The meeting was called to order by Director Louis Cappelli, Jr. at 7:00 p.m. The Director asked the Clerk to call the roll and the following Freeholders answered to their name:

PRESENT: CREAM, GRECO, NASH, RIPA, RODRIGUEZ, MCDONNELL, CAPPELLI

The Director stated that adequate notice of this meeting has been provided in accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act.

Director Cappelli asked everyone to rise for the invocation and called upon Pastor Herman S. Henderson of the Calvary Baptist Church of Merchantville.
Director Cappelli then asked Boy Scout Troop #7 to lead everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance.
The Director thanked Pastor Henderson and the Boy Scouts as well as their Scout Masters Jim Gibson and Doug Howie.

Director Cappelli advised that the County has available, if requested, large print agendas for the visually impaired. The Director explained that if anyone requires one to please see the Clerk of the Board.

Director Cappelli welcomed everyone. The Director said we are very pleased to be here this evening in Pennsauken Township. Director Cappelli said it is the practice of the Freeholders to hold our meetings each month in one of the municipalities outside of the County seat of Camden so that all members of the public will have full access to the meetings of the Board. He said as is the custom during our road meetings, we will begin tonight’s meeting by asking Mayor Taylor and members of Council Committee to come forward to thank them for hosting tonight’s event. The Director called upon Freeholder Nash to come forward as well.
PRESENTATION

Director Cappelli said on behalf of the Board of Freeholders, we are very proud to be in Pennsauken Township. He said the governing body of Pennsauken Township has a long tradition of progressive, fair leadership and certainly under Mayor Taylor’s leadership and under Deputy Mayor Greg Schofield’s leadership, the past years in Pennsauken have been great years. The Director said a lot of good things are happening through their leadership and their cooperation with the County and State working together to make Pennsauken a better place to be. The Director said we come bearing gifts tonight – not pictures of the battleship and no coffee mugs but checks! The Director said Freeholder Nash has one check in his hand. He said because the residents of Pennsauken Township recycled 1139 tons of paper and 1295 tons of commingled glass, metal and plastic bottles, we are able to present a rebate check to the Township of Pennsauken in the amount of $24,840.46.
The Director then called upon Freeholder Rodriguez to come forward with a Community Development Block Grant check in the amount of $155,190.00 and presented that to the Mayor as well.
Mayor Taylor thanked the Freeholders for the gifts and also for the support that they get from the Freeholders. He said we have a great Township Committee and a great town. The Mayor said we always say “Pennsauken Proud” and we are very proud of this. Mayor Taylor said on behalf of all the residents of Pennsauken, thank you very much and God bless you.

GIFT DONATION

Director Cappelli called upon Dennis Cream to come forward. Director Cappelli said Dennis is the founding member and leader of the Homestead Youth Association in Pennsauken. Director Cappelli said it is the custom of the Board of Freeholders as we go from town to town for our meetings we ask of the governing body to give us a name of an organization that does a lot of good work in town and is a non-profit organization which is deserving of recognition and also some small financial support. Director Cappelli said that the Mayor and Township Committee have selected the Homestead Youth Association. The Director noted that this Association was founded in 1972 and set out to plan and chaperone recreational and educational activities and has grown since then. In 2003, the Homestead Youth Association provided health education to the community-at- large and is now celebrating 35 years of service in keeping the dream alive. The Director said on behalf of the entire Board of Freeholders, we present you with a small token of our appreciation.

SPECIAL PRESENTATION

Freeholder Cream welcomed everyone and asked Freeholder Rodriguez to come forward as well. Freeholder Cream said she is sure everyone knows that she is a senior and she hoped that everyone had an opportunity to look at the beautiful artwork in the back of the room that was done by the seniors in Camden County. Freeholder Cream said tonight we would like to take time to honor those seniors. She said every year our area seniors submit works of art in a variety of different styles that encompasses the entire County and every year an extremely talented group of seniors is recognized for the beautiful artwork that they have created. Freeholder Cream said that she is sure that most of you who are seniors know the importance of continuing to do things once you have retired. She said it is very important that the wonderful things that you want to do you have an opportunity to do. The Freeholder said we are just so proud of these wonderful people who are here tonight. Freeholder Cream said this year several of the 18 seniors who received recognition have joined us. Several of those 18 seniors have gone on to win at the State Level where their art was up against that of other artists who competed from across the State of New Jersey. Freeholder Cream thanked Freeholder Rodriguez who is a part of this as well as Joy Merullo, Sandra Turner-Barns and Fran Jones. Freeholder Rodriguez interjected and said we must not forget to thank Freeholder Cream for being a role model for all of our seniors who keep active. Freeholder Rodriguez then proceeded to present Certificates to the winners. and called them by name: County Winners were: Joseph Angelastro, Ruth Glander, Mr. Irving, Victor Montelegro, Ronnie Fisher Wolf, Kevin Lombardi, Bill Segal, and Beth Zimmerman, Jacqueline Chambers, Martin Chew, Ruth Dailey, Giovana Damiani, Frank Drodge, Charles Gorman, Carol Gunow, Marian Hess, Richard Howard, Don Johnson, Leon Johnson, Lucille Kasparick, Minnie Kaufman, William Loebel, Alicia Lynn, Katie Lynn, William Marlin, Louis Martino, Bess McLean, William Monihan, Norma Okin, William Paget, Karl Pendleton, Rich Bacloski, Robert Ritchie, Grace Brysinger, Sue Sanders, Lois Lustrum, Janet Sellers, Elsie Shreiber, Howard Striegers, Marie Cirii, Jeff Benechinski, Jennie Talarico, Violet Corio, Rich Viola, Marian Weiss, Lou Wilkinson, and Alexandra Withers.
Freeholder Cream congratulated all the artists and said what a wonderful group they are. The Freeholder suggested to the Director that in the future, these wonderful artists should be honored on a separate night. She said the list of winners is getting longer and longer. The Freeholder said that makes us feel so proud. Freeholder Cream said nobody is more important to us than our seniors in this great country. The Freeholder thanked the seniors for all that they do for us. Freeholder Cream asked everyone to take the time to stop before you leave and look at the beautiful artwork displayed in the back of the room. She said there are great pieces back there and many of our people here have won at the State level. The Freeholder asked everyone to give these great artists another round of applause.
Director Cappelli thanked Freeholder Cream and congratulated all the participants on the outstanding artwork.

Director Cappelli then acknowledged that Sheriff Chuck Billingham is in the audience. The Director also welcomed Pennsauken Committeeman Jack Killion.

EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH

Deputy Director McDonnell welcomed everyone. The Deputy Director said that at each monthly meeting of the Freeholder Board the Freeholders take the opportunity to look for in our various departments great employees who deserve recognition. The Deputy Director said this month it is his turn and he is very proud to say that this month’s Employee of the Month is William J. Carr. Deputy Director McDonnell said Bill works in our Superintendent of Elections Office and has been working with the County since 2001. He said that Bill came in at a clerk’s level and now has become an investigator who investigates voter fraud and does many other duties as well. The Deputy Director then called upon Phyllis Pearl to come forward also to help in this presentation. The Deputy Director said Bill was selected for a lot of reasons but primarily, as Phyllis Pearl puts it, because he is such a great asset for moral to the office as well as the competence that he brings to the job. The Deputy Director asked Mrs. Carr to come forward. The Deputy Director said they have two children and have been married for 36 years. They also have three grandchildren. The Deputy Director then called upon Phyllis Pearl to say a few words.
Ms. Pearl said Bill Carr is one of our outstanding employees. She said some of you may know that. She said no matter what we need done, Bill is there and is very helpful. One of the most important tasks that Bill does is he is part of the team that prepares the polling places for election day. Ms. Pearl said it takes several months to get ready for every election. He is part of the team that packs all of the election supplies that go out on election day. She said there are 331 election districts – each district gets its own set of supplies. She said there are about 50 items that have to go into the bag and be delivered prior to election day. She said we really count on him. It is very tedious and labor intensive. Ms. Pearl said we can always count on Bill. He is a great asset. She said she is grateful for having him on her team. Deputy Director McDonnell then presented Mr. Carr with a clock and a savings bond. Director Cappelli thanked and congratulated Mr. Carr.

