ANDOVER - Only critical jobs such as firefighters and police are being filled by the town because of an anticipated deficit of up to $1 million in next year's budget.

The town has 16 open full-time positions, but the selectmen have instructed the town manager that only those "critically necessary" to running the town are to be filled.

They also want to know about any more positions that become open to see if they can be merged with other jobs or filled internally.

Selectman Mary Lyman is so concerned about the projected deficit she is calling for a two-month hiring freeze until the town has a better idea of how much state funding is available. She said she thinks this will help the town avoid layoffs.

"If we have a bleak forecast, work things out and hire when we know," said Lyman, who was the town's human resources director from 1983 through 1990. "It's close to my heart and when you hand out the pink slips, it's a horrible thing to go through."

In the spring, members of the Board of Selectmen, Finance Committee and School Committee decided to get together and figure out what the budget would look like next fiscal year, months before they typically start putting it together. The group is projecting between a $600,000 to a $1 million budget deficit in fiscal year 2009, members said.

"The red flag we've raised is a proactive approach that really hasn't been taken by the board in the past," said Selectman Alex Vispoli. There are about 355 people who work for the town, according to the 2007 finance report.

Since fiscal year 2003, the town has eliminated 10 positions for an overall savings of about $500,000. The average town employee earns about $50,000, according to Town Manager Reginald "Buzz" Stapczynski.

Since fiscal year 2003, on the school side, 30 positions have been added, according to the 2007 Finance Committee report. There are about 770 full-time school employees.

Most selectmen don't favor a hiring freeze but do want to keep close tabs on what positions become open. They want Stapczynski to go to them to fill only positions that he thinks are "critically necessary" for running the town, he said.

"For us to put a hiring freeze in place would mean that we would be arbitrarily saying, 'Because this position's vacant, we're not going to fill it,'" Chairman Brian Major said. "It's up to the department heads. They know the positions best. It shouldn't be up to me to tell them how to run their departments. I definitely trust Buzz to make the wise decisions."

That said, Major added, "I can not say there will not be layoffs. There's a very high probability there will be layoffs. And I believe there's a strong probability there will be some significant cuts in services because of the financial position."

Other selectmen agreed.

"To me, I look upon Buzz to use his discretion. Does (the position) need to be filled in light of the possible budget situation we're facing? That's Buzz's job," Selectman Ted Teichert said.

Vispoli agreed, and said, "I think to put a blanket hiring freeze in place is not necessarily a good idea. You've got some vital spots that need to be back-filled. It's a good idea to review each position before going forward."

As the process is now, open positions come to the board's attention only when they're ready to be refilled. The board approves the position after the person has basically been told that they have the job.

In the next few weeks, Stapczynski will go before the board with a system for reporting open jobs and assessing whether the town needs them, or can merge or cut them.

"We need to figure out what kinds of additional cuts to make or how to increase revenues," Major said.

What's open?

Several vacancies have been left by employees who retired or resigned.

* Police - four patrolmen, a car washer and a dispatcher

* Fire - three firefighters

* Finance - chief assessor is retiring; office assistant in purchasing

* Accounting - office assistant

* Library - Community Services librarian is retiring

* Plant and Facilities - equipment operator, electrician/preventative maintenance mechanic, superintendent of buildings