Thursday afternoon, Fairhope Mayor Karin Wilson issued a statement to the media she would be asking the Fairhope City Council to end the recently passed temporary hiring freeze.

Wilson wrote in her statement:

"Today I will ask the City Council to release the hiring freeze put into effect on February 27. Section 11-43-81 of Alabama law clearly gives the mayor the power to appoint 'all officers whose appointment is not otherwise provided for by law.'

While the council is allowed to pass anything perceived as temporary, a 60-day hiring freeze could have permanent, long-lasting consequences. Our needs are vast and far-reaching, and a hiring freeze interrupts the critical work necessary to make our city successful.

There are currently 43 open positions in the city that need to be filled to allow us to do business seamlessly for our residents and visitors alike. We need a Public Works Director, and we desperately need to be able to fill positions in our Planning Department that can help relieve the burden there that made our development moratorium necessary – and those are just two of the critical hiring needs that must be addressed as soon as possible.

This month we will open the long-anticipated soccer fields and celebrate our city’s biggest event with the Annual Arts and Crafts Festival. Without proper staffing these positive impacts on our city could overwork our dedicated employees.

I am asking the City Council to do the right thing for our city and allow the law to work in the way it was intended so we can move Fairhope toward greater success and progress.