Appointments proposed by Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs, including six for the Plainfield Municipal Utilities Authority, will not be on the Feb. 13 agenda, City Council President Adrian Mapp confirmed this week. If approved by the governing body, the PMUA appointments would have significantly changed the balance of power on the authority's board of commissioners.
Among items on the Feb. 6 agenda, the mayor informed the council of her nominations for appointments to the Historic Preservation Commission, the Shade Tree Commission and the PMUA. In the packet available last Saturday at the Plainfield Public Library, details of terms and successions were spelled out in prepared resolutions. See Plaintalker's analysis of the six PMUA nominations here.
Not seeing the resolutions on the Feb. 6 agenda, Plaintalker asked Mapp about them and the answer was that no resolutions were given to the council.
The council discusses all proposed resolutions and ordinances matters at the agenda-fixing sessions and those that receive a consensus get moved to the regular meeting for voting. The PMUA appointments were especially significant because the authority reorganizes on Feb. 14, choosing a chairman and other officers for the year. Current Chairman Harold Mitchell would have been demoted from commissioner to alternate in the mayor's proposal and Commissioner Carol Brokaw would have been off the board. With no action on appointments, Mitchell remains a holdover and Brokaw becomes one.
As reported by Plaintalker here, Mitchell and Brokaw voted "no" on $725,000 in settlements for former top executives Eric Watson and David Ervin, while Commissioner Alex Toliver joined newcomers Commissioner Malcolm Dunn and Alternate Cecil Sanders Jr. in approving the award. Mitchell contends that Dunn and Sanders went outside an ongoing arbitration process to make the deal directly with Watson and Ervin and further that the amount cannot be certified for payout.
The PMUA reorganization will take place at 6 p.m. Feb 14 at the authority's headquarters, 127 Roosevelt Avenue.
--Bernice
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Will the deck chairs be shuffled on the Titanic before it hits the iceberg? Has it hit already?
ReplyDeleteWill Adrian Mapp get his brother-in-law on the Board of Commissioners? Will Watson and Ervin get their million from our pockets?
Will the City get its Solid Waste lease? Will the City take action against the commissioners and PMUA management for the return of thousands of dollars in illegal compensation?
Would any other community in its right mind sign on with PMUA and its agenda of greed? Is anything on the straight-and-narrow in this city?
Was 'WBLS' the investigation of the century, and we can all rest easy now? Or was it more like fraternal hi-jinx carried on by sophmores who haven't yet faced the world?
We are looking into the eyes of the gang that can't shoot straight.
It's a joke of a resolution, this commissioner roulette. The contempt for the public is astounding. But the message is clearly audible that the mess is not garbage and sewage. It's deeper and dirtier than that.
Well stated Mr. Goldstein. Plainfield's greed and corruption runs DEEP.
ReplyDeleteThank goodness there are NO Republicans involved in any of this, else it might not have turned out so well.
ReplyDeleteThe PMUA is hemorrhaging financially. They can not maintain the present rates given the "settlements" and ever rising costs. Among those costs are Bond maturities which increase annually. The 2 individuals who orchestrated the million dollar scam are now the guardians of the chicken coup. The diffidence of the City Council, the conspicuous complicity of the Administration, and the conduct of the 2 recently appointed Commissioners, who will now be in leadership positions, leaves the public without hope of meaningful reform. The remaining recourse is to OPT OUT. There is a tipping point at which the PMUA operation becomes unsustainable. The present ploy is to increase the Shared Service Fee,which gives the illusion that the Solid Waste Fee is less than it actually is. The PMUA has refused to provide the financial data which demonstrates the apportionment between the Solid Waste and Shared Service fees is justified. This is their obligation under the Law. We have laws, but no sheriff to ride into town and enforce them.
ReplyDeleteYou can obtain an OPT OUT form on line at the PMUA website or at their office at 127 Roosevelt. Based on what I and others are currenly paying a private hauler, and notwithstanding the inappropriate excessive Shared Service Fee, there remains a saving using private service of approximately $120/year.
The greatest service the City Council, and their appointed Study Committee can perform , is to commence formulating a plan for the orderly transfer of services and assumption of the debt ( which the public is paying for one way or another ) upon the dissolution of this renegade entity.
You would need 5 votes on the Council for the "dissolution of this renegade entity".
DeleteThe 3 RDO's on the Council, Reid, Greaves, Rivers, won't vote for it. And lately it has become evident that Mapp won't as he is now aligned with Green. Plus Cory Storch has said he is not in favor of dissolving the PMUA.
That leaves Annie and Rebecca. Annie is leaving, and she along with Mapp put Dunn on the PMUA. Not sure what that was all about. Not sure how she would vote.
So that leaves Rebecca Williams.
You have 1 vote. What do we do now?
The PMUA, council, and BOE are revolving doors. As are the commissions. It's no wonder Plainfield has not made progress. Our elected officials keep giving money away to the likes of the attorneys, consultants, engineers, etc. They in return do NOTHING for Plainfield. Get it together council and especially the MAYOR!
ReplyDeleteBravo Mr Goldstein, you are right on the money, no joke intended. Why didnt the council put all this on their agenda, was it so that the departing execs could get their payout on time? And then we would have more legal fees to try to get some of that money back. What a mess our council is.
ReplyDeleteThank God we have the Democrats in Plainfield looking after the tax payers...whew..we had a close one there...who knows how many millions of dollars extra this would have cost with Republicans or Independents running the show!!
ReplyDeleteThank you Dem's and New Dem's!!
The best part is, although expensive to live here, we treat all racial groups equally in town. Absolute disregard based on ethnic background also. Everyone equally wants to get the H... out of here. Jeffer
ReplyDelete