COMMUNITY AWARD

Freeholder Greco called upon Bernhard Kofoet to come forward. Freeholder Greco said it is his pleasure to have this opportunity to acknowledge Bernie Kofoet. The Freeholder said, they say if you want something done in Pennsauken ask Bernie. He serves on many committees and works tirelessly to improve the quality of life in town. The Freeholder said Bernie has a calm and reasonable approach to life. He grew up in Camden and still is involved in Camden’s redevelopment. His business ELCO 2, Inc., a sheet metal fabrication company is located in the Cramer Hill Section of Camden. He also serves as Vice President to both the Cramer Hill Civic Association and the Cramer Hill Community Development Corporation. The Freeholder said Bernie puts his money where his mouth is which is to revitalize Cramer Hill by improving one property at a time. To support this, he and his organization headed up a project where they built 14 single- family homes from scratch. The Freeholder then read the Proclamation.
Director Cappelli thanked and congratulated Mr. Kofoet.

PROCLAMATION

Freeholder Rodriguez called upon Gale Lewin, President of NAMI to come forward. Freeholder Rodriguez said before she reads the Proclamation, she would like to share some things about this lady that she has come to know very well. Gale is very passionate and one of the great movers in our great initiative, the CIT Clinic. She said it is a program that diverts individuals who are mentally ill from being placed in jail. Freeholder Rodriguez said she is grateful to have the opportunity to work with Gale.
Ms. Lewin thanked Freeholder Rodriguez and the entire Freeholder Board for giving NAMI this Proclamation. Ms. Lewin said when Freeholder Rodriguez talked about CIT, she is the President of NAMI and as everyone knows Mental Illness is a big issue out there and she is very proud to have been a part of CIT. She said she is also on the Camden County Mental Illness Leadership Task Force, which Freeholder Rodriguez leads. She said now we are initiating in Camden County the Traumatic Loss Coalition on youth suicide. She thanked the Freeholders once again.
Director Cappelli interjected and said for those of you that are not familiar with the CIT program, it is a program that the County began with the Borough of Collingswood Police Department based on a model in Memphis and we were the first County and Collingswood, the first Borough, in the State of New Jersey to engage in the CIT program. He said the Courier Post called for Camden County’s CIT program it to become a State model.

PROCLAMATION

Director Cappelli called upon Freeholder Cream to come forward. Freeholder Cream said as you noticed before I started out with the wonderful seniors but I am not forgetting my wonderful young people of Camden County. Freeholder Cream said tonight we are giving honor to them. Freeholder Cream asked Deputy Director McDonnell to come forward to help her with the presentation. The Freeholder said she was the Principal of Camden High School for fifteen years and said she has a great love and admiration for all young people who do such a great job. Freeholder Cream then read the Proclamation honoring Cherry Hill “Red” Legion Post 372. She said this organization exemplifies teamwork and sportsmanship. The Freeholder said at the end of the school year, it signals quiet days and summer plans but for some, especially dedicated young ballplayers who are selected to the American Legion League, it also signals the start of a brand new season. She said by the first game, they will have become a team relying on each other, knowing who needs encouragement and when, while others will have found themselves playing a different position as they move through the post playoffs, they face a much higher level of play, one which brings strong emotions, with a win they move up, with a loss, they move on with their summer. The Freeholder also recognized their parents for the countless hours spent shuttling the boys to practices and getting them to games far and wide. Family vacation seems to be the long commute back and forth to North Jersey and beyond and whatever time they have off between games. The Freeholder said we honor these young athletes, coaches and family for their hard work and their tireless efforts to bring home the win or to show grace in the loss. They bring pride and honor to their friends, family, community and County. Freeholder Cream said we honor Cherry Hill “Red” Legion Post 372 New Jersey State Tournament Junior American Legion Baseball Champions!
Freeholder Cream said this just doesn’t happen on its own, there are wonderful coaches who are always there with them. Freeholder Cream recognized their coaches, Chris Estilow and Jamie Russen and Ron Krowiak, Director of Junior American Legion Baseball Operations. The Freeholder said we want them to know how much we appreciate what they do in order to help build strong, good, conscientious men in our community. It is needed desperately. Freeholder Cream asked if someone would like to say a few words. The Captain of the team came forward and said we had a good season, everyone played well. We beat Mt. Laurel for the State Championship and we are just so very happy.
Deputy Director McDonnell handed to the Coaches Certificates for each team member.

PROCLAMATION

Freeholder Rodriguez said here is another dynamic woman who does so much for our community. Freeholder Rodriguez called upon Cheryl McLaughlin to come forward. The Freeholder then read the Proclamation. The Freeholder said the County honors newspapers that provide community service. She said Camden County has one of the highest rates of domestic violence. Many victims are women with low income. She said we honor this compassionate publication whose goal it is to allow women in crisis to be self-sufficient and manage their lives and free their lives from these conditions. Freeholder Rodriguez said it is her privilege to honor Cheryl McLaughlin, publisher of The Camden County Woman newspaper which strives to improve the lives of women victims of violence. Freeholder Rodriguez thanked Ms. McLaughlin for everything she does for women throughout the County.
Ms. McLaughlin said when she and her husband, Bob, started Camden County Woman newspaper in 1999, it was the beginning of many sleepless nights but our mission was to empower women and families through the vehicle of our publication. She said this month we are educating women and families on the topic of domestic violence something that most people don’t want to talk about but we want to get the word out. She said we continue to strive to provide educational material whenever we can. Thank you.

Director Cappelli continued with the agenda.

RESOLUTION k

k. PUBLIC HEARING – RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF CHOSEN FREEHOLDERS OF THE COUNTY OF CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY CANCELLING CERTAIN FUNDED APPROPRIATIONS TOTALING $213,215.41 AUTHORIZED BY A BOND ORDINANCE OF THE COUNTY AND REAPPROPRIATING SUCH AMOUNT TO PAY DEBT SERVICE ON THE OBLIGATIONS ISSUED TO FUND SUCH APPROPRIATIONS WHICH RESOLUTION AMENDS THE RESOLUTION ENTITLED “RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF CHOSEN FREEHOLDERS OF THE COUNTY OF CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY CANCELING CERTAIN UNFUNDED APPROPRIATIONS TOTALING $213,215.41 AUTHORIZED BY A BOND ORDINANCE OF THE COUNTY”.

Director Cappelli declared the public hearing open. Seeing no one wishing to speak, Freeholder Nash made a motion to close the public portion with a second by Deputy Director McDonnell and all Freeholders present voted aye.

ADOPTION OF k

Director Cappelli asked for a motion to adopt the Resolution. Freeholder Nash made a motion to adopt with a second by Deputy Director McDonnell and on roll call, all Freeholders present voted aye.

MINUTES

The Director said the next order of business is the Minutes of our previous meeting and asked for a motion to accept the Minutes as presented. Freeholder Ripa made a motion to adopt the Minutes with a second by Freeholder Greco and on roll call:

AYE: GRECO, NASH, RIPA, RODRIGUEZ, MCDONNELL, CAPPELLI
ABSTAIN: CREAM

CORRESPONDENCE

The Director then asked the Clerk of the Board if there was any correspondence. The Clerk answered that there was correspondence.
The Clerk advised that the Board of Freeholders received an email from a resident from the Blenheim section of Gloucester Township, Maria Shiavo. Ms. Shiavo stated that her son was able to participate in the Camden County Junior Golf Program. She said what a wonderful experience it has been for him. She said the courtesy of all the gentlemen who coached this program was overwhelming to say the least. She said she hopes that they continue to offer this program in the future especially since her son can’t wait for next year to come. She said the interest, pride and confidence he has built up in this sport is second to none. She thanked and blessed the Freeholders.
Director Cappelli noted that this is a program run by the Parks Department.

COMPTROLLER

The Director then asked for a motion to adopt the Comptroller’s Report. Freeholder Nash made a motion to adopt with a second by Freeholder Rodriguez and on roll call, all Freeholders present voted aye.

The Director announced that the next portion of this meeting will be opened to the public for discussion on the Resolutions that the Freeholders are going to be acting upon this evening. He said there will be another public session after the meeting, at which time the public can ask any questions they want regarding the business of the County or anything else they wish to talk about. The Director said that he asks that this portion of the public hearing be limited to the Resolutions that the Freeholders are going to be voting on.

The Director then declared the public hearing open.

