Committeewoman Iradi - Supportive of Tax Savings, but Differs on Consolidation of Rec & DPW
Full Description:
The money to hire two new DPW workers, who don’t exist today and we don’t need in the future, is the total “justification” for decimating the Recreation Department and moving the Parks and Recreation maintenance workers to the Department of Public Works (DPW). The Hanover Township Committee to this day, has never received any formal and factual report from the Superintendent of DPW or Director Schleifer concerning the necessity to hire two workers to replace workers who left the last year. Now, all of a sudden to justify the take-over and moving the long-time Parks and Recreation maintenance staff to the DPW, Committeemen Schleifer, Sheridan and Ferramosca want residents to believe it is because “We can save money by not hiring 2-additional DPW workers.” Again, these workers don’t exist now and we have no factual evidence that they will be needed in the future. Save money that we weren\'t going to spend anyway?
The Superintendent of DPW, currently is one of the lowest paid Department heads in town, under the plan he will be taking on two more divisions of workers; Buildings & Grounds and Parks Maintenance, yet he won’t be getting a salary increase (in the near future) for the additional workload and responsibilities ! How naive does Schleifer, Sheridan and Ferramosca think taxpayers are!
Another interesting “justification” given for moving the staff to DPW, is Director of DPW Schleifer’s observation that the DPW staff is over-worked and this is causing workers to be stressed-out. News alert! If there is stress in the DPW, it’s not because they need more workers, the most likely cause is the low moral brought on by the lack of support the non-management workers have received, from their current Director Schleifer, Township Committee members and Township officials in recent years.
This Recreation staff move is not about tax savings. Anyone who knows me knows I would be the first to support this move if there was any documentable tax savings. And in fact, in the next few weeks as part of our budget, I will be sponsoring some REAL and sustainable tax saving proposals to control Hanover resident\'s property taxes. So if there is no tax savings, why chance ruining one of the best things Hanover has – a great Recreation Department.
In my opinion there is something very sneaky and under-handed going on here. Last year before being elected, Sheridan and Ferramosca publicly promised residents, that they would not support a proposal to move workers from Recreation to DPW. After winning the election (with lots of help from Schleifer), Sheridan and Ferramosca now have changed their minds and are strongly are in favor of Schleifer\'s demand to move maintenance workers from Recreation to DPW.
This type of \"We know what\'s best and exclusionary\" politics is what we are currently witnessing in Washington DC; don’t let it happen here in Hanover. If you are concerned about open government, fairness, justice, low taxes, have enjoyed the hard work and dedication of the Parks and Recreation Department -Please attend the next Township Committee meeting and demand some factual answers.
