The Year of Bibi

Bibi Taylor’s entry to the Queen City in July 2009 coincided with the start of the 2010 fiscal year, and after dealing with three previous finance directors and stand-ins three times, the City Council was delighted to find her both knowledgeable and responsive.

The hodge-podge Department of Administration, Finance, Health & Senior Services may have tried Bibi’s patience, with its mix of fiscal and social concerns. But even when called on to sort out a time-consuming brouhaha at the Senior Center, she kept her composure. She also faithfully upheld the desires of the executive branch without antagonizing the legislative branch.

When Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs won re-election in November 2009, the cabinet had to be reconstituted and the mayor named Bibi both acting department head and city administrator. However, she said it would only be until Jan. 31, as Bibi was moving on.

The thought of the impending loss made veteran council watchers quite sad, as they hadn’t seen her like in a long time. When her plans changed and she stayed on, more than one observer breathed a sigh of relief. She was named city administrator for the balance of the mayor’s term, to Jan. 1, 2014. For lack of a chief finance officer and head of AFH&SS, she also kept a handle on many additional responsibilities.

Bibi saw the council through the 2010 budget process that finally ended in mid-February. She also had to deal with a new dispute over youth baseball leagues, which took many hours away from her main responsibility for day-to-day operations in the city.

Before long, it was time to start the SFY 2011 budget process. Though visibly pregnant through the fall, Bibi attended many extra night meetings on the budget. Again, Bibi dutifully answered council questions while firmly stating the mayor’s position on certain changes the council sought.

Then came the blow. The mayor whom she so loyally defended fired her, no reason given, even as her delivery date was imminent.

The act appalled a wide range of Plainfielders, including Democratic Party Chairman Jerry Green, the mayor’s mentor.

On Monday, council members exercised their right under the city’s special charter to “disapprove” of the firing and Bibi’s job was restored. Already in the early stages of labor, she endured the long meeting where, before the council vote, more than a dozen speakers praised her and urged the council to keep her on.

Early Wednesday, she gave birth and will be out on maternity leave for a while, though ever the trouper, she has offered to work from home until she can return fulltime.

The high regard for Bibi expressed by so many people reflects her stellar role in 2010 and her brightness in the crowded constellation of cabinet members over the past five years. Whatever happens next, 2010 was surely the Year of Bibi in many Queen City minds.

--Bernice