Karl Walko, Council #10 President, addressed the Freeholders and said he has a couple of questions on two resolutions. Mr. Walko said the first is regarding Resolution 70, which is settlement with an employee. He said he wants to take the opportunity to share the Union’s position on desk audits. Mr. Walko said basically we feel that in accordance with the DOP standards, every employee should be assigned duties commensurate with their title. There is a job specification of service with the Department of Personnel that lists the duties for each title. He said certainly that is something the County can do. Mr. Walko said our view is those that are assigned higher duties should be paid in accordance with the higher duties. Those that are assigned lower duties should not receive a reduction in pay because they are assigned lower duties. If the County would agree and decide what their duties are, you wouldn’t have to listen to a supervisor who would be charged with insubordination if they didn’t do the duties that were assigned; maybe the Union’s position would be different but that is not the case. The employees are required to do what is assigned – if the duties are higher, they should get paid, if the duties are lower, that is really on the County and the duties assigned should be commensurate with the title. Mr. Walko said Council #10 will acknowledge that there are appointments that are made where the title is not actually the same as the duties. Sometimes they are done for right reasons and sometimes they are done for other reasons. There are reasons why employees are given titles as rewards for their work to move around other DOP restrictions and we recognize that but on a whole, our position is again people should get duties commensurate with their title.
Mr. Walko then addressed Resolution 57, which is the Board opposing President Bush’s veto of S-CHIPS and for a little while he thought he would be addressing this issue saying that you needed it because some of your employees would be qualifying for S-CHIPS and will address that issue later.

Seeing no one wishing to have further comment, Director Cappelli asked for a motion to close the public hearing. Freeholder Rodriguez made a motion to close the public hearing with a second by Freeholder Cream and all Freeholders present voted aye.

The Director said that at our Caucus on Tuesday evening, the Board of Freeholders reviewed the resolutions to be acted upon tonight. He said it was at that time that the Board discussed items to be voted on and we will be voting on resolutions in blocks based on unanimous consent of the Freeholders.

RESOLUTIONS

Resolution 1 was adopted upon motion by Freeholder Nash with a second by Freeholder Cream and on roll call:

1. Resolution inserting Chapter 159 funds into the budget for the LARC School expansion in an amount of $100,000.00.

AYE: CREAM, GRECO, NASH, RIPA, RODRIGUEZ, CAPPELLI
ABSTAIN: MCDONNELL

Resolution 2 was adopted upon motion by Freeholder Nash with a second by Freeholder Cream and on roll call, all Freeholders present voted aye.

2. Resolution authorizing an award of contract by and between the County of Camden (Department of Buildings & Operations) and Winner Ford for vehicle repair service in an amount not to exceed $457.20 – CAF #9900132644.

Resolutions 3 and 4 were adopted upon motion by Freeholder Greco with second by Freeholder Nash and on roll call:

3. Resolution authorizing an award of contract (Bid A-31) by and between the County of Camden (Department of Buildings and Operations) and Levy Construction Company, Inc. for LARC School renovations in an amount not to exceed $800,600.00 - CAF #9900134547 for $706,000.00. Balance of funding is contingent upon passage of Chapter 159 funds.

4. Resolution authorizing an amendment to the Interlocal Services Agreement by and between the County of Camden and the LARC School for the provision of additional payment to the County for services relative to the expansion.

AYE: CREAM, GRECO, NASH, RIPA, RODRIGUEZ, CAPPELLI
ABSTAIN: MCDONNELL

Resolutions 5 through 9 were adopted upon motion by Deputy Director McDonnell with second by Freeholder Cream and on roll call, all Freeholders present voted aye.

5. Resolution approving personnel actions requested by or on behalf of Freeholder Cream.

6. Resolution authorizing an award of contract by and between the County of Camden (Department of Public Works) and Winner Ford for the purchase of equipment parts in an amount not to exceed $263.26 – CAF #9900134498.

7. Resolution authorizing an award of contract by and between the County of Camden (Department of Public Works) and Amsan-Mid-Atlantic for the purchase of janitorial supplies and equipment in an amount not to exceed $3,052.30 – CAF #’s 9900134345 and 9900134362.

8. Resolution authorizing an award of contract (Bid B-10) by and between the County of Camden (Department of Public Works) and Asphalt Paving Systems for snow plowing on various County roads.

9. Resolution authorizing Interlocal Services Agreements by and between the County of Camden (Department of Public Works) and various municipalities for snow plowing/ice control on various County roads.

Resolutions 10 and 11 were adopted upon motion by Deputy Director McDonnell with a second by Freeholder Nash and on roll call:

10. Resolution authorizing payment to Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission for Camden County’s participation in CY’07 Tri-County Water Quality Management Board services in an amount not to exceed $28,425.00 – CAF #9900134596.

11. Resolution authorizing payment to Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission for Camden County’s participation in CY’07 Approved Planning Work Program in an amount not to exceed $30,549.00 – CAF #9900134595.

AYE: CREAM, GRECO, NASH, RIPA, RODRIGUEZ, MCDONNELL
ABSTAIN: CAPPELLI

Resolutions 12 through 23 were adopted upon motion by Freeholder Greco with second by Freeholder Cream and on roll call, all Freeholders present voted aye.

12. Resolution approving personnel actions requested by or on behalf of Freeholder Greco.

13. Resolution inserting Chapter 159 funds into the budget for the CCMUA ’07 Rate Relief Program in an amount of $303,000.00.

14. Resolution authorizing a contract amendment (Bid A-4) by and between the County of Camden (Department of Parks) and CM3 for HVAC maintenance at various County Park facilities.

15. Resolution authorizing the acceptance of a recommendation from the Open Space Preservation Trust Fund Advisory Committee to provide funding for the acquisition of the development rights to two (2) farm parcels – Block 5203, Lot 1 and Block 7601, Lot 2 in the Twp. of Winslow in an amount not to exceed $1,155,000.00 – CAF #9900134566.

16. Resolution authorizing an amendment to the Project Agreement by and between the County of Camden and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Green Acres Program.

17. Resolution approving personnel actions requested by or on behalf of Freeholder Nash.

18. Resolution inserting Chapter 159 funds into the budget for provision of the ’07-’08 Enhanced 9-1-1 Equipment Grant in an amount of $268,736.00.

19. Resolution inserting Chapter 159 funds into the budget for provision of the ’07-’08 Enhanced 9-1-1 General Assistance Grant in an amount of $180,400.00.

20. Resolution inserting Chapter 159 funds into the budget for provision of the Regional Firefighting Training Center in an amount of $3,403,750.00.

21. Resolution authorizing an award of contract pursuant to a publicly advertised Request For Proposals by and between the County of Camden (Department of Corrections) and Carter Globle Lee for the provision of a County Jail Population Growth Management Plan in an amount not to exceed $74,000.00 - CAF #9900134570.

22. Resolution authorizing a competitive contract for the procurement of a comprehensive psychiatric and medical health care services program for the inmates at the Camden County Corrections Facility.

23. Resolution authorizing a Lease Agreement by and between the County of Camden (Department of Corrections) and South Jersey Port Corporation, Building A-3, for facility warehouse rental space in an amount not to exceed $11,256.00 – CAF #9900134455 for $938.00. Balance of funding is contingent upon the availability and appropriation of funds in the 2008 temporary and permanent budgets.

Resolution 24 was adopted upon motion by Freeholder Ripa with a second by Freeholder Cream and on roll call:

24. Resolution authorizing an Interlocal Services Agreement by and between the County of Camden (Department of Corrections) and Camden County College for the provision of mental health training in an amount not to exceed $12,090.00 per session – CAF #9900134616.

AYE: CREAM, GRECO, NASH, RIPA, RODRIGUEZ, CAPPELLI
ABSTAIN: MCDONNELL

Resolutions 25 through 37 were adopted upon motion by Freeholder Greco with a second by Freeholder Cream and on roll call, all Freeholders present voted aye.

25. Resolution rejecting Bid A-43 (uniforms), due to non-compliant bidders.

26. Resolution authorizing an award of contract (Bid A-39) by and between the County of Camden (Office of the Sheriff) and Havis-Shield Equipment for the provision of two (2) prisoner transport vessels in an amount not to exceed $32,704.24 – CAF #990013274.

