Houston Mayor John Whitmire on Wednesday announced the city is implementing a citywide hiring freeze beginning this week, as first reported by ABC 13's Shannon Ryan. The mayor's office said the decision stems from an Ernst & Young report that the City of Houston commissioned to figure out how to eliminate waste amid a budget shortfall of about $350 million.

The mayor told ABC13 that public safety, including Houston's fire and police departments, will be spared, but all other departments will be subject to the hiring freeze.

Whitmire wants to implement a hiring freeze in the city government. As of September, the city had nearly 5,000 vacant positions.

Houston's city-wide hiring freeze will go into effect Monday, March 9, according to city officials. The decision comes in response to findings from an audit conducted by accounting firm Ernst and Young.

Houston Mayor John Whitmire is planning to implement a hiring freeze in the coming days that will impact all city departments except fire and police.

Mayor John Whitmire is expected to implement a hiring freeze later this month in Houston to improve the city’s efficiency, his spokesperson, Mary Benton confirmed with Community Impact.

Houston will implement a city-wide hiring freeze beginning tomorrow, Mayor John Whitmire confirmed to KHOU 11 Thursday. The decision comes in response to findings from an audit conducted by accounting firm Ernst and Young.