VTMBH Article: Body
When he took office in January, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz said he would hire a Haitian person to serve as a liaison with the community and his office, but eight months later, there is still no one in that post.
A personnel officer in Markowitz human resources department said that the bureau is in a hiring freeze.
The budget is a disaster this year, said Yvonne Graham, deputy borough president. Were really working to see how we can work within the funds.
During an interview with the Haitian Times in January, Markowitz said he was waiting on the budget, hoping his office would get enough to hire new staff.
Andy Ross, spokesperson for the borough president, said that the $1 million discretionary fund the city granted the borough president last year was eliminated for the 2003 fiscal year.
The budget for fiscal year 2003, approved last month by the City Council, mandates that city agencies reduce their expenses by 20 percent, among other measures.
Ross said the borough presidents budget for the 83 people currently on staff and receiving benefits is $4.3 million, while during the last fiscal year the budget provided about $5 million for 92 employees.
The City Council and Mayor Michael Bloomberg agreed on an overall budget of $42.3 billion for the city on June 19 after months of debate over how to close the citys $5 million budget deficit.
Graham, a Jamaican, has met with some members of the community, including the 18 Mai Committee, Henry Frank of the Haitian Centers Council, and Arioste Denis of the United Haitians Associations of the USA. Ross said Markowitzs office is still soliciting resumes for the liaison position.
Graham said they have not developed a formal job description, but added it is important to have a Haitian person who can stay in contact with Haitian organizations, bring feedback to Markowitz and disseminate information about borough programs. She said a salary has not been set, but that it would depend on a candidates experience.
Of the many politicians who campaigned in the Haitian and overall Caribbean communities to gain votes in the last Novembers elections, Markowitz is the only one who said he intended to hire a Haitian intermediary after he took office. One former State Assembly candidate said Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Charles Schumer have not publicly offered to hire any Haitians, even though Haitians contributed significantly to their campaigns.
This is something the borough president wanted to achieve, said Ross.
A personnel officer in Markowitz human resources department said that the bureau is in a hiring freeze.
The budget is a disaster this year, said Yvonne Graham, deputy borough president. Were really working to see how we can work within the funds.
During an interview with the Haitian Times in January, Markowitz said he was waiting on the budget, hoping his office would get enough to hire new staff.
Andy Ross, spokesperson for the borough president, said that the $1 million discretionary fund the city granted the borough president last year was eliminated for the 2003 fiscal year.
The budget for fiscal year 2003, approved last month by the City Council, mandates that city agencies reduce their expenses by 20 percent, among other measures.
Ross said the borough presidents budget for the 83 people currently on staff and receiving benefits is $4.3 million, while during the last fiscal year the budget provided about $5 million for 92 employees.
The City Council and Mayor Michael Bloomberg agreed on an overall budget of $42.3 billion for the city on June 19 after months of debate over how to close the citys $5 million budget deficit.
Graham, a Jamaican, has met with some members of the community, including the 18 Mai Committee, Henry Frank of the Haitian Centers Council, and Arioste Denis of the United Haitians Associations of the USA. Ross said Markowitzs office is still soliciting resumes for the liaison position.
Graham said they have not developed a formal job description, but added it is important to have a Haitian person who can stay in contact with Haitian organizations, bring feedback to Markowitz and disseminate information about borough programs. She said a salary has not been set, but that it would depend on a candidates experience.
Of the many politicians who campaigned in the Haitian and overall Caribbean communities to gain votes in the last Novembers elections, Markowitz is the only one who said he intended to hire a Haitian intermediary after he took office. One former State Assembly candidate said Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Charles Schumer have not publicly offered to hire any Haitians, even though Haitians contributed significantly to their campaigns.
This is something the borough president wanted to achieve, said Ross.