27. Resolution authorizing an award of contract by and between the County of Camden (Office of the Sheriff) and Dell Computer Corp. (State Contract A-81247) for computer supplies in an amount not to exceed $72,004.44 – CAF #9900133970.

28. Resolution authorizing an award of contract by and between the County of Camden (Office of the Prosecutor) and Image Access Corp (State Contract A-63530) for the provision of a micrographic imaging machine and archive writer storage in an amount not to exceed $92,872.20 – CAF #’s 9900134413 and 9900134431.

29. Resolution authorizing an award of contract by and between the County of Camden (Office of the Prosecutor) and Dell Computer Corp. (State Contract A-81247) for the provision of computer equipment in an amount not to exceed $38,718.05 – CAF #9900134423.

30. Resolution authorizing an award of contract by and between the County of Camden (Office of the Prosecutor) and Computer Square, Inc. (State Contract A-81220) for the provision of computer equipment and maintenance in an amount not to exceed $40,000.00 – CAF #9900134428.

31. Resolution authorizing the submission of an application by the County of Camden (Office of the Prosecutor) to the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice for the New Jersey Sex Offender Central Internet Registry Grant in an amount of $25,680.00.

32. Resolution authorizing the submission of an application by the County of Camden (Office of the Prosecutor) to the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice for the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program Multi-jurisdictional Narcotics Task Force in an amount of $250,728.00, made up of half Federal funds and half County matching funds.

33. Resolution authorizing an award of contract by and between the County of Camden (Department of Public Safety) and Dell Computer Corp. for the provision of computer maintenance in an amount not to exceed $278.00 – CAF #9900134435.

34. Resolution authorizing an award of contract by and between the County of Camden (Youth Center) and Amsan, LLC for the purchase of floor cleaning equipment parts in an amount not to exceed $550.00 – CAF #9900134462.

35. Resolution authorizing an award of contract (2nd year option) by and between the County of Camden (Youth Center) and the Center For Family Guidance for the provision of medical, psychological, and psychiatric care services in an amount not to exceed $234,168.00 – CAF # 9900134565 for $39,028,00. Balance of funding is contingent upon the availability and appropriation of funds in the 2008 temporary and permanent budgets.

36. Resolution amending Resolution #27 adopted 5/17/07 by and between the County of Camden (Youth Center) and Center For Family Guidance correcting the authorized month to month fee.

37. Resolution authorizing an award of contract by and between the County of Camden (Department of Public Safety) and PICS Online for the provision of a one (1) year domain registration in an amount not to exceed $200.00 – CAF #9900134483.

Resolution 38 was adopted upon motion by Freeholder Ripa with a second by Freeholder Cream and on roll call:

38. Resolution authorizing an Access Agreement by and between the County of Camden (Department of Public Safety) and the Twp. of Pennsauken to determine the feasibility of installing a self-supported wireless communications tower.

AYE: CREAM, GRECO, RIPA, RODRIGUEZ, MCDONNELL, CAPPELLI
ABSTAIN: NASH

Resolutions 39 through 57 were adopted upon motion by Freeholder Ripa with a second by Freeholder Rodriguez and on roll call, all Freeholders present voted aye.

39. Resolution authorizing the acceptance by the County of Camden (Department of Public Safety), of a 1982 Ford Fire Truck from the Borough of Somerdale for use at the County fire training academy.

40. Resolution approving personnel actions requested by or on behalf of Freeholder Ripa.

40AA. Walk on – Resolution ratifying approval of collective bargaining agreement with
Camden County Assistant Prosecutors Association.

41. Resolution inserting Chapter 159 funds into the budget for provision of the Child Care Resource & Referral ’06 -’07 program income in an amount of $203,261.07.

42. Resolution inserting Chapter 159 funds into the budget for provision of the County Environmental Health Act ’07 in an amount of $22,632.00.

43. Resolution inserting Chapter 159 funds into the budget for provision of the Prevention Oriented System for Child Health ’07-’08 in an amount of $223,500.00.

44. Resolution inserting Chapter 159 funds into the budget for provision of the Special Child Health Services ’07-’08 program in an amount of $278,500.00.

45. Resolution authorizing award of contracts pursuant to a publicly advertised Request For Proposals by and between the County of Camden (Department of Health & Human Services) and various approved vendors for the provision of detention alternative programs for juveniles in an amount not to exceed $26,662.00.

46. Resolution authorizing an award of contract pursuant to a competitive contracting Request For Proposals #07-01 by and between the County of Camden (Department of Health & Human Services) and Senior Citizens United Community Services for the provision of senior citizen congregate nutrition services in an amount not to exceed $1,336,498.00. Funding contingent upon the availability and appropriation of funds in the 2008 temporary and permanent budgets.

47. Resolution authorizing an Agreement by and between the County of Camden (Department of Health & Human Services) and Drexel University for participation in a clinical education placement program for student nursing training at no cost to the County.

48. Resolution amending Resolution #60 adopted 4/19/07 to correct the term of the grant.

49. Resolution authorizing the approval of the Comprehensive Camden County Youth Services Plan for FY’08

50. Resolution authorizing the submission of a grant application by the County of Camden (Department of Health & Human Services) to the New Jersey Department of Health & Senior Services for the HIV/AIDS grant in the amount of $144,906.00.

51. Resolution approving personnel actions requested by or on behalf of Freeholder Rodriguez.

52. Resolution authorizing a corrective action plan for the County’s 2006 Single Audit.

53. Resolution rejecting Bid A-41(Timekeeper Badge Terminals) for non-compliant bidder.

54. Resolution authorizing an award of contract pursuant to a publicly advertised Request For Proposals by and between the County of Camden and Systemed, L.L.C. for the provision of prescription management services for the County prescription benefit plan.

55. Resolution authorizing a 2nd year option Agreement with Pino Consulting Group, Inc., for the preparation of the 2007 indirect cost allocation plan for the County of Camden based on the year 2005 actual cost in an amount not to exceed $23,000.00 – CAF #9900134557.

56. Resolution inserting Chapter 159 funds into the budget for provision of the Workforce Development Partnership Program ’07 -’08 in an amount of $61,841.00.

57. Resolution of the County of Camden in opposition to the Presidential veto of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Resolutions 58 and 59 were adopted upon motion by Freeholder Ripa with a second by Freeholder Rodriguez and on roll call:

58. Resolution authorizing a Hold Harmless agreement by and between the County of Camden and the Delaware River Port Authority, PATCO, New Jersey Transit for provision of the Woodcrest PATCO parking lot for the County’s paper shredding event.

59. Resolution authorizing Marketing License Agreements by and between the County of Camden (Office of the Surrogate) and PREIT Services for participation in National Adoption Day events at the Cherry Hill and Echelon Malls.

AYE: CREAM, GRECO, RIPA, RODRIGUEZ, MCDONNELL, CAPPELLI
ABSTAIN: NASH

Resolutions 60 and 61 were adopted upon motion by Freeholder Nash with a second by Freeholder Rodriguez and on roll call, all Freeholders present voted aye.

60. Resolution authorizing an award of contract by and between the County of Camden (PARIS Grant) and New Jersey Business Systems, Inc. (State Contract A-81214) for the provision of DSMS portal expansion and records research system; records information system for OPRA implementation and records information system for various Camden County departments and the Township of Berlin in an amount not to exceed $332,592.00 – CAF #’s 9900134571, 9900134576, 9900134578.

61. Resolution authorizing the award of contracts, pursuant to a publicly advertised Request For Proposals, by and between the County of Camden (Office of Community Development) and various approved providers of homeless services, pursuant to the County’s 2007 Emergency Management Shelter Grant in an amount not to exceed $113,117.00.

Resolution 62 was adopted upon motion by Freeholder Rodriguez with a second by Freeholder Cream and on roll call:

62. Resolution authorizing an award of contract by and between the County of Camden (Division of Special Events) and BRE Presents, LLC for production services for a variety of performances at the Scottish Rites Auditorium in an amount not to exceed $30,000.00 - CAF #9900134315.

AYE: CREAM, GRECO, NASH, RIPA, RODRIGUEZ, MCDONNELL
ABSTAIN: CAPPELLI

Resolution 63 was adopted upon motion by Freeholder Rodriguez with a second by Freeholder Greco and on roll call:

63. Resolution authorizing an award of contract pursuant to a publicly advertised Request For Proposals by and between the County of Camden (One Stop) and Union Organization for Social Services, Inc. for the provision of information and referral services in an amount not to exceed $50,000.00 – CAF #9900134373.

