COUNTY GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES
COST-CUTTING MEASURES
County Executive DeGise meets with Freeholders, orders department directors to get out green eyeshades. Changes in benefits, hiring cap, and layoffs are all on the table.
JERSEY CITY — Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise warned county legislators and department directors that serious belt-tightening will be required during the 2009 budget process in a series of meetings held in his office today.
The county, which operates on a calendar year, rather than a fiscal year schedule, will introduce its budget in the spring. The County Executive, after reviewing revenue projections believes that significant cuts will have to be made in what is expected to be a $400 million plus county budget for 2009.
“We’ve prided ourselves in producing sound, gimmick-free budgets and keeping county taxes stable over the last six years,” said DeGise. “We’ve seen our credit rating improve and our debt burden drop as a result. To stay on that path now, and to limit as much as possible the tax burden on residents during these difficult economic times, we must review every department, every division and every program and find savings.”
The County Executive released a letter today to all directors requesting them to conduct thorough, top to bottom reviews with the goal of reducing up to 10 percent from their 2009 budget requests. Rather than call for across the board cuts, he asked directors to take a “surgical” approach rather than “wield a meat cleaver.”
“We believe that careful, well-thought-out cutting, carried out by our front-line managers will actually make more of a dent in expenses than calls from the top for automatic, across the board cuts,” explained County Executive DeGise. “That said, there are broader changes in hiring and benefits policies we can implement that should yield savings.”
The County Executive has met with Freeholder Chairperson Doreen DiDomenico and today met with most of the members of the Board of Chosen Freeholders in small groups to engage them in the process and present the case for cost reductions.
DeGise laid out the following items for consideration:
• Effective July 1, all non-union employees will contribute 1.5 percent toward the cost of their health benefits. For example, an employee making S60,000 with a family health coverage policy would contribute $900 annually from their pre-tax earnings. Applied to just this employee group, the county can anticipate saving close to $500,000 annually. This is the first time county employees will be contributing to the cost of healthcare benefits. The County will enter discussions with union officials to seek the same kind of contribution from unionized employees. When fully implemented for all employees, the County would save approximately $2.3 million annually through this contribution system.
• A 3.6 percent wage increase planned for all non-union employees scheduled for
July 1 has been reduced to 1.5 percent. This will result in a savings of nearly $1 million annually. All contractual negotiations with union employees going forward during this cycle will reflect a need to seriously limit any wage increases and the implementation of the 1.5 percent contribution to their health care benefits.
• A voluntary furlough program will be offered to employees, allowing them to take unpaid leave with the approval of their supervisors without loss of seniority rights or benefits. The furloughs will be carefully monitored to ensure that they do not cause any corresponding increase in overtime that would negate the positive financial benefits to the County for granting it. Cost savings will vary depending on participation.
• Effective immediately, the County will set as a goal a phased-in, reduction in its workforce through attrition over two years with the goal of saving up to $5 million annually.
• The previously mentioned program review by department directors will look to consolidate redundant titles, reassign employees to make better and more effective use of their skills and seek any and all program savings possible.
• County Executive DeGise will continue to call on the State Legislature to pass Gov. Jon Corzine’s proposed pension deferment legislation. If passed, Hudson County could defer as much as $4.3 million in new, state-required pension fund contributions. The Board of Freeholders adopted a resolution in November 2008 calling on the legislature to move forward on the bill, which is now stalled in the State Senate.
“We are ready and willing to listen to any good ideas that will help us reduce costs,” said County Executive DeGise. “The goal for all of us in county government should be to work constructively toward a budget plan that eases the burden on taxpayers as much as possible while still satisfying our core missions of public safety, care for the sick and economically disadvantaged and maintaining our courts, roads, parks and other public property.”
The County Executive plans to visit with county workers in the next 60 days to discuss face to face the changes in benefits and wages and the seriousness of the budget problem facing the county this year.
The county, which operates on a calendar year, rather than a fiscal year schedule, will introduce its budget in the spring. The County Executive, after reviewing revenue projections believes that significant cuts will have to be made in what is expected to be a $400 million plus county budget for 2009.
“We’ve prided ourselves in producing sound, gimmick-free budgets and keeping county taxes stable over the last six years,” said DeGise. “We’ve seen our credit rating improve and our debt burden drop as a result. To stay on that path now, and to limit as much as possible the tax burden on residents during these difficult economic times, we must review every department, every division and every program and find savings.”
The County Executive released a letter today to all directors requesting them to conduct thorough, top to bottom reviews with the goal of reducing up to 10 percent from their 2009 budget requests. Rather than call for across the board cuts, he asked directors to take a “surgical” approach rather than “wield a meat cleaver.”
“We believe that careful, well-thought-out cutting, carried out by our front-line managers will actually make more of a dent in expenses than calls from the top for automatic, across the board cuts,” explained County Executive DeGise. “That said, there are broader changes in hiring and benefits policies we can implement that should yield savings.”
The County Executive has met with Freeholder Chairperson Doreen DiDomenico and today met with most of the members of the Board of Chosen Freeholders in small groups to engage them in the process and present the case for cost reductions.
DeGise laid out the following items for consideration:
• Effective July 1, all non-union employees will contribute 1.5 percent toward the cost of their health benefits. For example, an employee making S60,000 with a family health coverage policy would contribute $900 annually from their pre-tax earnings. Applied to just this employee group, the county can anticipate saving close to $500,000 annually. This is the first time county employees will be contributing to the cost of healthcare benefits. The County will enter discussions with union officials to seek the same kind of contribution from unionized employees. When fully implemented for all employees, the County would save approximately $2.3 million annually through this contribution system.
• A 3.6 percent wage increase planned for all non-union employees scheduled for
July 1 has been reduced to 1.5 percent. This will result in a savings of nearly $1 million annually. All contractual negotiations with union employees going forward during this cycle will reflect a need to seriously limit any wage increases and the implementation of the 1.5 percent contribution to their health care benefits.
• A voluntary furlough program will be offered to employees, allowing them to take unpaid leave with the approval of their supervisors without loss of seniority rights or benefits. The furloughs will be carefully monitored to ensure that they do not cause any corresponding increase in overtime that would negate the positive financial benefits to the County for granting it. Cost savings will vary depending on participation.
• Effective immediately, the County will set as a goal a phased-in, reduction in its workforce through attrition over two years with the goal of saving up to $5 million annually.
• The previously mentioned program review by department directors will look to consolidate redundant titles, reassign employees to make better and more effective use of their skills and seek any and all program savings possible.
• County Executive DeGise will continue to call on the State Legislature to pass Gov. Jon Corzine’s proposed pension deferment legislation. If passed, Hudson County could defer as much as $4.3 million in new, state-required pension fund contributions. The Board of Freeholders adopted a resolution in November 2008 calling on the legislature to move forward on the bill, which is now stalled in the State Senate.
“We are ready and willing to listen to any good ideas that will help us reduce costs,” said County Executive DeGise. “The goal for all of us in county government should be to work constructively toward a budget plan that eases the burden on taxpayers as much as possible while still satisfying our core missions of public safety, care for the sick and economically disadvantaged and maintaining our courts, roads, parks and other public property.”
The County Executive plans to visit with county workers in the next 60 days to discuss face to face the changes in benefits and wages and the seriousness of the budget problem facing the county this year.
