ST. LOUIS — The City of St. Louis will stop hiring new employees in many sectors for the foreseeable future as legislation moving in both the city and state threatens to cost the city millions of dollars, Mayor Tishaura Jones said Friday morning.
Jones cited two bills as "very real and present threats to [city] revenue," and the reason for implementing a hiring freeze for all non-essential employees for an unspecified duration:
- HB 1516: A state bill that would reduce the city's earnings tax for remote workers, a move Jones said would cost the city around $109 million per year.
- BB 146: A city bill that would return control of the city's firefighter pension board to firefighter interests. The city Board of Aldermen previously passed the bill, but Jones vetoed it, saying it would have "drastic consequences" for the city's budget. The board overrode that veto on Friday, just over an hour after Jones announced the hiring freeze.
"I'm disappointed to see that a majority of the board made the fiscally irresponsible decision to endanger out city's budget by overriding my veto of BB 146," Jones said in a tweet on Friday.
The hiring freeze will not affect "essential" city employees, including police officers, 911 operators, sanitation workers, water division workers or airport hires, according to Jones' office.
Jones did not share an estimated length for the hiring freeze. The state's legislature session ends on May 17.
This is a developing story. This article will be updated with the latest information as it is released.
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