jobs authorized.

Even Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis conceded the term freeze is a bit of a misnomer. OK, then change the lingo so people don't get confused.

Ceis said the mayor is applying a high level of scrutiny to each hire and only offering waivers for positions necessary to deliver vital services. Some jobs such as parking-meter collectors that bring in money are essential; other jobs should receive more scrutiny.

In the future, the mayor should choose his words more carefully about what he is doing in tough economic times. Otherwise, press releases about a hiring freeze look too much like campaign rhetoric.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company