CBAC Chairman Richard Stewart referred to Chief of Staff John Stewart (no relation), a target since Mayor Adrian O. Mapp took office on Jan. 1, even though the City Council approved the title and a salary band late last year.
Duties of the chief of staff (click to enlarge)
John Stewart is part of a team Mapp says is essential to re-branding the city and getting it in gear after eight years of a prior administration marred by extreme turnover at the top and dubious fiscal practices. Besides Stewart, Mapp's team includes the first full-time, permanent chief financial officer since 2007, a public information officer and a cabinet-level economic development director.
Critics, including the council members who approved the job, say the chief of staff is a stand-in for the part-time mayor, who holds a full-time position as finance director in another municipality.
Richard Stewart called for elimination of the $80,000 chief of staff post Monday, as part of the CBAC report which also faulted the budget review process and deplored the Health Division's failure to inspect two-thirds of city food establishments.
He said the CBAC got late notice of the meeting schedule and only got to review a fraction of city divisions. In addition, only two of seven council members attended all six budget deliberation sessions, he said. The committee's report found both Police and Public Works top-heavy with supervisors and dismissed the explanation that superiors worked together with lower-ranking and lower-paid employees.
Overall, the committee found a lack of measurable outcomes and data to support budget requests and called for a full-time grant writer to seek outside funding.
The council also received a report Monday from budget consultant Lawrence Caroselli of .Government Strategy Group, calling for elimination of all new positions except for the Recreation superintendent. Caroselli and Government Strategy Group CEO Kenneth DeRoberts offered an alternative to the administration's proposed budget that would increase taxes on the average $113,000 home by $129. Their plan, which included reducing use of surplus and insurance funds, would result in an increase of only $93, they said.
Chief Financial Officer Ulrich Steinberg and Finance Director Ron West asked Council President Bridget Rivers to allow a rebuttal, but she refused, telling them to 'put it in writing and put it on the internet."
The meeting Monday also included a public hearing on the introduced budget. West rose to speak as a resident and said last week Caroselli had called the budget "reasonable." West called Caroselli's urging to eliminate the person in charge of economic development among items that made no sense.
The next step is for the council to amend the budget and hold a hearing on the amendments before final passage.
--Bernice
This town never had a chief of staff before....plus how do we evaluate his performance
ReplyDeleteIt's called evolution, just because the title wasn't there before doesn't mean its not needed to make the city better. This administration is trying to make Plainfield a better place to live for everyone. Change is hard to deal with but if you don't change you'll get left behind, just as Plainfield has for a long time. People voted for change with Mapp now give him time to do his job and the support he needs. You evaluate performance by letting him do his job and then looking at the results. you can't judge anyone or this administration after 4 months in office.
DeleteThe new CFO is very professional. The administration needs to take a page from his book
ReplyDelete"Unelected pseudo-mayor" is actually a not so bad description of the chief-of-staff although "proxy mayor" would be less pejorative. Which is not to say the job is unnecessary; it's very much needed.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the main fault of the Charter Study Commission was their failure to see what was in front of their noses: that municipal government, in the modern political and media worlds, particularly in towns with large populations dependent on government services, has evolved into a vortex of complex systems that needs a full-timer in control of the entire process including policy and externals. That's not the job of the city administrator and the so-called governing body clearly isn't up to it and never will be. Given the political decision to leave the job as part-time the only logical choice was to create the position of "chief-of-staff", a pseudo-proxy mayor.
Every iteration of the CBAC has noted how top-heavy the police division is. What with the Robinson-Briggs administration's parting gesture of promotions, it is even more so today. We even have a uniformed sergeant guarding the sign-in book at City Hall. John Louise, Public Works' chief honcho, spoke of a large contingent of supervisors in a division of 39 employees (17 if I recall correctly). Maybe with so few workers everyone has to pitch in these days.
ReplyDeleteCBAC chair Richard Stewart said the committee only heard from a fraction of the city's operating divisions, but he's certain he's got a grasp on city finances, and the future, so he's recommending eliminating the Chief of Staff position. When Briggs took the mic at the final budget hearing to make the same point, two CBAC members were nodding approval in entrancement. Had she said the sky was purple and the grass was blue, I got the feeling they'd be nodding approval as well.
