State Senator Holly Schepisi Blasts Pandemic Bonuses for Politically Connected Bergen County Government Workers

 

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

River Vale NJ, State Senator Holly Schepisi Blasts Pandemic Bonuses for Politically Connected Bergen County Government Workers. In a Facebook post Schepisi said,

“While I am not opposed to bonuses for those on the front lines who worked night and day oftentimes for 7 days a week through the pandemic I have real issue with an additional round of bonuses to politically connected Bergen County government workers getting a greater payout just in bonuses than many people made in total last year. Many times that my own office reached out to the County for answers or guidance we were told that we couldn’t get a reply as a result of the offices being “closed”. Why is a second round of these payments being made?”

From today’s NorthJersey.com https://www.northjersey.com/…/bergen-county…/5325684001/

Six months after it came to light that Bergen County employees had received a total of $1.4 million in extra pay for their response to the pandemic, the county is gearing up to pay out more bonuses.
In a memo obtained exclusively by NorthJersey.com, Deputy County Administrator Michael Bellucci asked all department heads to “identify employees who may be recommended for additional add-pay for COVID-19 related work performed in 2021.”

Bellucci advised in the memo, sent this month, that it is “not meant to be an exhaustive list of all employees” but rather “should only include those employees who have been working in a COVID-related mission.”
When asked about the memo, spokesperson Michael Pagan said that the county “does not comment on personnel matters.”

The potential bonus amount depends on the role the employee has had since January. The duties are ranked in tiers, with Tier One eligible for the highest bonus, and Tier Four the lowest.
Duties in Tier One include working at a vaccination or testing site, emergency management, COVID grant administrator or a director dedicated to multiple operations. The lowest tier, four, includes parks and golf staff and DPW employees who help to set up vaccination and testing sites.
“When placing employees within each tier, directors are asked to identify whether this employee performed a managerial/leadership role, front line staff role or support role,” Bellucci’s memo says. “This will assist administration in identifying the level of add pay for each employee within each tier.”

More bonuses possible
Department heads were also advised that they should focus on January to June because the administration “may award an additional round of add pay for the latter half of the year.” They will be required to provide a “written justification for each employee” before the payment goes out.

The deadline for submissions was Monday.

The bonuses given out last year included $22,500 to two top administrators and chief of staff. Those were just part of a $1.4 million package of extra pay given to 501 workers. Stipends of $10,000 or more went to 18 county workers, including the health director, superintendent of elections, IT director and personnel chief.

An additional 68 employees received $5,000 or more. They came at a time when Bergen County, like other public entities across the nation, suffered deep financial losses.

The losses were so steep that county commissioners had to approve a $28 million emergency borrowing plan. It wasn’t all bad news though: Federal aid from the CARES Act amounted to $162 million.
The largest share of bonuses went to employees who work in the administration and finance department, who received $283,000 total in extra pay. The Department of Public Works received the next-biggest pot of money, $268,000.

Workers for the Department of Public Safety shared $227,500 in extra pay, followed by $165,500 for the Health Department and $155,000 for the Department of Human Services.

Bonus tiers

Tier One: work at a vaccination or testing site, emergency management, COVID grant administrator or a director dedicated to multiple operations.
Tier Two: policy-making/American Rescue Plan FEMA reporting staff, managers dedicated to COVID operations, Meals on Wheels staff, individuals working at the PPE site and public health program administration.

Tier Three: community transportation, senior activity center, individuals working on COVID programs, public health program support, safety and security, and 24-hour staffed facilities.
Tier Four includes parks and golf staff and DPW employees who help to set up vaccination and testing sites, as well as “miscellaneous COVID assignments.”