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NJ lawmakers question massive OT in key agency

By TOM HESTER Jr. | Associated Press Writer

May 6, 2008

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TRENTON, N.J. - Assembly legislators on Tuesday questioned $83 million in overtime expected to be spent this fiscal year by a key state department, a cost that comes as the state looks to cut costs amid budget woes.

A legislative analysis predicts the Department of Human Services will incur 2.8 million hours of overtime during the fiscal year that ends June 30.

Assembly Budget Chairman Lou Greenwald noted 2.8 million hours equates to 319 years.

"Those numbers are unbelievable," said Greenwald, D-Camden.

The department serves more than one million residents.

It spends about $4.8 billion per year and serves the poor and those with mental illnesses and developmental disabilities, the blind and the deaf.

Jennifer Velez, the state human services commissioner, told lawmakers during a Tuesday budget hearing the department has taken steps to control overtime but also serves many clients who need one-on-one attention.

"We do have to be sure that these clients are taken care of," Velez said.

She said many clients need round-the-clock care.

"All of their personal hygiene must be taken care of by somebody else, and they may not speak and they may have very low cognitive ability," Velez said.

But Greenwald said the department should be prepared for that.

"We know the population," Greenwald said. "Why would we have to pay overtime for someone whose job it is to work with this patient? Why isn't it either just part of their job or why aren't we hiring a skilled set to do that for us, as opposed to paying overtime?"

Greenwald said he thinks he knows the answer.

"My frustration is I think this is the way it is because it's the way we've always done it, and I think some of it is we just can't break out of the norm and we keep doing the same thing year after year after year," Greenwald said.

But Velez said the department wasn't looking for more money. Its budget for next year would decrease its spending by about 2 percent.

Gov. Jon S. Corzine's $33 billion budget plan calls for $2.7 billion in cuts. A budget plan must be adopted by July 1.