To the Editor:
I write to you as the business administrator of the City of Bayonne to apprise you of the on-goings at City Hall. Since my appointment 120 days ago, I have worked diligently to clarify the daily personnel and financial aspects of the city’s day-to-day operation. I have had conferences with each director. We have audited each aspect of the departments to improve the efficiency of service to the citizens.
With success we have been able to reduce the expenditures by over $1 million. We recently removed upwards of 40 people from the health benefits coverage who were not entitled to such benefits. The difference amounts to $68,000 a month savings, $816,000 annually. Likewise, we are auditing the dental and prescription rolls to ensure no benefit is made to those not entitled. Moreover, we audited the gas card usage to ensure complete compliance with the city’s contract with its gasoline distributor; our usage has been corrected to save a projected amount of over $100,000. Employees who have not followed the gas card usage policy have been reprimanded and warned of the repercussions of future deviations. We have taken a look at all contracts and canceled those that were not in the best interest of the city, saving several thousands of dollars. We have cut back janitorial services in an effort to save money. Prior to payment, all vouchers and invoices must have supporting documentation in the form of contract, council resolution, or fair and open receipt.
Personnel wise, the workers at City Hall have done more with less since the layoffs that took effect Nov. 9, 2007, and their efforts should be applauded. While some services and hours have been cut, the workers of the City of Bayonne have rallied together to improve the culture of the workforce. A “Best Practices” memo was distributed to the directors to improve accountability, time and attendance, sick leave and vacation time. Compensatory time and overtime has been curtailed. “Best Practices” encouraged use of the supervisory chain-of-command, as well as reliance on the correct disciplinary process. The list of personnel has been purged of employees under abandonment of their position who have not worked in excel of a year, or who have not followed the sick leave policy. Currently, the number of City of Bayonne employees stands at 747. Thirty additional employees have noticed their intent to retire within the coming months.
We are considering joining a Joint Insurance Fund (JIF) to alleviate the burden of a self-insured entity and further discourage frivolous lawsuits. We are utilizing a tool called Citi-Stat for several of the departments to report and track their actions, work orders, customers, complaints, etc. This has been a valuable tool for analyzing the needs and requirements of the city’s departments. Q-alert has been implemented as an e-mail based “Citizen Service Request” via the Internet.
We are dedicated to correcting the fiscal crisis as well as improving the culture at City Hall. I invite your suggestions or comments through a “Citizens Service Request” via www.bayonnenj.org or my telephone at (201) 858-6097.
PETER J. CRESCI, ESQ.
Business Administrator