Myriad Issues, Many Unresolved

If there was one overriding theme at Tuesday’s City Council meeting, it might have been “unfinished business.”

Holdovers serving on the Housing Authority and the Plainfield Municipal Utilities Authority board of commissioners, Dornoch’s bills to the city for the senior center, who is really in charge of Route 28, empty seats in the cabinet, ambulance service, property code enforcement and more – the list went on. Several of these items are likely to recur in months ahead as the City Council and the administration fail to mesh in a collegial approach to governance. Others may need much outside help to inch toward resolution.

The once-a-month agenda sessions present the attending citizens with a tsunami of issues that may engender the feeling that the city is bogged down, despite the best efforts of elected officials. Tuesday’s four-hour meeting (recorded at the rate of $100 per hour) will soon be broadcast on local television channels. Will viewers allot four hours to witness the state of the city as reflected on screen?

Here are some of the issues:

--Housing Authority Commissioner Rickey Williams, initially appointed to fill an unexpired term on the Housing Authority, is still a holdover six years later. The PMUA, in charge of city sewage and trash services, has three holdovers on its board. Whatever is stalling resolution of appointments, Councilman William Reid pointed out that federal and state agencies prefer to deal with “fully sanctioned” commissioners on such boards.

--The City Council in April tabled a resolution to pay the developer of the new senior center more than a quarter-million dollars in extra costs above the initial $1 token fee. On Tuesday, Councilman Adrian Mapp attempted to probe why a bond conversion contained $1.3 million for senior center costs. City Administrator Bibi Taylor said the funds were for closing costs, furnishings and electrical upgrades, among other items. Mapp said unless the governing body can get a complete accounting, he recommended canceling the unspent bond balance. The council is still seeking full documentation of the costs brought forth in April.

--Reporting for the council’s Finance Committee, Mapp said the state is claiming that the portion of Route 28 within city borders is the responsibility of Union County. Mapp had insisted recently that the state should be responsible for repairs to the South Avenue section of the road. Given the state’s new stance, he said it is “quite clear” that it is not the city’s responsibility. However, with plans well underway for much-needed repairs to South Avenue, the council agreed to go forward. City Council President Annie McWilliams said the damaged road in the South Avenue business district, a gateway to the city from the east, gives a “very poor impression” to visitors.

--The city still lacks a chief finance officer after two and a half years. Council members have asked the state to assign one, since a search has not yielded a viable candidate. The position of director of Administration, Finance, Health and Social Services is still being advertised, Taylor said. One of three department heads required by the city’s special charter, the post has changed hands seven times since January 2006 and has been vacant since February.

-- The loss of Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center has strained ambulance response by the Plainfield Rescue Squad, but talks with the shuttered hospital’s parent organization have not yielded an extra ambulance. On Tuesday, Councilman Rashid Burney suggested appealing to the state, but added the possibility that “we have to pick up the tab ourselves.” McWilliams agreed, saying, “It really does fall into city hands.”

--Property code enforcement, a bugaboo for decades, is being carried out by the city’s Inspections Division, Chief Code Enforcement Officer Oscar Turk said Tuesday. But when cases go to court, property owners may work the system to get extensions on making repairs. Turk cited at least one case where an owner dodged responsibility by declaring bankruptcy. Councilman Cory Storch noted that by taking advantage of loopholes, owners can work the system for three or four years.

“What are we going to do differently?” he asked.

Turk said it would take a “collaborative effort from a number of entities to make it happen.”

“We need help to take it to the next level,” he said.

Storch then put the question to Taylor, who spoke of “triage,” but added that “staffing levels do not allow for anything creative.”

After more discussion, Corporation Counsel Dan Williamson summed it up as “a problem that is almost bottomless.”

“The question is, is it enough of a priority for the administration to do serious research and do something different?” Storch asked.

Burney said the council is looking for a creative solution that is “more strategic.”

The key issue is that responsible property owners deplore and resent having an unkempt home or lot on their block and cannot understand why more force is not being brought to bear on that owner, when they may be getting cited for minor flaws.

--Bernice Paglia