Nye County commissioners elected Tuesday not to fill a few positions because of the budget shortfall, despite strong protests from department heads.

A hiring freeze has been in effect for some time, requiring county commissioners to approve hiring individual positions. Before this budget shortfall hit, county commissioners routinely approved hiring replacements.

Commissioner Lorinda Wichman made the motion to hire a deputy treasurer at $18.66 per hour, a fleet driver for $15.57 per hour and a law clerk for 5th District Judge Robert Lane for $27.33 per hour, but there was no second.

Nye County Facilities Manager Bob Jones said there's only one fleet driver delivering mail throughout the county every day. Human Resources Director Danelle Shamrell said the school district shares the courier and pays the county $12,000 per year.

"We've got people going up and down the highway every day. You mean to tell me they couldn't carry a package with them?" Commissioner Butch Borasky asked. "We have commissioners, we have staff going to Tonopah and coming back daily."

Nye County can't afford to keep hiring new people when it may have to turn around and lay them off next year, he said.

Jones said documents have to be sent in the fleet mail from county offices in Pahrump to Tonopah at 5 p.m. every day.

"This is such an important issue for our office, we have so many time-sensitive items we need to send back and forth every night," County Clerk Sam Merlino said. "We have court files that are very timely that go back and forth all the time. I believe it's that way for every office."

Assistant County Manager Pam Webster said County Manager Rick Osborne has the ability to do an emergency hire for 30 days while commissioners look at the request more closely.

When Nye County Treasurer Gary Budahl came up to speak, Borasky, the acting commission chairman in place of an absent Joni Eastley, quipped, "Did you fill out a form to speak?"

"I don't find that humorous at all. You're talking about taking away 15 percent of my work staff if you do not approve this position. This is an open position, it has been approved, it's been in my office for years," Budahl said.

The treasurer said without the position his office wouldn't be able to post payments and get money in the bank as quickly, costing the county interest.