Because social service agencies and charities receiving funds via Hudson County government may not meet the specific goals set by the state for spending the grant money on certain groups, funds may be sent back to be redistributed elsewhere in the state.
Carol Ann Wilson, director of the county’s Department of Health and Human Services, said that in the past, if grant money was not spent in a specific area in one year, most or all of it could be carried over to the next year. But she told the Board of Hudson County Freeholders at their meeting on Nov. 20 that a change of rules had reduced significantly the amount that can be held over year to year, so Hudson County must reallocate the funds or lose them.
“What we’ve been allowed to carry over has been reduced to 10 percent of the grant,” Wilson said. “The rest has to be recouped and returned to the state for other programs.”
Freeholder William O’Dea, however, said this policy might have the effect of altering the flow of cash from needy populations such as African Americans and Latinos.
“We need to look at why the organizations in Hudson County aren’t meeting the level of service,” O’Dea said.
Wilson said the data on goals met comes from each organization in monthly reports, and from other data the organizations must submit as a condition for receiving the grants.
A resolution voted on by the freeholder board at the meeting called for adjustments to the $6.5 million in contracts awarded to provider agencies for senior citizen services throughout the county. This resolution would reallocate about $190,000 to other programs for the needy in order to avoid having to give funds back to the state.
Under new guidelines issued by Gov. Jon Corzine, organizations must meet certain levels for providing services in order to draw down on the grant. Money unexpended must go back to the state to be used to fund other programs.
While other freeholders agreed a review of the situation may be warranted, several refused to hold up the resolution that would allow payments to be made to the groups as well as to readjust some of revenue.
Freeholder Doreen DiDomenico said holding off on the passage of the resolution could adversely affect existing programs.
Freeholder Jeff Dublin, in supporting O’Dea’s position, suggested that in the future, reports about these programs should be provided more frequently. O’Dea said the freeholder committee on Health and Human Services should be alerted earlier that there is a potential problem so that the committee members can reach out to the groups and find out what can be done to make sure the services comply with the grant.
DiDomenico, who heads that committee, said she had been notified earlier this month about the problems, but the notice came between meetings so she could not pass on the warning to the freeholder board itself.
Wilson said her staff is trying to redistribute the funds so that the money remains in the county.
Freeholder Chairman Thomas Liggio said this is a resolution that comes before the board yearly, so that the board will be able to look into these matters in the future. He successfully urged the board to pass the resolution now and then look to ways to prevent funding givebacks in the future.
Hudson County as a tourist destination
The freeholder board also voted to approve a $5,000 contract that would allow the county to begin work on the development of a travel video for the county.
The interlocal agreement between Hudson County and the Hudson County Schools of Technology will allow the Hudson County Cultural Affairs office to access local talent to create the video.
Bill LaRosa, director of the county’s Cultural Affairs office, said Hudson County has never had a video to distribute as part of a package for travel agencies throughout the county or even the world.
This resolution will access talent and resources at the School of Technology to begin developing one.
“I think this is a good match,” he said. “We can keep the cost down and provide a quality product.”
O’Dea – along with Freeholder Maurice Fitzgibbons – said the county should invest in professional advice for such a video project.
Fitzgibbons, who owns a public relations firm in Jersey City, said that a big part of marketing such a video to travel agents is its packaging.
Both he and O’Dea said funding for a quality product might be found among the businesses and banks around the county, and suggested that LaRosa – who has extensive experience in the field – reach out to some of these. He mentioned Royal Caribbean, which operates out of Port Liberty in Bayonne, as well as prominent restaurants such as the Chart House in Weehawken or any number of prominent businesses along the Jersey City waterfront.