AYE: CREAM, GRECO, NASH, RODRIGUEZ, MCDONNELL
ABSTAIN: RIPA, CAPPELLI

Resolutions 64 through 72 were adopted upon motion made by Freeholder Ripa with a second by Freeholder Cream and on roll call, all Freeholders voted aye.

64. Resolution authorizing an Interlocal Services Agreement by and between the County of Camden (One Stop) and the Camden County Health Services Center for the provision of the Workfirst Certified Nursing Assistant & Home Health Aide Certification Training and Community Work Experience in an amount not to exceed $285,600.00 – CAF #9900134375.

65. Resolution authorizing an Interlocal Services Agreement by and between the County of Camden (One Stop) and the Camden County Board of Social Services for the provision of the Early Employment Initiative Program in an amount not to exceed $573,970.00 – CAF #9900134372.

66. Resolution authorizing an Agreement by and between the County of Camden (One Stop) and the Camden County Workforce Investment Board for continued provision of services in an amount not to exceed $682,155.00 – CAF #9900134451 for $437,187.00. Balance of funding is contingent upon the availability and appropriation of funds in the 2008 temporary and permanent budgets.

67. Resolution authorizing an amendment to an agreement by and between the County of Camden and CHELL correcting the amortization schedule relating to a CRIP loan.

68. Resolution authorizing contract name changes between the County of Camden and Schoor DePalma to reflect the name change of Schoor DePalma to CMX.

69. Resolution authorizing a settlement by and between the County of Camden and Jeffrey Wentz in an amount not to exceed $85,000.00 – CAF #9900134418.

70. Resolution authorizing a settlement by and between the County of Camden and Christopher Merkel in an amount not to exceed $10,500.00 – CAF #9900134561.

71. Resolution authorizing Worker Compensation Settlements.

72. Resolution approving personnel actions requested by or on behalf of Freeholder Director Cappelli.

Resolution 73 – No Motion made - the resolution fails.

73. Resolution approving personnel actions requested by or on behalf of constitutional or statutory offices.

Director Cappelli noted that there is a walk-on Resolution, as follows:

RESOLUTION RATIFYING APPROVAL OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
AGREEMENT WITH THE CAMDEN COUNTY ASSISTANT PROSECUTORS
ASSOCIATION

MOTION TO WALK ON

Deputy Director McDonnell made a motion to walk on with a second by Freeholder Cream and on roll call, all Freeholders present voted aye.

MOTION TO ADOPT

Deputy Director McDonnell made a motion to adopt the walk-on resolution with a second by Freeholder Nash and on roll call, all Freeholders present voted aye.

The Director said that concludes the Resolutions. He then opened the meeting to the public for discussion on any issues.

Karl Walko,President of Council #10 addressed the Freeholders and said there are a lot of good things about Camden County and he understands Camden County still has a lot of problems and the Board of Freeholders has the responsibility of resolving some of these problems. One of the problems that the Board doesn’t have to resolve is the quality of the clerical staff of the Prosecutor’s office. They are a great group of people. They work in the second busiest Prosecutor’s office in the State and they don’t deserve the way they have been treated. He said these employees have been without a contract since December 2005 (22 months); it’s past time to get serious. Mr. Walko said they started coming to the Freeholder’s meetings in July and they will continue to come until they get settlement. They expect a fair contract and the last proposal that we received was not close to being fair. Mr. Walko said we appreciate the fact that in discussions today, management took elimination of health benefits for spouses and dependents of new employees off the table. He said it shouldn’t have been there to begin with and really shouldn’t have been there for 22 months. Mr. Walko also wants to address the unfairness and misconception that keeps getting repeated about the clerical staff employees. There is this misconception that they are overpaid and underworked or something like that or at least overpaid. For the record, Mr. Walko said the office works 40 hours per week. There seems to be a misconception, even in negotiations, over the fact that they work 40 hours. They make more than other County employees that work 35 hours. He said a clerk at the Prosecutor’s office starts at $13.94/hour while some of the employees over there, some of the clerical staff make significantly more and is only after years of service that they get up to the higher rates. While you might try to say that some of these people aren’t worth what they are paid, he would like to point out that he has a list of Camden County employees making over $100,000.00. He said it is much easier for him to say that some of those folks aren’t working. Mr. Walko pointed out that there have been two settlements in adjoining counties – one in Burlington County and those employees were paid 16% over four years. They have no premium on their health insurance – no co-pay on their health insurance. They do for the first time have a dental co-pay but the dental co-pay is based on increased coverage. They currently have a generic prescription co-pay of zero. That is significant. Mr. Walko then went on to say Gloucester County employees just settled this week. They settled for 3.3%, 3.5%, 3.5%, 3.5%, plus other economic adjustments. They have no premium co-pays on base health insurance plans; if they select a better plan, they have co-pays. They have no change in their prescription co-pays. They have no reduction in retired benefits and they have increased sick leave sell-back. They have no reduction in holidays, no reduction in vacation or personal leave. Mr. Walko said that sets the background for where we are between Burlington County and Gloucester County. That is not what is on the table in front of us. Some of the people under the proposal that Camden County has given us, their premium co-pays will go from zero to $1,800.00 per year, plus the other increases for doctor co-pays and prescription co-pays. He said let’s see what’s on either side of what you are asking of us. Our retirement health benefits is the end of the rainbow for public employees. They worked their whole career for it. It is the cornerstone of a contract agreement and any changes in that is very significant. He said he doesn’t think that any significant changes in health benefits can be expected. Mr. Walko said that he often hears that new employees know what they are getting into – you come here, you know what the deal is, you accept the salary. He said he is often told and he has seen it time after time, new employees when they start are either at a workshop or at their job – they are comparing the workshop to the job here. Once they get here and they have been here 6 months, they look around and say, how is my situation in comparison to everybody else that I work here. It is just human nature, it is what it is. The way you are hiring new employees, he thinks it is going to result in first of all discouraging new employees and will be losing good people and second, the ones that remain aren’t going to feel the same about the job like the people that are here. It is going to create friction in the office. Mr. Walko said we have yet to see a written proposal on a new scale but it is our understanding that it is the intent to cut back on new employees’ salaries. He said I stated the starting salary of a clerk and don’t know how you go much lower than that. Mr. Walko said I don’t ask to negotiate with you and I am not asking to negotiate publicly but there are issues on the table that should not be there. We have made some progress, for example, we have a proposal that says holidays will be eliminated for new employees. He said he doesn’t understand what are new employees supposed to show up for work when everybody else is home. Director Cappelli interjected and said if you want to be perfectly honest, we are talking about not being paid for those holidays. We are not asking them to show up on those holidays. Mr. Walko said that is not what it says. Up until now, the County has never told people if you don’t show up we won’t pay you. Regarding opt out, Mr. Walko said he tried to address this in the past. The proposal as it is written basically says to employees, we don’t want you to run for the Board of Education in your town – we don’t think it is a good idea, in fact, we will pay you extra if you don’t run. The proposal says that if you are an elected official, which they are, you will be eligible for opt out. You will be eligible for health benefits. So instead of giving you opt out for a fraction of the cost, we will give you health benefits and pay the full rate just so you don’t’ run for the Board of Education. He said it doesn’t make sense and it is still there. Director Cappelli said are you telling me if you run for Board of Education, you get health benefits. Mr. Walko responded and said, “No, we don’t, but that doesn’t’ matter you still can opt out. Mr. Walko gave an example and said if your husband works for Campbell Soup and you are a clerk in the Prosecutor’s office and you decide to run for the Board of Education in Hi-Nella, you write off your opt out and the County pays more – that is the proposal and it is not like he hasn’t said it about issue with not providing opt out for people that work for any other government agency. He said if my spouse works in Philadelphia, for the City of Philadelphia or the federal government in Philadelphia, I can opt out because I am covered. To me it seems like you guys are throwing money over to the Boards, if my spouse works for the Board of Education in Cinnaminson, we would rather have my spouse opt out in Cinnaminson and save the Board of Education in Cinnaminson the money then save the Camden County taxpayers the money. That is what this says. He said he has addressed this in the past. Mr. Walko said there are a number of things that were proposed that just doesn’t seem to sink in. He said he noted in the Burlington County proposal contract settlement had a zero generic co-pay and there is a reason for that. There are a lot of brand name drugs that are going into generics – there are savings to be had by really encouraging people to use generics. He has had this discussion with County officials. He said we had a proposal that addressed that issue that imposed a penalty if you don’t use generics. He said there is a much bigger buy by members using generics over brand names. This generic brand name spread should be bigger. We talked about people who have chronic diseases – you have a self-insured plan. Encourage disease prevention for people who have diabetes, Parkinson disease, make sure they are doing what they are supposed to do. None of this happens. He said we will consider elimination of the traditional plan which for a long time was something that the County was interested in – we talked about these things. We talked about education for employees on opt out. You can save money by trying to get everybody that they can to opt out. He said you should be out there selling these things to your employees. You should be pushing mail order. Mr. Walko said the proposal that he got and said he knows it is a mistake, but it has been there, been there, been there! It actually has higher percentage number values if you mail order than if you go to the retail outlet. Mr. Walko said he knows that the intent has been to think about flat rates so that if you go to the retail outlet, you pay less, but if you go three months with mail order prescription you pay two months and get the third month for free. He said there is no focus on the proposal. It has higher percentages so why would anybody go for mail order if you are going to get a higher percentage. How do I deal with that? Director Cappelli asked Mr. Walko how much longer he was going to speak because he wanted to give other members of the public time to speak. Mr. Walko responded and said there are a number of members from this Bargaining Unit who would like to speak. Mr. Walko said this is my chance to talk to the whole Board together. He said we talk about eliminating providers. He said Council #10 is open and has been in the past and has brought things to the Board. A lot of cost savings has come from us to you. Council #10 says look here is how you save money why don’t you do this – we talked about this. One of the ways to hold down costs if you are going to have the co-pay and he has seen places where they just provide a cheaper plan. Nobody thinks on that side – I can give them a $30.00 doctor visit co-pay and that way when they pay a percentage it will be a lot cheaper for someone who doesn’t go who would rather have a $30.00 than a $20.00 co-pay. Mr. Walko said I am anxious to get this thing done. I don’t want to take any more time and I try not to take more time of the Board than I have to, I felt that these things have to be said. There are people from the Bargaining Unit who want to say things because they are frustrated and I encourage them to come forward and tell the Freeholders how they feel.
Director Cappelli said just a few words in response. The Director said this notion of people not being worth what they are paid he doesn’t know where that is coming from but certainly is not the position of this Board. At the same time and we are not going to negotiate in public, the Director said the members of this unit do work hard, as far as he knows and they do a great job and believes they are fairly compensated. The Director said he has the list of their salary in front of him and said he thinks they are very fairly compensated based on the numbers he sees, but we need to negotiate in good faith and we will continue to do so. Director Cappelli said other counties settling without increases and co-pays without contributions to health benefits, frankly, I think that is irresponsible of those governments. He said you need to look at the contract we approved tonight with the unit within the Prosecutor’s office and he said he thinks that is a good place to start if you want to continue to move forward. Mr. Walko responded and said I don’t want to go into those details and has had some discussion; he hasn’t seen the agreement but expects to see it shortly. He understands that there are some economic incentives. Those things haven’t been offered to this Bargaining Unit.

