City Councilman Eric Ulrich (r.) wants to turn the Mayor’s Office of Veterans’ Affairs into a fully funded department.
Photo Courtesy of William Alatriste/City Council
With the preliminary executive budget due by Feb. 24, and budget meetings set to begin in earnest in less than a month, City Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park) continues to pursue his goal of a turning the Mayor’s Office of Veterans’ Affairs into a fully funded Department of Veterans’ Affairs.
Last April, Ulrich, who is the chairman of the Committee on Veterans, introduced a bill to amend the City Charter and Administrative Code “in relation to the establishment of a department of veterans’ affairs.”
Since then, Intro 314 has garnered 28 sponsors in the council; enough to pass, but six shy of the veto-proof majority.
The bill indicates that the newly minted DVA would be headed by a commissioner, much like most of the other city agencies. The bill would provide the department with the responsibility to cooperate with federal, state, and local agencies and to inform and assist members of the armed forces and veterans, and their families in matters relating to: educational training and retraining services and facilities; health, medical, and rehabilitation services and facilities; provisions of federal, state, and local laws and regulations giving special rights and privileges to members of the armed forces, veterans, and their families; employment and re-employment services; and other appropriate matters.
Additionally, Intro 314 requires the Veterans Advisory Board—which currently advises MOVA and is comprised of nine members: five appointed by the mayor and four appointed by the Speaker of the City Council—to counsel the DVA commissioner on all matters concerning veterans, as well as keeping the requirements that they meet quarterly, keep records of meetings, and submit an annual report of their activities to the mayor and the council on or before Dec. 31 of each year.
The bill also amends the Administrative Code to require the department to publish information on its website concerning resources intended to assist veterans in obtaining employment, and to consult with city agencies to identify job postings for inclusion on the federal veterans’ job bank.
Intro 314 includes a requirement that each city agency designate an employee to act as a liaison with veterans within the agency, and the DVA to provide periodic training to these Veteran Service Officers, as well as to post on its website the names of the VSOs at each agency.
Redmond Haskins, Ulrich’s director of communications, was recently certified as a Veteran Service Officer.
“This bill will fundamentally change the city’s capacity to meet the demand of a growing and diverse veterans’ community,” Ulrich said. “Aside from the symbolic significance, it will allow for more funding to support VSOs and direct providers who serve veterans and their families. It is something that should have been done years ago and it will be a game changer in how we help local vets and transitioning service members.”
According to published reports, MOVA Commissioner Loree Sutton has officially weighed in on Intro 314 as part of her 90-day review of the office. Sutton’s agency progress report has been submitted to Mayor Bill de Blasio, but according to the Gotham Gazette, he had not yet read it. Her findings have not been made public.
Asked for his thoughts on a department of veterans’ affairs, de Blasio’s staff referred The Forum to previous comments on the record. At a recent press conference, de Blasio indicated that he has “never been convinced that turning an office into a department in any subject matter is really the way to get things done best.”
By Michael V. Cusenza
