Councilman says he miscast his vote Feb. 12
when ordinance was intially voted down
By:Eric Schwarz
The welfare issue is not over yet.
The Borough Council on Monday reintroduced an ordinance
it defeated at its Feb. 12 meeting, after Councilman Michael Polak said he
misunderstood his own vote to keep welfare services in town for single
people.
The ordinance would have transferred the duties to
Somerset County, where about 80 percent of Manville’s welfare clients
those who are not married or have children must go for
services anyway.
The council on Jan. 6 introduced an ordinance to abolish
the local welfare board, and finally approved the change Feb. 12.
Borough officials have said Manville could save $24,000
in salary costs by eliminating the welfare director position, though it
would incur other costs in hiring someone for social services. The previous
welfare director, Mirella Gazo, had served three roles director of
welfare, social services, and administrator of the borough’s federal rental
assistance program, known as Section 8.
| Welfare recipients allowed to own property, ‘resources,’ according to state spokesman General assistance recipients generally do not have a home or a job, said Borough Administrator Gary Garwacke, and the benefits are meant only to be temporary. However, recipients may own a home or a car, Mr. Williams said, with certain limits. "The home that you live in is exempt from that resource limit," Mr. Williams said. "The car is also exempt unless it has a market value of $9,500 or more," he said. If the car were worth more than $9,500, the difference would county toward the resource limit, he said. Resource limits generally include "liquid assets" like bank accounts, but not furniture and other items in the home. "Welfare" falls under two categories known as general assistance for single people, administered locally by Manville and some other municipalities, and temporary aid to needy families. The counties administer the family programs; municipalities only have the option of administering the general assistance program. General assistance clients with less than $2,000 in resources may receive up to $140 a month if they are employable, or up to $210 a month if they are unemployable due to disability or impairment, Mr. Williams said. Families on welfare have the same resource limits but higher grant amounts, Mr. Williams said. Most of the family recipients are single parents and their children, he said. A family of two may receive up to $322 a month; $424 for three; $488 for four; and another $64 for each additional family member. Any income would reduce the grant amount for single people or families. For example, if a parent with three children earns $200 a month, he or she would be eligible for a monthly grant of $288. Recipients have a five-year lifetime limit on receiving welfare, subject to exemptions or deferrals. The limit is the result of a federal law enacted in 1996 and implemented in New Jersey in 1997. |
But Mr. Polak on Monday said he misunderstood that vote,
and again brought up the issue, with protests from council members Martin
Wierzba and Senga Allan.
Mr. Wierzba delayed by one minute casting his vote on one
issue related to the ordinance as a protest.
He also questioned how long he could wait to cast his
vote.
Borough attorney C. Douglas Reina said there is no
specific rule, but if Mr. Wierzba would take an inordinate amount of time,
"I think the chairman (the mayor or presiding council member) could rule
you out of order."
After Mr. Polak asked to reintroduce the ordinance, Mayor
Angelo Corradino asked for a 10-minute recess during which Borough
Administrator Gary Garwacke distributed copies of the previous ordinance.
Mr. Polak said he didn’t understand when he voted, that
the local welfare "affects single persons" as opposed to senior citizens.
Mr. Polak, in an interview Tuesday, said he believes most
of Manville’s single welfare recipients are transient residents.
"They just come to this town to get something for
nothing," Mr. Polak said. "I know that if somebody is single and lives in
town, they can’t even own any property or anything like that."
"After the (previous council) meeting it was explained to
me," Mr. Polak said. "That (welfare) doesn’t even help any of the people
who own property or anything. That doesn’t help seniors at all."
Though the current recipients may or may not be seniors,
single older people who meet the requirements are eligible to receive
welfare assistance.
The new ordinance to abolish the welfare board and a
related resolution to advertise the ordinance, both passed by a 4-3 vote of
the mayor and council.
Council members Stanley Jasiak and Thomas Weiss, and
Mayor Corradino, joined Mr. Polak in voting to reintroduce the ordinance.
Mr. Wierzba, Ms. Allan and Councilman Theodore Petrock
III voted against the reconsideration.
The ordinance is up for public hearing and adoption at
7:30 p.m. March 12.