Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said “historic fiscal challenges” forced him to freeze hiring and offer voluntary buyouts as the state tries to cut $121 million from its personnel budget.
Mr. Moore discussed the uphill slog in a Tuesday letter to state employees while revealing he would also ax roughly 150 unfilled jobs.
The Democratic governor said the state “is being tested by two storms” — a drab financial climate he likened to “the worst since the Great Recession” and a “federal administration that continues to harm Maryland people and economy.”
Administration officials said the hiring freeze will kick in July 1 and expect it to last for a year.
Several sectors of the state workforce are exempt from the freeze, including police, prison and state hospital jobs, as well as the University of Maryland system, the Maryland Judiciary and positions in the legislative branch.
Concrete plans for the voluntary buyouts will be unveiled in the coming weeks, the governor said in his letter. Administration officials said they will use past buyout initiatives in 2011 and 2015 as a guide for this round.
In 2011, state employees who took the buyout were paid severance and given benefits. In 2015, employees were offered $15,000 and three months of health care.
The sudden news marks another blow to Mr. Moore during a tumultuous budget season that started with a $2.8 billion shortfall.
The governor in May signed off on the largest tax hike in state history when he approved a budget with $1.6 billion in new fees on Marylanders. That was on top of a $1.5 billion cut to public spending.
“We are moving with care and intentionality to minimize impact on current employees and be transparent throughout the process,” Mr. Moore wrote in the email.
Conservative leaders in the state have been quick to swat Mr. Moore over the fiscal mismanagement.
Sen. Minority Whip Justin Ready, a Republican who represents parts of Carroll and Frederick counties, on Wednesday mocked the governor’s new ad touting Maryland’s booming economy.
“Kind of interesting that that ad gets released the same day they’re announcing that he’s having to cut back a bunch of state jobs and do a hiring freeze,” Mr. Ready said in his own video. “If we turned a budget deficit into a surplus, why are we having to do that?”
State Sen. J.B. Jennings, a Republican who represents part of Baltimore and Harford counties, slammed Mr. Moore for not acting sooner.
“Back in February, I questioned the wisdom of expanding state government while facing a $2.8 billion deficit. I said then, and I repeat now: when you’re in a hole, you need to stop digging,” Mr. Jennings said in a statement. “The decision to finally enact a hiring freeze and reduce vacant positions is the right one — but it should have happened months ago, before the situation became more urgent.”
But Democratic colleagues praised the governor for avoiding layoffs and furloughs that appeared to be a possibility as recently as two weeks ago.
“We don’t know what else may come along — what other shoe might drop,” State Sen. Guy Guzzone, who chairs his chamber’s Budget and Taxation Committee, told Maryland Matters. “But I think it’s important to keep a level head and make reasonable decisions along the way. And I think this was a reasonable decision by the governor.”
