12.19.2013
HACKENSACK — The New Jersey Civil Service Commission has approved a layoff plan that will allow the city to close its Human Services Department.
The city will not operate the welfare office after Jan. 31, but Hackensack clients can continue to visit the City Hall office, because it will be run by county employees during a transitional period, said interim City Manager Anthony Rottino. The Bergen County Board of Social Services will take over operations, and cases will be shifted to the main offices in Rochelle Park at a later, unknown date.
The move will save about $400,000 a year, said city officials, who announced last month that they had sought the state's approval to close the office.
"People that need the service will receive it here [for now], and we are going to go from a cost per client of over $4,000 to zero," Rottino said.
Two employees at the Human Services Department have been offered jobs at other departments in City Hall, Rottino said, although he declined to say what those jobs were. Another employee found a job outside Hackensack, and Agatha Toomey, the department director, notified the city that she would retire Jan 1.
Concerns have been raised that county Social Services already has more cases than it can handle and that staff members have complained about a heavy workload and inefficient systems. Alex Morales, interim management consultant for the county board, said steps were being taken to hire more people and modernize the offices in Rochelle Park to provide better service.
Morales said that Hackensack's 100 or so clients would not be a significant increase for the county, which serves about 30,000 families. Most of those clients already must travel to Rochelle Park for assistance with food stamps and Medicaid, he said.
The Hackensack welfare office also was the subject of complaints that it made getting benefits difficult and time-consuming and was sometimes closed during business hours. The department faced public scorn last month after Toomey cut off welfare benefits to James Brady, a formerly homeless man who found $850 on the street and turned it into police.
Police gave the money back to Brady after six months and he was praised for his honesty, but Toomey said Brady broke the rules by failing to report the cash as lump-sum income and denied him benefits.
Mayor John Labrosse said the only factor in the council's layoff decision was cost savings. "This has nothing to do with performance," he said. "This was strictly a financial decision for the city."
Aside from Hackensack, the 11 other municipalities with local welfare offices are Edgewater, Fairview, Fort Lee, Hillsdale, Montvale, Park Ridge, Ridgefield Park, Rutherford, Westwood, Woodcliff Lake and Wood-Ridge.
source
HACKENSACK — The New Jersey Civil Service Commission has approved a layoff plan that will allow the city to close its Human Services Department.
The city will not operate the welfare office after Jan. 31, but Hackensack clients can continue to visit the City Hall office, because it will be run by county employees during a transitional period, said interim City Manager Anthony Rottino. The Bergen County Board of Social Services will take over operations, and cases will be shifted to the main offices in Rochelle Park at a later, unknown date.
The move will save about $400,000 a year, said city officials, who announced last month that they had sought the state's approval to close the office.
"People that need the service will receive it here [for now], and we are going to go from a cost per client of over $4,000 to zero," Rottino said.
Two employees at the Human Services Department have been offered jobs at other departments in City Hall, Rottino said, although he declined to say what those jobs were. Another employee found a job outside Hackensack, and Agatha Toomey, the department director, notified the city that she would retire Jan 1.
Concerns have been raised that county Social Services already has more cases than it can handle and that staff members have complained about a heavy workload and inefficient systems. Alex Morales, interim management consultant for the county board, said steps were being taken to hire more people and modernize the offices in Rochelle Park to provide better service.
Morales said that Hackensack's 100 or so clients would not be a significant increase for the county, which serves about 30,000 families. Most of those clients already must travel to Rochelle Park for assistance with food stamps and Medicaid, he said.
The Hackensack welfare office also was the subject of complaints that it made getting benefits difficult and time-consuming and was sometimes closed during business hours. The department faced public scorn last month after Toomey cut off welfare benefits to James Brady, a formerly homeless man who found $850 on the street and turned it into police.
Police gave the money back to Brady after six months and he was praised for his honesty, but Toomey said Brady broke the rules by failing to report the cash as lump-sum income and denied him benefits.
Mayor John Labrosse said the only factor in the council's layoff decision was cost savings. "This has nothing to do with performance," he said. "This was strictly a financial decision for the city."
Aside from Hackensack, the 11 other municipalities with local welfare offices are Edgewater, Fairview, Fort Lee, Hillsdale, Montvale, Park Ridge, Ridgefield Park, Rutherford, Westwood, Woodcliff Lake and Wood-Ridge.
source
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