New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer is taking the first steps to reduce spending and address a growing county budget deficit.
The county executive’s office is in the midst of a budget review, but Meyer said it already sees an over $5 million deficit looming for this year’s operating budget, which could balloon to more than $25 million by 2020.
"As a result we’ve decided to take a few preliminary cost cutting measures just to contain expenses. It’s a first attempt. It doesn’t address the problem 100 percent. But it’s an initial step," Meyer said.
He wants to stem the tide by implementing a hiring review for all vacant county positions. His office is also suspending overtime for non-public safety and critical employees, stopping out-of-state travel for county business and reducing executive office spending.
The county will also discontinue the practice of allowing employees to trade unused vacation days for money.
Meyer emphasized these measures won’t be enough to overcome the growing deficit. He said his office is forming additional strategies it will roll out over time, though at this point layoffs are not on the table.
