Tuesday's marathon council meeting was exhausting and so was blogging about it. By Saturday, I was still out of sorts and even ill from the after-effects. Even so, there are more items of varying importance that need to be covered.
The 2014 Capital Budget and the 2014-2019 Capital Improvement Plan are important. For whatever reasons, the city has put off major expenditures for several years and very little spending is expected for 2014. We all know what happens in a household when needed repairs or major purchases keep getting put off. The same concern applies to a municipality. A council subcommittee or even a citizens' study group would do well to look into this, but the city also needs a better fiscal team to look after bonding, debt and other long-term planning. The process has bogged down and a price will be paid for neglect of this function.
On a simpler note, there were five resolutions for lien placement due to clean-ups. The total numbers of clean-ups was 121 and the total cost was $100,652.54. That works out to an average of $831.84 per clean-up. Some properties were cleaned up more than once. The city won't get this money back until the property changes hands and the buyer pays the liens. These clean-ups seem to be occurring more frequently, as properties may be in foreclosure or owned by out-of-state banks. If, as stated at a July 2012 council meeting, some owners are just using these clean-ups as a way to avoid paying a landscaper, the city is getting cheated. Maybe some analysis is needed and pressure applied to chronic offenders to do the right thing.
The issue of funding for the Kean University Small Business Development Center came up again. The program is located in The Incubator at 320 Park Avenue. Councilwoman Rebecca Williams said Kean provides the service and " they don't need our money" to provide it. The $30,000 is "purely for rent," Councilman and Mayor-elect Adrian Mapp said.
Councilwoman Tracey Brown spoke in favor of the resolution and said, "You act like it's a terrible thing."
The matter was not moved to the agenda and will be taken up again in December.
As previously reported, only $51,000 of $1.1 million in budget transfers won approval. The rest need to be reviewed and if necessary, brought back for council approval. More needs to be known about the controversial $131,000 for police promotions. Public Safety Director Martin Hellwig and Acting City Administrator/Finance Director Al Restaino were both absent on Tuesday. Some council members saw no problem with the expenditure, while others deplored it. Since only Recreation items were approved, the others are in limbo.
The next agenda-fixing session is Dec. 2 and one hopes all department heads will be available to explain the leftover items in addition to new ones.
--Bernice
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Kean's satellite Small Business Development Center began as a conflict of interest in 2002, enriching the business interests of a sitting City Council member. The original violation was further exacerbated by an illegal job training contract using a Community Services Block Grant tied to the Stimulus that violated a number of Workforce Investment Act rules, and more importantly, at a time when the city was riven by gang violence, deprived eligible residents of legitimate training in vetted programs. The Plainfield Action Services board of directors (PAS is the in-house Community Action Agency that received the grant), was marginalized by city officials who were determined to direct the funds illegally to an ineligible vendor, after quietly sitting on the grant for over a year and only bringing it to the Council when there was virtually no time left to perform services, legitimate or not, when they thought no one was looking and no one knew any better. The city's point-man for the scheme has now risen to Acting City Administrator. The Council member who is most vocal in support of dumping additional money into the vendor's pocket, was herself the recipient of thousands in illegal compensation while sitting on PMUA's Board of Commissioners. Though a minister by trade, she does seem hell-bent on getting her fellow councilors to breach their fiduciary duties and use their official positions to violate New Jersey's Local Government Ethics Law. If past is prologue, she may succeed in getting three more votes to rifle the till.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I'm not the only one who sees what our "righteous" council woman is doing and that she is still holding onto Sharon's shady apron strings. I hope she will start to represent all of her constitutents or resign. I hope she doesn't get the line when her term expires.
ReplyDeleteAgain, Councilwoman Brown not understanding what is going on. It is a terrible thing councilwoman. You are voting to spend money on something already available to Plainfielders. And here is the thing, that money comes from taxpayers, who you claim to represent.
ReplyDeleteYou are concerned about the needy, and those who have little. Some of them are paying for this with their tax money. That is the terrible thing.
Please understand the ramifications of what you vote on. As my mother said "Money doesn't grow on trees." It appears that many of our council members believe that it does.
"You act like it's a terrible thing."
ReplyDeleteYes councilwoman it is, to spend taxpayers dollars for something that is not a taxpayer/city obligation.
DO YOUR JOB!! Show me the contract with Kean U and the City of Plainfield. If you are so eager to spend our $$, I will sent you an invoice for my needs and you can pay that too!!!
I believe if the costs of landscaping private properties are not reimbursed to the city in a certain period of time the city can auction those liens at the next tax sale to get their money returned. You do not have to wait for the property to change ownership.
ReplyDeleteThere are already lots/ramshachked buildings the city owns it could auction off, just never get around to it. [So 2nd & Grant Ave, PLFD Health old Clinic]
ReplyDeleteplease note I was merely suggesting that it would not be terrible to be in partnership with Kean University.Again, comment taken out of context. Not surprised, I can take it. The Battle is not mine, it's the Lord's.It would be a wonderful thing if we could stop being so mean and hateful and talk to each other with respect.Another thing I just don't care about the needy I care about everybody.
ReplyDeleteAs a public official the battle is yours to do the right thing and respond to the reality placed before you. Public officials should not be taking personal advantage for themselves or using their position to give special advantage to others. Desist from temptation. Illegal compensation at PMUA has cost hundreds of thousands. Authority bloat over the years has sucked more than enough out of the community to buy out the Muhlenberg mortgage. Millions every year. Kean and the SBDC are not the point. The point is siphoning valuable resources to pay rent that provides no benefit to the people, only to the landlord, thereby diminishing our ability to use the money in ways that positively impact the lives of everybody, or at least those most in need. Public service is not a license to take what you can for your own benefit just because you can. It's the battle for officials to work their way through the weeds in the best interest of everyone, not just the connected few. The Lord works in mysterious ways, otherwise there wouldn't be crime and war and so many other transgressions. Faith alone doesn't make up for the day by day decisions. When those decisions and actions are not thought out and are not in the public interest you get called out.
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