The City Council wrapped up budget deliberations Wednesday with presentations from Planning Director Bill Nierstedt and Jacques Howard of the Office of Economic Development. On Monday, the governing body will hold a public hearing on the introduced budget and Council President Annie McWilliams voiced hopes for approval of amendments and budget passage in December.
The council and its Citizens’ Budget Advisory Committee plan to use this year’s format of written responses to 10 questions as a template for future budget deliberations, but will expect to see the answers earlier than the night of the presentations. The city is facing a 2 percent cap on tax increases next year and council members advocated early monitoring and planning to get ready for the constraints.
Councilman William Reid noted that representatives of only two of the city’s half-dozen unions attended the budget sessions. If others had attended, he said, they might get a “real understanding of what we are up against.” City employees were affected by two rounds of layoffs in the last fiscal year and more face reductions to halftime and furloughs this year. So far, public safety employees have not been hit with cuts. Plainfield Municipal Employees Association President Cynthia Smith said she heard police officers told at a recent ceremony that despite tough times, they would be “taken care of first.”
Smith, a city employee for 29 years, said her union’s members appreciate having city employment to provide for their families. They serve under a residency requirement which is waived for police and fire personnel.
“We live here, so seeing what goes on here matters to us,” Smith said.
Once considered sacrosanct, public safety unions are facing the prospect of cuts in several municipalities.
Among topics raised in the budget presentations Wednesday, Nierstedt mentioned that the city may seek to get back one of two defunct train stations as part of a transit-oriented development strategy. Currently, the main train station on North Avenue and the Netherwood station are operating. Of the long-gone Grant Avenue and Clinton Avenue stations, the city is looking to re-establish the latter.
Nierstedt also said the city needs a downtown parking deck. A six-story parking deck was proposed many years ago to replace Municipal Parking Lot 6 on East Second Street, but recently developer Frank Cretella said there was adequate parking in numerous city lots downtown. Cretella has seven projects in the works, but few have onsite parking. For one - apartments in the old Mirons warehouse on East Second Street - residents would have to park more than a block away behind the Payless store on East Front Street.
The Planning Division is projected to have one clerical employee reduced to part-time, which means the office may have to close to the public except for posted hours.
Nierstedt said the division is becoming stricter about charging fees to Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment applicants and will also seek to reduce paper costs by relying more on electronic formats.
On economic development, Councilman Adrian Mapp asked Howard to come up with an aggressive marketing plan for Plainfield.
“I want us to tell the world what we have in the city,” Mapp said.
Howard countered by citing factors such as crime that would have to be addressed first.
But in answer to Councilman Rashid Burney’s question on how to attract businesses, Howard said there is “a golden opportunity to become a green city.” Howard named bio farms and bio diesel as two possible industries to develop. The bio diesel fuel would come from grease, he said, and a processing plant could be located in the West End.
In closing, McWilliams suggested a wrap-up of development for this calendar year, possibly at a special meeting.
The council will hold its November agenda-fixing session at 7:30 p.m. Monday in City Hall Library. The hearing on the budget as introduced will be the same night. Budget documents are available in the City Clerk's office in City Hall, 515 Watchung Ave.
--Bernice Paglia
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Good for Mr Howard to honestly say the crime must be addressed FIRST. When it is safe to walk around town [how many of people ACTUALLY do it ? I grew up walking from the Library to Macy's many days] then tax $$ will flow back in.
ReplyDeleteAt one time the Economic Develeopment office had quite a nice informational brochure which was also on the City's website. What better way to tell the world with no cost to reproduce expensive brochures and mailing cost.
ReplyDeleteEven catalog comapnies are discontinuing their catalogs in print form and make them available online.
What century is Plaifield operating in ????
If they can clean up Times Square without gadgets like shotspotter - by using good old fashioned police cop on the beat tactics. Coupled with the fact that people actually talked to the police and figured being a "snitch" was bettetr than living in fear, then we can clean up Plainfield.
ReplyDelete