“Model Lead-Safe City”

Agreement Signed with Public Advocate

Englewood Mayor Michael Wildes has signed a “Model Lead-Safe City” agreement with Public Advocate Ronald Chen to aggressively respond to and prevent the problem of childhood lead poisoning.

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MODEL LEAD-SAFE CITY AGREEMENT BETWEEN

THE NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF THE PUBLIC ADVOCATE AND

THE CITY OF ENGLEWOOOD

WHEREAS lead poisoning can cause irreversible, life-long, serious harm including

neurological and behavioral problems, developmental disabilities , decreased I.Q., growth

problems, hearing loss, coma, and even death; and

WHEREAS lead poisoning is preventable; and

WHEREAS a blood lead test is the only method by which to diagnose a child as lead poisoned;

and

WHEREAS paint that is deteriorating leaves children vulnerable to harmful lead

exposure; and

WHEREAS lead can be found in paint, dust, soil, water, certain industries, candies, toys,

and folk remedies; and

WHEREAS the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently have identified 10

micrograms per deciliter of whole blood ( µ g/dL) as the level of concern for lead

poisoning and have acknowledged that there is no safe blood lead level; and

WHEREAS the Department of the Public Advocate has undertaken an investigation of

lead paint poisoning in this State and has uncovered families at high risk for exposure to

lead; and

WHEREAS Governor Jon S. Corzine has issued Executive Order #100 to address the

serious issue of childhood lead poisoning; and

WHEREAS the lead poisoning problem in New Jersey is significant and statewide, but

falls most heavily on the poor and on minorities in the State's older urban areas; and

WHEREAS there are approximately 2,201 children under the age of six in the City of

Englewood ; and

WHEREAS approximately 81% of Englewood's housing was built before 1978, when the

national ban on the sale of lead paint went into effect, and approximately 31% of the

housing in Englewood was built before 1950 when the level of lead in paint was at its

highest;

WHEREAS there are exorbitant medical, educational, and social costs to both the City of

Englewood and to the State associated with lead poisoning;

WHEREAS the City of Englewood has demonstrated a commitment to ensuring that its

children are protected from the dangers of lead poisoning;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE CITY OF ENGLEWOOD IS A

MODEL LEAD-SAFE CITY THAT SHALL TAKE OR CONTINUE TO TAKE

THE FOLLOWING STEPS REGARDING EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH ,

SCREENING, INSPECTION, ABATEMENT, RELOCATION, AND GRANTS:

I. The Mayor of Englewood shall designate one City Official as the Englewood

Model Lead-Safe City Coordinator (“Coordinator”) for all efforts related to the

prevention of and response to lead poisoning. The Coordinator shall serve as the

point person for all intra-City lead efforts and shall be the liaison with State

agencies, including but not limited to, the Department of the Public Advocate

(“DPA”), the Department of Community Affairs (“DCA”), the Department of

Health and Senior Services (“ DHSS ”), and the Department of Education

(“DOE”). The Coordinator shall also collaborate with community-based

organizations (“CBOs“) and local hospitals and medical associations , including

those listed in Appendix A, that deal with the treatment and prevention of lead

poisoning.

II. The City of Englewood (“Englewood” or “City') shall ensure that educational

materials concerning the dangers of lead poisoning and the need for blood lead

screening are made available to all families with children in Head Start programs;

City- or State-sponsored nursery and pre-schools; and public, private, and charter

grammar schools.

III. In collaboration with Bergen Family Center/Family Success Centers and other

CBOs, Englewood shall undertake efforts to increase blood screening rates in

areas within the City where, according to the New Jersey Poison Control Center at

the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) mapping

results, children are most at-risk of lead poisoning. The City will also increase

efforts to blood lead test pregnant women who are part of the WIC program at the

FQHCs in Garfield and Hackensack. The City will also make it more publicly

known that lead screening can be performed at the Immunization Clinic in the

Department of Health and FQHCs in Garfield and Hackensack.

IV. Englewood agrees to offer lead safe work practice training for contractors, home

owners, demolition experts, and redevelopment contractors doing work on pre-

1978 housing. The training shall include not only how to remove materials with

lead paint safely, but also how to dispose of the material properly.

