Fortuna’s City Council on November 17 approved a hiring freeze for positions funded through the general fund as a measure to offset recently approved wage increases for police officers and sergeants.

City Manager (staff) told the council the wage increases “will cost about $575,000 over 2 years,” and that the police department currently has three vacancies and one officer on long-term leave while remaining staff are working up to 77 overtime hours in a pay period. Staff proposed using part of a $1,500,000 CalPERS payment to reduce ongoing interest costs by about $106,000 a year; remaining savings would be achieved through the hiring freeze and natural attrition.

The staff recommendation included carve-outs: exceptions may be granted for police officers and sergeants and for parks and recreation part-time staff (programs such as hotshots and youth break camps), and the council may approve other exceptions for essential positions on a case-by-case basis.

After no public commenters on the item, a council motion to approve the package passed in two steps: the council first approved two parts of the package and then approved the remaining element. The council did not amend the financial totals during the meeting and directed staff to return with any required follow-up reports.

The action aims to preserve core public-safety staffing levels while avoiding layoffs; staff said the approach is intended to bridge the cost of recruitment and retention measures recently approved for the police department.