Elizabeth Talvert, Grant Coordinator for the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office addressed the Freeholders. She said she has applied for a number of grants and received over $3 million of funding to help the budget. Her duties include prepare grants which is very tedious and time consuming. It is just a portion of her responsibilities. Besides preparing the grants, she is responsible for ordering equipment and supplies. She said she has responsibilities at work and obligations at home. She said we all have families to feed, clothe and educate. She said it has been a long 22 months without a contract. It has been very difficult for us to make ends meet. She said she is asking the Freeholders to please let us negotiate and settle our contract very soon.
Theresa Fowler identified herself as working in the Domestic Violence/Family Court unit of the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office. Ms. Fowler said our unit consists of two full-time Assistant Prosecutors, one part-time Assistant Prosecutor, two Superior Officers, two senior investigators and three in-house investigators, two Domestic Task Force investigators and only three clerical support staff. One of which transcribes Spanish statements for the entire office; therefore, leaving us with two and one-half full time clerical support staff. She said from 2006, we received 1,691 domestic violence and family court cases. She said we transcribed 946 statements and receive 129 cases as a result of domestic violence incidents. Ms. Fowler said so far this year, we received 1,064 domestic violence and family court cases; we had 712 taped statements to transcribe and received 115 scheduled cases as a result of domestic violence incidents. Ms. Fowler said not including her secretarial duties, she schedules cases for Grand Jury; prepares subpoenas and indictments for Grand Jury. She prepares acquisitions for PIC conferences, Pre-Litigation Conferences and enters their dispositions into the system. She gathers and prepares weekly, monthly and yearly statistics for domestic violence /family court, domestic violence task force unit and also the yearly statistics for the State of New Jersey. She said she prepares cases for family court, which include gathering paperwork, preparing subpoenas and discovery. She also helps out the Assistant Prosecutors with their upcoming trials. She subpoenas witnesses and contacts expert witnesses to testify in trials. She said her job title is a Senior Clerk Typist, however, her duties far exceed senior clerk typist, which saves the County money. She said, “I would like to see one of you Freeholders do my job and have my pay and tell me how happy you are”.

Joan Troncone-Tardi identified herself as being an employee with the Camden County Prosecutor’s office for 25 years and a taxpayer of Camden County for 44 years. She said she was assigned to the Child Abuse Unit this past September. She said this unit is comprised of two attorneys, six investigators, one sergeant, two secretaries and one victim advocate. The unit is located in the satellite office to provide a comfortable environment for the young victims that we serve. She said previously she worked in the unit one day per week for one year. While the unit always had two secretaries assigned to it – Linda Russen, her partner, was the lone secretary for almost two years. She said due to the volume of work and the newly enforced “Stem to Stern” statements, which are very lengthy, for this reason, she was transferred on a permanent basis to that unit. By not immediately assigning a second full time secretary to the unit, we saved the County money. She said for two and one-half years, the unit had two victim advocates, however, since 2005, the unit has operated only with one advocate. The second advocate was never replaced. While the parents are being interviewed by investigators and the victim advocate is not available, the responsibility of watching the children falls on the secretary. Again, the County has saved money by not replacing the second victim advocate. Even though, we have all done our part in taking on more responsibility and more work, instead of being rewarded for it, we have been punished. While our workload has increased significantly, our pay has not increased because we have been without a contract for almost 2 years. She said while our unit has been trying to negotiate in good faith, the County has not. She asked the Freeholders to please recognize the efforts of the clerical staff, who has taken on additional responsibilities and seeing to it that the work gets done to maintain the fine reputation of the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office. Please show us you appreciate our efforts by negotiating a contract now, not months or as suggested by the Courier Post’s quote, “Well into next year”. Thank you.

Joe Tracy of Council#10 identified himself as working in the Narcotics Unit and since 1998 has been the financial account manager for the Philadelphia/Camden High Drug Trafficking Area Grant. As such, Mr. Tracy said it is his responsibility to keep an accounting record of all the financial transactions for grants. He has extensive knowledge of guidelines that must be followed to insure funding. He prepares all monthly, quarterly and annual financial reports and without this proper reporting funding for the task force, it would be eliminated. The Task Force has experienced colossal success in the disruption of the most highly drug trafficking organization in Camden County since its inception in 1997. On a yearly basis, this grant saves the taxpayers of Camden County by providing the task force award of over $750,000.00. This grant supports operations by providing benefits for over 33 investigators, overtime reimbursements, wiretap expenditures, P5 which is undercover buy money. In the year 2006, task force operations led the seizure of CDS with a street value of over $2.5 million dollars as well as over $448,000.00 in currency, which is forfeited and will be credited to the Prosecutor’s Office Forfeiture fund. He said the Camden Task Force has consistently been praised for both its investigative and financial support level by OMBC officials as well as private auditors. He also noted that the narcotics unit in the past year has been downsized from four to three clerical positions, which has also saved the County money.