City Council approved the Chief of Staff title, and salary range, despite my own, or anyone's, misgivings, following an impassioned rationale given by Mayor-elect Mapp in what was probably the most eloquent speech of his career. It was obvious who the choice would eventually be, but now our governing body is looking for a way to renege. I say let it go and revisit what progress is made in a year's time, a year free from Council-imposed constraints aimed at making certain nothing can be accomplished save the grandstanding and posturing it indulges in to compensate for mostly being asleep at the wheel.
The agenda billed the budget portion of the meeting as a public hearing, but the way the administration was cut off from responding this was no public hearing at all, only a further means to berate and paint the administration as free spenders. They could be, but we'd never know because the same parties that condoned eight years of mismanagement, lack of oversight, and wasteful spending under Robinson-Briggs look like they're dead-set against any forward movement, lest Mapp be able to take any credit aside from presiding over more years of serial dysfunction.
Municipal dysfunction does seem to be the object, especially with the political games-playing coming ahead of an important primary election. I suppose that is now what we should come to expect from a calendar year budget. It will become more grist for the mill. But one difference between then and now is the previous administration had eight years to fail, and the current administration has yet to be permitted even one. Enabling failure may be the Council's only success.
First, I believe Mr. Richard Stewart was incorrect in his stating that the PIO was a new position. I believe we had a PIO in the last administration - Jazz Johnson I think was her name, but I am not sure. Also, wasn't Dan Damon a PIO under the McWilliams administration?
DeleteWhile I agree with the CBAC that they did not have much time, they should strive harder to get the facts. They should also be commended for spending their time - unpaid I might add - to be active and caring citizens.
However, a blaring oversight, not only on the part of the CBAC, but also the council, is the lack of appreciation to this administration for getting the budget out so quickly. Previous budgets were presented more than half a year into the budget season.
This administration took over, and had to weed through the previous administration's budget to produce this budget in a short period of time. Not a small task at all.
They brought the budget to the council faster that I ever recall. The lack of appreciation of this herculean task further emphasizes the lack of understanding by the council of how business runs. Also explains, why Plainfield's potential has not been realized. Not only is it mired in politics, but in ignorance of business matters.
I would like to thank the Mayor, his cabinet, and every city employee for getting this budget together in a timely fashion. I am in a large business, and I know what it takes. You have all done a superb job- thank you.
I can't believe how unprofessional Bridget Rivers is. Not allowing a rebuttal or any discussion is unprofessional and shows her need to derail this administration. Rivers will be out in a few years if she keeps going like this. I don't know why the City Council derides Mapp for having a job as Financial Director in Orange. This city needs someone with financial experience. Sharon didn't have it and most on the Council seem to have no clue. They won't even hire a full time Health Inspector, which is very important to all of us. The Plainfield mayor position is a part-time position and the mayor should be allowed to hire directors to run the city with his oversight. That is how Plainfield is set up. Why don't some Council members get it? As their puppeteer. We need to get better qualified people on the City Council.
ReplyDeleteLet's keep it simple:
ReplyDeletepart-time mapp + no c-o-s = less power for mayor
= more power for 4 vote council
= more power for green and assoc
got it?
I think what we really need is more people who will allow drug dealers in their area, not pay the rent and pack their apartments with day to day boarders. That is what this town really needs.
ReplyDeleteisnt that what the housing authority does??
DeleteFor a city the size of Plainfield, there should be a full time Mayor. Having a Chief of Staff acting in his absence is not a viable alternative. Why not just make the COS the Mayor instead? There are too may issues that need fixing to only work on it on a part time basis. A full time Health Department is a must and should be done immediately. For the $40 savings in property taxes, I would not want to eliminate the new hires. We need a CFO. The CFO should be conducting a full audit of all expenses for the City to see how we stand. The goal should be property tax reduction and increased revenue from economic development.
ReplyDeletePlainfield hasn't had a full-time mayor for many years, and the mayor's salary is peanuts. We need somebody who can make decisions and work with the city administrator and the department heads while the mayor iw working at his regular job..
