DAPHNE, Ala.—Council member Ron Scott told fellow city leaders at Monday night’s work session that a City of Daphne hiring freeze had already saved the city $115,000.

“Since October, $115,000 is a good amount, considering the hiring freeze was supposed to save $300,000 in a year,” Scott said.

The city enacted the hiring freeze for the fiscal year that began in October, with a goal of saving the city $300,000 by not filling vacant positions within the city unless the position was vital to the city’s day-to-day operations. Since enacting the hiring freeze, the council has heard arguments for creating new positions and filling vacant positions for various city departments — including, most recently, the grounds department and the finance department on Monday.

Scott, also the chair of the finance committee, told the council he was in favor of hiring a CPA for the finance department, a mechanic and a grounds worker because he still thought the city was saving money.

The mechanic position and grounds worker position are currently vacant, so Scott said the time it will take to fill the position will equal savings for the city since he estimates the position will remain vacant for at least a month while applicants are evaluated.

The council will vote whether the positions can be filled at Monday night’s council meeting.

Scott also informed the council that revenue for the city was exceeding budget estimates as well.