County Personnel Committee Votes to Move WIC
Putnam County lawmakers took a big step toward moving the Women, Infants, and Children program to a private entity after the legislature’s personnel committee voted to move the resolution to the full meeting next month.
Despite some residents objecting to the discontinuation of WIC, lawmakers seem dead set on transferring the safety net program from the county to Open Door, a Brewster based family medical center. The final day WIC would run through the county is Sep. 30.
Legislator Nancy Montgomery, who opposes the move, said the removal of WIC has been a done deal since March, citing her discussion with a WIC coordinator from New York State and a previous letter the county sent the state about WIC months ago. She pleaded with other legislators to wait until the contract runs its five-year course before WIC is chopped. There is one year left to the contract.
She said west side county WIC recipients will have trouble getting over to Brewster for services.
“Right now, it’s not clear it’s going to serve in everyone’s best interest,” Montgomery said.
But Legislator and personnel committee chairwoman Ginny Nacerino tried to make the case that Open Door was better suited to handle WIC services because it was located in the Village of Brewster, where the concentration of WIC recipients live. Those residents that need transportation will get it through private funding, she said.
She made clear the WIC program is not a state mandate and that Open Door would better serve residents that use WIC. Doctors, dentists and other healthcare professionals are provided at Open Door, Nacerino said, that the county cannot offer.
Nacerino said the county is doing its best to find other positions for the employees that would face layoffs from the WIC discontinuation, which has been a concern for some lawmakers and residents that are against the move.
“There are times government must make tough and difficult decisions to protect the effectiveness, efficiencies and economy of the county and the taxpayers,” Nacerino said.
Personnel director Paul Eldridge told lawmakers he’s “very confident” those employees that would lose their current positions would be able to find other employment in county government.
Carmel resident Rebecca Swan, who is running for a seat on the legislature, said she supported moving WIC to Open Door, but the lack of transparency over the process was troubling. She said the county should let the contract run its full five-year course so those employees nearing retirement benefits would be able to attain the requisite amount of time needed.
Southeast Councilwoman Lynne Eckardt, who was speaking for herself, said if she were in the shoes of the WIC employees losing their jobs, near certainty about finding another county job would not be good enough for her.
Still, it appears most lawmakers are on board with the change.
Legislator Neal Sullivan said the topic has been discussed three times in as many months, calling the criticism that the process was not transparent “unfair.” Legislator Cal Albano said he didn’t see a downside to moving the WIC program.
“It’s the right thing to do for all the people of Putnam County,” Albano said.
