A category of solid waste charges for "shared services" drew criticism Thursday at the Plainfield Municipal Utilities Authority's annual rate hearing.
The authority provides solid waste and sewer services to city property owners, but even those who have "opted out" of PMUA trash pickup are liable for the shared services charges, which cover costs including collection and disposal of waste and recyclables from municipal buildings, parks, street cans and city-owned lots. In addition, shared services include pickup of bulky waste from all property owners in the city, downtown sweeping and litter control, operations of the Rock Avenue transfer station, city vegetative waste disposal and more.
Both low density residential solid waste rates and shared services charges decreased for 2013, but the latter makes up 44 percent of the combined cost and even those with private trash haulers will have to pay $80.30 per quarter for the "community services" funded by shared service fees. The annual shared services fees for 1,440 lots and 2,440 households total $589,156.
In a discussion of how the charges are determined, resident Bill Kruse said he asked for back-up information on the fees but was unable to get it. Kruse said he was told the information could run to 5,000 sheets and would be a combination of facts and opinions, from which the latter would have to be redacted. But Kruse, a retired engineer, said he looked at the engineers' bills and they did not reflect that amount of effort.
PMUA Counsel Leslie London advised Kruse to make an Open Public Records Act request for public documents, but Kruse asked, "What is a public document?"
"There is nothing to fudge," Jeffrey Bliss of the accounting firm Lerch, Vinci & Higgins said in defense of the methods of allocation.
Residents Jan Massey, Alan Goldstein and Dan Damon also queried the presenters.
When PMUA Chairman Harold Mitchell asked London to explain the authority's role, she called it unique in the state for providing solid waste services, except for North Bergen, which does so on a different basis. Bliss said where the North Bergen municipal utility authority only sends one bill to the city, PMUA sends out over 11,000 bills to ratepayers. There is no shared services fee and the cost of collection and disposal of leaves, brush and bulky waste there is paid through taxes, he said.
London noted the PMUA must also support operations of the transfer station.
"Do you think we are doing things efficiently?" Goldstein asked.
Bliss replied by defending the line-by-line budget scrutiny that he said is done.
Commissioner Alex Toliver alleged that PMUA gives the public a "hearsay," while North Bergen doesn't, but officials quickly corrected him, saying all utility rates are subject to public hearings.
With that, London read the new rate resolutions and they were unanimously approved by Mitchell, Toliver and Commissioners Carol Brokaw and Tracey Brown. Commissioners Cecil Sanders and Malcolm Dunn were absent.
The new solid waste rates will take effect April 1, 2013. An increase in the sanitary sewer connection fee, from $2,080 to $2,130, was also approved and will take effect Jan. 1.
Note: Blogger will not let me reply to comments using this laptop, so I am replying here. I am aware that all property owners are subject to the shared services fee. The concern of those who have opted out seems to be that they still have to pay this fee - they cannot fully divorce themselves from the PMUA. Feel free to comment and add what you want. I can't cram all the issues into one blog post.
--Bernice
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The PMUA is a local mafia. OPT OUT and call the NJ State Attorney General to investigate the PMUA!
ReplyDeleteNone of these Ya-hoos know what they're doing and/or talking about. It's just about what they can get out of it....like the $1M that got paid out of our pockets; and, now, Tracy Brown moves to the City Council -- it's Plainfield Musical Chairs -- shifting the same people around Plainfield into different roles -- keeping it in the family, so to speak.
When is the FBI finally gonna come 'a knockin on their doors? When o' when?
Why are the costs for city street cleanup and trash removal paid separate. Shoudn't that come out of the city's coffers and part of what we pay in tax. The PMUA is a rip-off and I wonder how much we'll get ripped-off when PMUA members become city council members?
ReplyDeleteIf shared services accounts for 44% of the cost something is wrong. In essence that would mean that 44% of waste is in the common areas like the 6 small parks and downtown. The city actually picks up the brush and the disposal costs on that is something like 30k per yer. This is nothing more than a racket! The only thing unique about the PMUA is their ability to rob Plainfielders an get away with it go 20 years. Simply stated they need to be abolished.
