At a special meeting Monday, the City Council will decide whether former PMUA director Eric Watson will get another 90 days in office as head of the Department of Public Works & Urban Development.
Mayor Adrian O. Mapp named Watson to the post in acting capacity as of Sept. 15. The Municipal Code allows for one more 90-day stint or a permanent appointment, either requiring council confirmation. The initial appointment brought a flurry of questions on why Mapp would choose Watson to head the department after a controversial PMUA settlement that sparked outrage at the time.
Watson previously headed the PW&UD before he became executive director of the PMUA in 1995. The department, one of three mandated by the city's special charter, includes Inspections, Recreation, Economic Development, Planning, Community Development, Engineering and Building divisions, in addition to the City Yard division, which takes care of roads, leaf and brush removal, trees and signs.
The 90-day span up for council approval is important for preparation of the 2015 budget, which will be Mapp's second since taking office on Jan. 1, 2014. The administration and governing body have also discussed a possible joint meeting soon with current PMUA Executive Director Dan Williamson and staff in coming weeks.
If Watson is approved to serve until March 15, at that time Mapp would have to nominate him for council advice and consent to serve a permanent term to Dec. 31, 2017. If the council rejects the nomination or if Mapp declines to make it, Watson will be out.
.
The special meeting at 7 p.m. has nine other items. It will be followed by an agenda-fixing session for the Jan. 5, 2015 Annual Reorganization.
--Bernice
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I can’t believe this was even up for discussion. How could Mayor Mapp ever think that hiring Eric Watson was a good decision for Plainfield?
ReplyDeleteHasn’t Watson not taken enough money from Plainfield when he left the Plainfield Municipal Utilities Authority?
Many believe the man has swindled thousands of dollars from taxpayers, and now he wants to have a six figure job as the Director of Public Works & Urban Development?
Mapp must have a short memory. Let’s refresh it: Watson received $151,000 and then an additional $750,000, along with legal fees of $80,200 and arbitration costs of $15,500, as noted in your previous posts.
Surely, there are other professionals from Plainfield capable of carrying out the functions of this job. This is a political payback, Bernice, and you know it.
If I were a council person, my vote would have been a resounding NO.
I can’t believe Rebecca and Cory went against Mapp and voted no. Actually It’s no surprise, they knew there would be enough yes votes to move this along. Fair exchange is no robbery, however, if there’s any validity to what Reid said about Mapp hiring Watson in exchange for his PMUA committee appointments, to me – that’s not fair exchange.
DeleteJoan Cann