The city-wide hiring freeze instituted by Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz during his first days in office will not affect potential student summer positions, at least for the time being.
On April 17, Cieslewicz requested that all departments leave vacant city positions unfilled until his administration could review each hiring request, in a measure to cut costs.
Madison Public Library System Director Barbara Dimick said that she understood why her department, which employs many students as pages, or employees who shelve books, would be affected by the freeze during the summer and throughout the school year.
\We will be affected by the hiring freeze, although it is still being worked out to see how much we are going to be affected,"" she said. ""[Cieslewicz] is very concerned about the looming budget crisis in 2004, and the shared-revenue cuts the city is going to take.""
West Parks Department Coordinator Jeff Hoff said all of his department's seasonal positions had been interviewed and hired before the election, sparing the jobs of UW-Madison students working as lifeguards, maintenance personnel and engineering assistants this summer.
Lorie Olsen, personal services manager for Madison's Human Resources Department, said she felt hourly and seasonal jobs will be less affected by the hiring freeze than permanent positions. She said she is unsure of the impact the freeze will have on positions students usually fill, but expressed optimism that they will dodge mandatory vacancy.
""Once the department managers explain to the mayor what each position is going to do for them, I think [Cieslewicz] will give them permission to fill them,"" she said.
Olsen said revenue-generating positions, such as parking cashier, will remain unaffected by the hiring freeze.
UW-Madison students interested in obtaining an application for summer or year-round employment with the city are encouraged to visit the City Human Resources Department, 210 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., or go online at http://www.cityofmadison.com/jobs.html.
""[Cieslewicz] has asked us all to look at every position that becomes open and try to determine whether or not we absolutely need to have it. We do need to save some money,"" Dimick said.
