What will be the public impact of the furloughs of Jersey City employees – scheduled to begin on Christmas Eve?
The city has already come up with a schedule of offices that will be closed on certain days over the next six months: The City Clerk’s Office, as well as the Mayor’s Office, Public Works, and Tax Assessor’s Office will be closed on: Dec. 24, Jan. 15 and 22, Feb. 5 and 22, March 12 and 19, April 5 and 23, May 17 and 28, and June 11.
The Municipal Court and Recreation Department have a similar list.
The two-day-per-month furloughs, or temporary layoffs, were proposed by Mayor Jerramiah Healy in September in order to deal with a budget gap of somewhere between $40 and $70 million. While this year’s budget has not yet been introduced, last year’s was $474 million.
The city is also considering up to 200 permanent layoffs to start sometime by February.
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On the subject of the layoffs, Healy issued the following statement: “We’re in the new Great Depression, state aid is not going to be where it was, and any responsible governing body has to look at the ways savings can be achieved. This is one of those ways.”
The city may have to deal with further problems, as outgoing Gov. Jon Corzine recently cut $20.7 million from state aid that was going to go to New Jersey’s cities. Some towns have lost only a few thousand dollars as a result, but others have lost more. City officials said last week that they are unsure whether the state’s fiscal crisis will have further impact on the city budget, which runs from July 1, 2009 through next June 2010.
Permanent layoffs considered
The city is also considering up to 200 permanent layoffs to start sometime by February. Exempt from the furloughs are fire and police officers as well as civilians working in those public safety departments.
The impact of the furloughs, according to 33-year city employee Chuck Carol, also the Jersey City Public Employees’ Union Local 246 president, is the “discomfort” to city employees who are earning low wages. There are over 1,700 city employees and Carol’s union is the largest with over 600 members.
“Many of the employees I represent are making on an average of about $30,000 a year, with many making far less than that,” Carol said. “While many of them are grateful for having a job, they stand to lose money in tough economic times.”
Carol said the further impact includes a decrease in city services – with the city contracting with private firms to perform those services – and low morale.
Carol has not shrunk from expressing his displeasure publicly, but most city employees preferred to speak to the newspaper anonymously last week.
Not a happy group
One city employee with over five years on the job recently calculated the loss in salary she would suffer along with a number of her fellow employees.
“I think we calculated losing a couple thousand dollars individually, the amount larger or smaller depending on the jobs we hold,” she said. “I am all for cutting back where there is waste, so why isn’t the city looking at the city directors, many of whom are political hires who don’t do anything?”
There are eight city department directors, making an average of $140,000 a year.
One employee with over 25 years experience deals with the fire department on a frequent basis, but thinks they should be “feeling the pain” like the civilian employees.
“You go into the fire director’s office and see all new furniture in the place,” the 25-year employee said.
Most of Jersey City’s municipal budget is spent on salaries for fire and police officers.
Another longtime employee said the city should have studied the suggestions made by Chuck Carol in the local newspapers on how the city can make cutbacks that avert layoffs.
Carol sent letters to the City Council and to Healy suggesting the city clear all seasonal and provisional employees from the city’s payroll, and terminate all rehired employees currently receiving pensions along with any employees holding dual positions.
Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com.