Loss of Revenue Comes to Trenton After Layoffs

It looks like more bad news is coming to Trenton, New Jersey, and the cause is layoff. For those of you who do not remember the layoffs that took place last year, and the lawsuit that surrounded them, here is a look at our earlier coverage on the topic:

“Tokarcik used to be the city’s only plumbing inspector, and after his layoff a private company had to be brought in to complete the inspections for the city’s construction projects and renovations. The company in question is EIC Inspection Agency, which is based in Jersey City.

The acting director of the city’s inspections department, Cleveland Thompson, spoke out against the move. Under the current arrangement the contractor keeps the bulk of the fees from the permits that are issued. Under the old arrangement the city kept all of the funds, though when you look at the numbers that is not as much money as you may think.

The city was paying out about $111,000 each year for Mr. Tokarcik’s salary and benefits, and he only collected about $131,800 in permit fees during the course of the 2010-2011 year.  So, it may actually be that allowing a contractor to take a piece of the fees, even if it is a large piece, may be more profitable.

Currently Mr. Tokarcik is not the only former Trenton city employee who is looking to sue the city over their termination. Several other employees have filed suit against the city for wrongful termination as well. The outcomes of the majority of these suits are currently pending.”

Well it looks like the layoffs are having a more profound effect than the city intended when they decided to cut down on the jobs. The loss of workers has actually created a dearth of revenue for the city. The city’s acting inspections director made a statement this week telling the members of the city council that his dearth of workers has prevented the city from collecting money from the contractors who have had permits issued to him. Despite the fact that they loss was not a large percentage of the overall losses, with only seven of the 150 positions cutback in September from this department, but that along with two retirements in the department things have been tight.

“We have at least four cabinets of permits that are issued and the money is there to be collected but we don’t have the staff to call the contractors to come pick up these permits,” Cleveland Thompson, the acting inspections director, said during a budget hearing that took place earlier last week. “That’s revenue that’s being wasted because we do not have the adequate staffing.”

They are currently citing the stacks of issued permits and inspection that have been issued by the city have not had their fees collected for want of agents to go out and collect the fees that the city is owed. On the whole the office does have four different positions open, that they have the budget to hire for, in order to fulfill those needs.