NIU is hiring outside contractors to do non-emergency electrical work while letting routine safety checks slide until someone was hurt.

Work wasn’t done because there wasn’t money to keep the electrical safety checks going, according to some NIU officials.

But others, including NIU President John La Tourette, said safety should come before money. Some officials did not know the program was killed.

Outside electricians were hired and paid one-third more than NIU pays their own electricians to work on a $1.5 million expansion of the physical plant.

Some NIU workers, who didn’t want to be named, said NIU officials were hurrying the work so Board of Regents members could tour the facility when meeting here in March.

The non-emergency work comes after safety checks on known hazardous food service facilities were started again after a second food service worker was severely shocked on the job.

The outside contractors for the physical plant remodeling started a few days after safety checks on known hazardous food service facilties restarted. The checks were prompted by a second food service worker being severely shocked on the job.

The routine maintenance program was prompted about a year and a half ago when a food service employee was shocked and severely hurt. However, those safety checks were stopped because there wasn’t enough money.

That money shortfall also forced NIU to layoff temporary elctricians in November, said Physical Plant Director John Harrod. May projects were left incomplete, he said.

The safety checks were one of the projects. As a result another food service worker received an eletrical shock from faulty wiring in a food warmer in Neptune Hall on Ja. 14.

Subsequently, three temporary electricians were rehired Feb. 4. Two will resume work on the electrical maintenance program.

“Many other things drew attention away from the preventative maintenance program, but the situation has been reprioritized,” Harrod said.

Not enough money makes it difficulty to prevent crisis situations and forces work to be done as needed, he said.

“We are simply fire fighters rathr than fire preventers,” Harrod said.

The money problems are made more complicated by budget restrictons. Harrod said the Physical Plant uses money from different sources. Each source provides funding for certain areas, but money from one source cannot always be transferred to projects funded by another source.

Outside contractors usually do work to free up NIU’s workers s they can concentrate on other jobs. Contractors can and are hired to do work usually done by NIU staff, Harrod said.

“Right now, we’re addrressing problems as they develop,” Harrod said, adding “no additional funding has come to the physical plant to supplement the need for a stricter preventative maintenance program.”

But money is no excuse for people getting hurt, La Tourette said.

“Health and safety should have the highest priority in electrical projects on campus,” he said.

If university electricians are focusing on non-safety projects they should be shifted to jobs that ensure safety, La Tourette said.

“There should be a reordering of priorities. I would not take any excuses for not having these (prevenative maintenance) issues addressed,” he said.

Pat Hewitt, associate vice-president for busness and operations said safety is more important than money.

“Money should never be a reason to discontinue projects instituted for safety purposes,” he said.

“I was surprised to find the program wasn’t in full operation when the second accident victim was shocked,” Hewitt said.

Stopping the program was done withoug her knowledge or that of James Harder, vice-president for business and operations.

The Board of Regents approved work inside the physical plant, including hiring electricians at $31 per hour. NIU electricians are paid $21 per hour.

The physical plant remodeling is done as funding is available, Harrod said.