COUNTY — Multiple Union County employees will not be paid on schedule this holiday season due to allegedly unforeseen budgetary constraints.

Earlier this month, public-safety officials employed by the Offices of Emergency Management and Emergency Medical Services received word from Dennis Burke, the county’s director of public safety that their December 13 paychecks would not be delivered until the following week. “The delay in this pay is due to a lack of funding in the Department’s budget,” Mr. Burke wrote to his employees. “We understand that this delay in payroll may be a hardship for some of you. Unfortunately, the Department’s budget has been depleted and…we cannot make any payments for payroll, expenses, or otherwise.”

Mr. Burke assured employees that they would be paid once the Union County Board of County Commissioners could pass a resolution to authorize a necessary budget transfer to make up for the discrepancy.

County Manager Edward Oatman told The Westfield Leader that the county “deeply regrets” the inconvenience that the delay could cause for its employees, adding that no other departments or county-run services were adversely affected by the incident.

“This is a personnel matter that unfortunately has impacted the lives of several of our employees. Individual departments are responsible for managing their budgets and communicating the needs of the departments in a timely manner so that adequate funds can be made available,” Mr. Oatman said, adding that the Commissioner Board is expected to approve the requisite transfer at its next meeting.

This is not the first time this year that Union County has come under fire for failing to meet its financial obligations. In July, the New Jersey Office of the State Comptroller requested that Governor Phil Murphy withhold funding from the county after it failed to follow certain procedural regulations before granting tuition reimbursements to Mr. Oatman and Bibi Taylor, the county’s director of finance. Then, in September, the county issued a hiring freeze to all department heads and Constitutional officers, which remained in effect for several months.

“We deeply value the hard work and dedication of our emergency management and medical services employees,” Mr. Oatman said. “They play a vital role in ensuring the safety and well-being of our community, and we remain committed to supporting them. We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding as we complete this administrative process and work to avoid similar situations in the future.”