Vera Braun identified herself as working in the Administrative/Forfeiture/Community Partnership/Expungement and Internship Program. Ms. Braun said on behalf of Janet Carty who works in the Administrative Services and under Sergeant Dennis Jordan, she is responsible for the following duties: ordering all office provisions; receiving, stocking and supplying inventory; insuring paper supplies are replenished throughout the office; report meter readings on all copiers; updating new personnel information; maintaining toner orders for all printers, faxes and copiers; setting up pager accounts; creating and maintaining the annual investigator security night schedule. Ms. Braun said she is also the relief person for the front desk lobby, as well as the relief mail clerk. When possible, she transcribes tapes for any unit that is in need. Because the office did not replace a court position in her unit, Janet had to absorb extra duties as described above. This is truly a cost savings to the County.

Roseann Scowkowski of the Prosecutor’s office addressed the Board. Ms. Scowkowski said she worked for that office for almost 11 years. She currently is assigned to the Administrative/Forfeiture/Community Partnership Unit. Her duties include opening files for all petitions received; review all expungement petitions; prepare for Court; research; check the automated complaint system and acquire a New Jersey Criminal history report to verify information obtained from individuals. She also has to provide Superior Court Judges with information regarding name changes. To date she said she has handled 913 expungements and name changes. She said her predecessor held the title of Paralegal Specialist. She said the work she does is clearly the work of a Paralegal. However, she said her current title is Senior Clerk Typist. The fact that her title is Senior Clerk Typist instead of Paralegal Specialist saves the County money. Many of the clerical in Council #10 are working “out of title”. We, more than anyone, understand that the cost of everything has gone up except for salaries. She said the members of this Union do their part every day to keep the Prosecutor’s Office running efficiently regardless of what title we hold and because of the decrease in staff, the added work that we do. All we are asking is that the Freeholders that were elected by the voters of Camden County, some of which are members of this Union, come to the table and negotiate a fair and equitable contract. Thank you.

Pat Steiner identified herself as being a member of the Camden County Prosecutor’s office, addressed the Freeholders. She said she is assigned to the Police Academy of Camden County College. She said our office has been downsized from two secretaries to one and she has absorbed all the administrative work for two police classes per year with an average of 35 to 40 recruits per class, including the coordination of the graduation ceremony for each class. Ms. Steiner said she manages the paperwork for the in-service courses for in county and out of county police departments as well as the day to day secretarial duties of the unit. She said my multi-tasking position at the Police Academy is quite a substantial savings to the County.

Jean Millhouser identified herself as working for administration in the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office. Ms. Millhouser said just one example of her responsibility is to prepare purchase requisitions and work within an operating and expense budget that virtually has not been increased for the last seven years. She said her unit formerly consisted of four support staff, however, it has been downsized to three. Working with an under-funded budget and less staff creates a cost savings to the County.

Donna Trongon identified herself as working for the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office in the Major Crimes/Career Criminals/Fugitive/Insurance Fraud/Computer Crime/Homeland Security Unit. She said she is not responsible for running and maintaining one unit, I report to several for which she has assistance from Barbara Oliver from the Fugitive Unit. I actively support four Assistant Prosecutor and thirteen investigation staff. She is responsible for creating and maintaining all communication logs for each unit; prepares specialized indictment and acquisitions for all of the above-mentioned units; provides trial support for the Assistant Prosecutors by organizing documents, preparing subpoenas and act as liaison between the Assistant Prosecutors and investigators while they are on trial. She prepares Waivers and Orders for extradition and opens case files on fugitives. She fields phone calls from out of State agencies on a daily basis on such fugitives and prepares detainers and warrants as needed. She said she also assists with validation of all the NCIC entries. She said not just our unit but all the secretaries that came before you of this office now must transcribe “Stem to Stearn” Statements. It has been ordered by the State of New Jersey that all conversations from the minute you walk into an interview room with a defendant, it must be recorded and transcribed. While these statements can take several days of the week, these statements used to average from 15 to 50 pages. They are now taking between 100 to 250 pages. That work has severely increased for every typist in this unit. She said she fields phone calls from all 37 of our Camden County Municipal Police Departments on a daily basis when they are in need of an advisor while on duty. She said she has to be sure she puts them through to someone immediately so they get the necessary assistance. She said the Insurance Fraud Unit Sergeant recently resigned and was not replaced. She said she is now responsible for his reports. Her position is a combination of several positions, which have all been absorbed by her which again is a cost savings to the County. She said we all work hard for Camden County, we increased our efficiency and perform a valuable service for all of the taxpayers of the County. We are simply asking to be treated fairly and with respect.

Elaine Tracy identified herself as a member of Council #10 and works for the Supervisors Payroll Unit of the Prosecutor’s Office, addressed the Board. She said she currently works with an $18 million dollar salary and wage budget. She said because of her hands on experience with the budget, she knows first hand how hard the Prosecutor’s office has worked over the past five years to cut costs. She said this is evidenced by the amount of reduction in staff over the past years. She said in 2005, our office consisted of 280 employees. In 2007, we have 246 employees, a reduction of 34 positions. She said over the years, we have been saving the County millions of dollars in salaries, overtime and benefits. In the payroll unit alone, she said it was downsized thus creating a cost savings to the County of $70,000.00, plus $32,000.00 in benefits. We have taken on more work and doing it with less staff. She said their office also applies for overtime reimbursement from various municipalities in government agencies such as the FBI. These reimbursements offset the overtime budget and result in a cost savings to the County. She said although she is a registered nurse, she has a vast amount of experience with the County in finance and by her own choosing, she continues to work as the Payroll Supervisor of the Prosecutor’s Office. She said she always found the work to be challenging and rewarding and enjoys working with the Prosecutor’s Office employees who are extremely dedicated and strive to perform at their highest potential. She said our professional support bargaining unit consists of 59 employees – we have worked hard to do our part in putting criminals away. Please step up to do your part to offer our bargaining unit a fair contract. Thank you.

Vera Braun of the Administrative/Forfeiture/Community/Partnership/Expungement/Internship Program of the Prosecutor’s Office addressed the Board on behalf of Amy Blesscoff who works in the pre-arraignment conference discovery unit. Ms. Braun said Amy prepares anywhere from 100 to 120 cases a week in order to meet court deadlines for Fridays. After these cases are set up, along with one other employee, she must extract pertinent files for discovery for that week. The pre-arraignment conference and discovery unit originally consisted of four employees, however, the two units combined and although the volume of the cases has increased, they have only cut down to two employees! Again, this creates a cost savings to the County. She said her father was the Assistant Chief Director of Camden County Probation. We have a long history with Camden County. As that family member and independently, she said she is a taxpayer. She said her father was very proud to work in Camden County. What are you doing to his legacy?

Angie Slane identified herself as a recent hire at the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office, addressed the Board. She said she worked 36 years in the private sector and left because she wanted a position with job security and benefits. She said she worked for a national freight transportation company that was sold twice in the six years she was there and downsized to bear bones to show a profit to the investors. She said there was no advancement for an hourly employee, which she was, and promotions were only for the few salaries that were left standing after the mass exodus to competitor trucking outfits. She said the survivors like herself did the work of two to three people, much like the employees at her new job at the Prosecutor’s Office. This seems to be a standard now in the business world and you are expected to be a sponge and absorb the workload of several people at the same rate of pay and be grateful you have a job. She said she went to the Prosecutor’s office with the thought that their office will always be in business because there will always be crime. On her first day, she said we had a unit meeting to discuss the fact that Council #10 support staff union did not have a contract for almost 2 years. Where is the job security, where are the benefits? She said my old company had a motto, “We are the best of the best” and they are in the transportation industry. She said she has only been with the Prosecutor’s Office for one month, working at the front desk where I am the first point of contact the Public sees and hears. First impressions take on a whole new meaning for me. In her opinion, the dedication, professionalism and competence that all employees in this office have certainly justify an increase to their paychecks and benefits package. They see, read, hear and type about humanity at its worst while maintaining their professionalism and dedication. Once again, I am happy to say, “I work with the best of the best”. In closing, she urged the Freeholders to settle the contract quickly and fairly so the support staff doesn’t have a distraction of this issue and can focus on what they are paid to do, serving the people of Camden County. Thank you.