ReplyDeleteBernice..the Shared Service Fee is NOT PAID by 1440 lots and 2440 Households, it is paid by EVERY HOUSEHOLD in Plainfield...over 11,000, plus the 2440 lots. If the Shared Service charges were merely $589,156 it would be a bargain. The number is closer to $4,000,000....as you correctly said, 44% of the TOTAL budget. For the amount which the PMUA is collecting for Shared Services they could have a street sweeper on evry corner in Plainfield. On inspection the number is ludicrous. The obfuscation associated with the defense of the derivation of this charge was conspicuous last night as it has been in the past. The Consultants, and the Chief Financial Officer try to kiss off the inquiries regarding the legitimacy of the charge by responding that it is too complicated for the simple minded Public to understand. They, the cabal of PMUA Officials, their ever constant defender, retained attorney Leslie London, and the "Expert" Consultants avow that the magic amount was derived by complex and assiduous analysis. That various "methods" were used to make the proportionment of costs between Shared Service and Household Collection, by scrutinizing each component of cost. They then applyed the "methodology" that was appropriate to the particular component which was at that instant under the microscope. Horse feathers!Repeated requests to produce any written reports, or calculations, that were made in performing this study failed to extract them. Ms. London, in a succsful effort to avoid further embarassment, directed me to submit an OPRA and, if documents existed, and further, were deemed appropriate to be released to the Public, I would receive them. My OPRA requests in 2011 failed to extract anything in this regard. We will see what happens this time. It remains my opnion that the Shared Service fee is prohibitive and can not be substantiated. The reason the PMUA upsets the number is threefold; First to punish the people who have OPTED OUT, second to keep the household fee low in order to create the illusion that the cost of household collection is in line with the fees of private haulers, and third for the conspicuous reason they need to get the money somewhere and have to have fees which cover the cost of operations.
ReplyDeleteThere are children in Plainfied going to school without breakfasts. There are hundreds of families struggling to pay their mortgages. And, with this the 4 Commissioners voted that EVERY HOUSEHOLD will pay $320 a year for services that might be worth 25% of that. A $200 difference would buy a lot of kids breakfast during the year. Municipal cleanup is typically performed by the Municipality. The cost under this arrangement is paid in our taxes, not in a fee to an autonomous free wheeling, send us an OPRA, Authority. If it were in our taxes even in a 15% tax bracket a family would receive another , say $200 to $300 rebate on their taxes. A lot more breakfasts. Lastly, the Commissioners continue to receive, illegally, a beneft package, AKA Indierct Income, that is unambiguously proscribed in the Charter. How did we ever get here? The court has opined that the PMUA can charge every household a Shared Service fee because evryone living in Plainfield benefits from a clean city. What the court left open is the question as to whether this fee is being properly determined????? Bill Kruse ( not entirely retired engineer )
Well you know Bernice.. I'm betting the only way to solve the enigma that we all know as the PMUA is to vote the same people back into office.
ReplyDeleteLOCAL DEMOCRATS... WORKING FOR YOU, THE TAXPAYER.
..unless of course you believe the chest beating and wailing at City Council meetings how they are attempting to change things .. Still waiting for the visit to the Tepper's Basement to happen. I mean, if City Council can't see a basement on Front Street how the hell are they going to do anything about the PMUA. Sad...really sad...
Regarding the reasons previously enumerated as to why the PMUA is "compelled' to keep the household collection rate low and put an inappropriately large portion of their total costs into Shared Services is as follows. If the household collection fee becomes much larger than the rates commercial haulers are charging ( and the PMUA rates are already higher ) then there will be a stampede out of the PMUA to the commercial haulers. The loss of revenue, as is already occurring as more and more families OPT OUT, would be intolerable. Two years ago the Shared Service fee was 41% of the total budget...this year it exceeds 44%. It will be interesting to see if his pattern continues. Bill Kruse
ReplyDelete@Rob--I will be seeing the Tepper's basement and have called for all contracts related to it. Hundreds of thousands of dollars of federal money should bring the feds in to investigate. To all--regarding the PMUA, it is time for the state to step in and seriously review all the items that have come out of the findings of the "Dump PMUA" folks, the council's PMUA study group, and the independent analyses done by residents like Alan Goldstein and others. I am committed to ensuring that it happens. The mayor's so-called PMUA committee has not been formed--even if it were to happen, her collusion with those who are committed to maintaining the status quo have already made any "findings" a foregone conclusion in terms of continuing to defraud and suck money from the ratepayers of Plainfield. The Executive Director of the authority, as well as the mayor of the city, thumbing their noses at the people by not paying their own PMUA bills, clearly demonstrates that they have no interest or regard for the people of this city.
ReplyDeleteRebecca
Well stated Rebecca. Please get your fellow council members on board.
DeleteWell, what does that tell you? Those at the pmua are above the law. Shame on you for not recognizing the flim flam that exists at the PMUA. You can be a felon and work there, you can be recovering drug/alcoholic, you can sexually harass any of the female employees, hell you can even have a female that works there that is contantly harrassing my husband who works there. Sounds like the perfect place to work.
DeleteIf the PMUA is that bad, why is your husband working there? Is he one of the felons, or recovering drug/alcoholics? You don't say too much when he brings that check home. If it is that bad, why don't he get another job. Oh! Maybe he can't. You for one need to stop complaining because the PMUA is paying your car note and bills
DeleteRebecca..if you get into that basement and clean up that mess, then YOU should be running for Mayor and YOU should be the voice of the "New" Dems. I appreciate you at least attempting to do what you say as opposed to the others.
DeletePlainfielders, contact the NJ State Attorney General. Just go online, and send a quick email to ask them to investigate PMUA. They get enough emails with Plainfield PMUA please investigate in the subject line, they have to take notice.
ReplyDelete