South Orange May Lay Off 14 Village Employees

SOUTH ORANGE—Citing the Village's $5.1 million budget deficit, the South Orange Board of Trustees voted Monday to submit a draft layoff plan to the state Department of Personnel cutting 14 jobs from the city payroll.

That follows in the wake of Maplewood's decision earlier this year to abolish the jobs of 17 city employees.

Under the terms of the South Orange plan, five jobs would be cut from the Department of Public Works, two from Recreation and Cultural Affairs, four from Code Enforcement, one from the Municipal Court, and two from the Library.

The resolution was passed by a vote of 4-2, with trustees Stacey Jennings and Terriann Moore-Abrams voting against, saying they wanted to ensure that the measure was a last resort.

"I've been laid off, I've laid off people—it's not easy," said Village President Douglas Newman. "These are difficult times for everybody."

The meeting room Monday evening was filled with Village employees—many from Public Works—who spoke about how the layoffs would reduce services and harm the quality of life in South Orange and urged the Trustees to table the resolution.

"These layoffs will be detrimental to every single [resident's] quality of life," said Mike Candarella, a 20-year employee at Public Works and the shop steward for OPEIU, the union that represents Village employees in departments including Public Works, Recreation and Municipal Court.

If approved by the state Department of Personnel, the draft plan would have to be approved again by the Board of Trustees to take effect.