ReplyDeleteThe City deserves a full time Mayor, period. Pay him a real salary and be done with it. We do not need a full time flunky doing the part time Mayors job. If that's the case, then we do not need one of them.
ReplyDeleteI tend to agree with you Jeff. It's kind of foolish in this case for Mayor Mapp to be running off to manage another town, when managing Plainfield is quite a task to begin with. But in the absence of a new Charter (we needed one, but didn't get much of anything besides cosmetic fixes, in my opinion) there's not much that can be done. At this point I accept Mapp's well-stated rationale for the COS position. Time will tell, of course, if John Stewart is a "flunky doing the part time Mayor's job", or if he competently achieves the stated goals. If he does, all the better. If not, let the Council revisit the role in a year or two, after there is a track record to judge. The City Council approved the position and salary range last fall, and now is not the time to make a change. This hullabaloo today is nothing but political game-playing.
Delete"... kind of foolish in this case for Mayor Mapp to be running off to manage another town..."
ReplyDeleteWhat? It's his JOB, the one that he gets paid for, the one that supports his family, the one that pays his property taxes. How entitled do you actually feel to suggest that he spend all his time here practically for free?
The Charter Commission was a joke - interviewing one hack after another who essentially said "it ain't broke and even if it is it will fix itself". True geniuses. The Commission screwed up its one opportunity to set the city on a stronger governmental footing. Instead it bailed on every issue of substance. Read its report to see how many times it says "we'd fix that but it would be too hard". Boo hoo.
Too many people fail to understand that Plainfield has the mayor as a part-time employee and no, Mayor Mapp did not run off and get a full time job. That is an irresponsible statement. Mayor Mapp was the Financial Director of Orange, NJ before he became mayor. We all need a full-time job to pay our bills, so no less can be expected of the Mayor. The Plainfield Charter, which is law, only has the mayor as part-time and department heads, a CFO, and others to manage the city under the guidance and direction of the mayor. I know we didn't have that for eight years, but look at the mess we are in and our some on our City Council are not helping. Please check the facts before making erroneous statements.
DeleteHere we go again - Plainfield is reaching expert status of majoring in the minors. Lets see how much time we can allow the Council and Ass Green to let us waste on these very minor issues instead of working to move this city forward. Other towns and municipalities are making changes, upgrades and marketing their cities to developers and what is Plainfield doing? Debating between two budgets that have a delta of $24 per household. The difference basically being new hires in the Administration (some required by law by the way) and all approved by the council in the last 5 months. The COS, PR, CFO and every other alphabet soup member should remain, do their jobs and be evaluated by the Mayor or in four years by the voters. Until then we should move on to real topics that really have an impact on the city and our future. In the mean time it would be great if even half of the energy spent on this BS was focused on the School Board - an epic failure that is ignored by all but a handful of residents.
DeleteMove on and lets get the city moving, get development fired up and get our rateables where they should be - that way we don't have to keep subsidizing the loss in rateables with yearly tax increases. If you don't get stuck in the weeds the math is pretty easy - unless you are on the City Council and then it requires special education consultants.
Anon 10:27- I didn't mean to imply that Mapp shouldn't be working another job, just that a full time mayor might be a better way to go- Charter wise. Sorry for the confusion.
DeleteWasn't the COS on the Charter Commission?
ReplyDeleteAnon 11:54 - i believe that he was - but what difference does it make? He was also on the transition team, as were many members of the current administration - which by the way is pretty standard for transition teams all over the world. Thats actually kind of the point of transition teams. The city has huge challenges to focus on and this isn't one of them.
DeleteBernice, wasn't the final amount from the Administration $101.00? Since Council President would not let the administration clear it up, I am not sure.
ReplyDeleteIf so, we are talking about a difference of $8.00.
Scary how unprogressive, uneducated in business, and selfish this council can be.
And what does the City Administrator do?
ReplyDeleteAlan is right we need a full time mayor, pay him a full time salary and be done with it. Although Sharon could not get a part time aide. The hypocrisy.
ReplyDelete