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West Haven council hears personnel, HR and Malloy community center plans in budget workshop
Summary
City officials outlined personnel and human-resources changes, including elimination of an administrative floater, recruitment for about 10 positions, continuing veterans outreach funding and plans to open the Malloy community center with supplemental bonding for furniture and EV chargers.
Christopher Vargo, chairman of the West Haven City Council, presided over a May 20 continuation of the council’s budget workshops where department heads reviewed personnel and human-resources proposals.
Justin Rosen, director of personnel and labor relations, told the council the personnel office manages hiring, onboarding, benefits and union relations for 446 active city employees and said the department is recruiting for about 10 open positions. ‘‘Although personnel is a small department, our budget is well utilized, and we touch every department and division of city service,’’ Rosen said, and announced the proposed elimination of an administrative floater position as a cost-saving measure, adding that ‘‘current operations can be managed with existing staff.’’ Rosen also described updates to policies and an employee‑handbook rewrite and said an employee-spotlight program is funded through donations and grants.
John Carano, representing human resources, said HR is the administrative home for senior services, youth and family services, parks and recreation and the health department. Carano noted the human-resources budget contains program line items that the mayor restored after proposing reductions: ‘‘When the mayor asked for a bare-bones budget, I dropped it to 12,000. She then came out and in her final recommendation decided to not reduce those services and moved it back to 20,000,’’ Carano said, referring to veterans outreach funding.
Carano described the client-assistance account and the city’s use of the Uniform Relocation Assistance process when units are deemed uninhabitable. He said the city can provide up to $4,000 per person in relocation assistance when landlords do not rehouse residents.
Council members asked for line‑item clarifications and schedule details for training and programs. Rosen said training is largely on-demand but that the administration plans targeted supervisor training, and Carano agreed to provide schedules for senior-shuttle routes and to reconcile payroll entries that appeared inconsistent in the budget book.
Why it matters: Personnel and HR accounts fund staff who deliver services citywide; small adjustments in these budgets can affect day-to-day operations in senior services, youth programming and public-health outreach. The council recessed to continue work the next evening with engineering and other departments on the schedule.
