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Dear Hudson County, 

The Hudson County Department of Family Services worked through this pandemic with grace under pressure. The Covid Pandemic was deadlier than the Spanish Flu, and we worked through it. In April of 2020, the US unemployment rate reached its highest level since the Great Depression;  our workload elevated in response, but we managed. 

We are now facing inflation. Workers are under pressure to keep up with the rising cost of living: food , transportation, and housing.

Getting to work is more expensive. The lowest grade of gasoline prices have risen above $4.00 per gallon, the tolls on our commute have increased, and so did cost of  public transportation.  Monthly rent has increased.  According to Redfin, the leading online real-estate brokerage agency, average rent has increased 14.1% year-over-year; the most drastic price increases occurring in metropolitan areas, like Hudson County. 

The latest inflation reading from the consumer price index measured at 7.9% , the highest year-over-year increase since 1982. Throughout 2021,  food prices have risen 7.6 %; driven by higher prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (16%).  Food prices away from home have increased 7.4 %. Household energy prices have risen 17.2%, including a 28.2% increase in electricity prices: the largest monthly increase since 1971, when these records began to be kept. 

Even our clients, who are legally recognized as living below their means, have received an appropriate response to inflation. In October of 2021, the USDA increased SNAP Benefits 27%. Yet, according to The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), clerks in our County should earn just over $27,000 per year. Who could possibly live on that income?

Urgently, we are requesting that our pay, and raises are adjusted in accordance to the  New Jersey State Civil Service Compensation Compendium, as seen here:

https://www.state.nj.us/csc/about/publications/pdf/Compendium.pdf

P95 62150/ P95 62150S: 

Family Services Specialist Trainee, (HSS1):  $54,390.80- $56,893.23 

At this time, HSS1 raise increments are in the amount of $2502.43, and are to max at $76,912.67. 

Clerical rates of pay are still yet to be determined. 

Sincerely, 

The Hudson County Department of Family Services.