Grand Traverse County Administrator Tom Menzel issued a hiring freeze on county staff positions Friday. The freeze applies to all positions that become vacant, with the following exceptions:

> Positions that are 100 percent funded from non-general fund sources
> Positions authorized by Menzel to be posted and filled according to the following criteria: the position is critical to department operations and would cause a substantial hardship on operations or services to the public if unfilled; a prolonged vacancy in the position would result in significant lost revenue or place a hardship on the public either directly or indirectly; the position is a department head, and no deputy can be appointed to assume those duties on an interim basis; the vacancy is a result of an employee returning from a leave of absence or the result of a promotion from within a county office.

According to Menzel, positions he authorizes for posting will be reported monthly to the board of commissioners. Positions subject to the hiring freeze will only be filled by Menzel. Departments seeking to fill a position "shall submit a written substantiation of the need for the position" and "include a clear description of the impact the continuing vacancy of the position will have upon county services," according to the county administrator.

Menzel is in the process of getting the county to a balanced 2016 budget by a December 16 deadline. The county faces an estimated $3.5 million shortfall next year.