You'd think hiring freeze is a pretty cut-and-dried concept. In the private sector, at least, it means you're doing twice the work because your company can't afford any new faces; if you're unemployed, it means no one short of the organ donation factory will offer you a contract.
In the City of Miami, however, the term is apparently much murkier. As part of our feature about the disastrous reign of Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado, we filed a Freedom of Information request for anyone hired since the city's so-called hiring freeze went into effect in May 2009. Turns out 783 people have been brought onboard since then. Click through for the full list.
Granted, there are valid reasons for many of the hires on this list. More than 500 are temporary workers, many of them lifeguard types who keep city parks and pools open during the summer months.
There are also a batch of firefighters to fill vital vacancies, and staffers hired by new commissioners who've been elected since the freeze went into effect.
But you'll find plenty of curiosities as well. As Regalado said in an email to commissioners earlier this month, "Elected officials can hire full-time, part-time, or contract employees as long as they're within their budget."
He's used that power liberally. Along with ex-City Manager Tony Crapp, Regalado waived the freeze for 23 hires in the two offices, including a number of questionable hires, which you can read about in-depth in our feature piece.
Here's the full list:
Miami Hires
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