City manager institutes hiring freeze as Berkeley faces budget deficit

City manager institutes hiring freeze as Berkeley faces budget deficit

Berkeley officials have declined to say how large the deficit is, or if they're considering layoffs. The City Council will have to decide by June how it will balance the budget.

With $27M deficit looming, Berkeley adopts hiring freeze

Faced with a $27 million general fund deficit in the coming fiscal year, the city of Berkeley has suspended most hiring through mid-2026.On Thursday, city officials received a sobering report about the budget and the new hiring freeze, which went into effect this week.The meeting, of the City Council's Budget & Finance policy committee, marked the official kickoff to Berkeley's budget season, which runs through June 30.Between now and then, Berk…