Christine Herwacki, identified herself as working in the Grand Jury Unit of the Prosecutor’s Office, addressed the Board. She said her primary responsibility is setting up Grand Jury dates, transcribing case statements, preparing subpoenas and formulating monthly reports. She said the other two clerical staff, Barbara Gavino and Denise Long, handle pre-trial intervention, drug court and pre-indictment conferences and bail. Some of their duties consist of scheduling, gathering files and assisting Assistant Prosecutors to get ready for Court. She said all three of us field case screening phone calls, all general phone calls, victim calls, attorney calls and give assistance to any outside agency. In the course of a normal day, we must fit in typing correspondence, briefs, motions, forfeiture orders, restitution orders and appeals. Due to the shortage of Grand Jury investigators and Grand Jury secretaries, we have to absorb investigative duties. Thus, this is a cost savings to the County.

Rebecca Milano, identified herself as being with the Juvenile Unit of the Prosecutor’s office, addressed the Board. Ms. Milano said where adult crime cases take longer, juvenile cases should be put through the system within 90 days. We have to work very fast and furiously. She said she and her co-secretary have handled over 4000 cases to date compared to 7,300 on the adult side of the office. She said we input all relevant information into the system to open files; set up files for hearings; type all statements as ordered by the State; all trial preparation of execution matters and forfeiture funds matters and handle State requests for files of sexual offenders. She said tonight I have justified how I am saving the County money. I have been with the Prosecutor’s Office for 22 years and I am entitled to two 15 minute breaks and an hour for lunch; neither are taken on a regular basis. She said she has worked over eight hours and not collected overtime or comp time but it doesn’t seem to matter that she or her co-workers are dedicated to our jobs. It was stated by a Freeholder on the record and I quote:
“We don’t care what you do, we only care what it costs”.
You hear that in Camden County, your Freeholders are not interested at all about you the victim: you, the taxpayer; you the person; nor do they care about crime in your neighborhood. If they can cut the costs to protect, they will and they have. It is nice to know that our Freeholders have no clue about what it’s like to be involved in the justice system or have members work without a contract for over two years. That’s right, two years without a contract, probably closer to three. The cost of living raises mean nothing. We have women’s paychecks that won’t cover the rent anymore as well as an increase in all other expenses. Our taxes have increased and the Freeholders know that. She said as we stand here in the expensive Boathouse, it is being reported that people are moving out of New Jersey because they are unhappy. She said as County workers we are not allowed to live outside of Camden County. Forty percent of people polled believe that government in their area is corrupt. Every night on Channel 6 there is a commercial on about how great Camden County is but you won’t settle our contract. She said we are not allowed to strike so we are saving you money right there because believe me if we could we would. She asked the Freeholders to do the right thing and settle our contract fairly.

Jean Millhouser, Trustee of the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office, Council #10 addressed the Freeholder Director and said through the combined efforts of our agency and particularly the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office, we were thrilled at the report that Camden City does not have the highest crime rate in the Country again. She said we feel privileged to work in the Prosecutor’s Office and take pride in the work that we do to help fight crime each and every day in this County. She said we would like to remind the Freeholder Board, we are the only Bargaining Unit in the Prosecutor’s Office that is mandated to live in Camden County. Therefore, when the County talks about saving the taxpayers’ money, we are, in fact, the taxpayers. We are not the double dippers, we are not the County workers that were afforded extremely high paying jobs at the end of their career in order to collect a pension based on that high salary. She said, “We are a SUPPORT staff”, that is rarely acknowledged for all of our efforts so that our Assistant Prosecutors, Investigators and Agents are able to do their job effectively so this is a safe County to live in. She said to our liaison to the Prosecutor’s Office, Freeholder Ripa, we agree with you when you said it is inconceivable that a Bargaining Unit should be without a contract for over 22 months. She said to him she knew that he was a former Labor Leader. She said she thought this was supposed to be a labor-friendly County. She asked the Freeholder, will you help us? She said although the workload has increased and we are working with a reduced staff and for the first time in this County, this unit is agreeing to contribute to the cost of their healthcare premium and we are agreeing to increase our doctor and prescription co-pays and we are agreeing to reduce our sick time sellback. Therefore, again we are saving the County money. She said to Freeholder McDonnell that she knows that this addresses his concerns, yet we still have no contract. Can you help us? To the Freeholder Director, she said we thank you for your direction at last month’s meeting where you suggested we negotiate with our Prosecutor. We have, in fact, started that battle and we thank you for that. All we are asking for is meaningful and progressive negotiations so we can come to a fair and equitable settlement. In conclusion, she said to Freeholder Director Cappelli, could you please direct your staff to allow us to continue negotiations with our Prosecutor? Can we have your word on that?
Freeholder Director Cappelli responded and said, we will.

Karl Walko, President of Council #10, addressed the Board once again. Mr. Walko said he wanted to make three comments. He said when we talked about percentage co-pays, you know the position of Council #10 and that position still stands. His point there was that he thinks Camden County should first look at ways to save money without impacting employees or eliminating the impact on employees; looking how we can restructure plans, restructure benefits and save money that way. He said I don’t think you should come to employees first; that is a tremendous frustration on Council #10’s part. Secondly, he said he wanted to remind the Board that when he addressed the Board years ago and how difficult it is to speak in public and how difficult it is to speak to the Freeholder Board and people that direct the County, these people are to be commended for speaking to you and also it shows their frustration. Finally, Mr. Walko said employee after employee cited there are additional duties in that office that they are picking up and that is true throughout the County as the workforce has shrunk, people have picked up duties. Mr. Walko said apparently they picked up another duty which is coming to Freeholder meetings to try to get a contract. He said I would like to cut that duty out to get a contract as soon as we can! Thank you.

There being no other public comment, the Director asked for a motion to close the public portion. Freeholder Nash made a motion to close the public portion with a second by Freeholder Cream and all Freeholders present voted aye.

The Director then called upon the Freeholders for their comments.

Freeholder Cream congratulated Health & Human Services, Patrick Shuttleworth and Freeholder Rodriguez for the wonderful day in the Park where all the people are given their flu shots. That is one of our best things that we do and have been doing for over 10 years. It was well accepted and keep up the good work.

Freeholder Nash extended his congratulations once again to Ed McDonnell and Caren Fishman for all of their hard work to make this beautiful facility a reality.

Freeholder Ripa said as is his custom, he would like to thank all the County employees for all they do, our Aides and Secretaries and all the employees, those in the Prosecutor’s office as well, and I understand your problems and sympathize with your problems, however, I think negotiations should take place in negotiating rooms and not at Freeholder meetings. That being said, again, thank you for coming, you were heard and I appreciate all that you do. I know most of you don’t think so but we do. Again, thank you all for all that you do for this County.

Freeholder Rodriguez said she would like to thank all of our employees for they do work very hard throughout the County. She said we did have a wonderful kick-off of the flu shot program. She said we gave over 1500 flu shots. She reminded everyone that it is Hispanic Heritage Month and the County does have an event on Monday, October 24th, in conjunction with the Office of Hispanic Affairs and the County will have its 12th Annual Prominent Hispanic Award. She said we will be honoring a number of outstanding Hispanics that have contributed great things to the County throughout the many years.

Freeholder Greco thanked Pennsauken for hosting the meeting this evening. He said this is obviously a beautiful facility. He thanked the employees for coming to speak this evening. He said he is an educator and that is how you learn by listening. Thank you for that opportunity.

Deputy Director McDonnell thanked everyone for coming. He appreciated the meeting and appreciated dialogue with the Prosecutor’s Office. Hopefully, we will get this contract done pretty soon.

Director Cappelli said he thinks it is fair to say the great work that is being done at the Prosecutor’s Office; the sacrifices being made not only there but throughout the County to help save the taxpayers money. The Director said at this point we are in a time when property taxes in the State of New Jersey are driving residents and businesses out of the State so we are trying to do our best to balance our obligation to protect the taxpayers of Camden County with our obligation to negotiate in good faith. We will continue to negotiate in good faith and hopefully reach a resolution, but it is a difficult time for public employees. It is a difficult time for employees everywhere. Unfortunately, there could be some painstaking days ahead but the good faith will continue. With that, the Director said he would like to thank the employees of Camden County for the hard work that they do day in and day out on behalf of the residents of Camden County. “GO RUTGERS”!

There being no further business, Freeholder Nash made a motion to adjourn with a second by Freeholder Rodriguez at 8:45 p.m. and all Freeholders present voted aye.

Respectfully submitted,

Linda Szczesniewski
Clerk of the Board