By Mary Brienza, Staff Writer
The Township plans to cut the hours employees are working the windows for the public from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 to 3 p.m. starting on June 15, according to spokesman Ron Schmalz.
The cuts are for the windows at the Building & Code Office, Municipal Clerk’s Office, the Health Department, Planning & Zoning Department, the Affordable Housing Department, the Tax Assessor’s office, the Engineering Department and the Fire Safety department, Mr. Schmalz said.
Township manager Matt Watkins said during the May 24 council meeting that this will not affect the Finance office.
”This gives the employees there the opportunity to finish up the paperwork that is piling up,” Mr. Watkins said during the May 24 council meeting. “We do need to be able get the work done and get things done timely.”
Mr. Watkins said the township has state obligations on documents that have to be filed on time.
”If we can’t get to that there is no forgiveness,” Mr. Watkins said.
It is critical the paperwork is filed properly because if not filed properly the township could be in violation of some laws, and residents would have to wait longer for permits, Mr. Schmalz said.
Some examples are: if an Open Public Records Act request for a certain record is filed, the township has seven days to respond to the request, and if plans are given to the planning department, the plans need to be filed in a timely manner to start the process, Mr. Schmalz said.
Mr. Schmalz said there are not enough people to do filing and proper paperwork, especially if the employees are busy at the windows.
The main issue the clerk’s office is facing is getting all the paperwork filed, Township clerk Barbara Nyitrai said during the May 24 council meeting.
Many of those documents are “critical,” Ms. Nyitrai said.
”We’ve been seeing a little bit of mis-filing and things like that so when we’re getting requests for documents and we can’t find them that’s really going to become an issue, Ms. Nyitrai said. “It’s not that bad right now but I can see the negative effects and I’m just really concerned that if this continues we are going to have some much bigger issues.”
The township cannot cut any more employees, and the township cannot continue to provide the services at the level residents are used to at the current staffing level, Mr. Schmalz said.
”(The municipality) can’t keep losing people who are the mainstay of our township,” Mayor Frank Gambatese said during the May 24 meeting.
According to officials, municipal staffing is at the lowest level in about 11 years, and 33 employees have been laid off in the past two years alone.