V. Englewood will meet with landlords and tenants to advise them of the dangers of

lead paint hazards, the availability of State relocation and abatement funds, the

use of specialized cleaning techniques to minimize exposure to lead hazards, and

the existence of disclosure laws.

VI. Englewood shall contact the DHSS and determine the advisability and feasibility

of having the City's inspectors become cross-trained State-licensed lead

inspectors/risk assessors.

VII. When Englewood determines that there is a lead hazard in one unit of a multi-unit

dwelling, the residents of the multi-unit dwelling shall be notified of this risk and

urged to get their children between the ages of six months old and six years old

blood screened for lead. Englewood will, if feasible, require landlords of a

property where a child has been lead poisoned to attend a forum on lead poisoning

prevention education.

VIII. Englewood shall assess the desirability and feasibility of conducting follow-up

inspections on residences that had at least one lead paint hazard in the past year.

IX. Englewood shall continue its current practice of ensuring that a lead inspector/risk

assessor is dispatched to a child's home within 48-hours of the City having

received notification of the child's poisoning.

X. Englewood shall continue its current practice of having case management

meetings every two weeks to review all cases of lead poisoned children in the

City. When determining which company is the “lowest responsible bidder” on

public contracts for abatement services, Englewood shall consider other, quality

criteria.

XI. Englewood shall continue its efforts to use tax records, school records, and other

public records to locate dilatory landlords who refuse to comply with abatement

orders.

XII. Englewood shall, as appropriate, collaborate with CBOs, other non-profit

agencies, and cooperating landlords to attempt to secure permanent and temporary

relocation housing for families with lead poisoned children.

XIII. Englewood shall investigate and apply for lead grants from, among others, DHSS,

DCA, DEP, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development ,

and the United States Environmental Protection Agency .

XIV. Englewood shall review whether to adopt municipal ordinances that deal with

lead hazards. The review shall include consideration of ordinances that require

mandatory penalty provisions against recalcitrant landlords, allow for payment of

lead-related fines into a special lead abatement fund that would permit the local

health department or poor homeowners to abate property at no cost, and provide

rent remedies for tenants. Sample ordinances are included as Appendix B.

XV. Englewood shall examine the feasibility of having a forum that would be

comprised of the local prosecutor, the judges who handle lead cases, and

representatives of the Planning, Property Maintenance, and Health departments.

The purpose would be to provide members with the opportunity to become more

familiar with the issues surrounding lead poisoning, relocation, and abatement and

to share ideas for solving identified problems.

XVI. Englewood shall work with the Local School Districts to identify its usage of the

following products that may contain lead: oil-based paints, ceramic glazes , lead

sodder for shop classes and/or art classes, lead sheets for chemistry projects, lead

shot for physics experiments , and sidewalk chalks.

XVII. Englewood shall continue its efforts to check stores that may be selling recalled

toys and other merchandise containing lead.

XVIII. Englewood shall coordinate with the DCA towards developing an up-to-date list

of all lead-safe properties in Englewood. The City shall ensure that this list is

consulted when a family with a lead-burdened child is temporarily or permanently

relocated.

XIX. Englewood Health Department will collaborate with the Department of

Preventive Medicine and Community Health in addition to the New Jersey Poison

Control Center at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey

(UMDNJ) to ensure that data analysis continues to take place to identify areas in

the City where children have elevated blood lead levels or are not being tested and

initiate the most clinically appropriate corrective actions for the safety of all

children living in the City of Englewood.

XX. The City of Englewood shall increase its enforcement of lead-based paint hazard

reduction and/or abatement orders and to prosecute uncooperative and/or absentee

Landlords.

THEREFORE, THE FOLLOWING PARTIES HAVE AGREED UPON

THE FOREGOING MODEL LEAD-SAFE CITY PRINCIPLES FOR

THE CITY OF ENGLEWOOD ON THIS 10TH DAY OF JULY, TWO

THOUSAND AND NINE.

_______________________________ _______________________________

Hon. Michael Wildes Mayor, City of Englewood New Jersey

Ronald K. Chen Public Advocate

Paid for by Friends of Michael J. Wildes For Mayor, Amy Wildes, Treasurer

250 Allison Court, Englewood, NJ 07631