A Resident's Plea to the City Council

The Plainfield Municipal Utilities Authority has engendered more citizen interest and controversy since its inception than any other entity since its inception about 16 years ago. Residents have gathered reams of facts from the authority's own records and documents to back their views on why it needs change, if not reform. As an example of this close scrutiny I am posting Thomas Kaercher's letter to the City Council, which he copied to bloggers, as a guest column. This letter was sent to the governing body in advance of Monday's meeting.

Thomas Kaercher's Letter:

I attended the joint Council/PMUA discussion last Monday. As a PMUA ratepayer and Plainfield taxpayer, it is extremely frustrating that there is no one who will step up to reign in the abusive excesses of the PMUA. Before the PMUA was created, I bought trash services at market rates from a private trash company and I had no separate sewer bill; any sewer charges were recovered as part of my property taxes.  In addition, back then the City of Plainfield was owed $22.5 Million dollars by the surrounding communities for sewer facilities usage fees.  Sixteen years later, I pay more than twice the market rate for solid waste services (Grand Sanitation charges $31.07/month for curbside trash pick-up and recycling [and makes a profit doing it] while PMUA charges $66/month) and I pay almost six times the market rate for sewer services ($1,040/year here vs. $175.00/year in Cranford). In addition, during the same period PMUA has accumulated $23 Million dollars of bond debt, which the taxpayers of Plainfield are responsible for.  As part of PMUA’s solid waste fee, it collects $27.33/month for the shared service fee, which it claims is its costs to pick-up and dispose of trash in the public areas. Multiplied across the collection units in the City, this totals more than $6 Millions dollars a year or $16,400/day, 7 days a week. It is outrageous and it is more than 3 times the market rate for the same service.

The recent PMUA settlements with Eric Watson and David Ervin, totally more than $1 Million dollars is just the latest example of ratepayer/taxpayer abuse perpetrated by the PMUA. The most recent 4-year contracts were signed by Mr. Watson and Mr. Ervin in January 2010.  In addition to very generous annual base salaries ($148,600 for Mr. Watson and $124,400 for Mr. Ervin), the terms of the contracts, given the current economy, were really unbelievable).  They include a 4% cost of living raise each successive year of the contract, merit increases, a $360/month car allowance, and a total of 71 paid days off (30 vacation days, 8 personal holidays, 20 sick days, and 13 holidays) per year, which equates to over 14 weeks of paid time off each year. Then after working 18 months into their respective contracts and accruing generous pension benefits, Mr. Watson and Mr. Ervin chose to retire. They were allowed to stay on the PMUA payroll until they were compensated for all of their unused vacation and sick time. And in addition to all of that the PMUA Board of Commissioners gave them over $1 Million Dollars in settlements (PMUA resolutions 48-2011 for $275,000 and 09-2012 for $725,000 plus attorney and arbitration expenses). The $600,000.00 given to Mr. Watson is equivalent to 4 years salary and is more than the remaining portion of his 4-year 2010 contract. It was troubling that at last week’s meeting Mr. Toliver misstated the total value of the settlements, especially since voted for them.

There is no end in sight to PMUA’s abuse of the ratepayers. At last week’s meeting Mr. Young stated that he had cut back the PMUA budget $1 Million, which as much he felt was possible. The fact that the PMUA Board of Commissioners offset that savings with the settlements to Mr. Watson and Mr. Ervin not withstanding, Mr. Young said the only way to hold off future rate hikes was with the extremely uncertain revenues if PMUA is ever in position to sell services outside Plainfield. Mr. Young offered no definitive details on costs for these new services or anticipated revenues. Selling services outside the City ofPlainfield has been the PMUA pipe-dream since its inception. Mr. Young promised ‘competitive” pricing. If the PMUA pricing for these new services are as “competitive” as the rates they charge me for services, there is no chance any other community will willingly do business with the PMUA!  Also, at last months PMUA meeting Mr. Young announced his intentions to give PMUA employees an across the board a 2% Cost of Living Increase and up to a 3% Merit Increase. This is so out of touch with the current economy! If Mr. Young follows through on this it will mean that either our already abusive rates will go up again or the PMUA bond debt will have to be increased. Either alternative negatively impacts the residents of Plainfield.

It was a very sad commentary that the only way the PMUA Commissioners would agree to meet with the City Council was provided the settlement was not on the agenda. As was pointed out, the PMUA, by charter, is required to appear before the Council 4 times a year. Yet they haven’t been there since 2010. It is clear the PMUA answers to no one but itself.  They don’t have to listen to anything the Council says or even show up at a meeting if they don’t want to.  The only thing the City is empowered to do to rein-in the PMUA is dissolve it. With their compensation, self-approved benefits for part-time jobs, and their excessive miscellaneous expenses the PMUA Board of Commissioners is as big a part of the problem as the extremely high over-staffing.

First I strongly urge you tonight to reject the Mayors proposed candidates for the PMUA Board of Commissioners. According to Mr. Mitchell at last week’s meeting, the two recent appointees, Mr. Dunn and Mr. Sanders, subverted the arbitration process by making an unauthorized settlement with Mr. Watson and Mr. Ervin and then swayed the vote for approval.  Tell the Mayor she needs to put up candidates who have the independence to really oversee the PMUA and until she does, you will keep voting them down.

Secondly, and more importantly, please take the necessary steps to dissolve the PMUA.  It has been excessively over charging rate payers since its inception and is grossly mismanaged. Every year you permit the PMUA to go on, it will continue to overcharge ratepayers and its bond debt will continue to grow.    

Thank you for your consideration.