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Dissatisfied with health department
(by Erin Patricia Griffiths - July 22, 2008)
Due to the administration’s dissatisfaction with the overall performance of the health department, which is privately operated by Dan Levy and Steve Shayne, the River Vale Council is in the process of terminating the contract with the vendor that it shares with the
Township of
Washington .
The contract requires six months notice for termination and the decision was made with the intention of appointing a different provider starting in 2009. The contract can only be terminated at the end of a calendar year, and if it is not processed early enough, the contracted vendor would serve in the position until the end of 2009. The council does not want to commit to staying with the current contracted vendor for a year and a half if the performance of the department produces insufficient results in respect to the council’s expectations.
At the council’s July 14 meeting, Mayor Joseph Blundo declined to discuss the specifics of why the governing body has been unhappy with the department’s performance. “I don’t think it’s appropriate to get into where we were disappointed or want to see a reinforcement of our expectations with our vendor,” said Blundo. In a phone interview, Blundo stressed the point that the contracted vendor is not an employee of River Vale, thus it is a very different situation in regards to evaluation of work done in the town, and that the contract can be terminated without reason.
The council voted to send a letter to the vendor in June, formally severing ties with the contracted department. The letter elicited a response from Levy and Shayne, who have requested an opportunity to rectify the situation, citing miscommunication on the expectations the township had for the department’s performance as a contributing factor to the council’s unhappiness with the services.
The council was prepared to vote on the resolution to authorize the mayor to sign a health services contract until Blundo requested it be taken off the July 14 agenda and moved for consideration in two weeks.
According to Blundo, discussions with Levy and Shayne have led to a decision to allow the two to work on a plan to address the council’s concerns within the next two weeks. Once the plan has been evaluated, the mayor will determine if the plan is suitable for addressing the concerns raised.
The mayor expressed that it is possible that the administration was not necessarily clear on the expectations of the vendor. “We are going to give them an opportunity to work with us and see if we can come to a good place,” said Blundo. “If we don’t though, I will expect to be coming back to you on this in two weeks or in a month.”
Erin Patricia Griffiths' e-mail address is GriffithsE@northjersey.com.
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