By Dan Parker
South Jetty reporter
The city of Port Aransas has enacted a hiring freeze to contend with a shortfall of more than $300,000 in revenue for the coming budget year, according to City Manager Michael Kovacs.
The freeze began on Thursday, June 18. The freeze does not affect the police department, EMS or firefighters, because those are considered to be critical services, Kovacs said.
The current general fund budget is about $7.7 million, and the city is looking to cut about 5 percent from that amount for next year’s budget, Kovacs said.
Kovacs said cutbacks in service or personnel are not inevitable, but he also wouldn’t rule them out.
“It’s going to be challenging, but I think we’ll be in pretty good shape,” Kovacs said. “We can definitely get there. We are in much better shape than most cities all over the country. We really are.”
(A detailed report on the budget situation will appear in the June 25 edition print and online editions of the South Jetty.)