BY KATHY BARATTA
Staff Writer

HOWELL — The six-week stay of termination given to Howell’s Youth and Family Services Department on July 1 may be winding down to the inevitable conclusion: the closing of the department.

Municipal officials cited concerns over spending and did not include the Youth and Family Services Department in the 2005 budget.

The department has been in operation for more than 20 years.

Officials decided that the department could only remain operational if it was able to sustain itself outside the municipal budget through grants and other initiatives such as the start-up of a billing system.

The Youth and Family Services Department received a six-week stay of termination through a $50,000 grant from Monmouth County’s addiction services. That is expected to carry the department through Aug. 15.

According to the Howell finance department, although officials have been seeking additional funding, their efforts as of press time Tuesday had not yielded any additional money.

Township Manager Bruce Davis was not available for comment by press time this week.

Youth and Family Services Department director Holli Toline is no longer available for comment as Davis has mandated that all comment in the matter come from his office.

Municipal officials have said they are working to get the Youth and Family Services Department running under its own steam through the awarding of grants, insurance payments and another source, a 501C corporation that will be used to offset funding for the department as well as to fund other municipal initiatives.

Finance officer Jeffrey Filiatreault has said it could take several months before these new initiatives are up and running on their own.