MONTICELLO — Reacting to a gale of complaints about slow service, the county beefed up the staff handling heating aid applications over the weekend.

Since HEAP (Home Energy Assistance Program) began in mid-November, Sullivan County has received more than 10,000 calls, with paperwork piling up on desks inside the Department of Family Services (DFS).

Complaints have poured in to county offices, elected officials and community aid agencies, leading DFS' new deputy commissioner, Bill Moon, to acknowledge that “the backlog is the problem” - too often turning normal HEAP requests into emergency ones, with applicants waiting so long for aid that they risk running out of fuel.

“Some designs of HEAP are flawed,” he told legislators on Thursday, blaming it on “bottlenecks” like a small HEAP processing staff and insufficient room at the social services complex in Liberty.

“We haven't been able to attract a great number of returnees [to temporary HEAP positions this year],” he explained.

And due to the volume of aid applicants, “we need to develop alternate community sites that can handle the numbers.”

That's likely a project for the 2015-16 HEAP season, which Legislature Chairman Scott Samuelson affirmed has become a focus.

“They are already addressing next year, so that we don't fall into this again,” he told his colleagues.

In the meantime, according to Sullivan County Manager Josh Potosek, the county has assigned 41 DFS employees to work extended hours this week, on top of two dozen staffers who processed applications over the weekend.

Officials have also brought in a Hamden-based nonprofit to assist: Delaware Opportunities, a NYS-certified HEAP provider whose cost Potosek said will not exceed $10,000.

“These additional resources will be in place until such time that we have ensured that everyone deserving of heating assistance has received it in a reasonable amount of time,” Potosek stated, thanking the many DFS workers who volunteered to help.

Nevertheless, images of piles of unprocessed applications this past December, coupled with complaints to virtually every county agency and elected official over the past month, upset legislators Thursday.

“Some of the situation has been unacceptable in my book,” declared Legislator Cindy Gieger.

But she blamed much of the problem on the Legislature itself, arguing her colleagues only filled three of the 10 caseworker positions Health and Family Services Commissioner Randy Parker had requested for 2015.

“So the onus is really on this board,” she remarked.

That elicited an angry response from Legislator Kathy LaBuda.

“Nobody ever sat there and said those positions were for HEAP,” LaBuda replied, noting that Parker himself had reduced temporary HEAP workers by two in anticipation of contracting-out some of the application processing to Hudson Valley 211.

But it was Teamsters Local 445 union rep Sandy Shaddock who had the most critical words to say during Thursday's meeting.

“On December 1, a directive was sent to all staff, prohibiting building access after 6 p.m. and on Saturdays, thereby cutting all extra hours for the processing of HEAP applications,” she recalled. “Saturday overtime was not reinstated until January 3 - after the photos of the hundreds of unprocessed HEAP applications were circulated to this board.”

Shaddock had taken those pictures, blaming the problems not on the eight core HEAP workers but on management.

“The current HEAP debacle was created due to glaringly obvious management failures,” she charged. “... When is someone in this county going to address the failures that are evident and exploding on a daily basis? Is it going to take somebody dying?”

Parker and Moon did not return the Democrat's request for comment at press time.

While she's not responsible for HEAP, Public Health Director Nancy McGraw works in the social services complex in Liberty and has gotten calls of complaint.

“People are getting frozen pipes,” she told the Democrat Friday, recalling at least one HEAP applicant who waited two months for aid.

She acknowledged that staff cuts over the years have hurt many a county department, but the people they serve are hurting, too, she said.

“I think there's more poverty now, so I think people are more desperate,” she mused of the enormous volume of HEAP applications. “People are making choices between medicine, food and heat.”

Her staff can help people find food, warm clothing and services, and they'd like to do more.

“If my department was asked to step in and help in some way,” McGraw affirmed, “we'd be willing to do that.”

She felt the situation has become a safety and public health concern.

“I'm hoping they come up with a solution very quickly,” McGraw said. “People are suffering.”

Where's HEAP now?

According to Sullivan County Manager Josh Potosek, as of yesterday the backlog has diminished.

“There were 530 approved applications processed and sent to the fuel companies over the weekend,” Potosek told the Democrat. “One hundred thirty-two non-emergency applications will be processed today to eliminate the backlog. All emergencies with proper documentation are resolved.

“We currently have 224 applications that are pending due to a lack of documentation. We don't consider these as a backlog as they are pending documentation.

“We have been reaching out and will continue to reach out to these clients through the week to secure the needed documentation.”

How to apply

Visit myBenefits.ny.gov and apply online. Your application will be received by the local HEAP unit at Department of Family Services in Liberty as soon as you submit it online.

Or go in person to DFS at 16 Community Lane, Liberty.

If you are 60 years of age or older, you may also apply at the Office for the Aging at the Government Center at 100 North Street, Monticello.

For Information about the HEAP program, dial 211 or 807-0142.

Needed for the application

• A current fuel and/or utility bill or a statement from your landlord that your heat and/or utilities are included in your rent

• Proof of income for the previous 4 weeks

• Unemployment insurance award letter

• Bank statements, interest or dividend statements

• Pension award letter

• Copies of Social Security checks or direct deposit statements

• Business statements for the previous 3 months if you are self-employed or most recent income tax return with supporting schedules.

You may need to bring one of the following for each person in your household:

• Birth or marriage certificates

• School or baptismal records

• Social Security Cards

• Driver's license

More information about the HEAP program can be found at https://otda.ny.gov/programs/heap.