Last month, Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs expressed her intention to name four people to the PMUA board of commissioners, but no City Council resolutions ensued. This month, she is offering six names. Plaintalker gave an overview last month of the nominees (click here to read) and will do so again after looking at the full packet today, if it is available in the Plainfield Public Library.
The issues, which are not reflected in the correspondence from the mayor, are terms and successions, the two vital elements of appointments. Ideally, any appointment should say who the nominee is succeeding and should spell out the term, but the administration has garbled so many of these terms and successions as to create a mare's nest that may never be untangled.
The PMUA only has five commissioner seats and two alternates. In January, no resolution ensued, so the fine points of the mayor's "intention" will never be known. Plaintalker surmised the possibilities in the post linked above.
Now this month we see that Harold Mitchell's name is offered for an alternate's seat. Mitchell is a holdover commissioner who is also the current chairman. His term expired in February 2011. The PMUA is due to reorganize on Feb. 14. If, as the mayor proposes, Mitchell is reappointed only as an alternate, he cannot serve as chairman again. Malcolm Dunn's name is on the list and there is speculation that he would like to be chairman. He and Mitchell came down on opposite sides of the vote approving settlements for former top PMUA officials Eric Watson and David Ervin, with Dunn voting "yes" and Mitchell voting "no."
Mitchell, Cecil Sanders, Darcella Sessomes and Wilbert O. Gill, the January nominees, are again on the February list. Sanders, an alternate, also approved the settlement. On the February list, Sessomes is offered as an alternate along with Mitchell, meaning Sanders is now being named for a full commissioner's term. Commissioner Alex Toliver, whose term expires this month, is on the new list, presumably for reappointment as commissioner along with Gill.
If the mayor's expanded list is approved, it would therefore yield a lineup with Dunn, Sanders, Gill, Toliver and the mayor's pastor, The Rev. Tracey Brown, as the five commissioners and Sessomes and Mitchell as the two alternates. Current commissioner Carol Ann Brokaw, who with Mitchell voted "no" on the settlements, would be out. Brown was absent for the settlement vote.
Any action the council takes on these nominations would happen at the Feb. 13 regular meeting, 8 p.m. in Municipal Court, 325 Watchung Ave. The PMUA annual reorganization, at which a chairman will be chosen, takes place at 6 p.m. Feb. 14 at 127 Roosevelt Ave.
--Bernice
Bats in the belfry!
ReplyDeleteThe council should not vote to endorse any of these choices. The public should be reminded that MITCHELL is a part of the old regime. He voted YES in June to approve a $275,000 settlement plus more to come for the executives who resigned. Ask Michell if he would forgo family health benefits for his "alternate" spot as a commissioner. Yup once again the public gets shafted. The council should do the right thing here and disband the PMUA.
ReplyDeleteIn confirmation of the much touted "openness and transparency" that are the purported hallmarks of the PMUA Board of Commissioners, and the Administration, why will not the Mayor permit the Council to place 2 people of their choice in nomination? I believe there are candidates available who not only have suitable professional credentials but are willing to serve without compensation and benefits. Not so terribly long ago the Mayor's remuneration was $2000/year. It was deemed an honor for his(her) Honor to serve the community.
ReplyDeleteI believe the PMUA Commissioners recently passed a resolution in which they decreed that any newly appointed Commissioners would NOT receive the customary extraordinary benefit package. I am uncertain as to whether this does not conform to the law which was always in place, and that the benefits which have been so abundantly distributed have been inappropriate?
The meeting of the Council with the Commissioners this coming Monday night provides an opportunity at a critical time for the Council to step up to the plate. The matter of the award of the million dollars cries out for explanation. This issue dominates the landscape. If the Board of Commissioners, through the expediency of a majority vote, can pass a resolution to award a MILLION dollars this year, why not TWO MILLION DOLLARS next year. Are there any boundaries to their licentious behavior? At this juncture it appears there are not.
Th Governor's office has received and is currently examining the petition which has been submitted with hundreds of signature endorsements. If you have not signed, please add your name to the list as soon as possible. Encourage your neighbors to do so. The other form of protest is to place economic pressure on the PMUA by opting out of the solid waste collection. If a sufficient number of subscribers opt out and engage private haulers eventually the PMUA will be compelled to initiate meaningful reforms. A harbinger of reformation would be to reduce the number of Commissioners from 7 to 4, with 3 permanent and one alternate. The instruction in the original mandate that there are 7 Commissioners can be modified.
Looking forward to Monday night at the Council meeting . Will the Council address cogent issues or be content to discuss the results of the survey on once a week collections? Only the shadow knows.
Bill Kruse
Some of the rats have fled the ship, and some of the captains are signing up to go down with it when it sinks.
ReplyDelete