State approves layoffs for Orange. Business Administrator John Mason says that givebacks could substantially reduce the number of employees losing jobs.  Mayor Eldridge Hawkins, Jr. pledges to fight major property tax increase and to minimize cuts in vital services

The New Jersey Civil Service Commission has approved a plan to layoff 52 Orange municipal employees and demote 24 others in order to help close the $6.4million revenue and expenditure gap created primarily by Governor Christie’s cut of $3 million in state aid, plus increases of $1.3 in employee benefit costs, and a reduction of $2.1million in available municipal surplus revenue. Layoff notices will go out in November and become effective 45 days later. Among the other New Jersey cities forced to layoff employees due to the Christie budget cuts and the weak economy are Newark, Trenton, Hoboken, Jersey City, Linden, Hillside, Atlantic City, Hanover, North Brunswick, Ewing, Irvington, Morris Township, Maplewood, and Fair Lawn to name just a few.

While all departments are affected, the police, fire and public works departments, which together comprise 83% of Orange’s personnel costs, stand to lose the most employees. The Orange Police Department will lose or demote 19 supervisory employees, 12 officers, and 5 civilian employees. The Orange Fire Department will take one engine out of service, plus lose or demote 4 supervisory employees and 12 firefighters; and the Public Works Department will lose one supervisory employee and 8 laborers. A total of 12 employees from other departments will also lose their jobs or face demotion. Supervisors are being demoted in order to minimize the number of employees losing their jobs.

Statement by John Mason, Orange Business Administrator

“In order to deal with the $6.4 million budget gap, the City has proposed a 20% base pay cut for its employees. This plan, as painful as it is to our employees, will save jobs and significantly reduce the need to resort to layoffs to balance the Fiscal Year 2011 Budget while protecting taxpayers from an unbearable increase in property taxes.

The administration is open to consider work rule and benefit changes that would result in the same savings without affecting base pay. We are looking to preserve jobs in these difficult economic times.  I remain hopeful that our unions, who have been cooperative in closing past budget gaps will work with us again to prevent their members from losing jobs.”

 

Statement by Mayor Eldridge Hawkins, Jr.

“Orange is faced with a terrible choice: Raise property taxes by double digits or significantly reduce the dollars spent on personnel. Salaries and benefits for our employees comprise 95% of our spending. As we are finalizing our budget, our only option is a combination of negotiated reductions in employee salaries and benefits and/or layoffs if we are to avoid a more than 20% increase in property taxes, an increase that Orange taxpayers cannot afford in the midst of this terrible economy.

Orange, together with most New Jersey cities, faces an unprecedented budget crisis. Over the past two years, I have reduced the cost of personnel through attrition and through replacing higher salaried employees with lower salaried employees. This represents a savings of $2.3 million for taxpayers through the past fiscal year. Now, however, we are confronted with a new deficit caused by Governor Christie’s $3million cut in state aid. For example, the Governor’s $1.1 million cut in Urban Enterprise Zone funding took away money that paid for 11 police officers and 9 public works employees. The City can’t afford to pass that cost on to taxpayers.

The City has previously moved to hold down budget costs through a hiring freeze on non-essential jobs, negotiating givebacks with our unions, creating public/private partnerships, developing shared service agreements, long term unpaid leaves of absence to non-essential personnel, cross training of employees to enable them to accomplish more, soliciting money-saving ideas from staff, and a ban for executive branch employees on non-essential travel, seminars and conference attendance.

I have strongly advocated a tool kit of measures including binding arbitration reform, civil service reform, and employee benefits reform to enable municipal governments to reduce their costs without laying off employees. I am a leader on the NJ League of Municipalities task force dealing with these budget issues and recently testified before two legislative committees in Trenton on these essential reforms. Even if the legislature and the Governor enact these reforms this year, their major impact will be on future budgets.

As mayor, I have focused on making Orange safer, improving the quality of life, reducing costs, increasing citizen involvement, and promoting tax-stabilizing redevelopment.  Layoffs force us to achieve these goals with fewer personnel and at less cost, but our mission remains unchanged. Layoffs force us to reduce the level of services and to make some very difficult decisions. Protecting public safety remains our highest priority and we have plans to keep the citizens of Orange safe and secure even if we must operate with fewer police and fire personnel.”