Members of the Secaucus Municipal Youth Alliance – a volunteer advisory board designed to combat drug and alcohol misuse among kids – have raised questions about how their state grant money is being allocated.
The Alliance, which is part of a state network of municipal alliances funded by fines received from convicted drug offenders, is supposed to set up programs that will educate kids about drug and alcohol abuse and provide, if possible, services that will aid them in dealing with drug and alcohol-related problems.
Several members of the Alliance have asked in recent months for an accounting to determine how their state grant is being allocated in Secaucus and whether or not an increase in the grant this year requires the grant funds to be allocated differently.
In the past, the Alliance had had little say in financing decisions, because most of the operations are conducted through the town and school business offices, and, in fact, fewer than six of the 20 or more members of the committee actually show up for the monthly meetings.
“Some of the members of this committee have never attended a meeting, to my knowledge,” said Don Skinner, one of the members, who is requesting a copy of the Alliance’s budget.
Under the program, which is about 13 years old, the state sets aside a percentage of drug fines for education and treatment. These funds are divided among the state’s 21 counties. Each county sets up its own system of how to use the money. Some counties develop a countywide drug education program. In Hudson County, the money is divided among the 12 municipalities based on the percentage of population in each town, with towns like Jersey City getting the most and Secaucus, with its vastly smaller population, getting less.
For most of the years, Secaucus has received about $19,000 in grants. The town must match this grant: 25 percent of this must be in cash, the remaining 75 percent can be in services such as salaries of employees administering the program, office space used and other items such as office supplies and instructional literature.
But the town, rather than allocating the money to the Alliance to use, has been directly giving it to a drug referral service for the school district. If a student is considered at risk for drug use or has displayed drug and alcohol related problems, the school calls experts from St. Mary Hospital in Hoboken.
The school district’s contract for this year is for about $60,000. The Alliance grant, with its matching fees from the town, helps offset the cost.
This year, however, funding to Secaucus increased. While the size of the grant from the state to the county remained the same, the county had more to give because of leftover money from previous years. So this year, the town got $30,000.
County Alliance Coordinator Aida Scirocco said the unexpected funds from previous years helped increase this year’s total.
“We didn’t have to divide the money,” she said. “We could have developed a program on a county level. But we chose to do it this way.”
The increase, however, put Secaucus in a dilemma. Under state regulations governing these grants, towns may only use half their grants for a single purpose if the grant exceeds $20,000. Thus, only a certain amount of the money could go to the counseling program.
At the December meeting and again at the Jan. 14 meeting of the Alliance, Skinner asked for an accounting. Skinner said that if the money must be used for other purposes, he wants to know how it will be used. During the meeting, Town Administrator Anthony Iacono told the committee they should concentrate on developing programs rather than questioning finances.
“The purpose of the advisory board is to advise the mayor on what can be done to help educate children on drugs,” Iacono said. He said the grant is $19,000, even though County Alliance Coordinator Aida Scirocco said Secaucus will get a total of $30,000.
Rev. Bill Henkel, in a separate interview in late December, said committee members have seen no budget and have sought information outside Town Hall as to what kind of money the town receives.
“Everything is being done without our knowing about it,” Henkel said during an interview earlier this year. Skinner raised concerns about the budgeting of “in-kind” services and is seeking a detailed report as to the exact hours and materials the town has contributed to making the municipal alliance function.
Iacono, however, said the grant allocation has not changed since the Alliance was founded, with the exception of one year.
“A couple of years ago, we tried to run the program through the Board of Health,” Iacono said. “But when that didn’t work, we went back to the way it was originally.”
Iacono said the program was set up through the school system and that the money was sent from the town to the school budget to help offset costs for drug counseling. The school district has an agreement with St. Mary Hospital Crisis Intervention unit so at-risk students can be sent there.
“Everything is currently the way it was when the program was first set up,” Iacono said.
Skinner, however, questioned this, saying a fundamental change occurred when the Board of Health took over, noting that town took on a more significant role as administrator of operations. The role had previously been held by Robert Hesterfer, former coordinator for the Municipal Alliance. He was also a paid drug counselor in the schools.
Scirocco said all operations and finances are monitored by the county and included in the county’s plan, which is reviewed by the state.
“There is a lot of paperwork, and everything we do is checked,” she said.
Most of the conflict between members of the committee and town officials seems over lack of information, something Scirocco said is due to changing membership over the last year.
In the past, Hesterfer did most of the work and reporting. He set up many of the programs and made most of the connections, Scirocco said.
“When Hesterfer retired he took a lot of the practical experience with him,” she said.
Hesterfer, however, had other roles connected with the school’s anti-drug abuse programs, and brought to the municipal alliance experience often not available to similar committees in other towns. Scirocco said she has had similar problems in other towns, and attributed the problems to the volunteer nature of the position.
Skinner also noted that many of the people appointed by the mayor’s office to sit on the alliance never showed up for meetings. Members of the committee have also complained that they seem to have no formal organization, no voting power, and that any plans they make must be presented through the Town Council for approval. Mayor Dennis Elwell agreed.
“We set the board up as an advisory committee,” Elwell said. “We want them to come up with projects and then come to us. We want the committee to concentrate on the kids and programs to educate them about drugs. They should not be concerned about the grant. That’s our job.”
At the committee’s monthly meeting on Jan. 14, Elwell said he is also seeking to expand the membership to include people from local civic groups, unions and businesses. The state has issued a list of suggested membership that includes representatives of the schools, police, business and other community organizations. Elwell said that by bringing in such groups, the municipal alliance might also generate local funds for additional drug awareness projects.
In a related matter, Iacono asked the alliance to consider allowing various businesses to sponsor poster and essay contests. He said from time to time, businesses such as insurance or investment groups have asked him for access to local parents. Iacono said that these groups might be able to sponsor contests, giving kids gift certificates and savings bonds for winning entries, and during ceremonies, be allowed to distribute their materials. Members of the alliance agreed.
Kathy McFarlane, a member of the committee, also asked if the committee could sponsor a dance for kids, saying it needed to make better contact with kids. Mayor Elwell said a dance would work only if different age groups were separated. He also said the town ice rink would be available for such a function during off-season.