A new item for Monday's City Council meeting is an invitation for PMUA Executive Director Dan Williamson to speak. It brings to mind the fact that the council every year names liaisons to various entities and these liaisons should be able to update the council as well - that is, if they in fact attend the meetings of the organizations to which they are assigned. Soon a new roster of liaisons will be named, in addition to assignments for six council committees, only a few of which have given reports in 2014. The assignments are buried in a huge "Rules of Order" document that is passed each January and honored largely in the breach for the rest of the year.
For example, one rule is this:
1.3 Getting the Floor
Every City Council member desiring to speak for any purpose, whatsoever, shall address the
Council President, and upon recognition, confine him or herself to the question under debate,
avoiding personalities and indecorous language.
How often has that been ignored by certain council members?
Here is the whole 2012 Rules of Order, if you want to see it for yourself. Most of it, except for meeting dates and assignments, stays the same.
For example, one rule is this:
1.3 Getting the Floor
Every City Council member desiring to speak for any purpose, whatsoever, shall address the
Council President, and upon recognition, confine him or herself to the question under debate,
avoiding personalities and indecorous language.
How often has that been ignored by certain council members?
Here is the whole 2012 Rules of Order, if you want to see it for yourself. Most of it, except for meeting dates and assignments, stays the same.
Anyway, it will be interesting to hear what Dan Williamson has to say on Monday. Here is the item from the agenda:
--Bernice
There is only one standard by which the PMUA should be measured: The Rates. All of the incremental improvements, while appreciated, are not the bottom line. They are components that enter into the determination of determine the bottom line. We are paying in the order of 300% more for solid waste collection than neighboring communities of similar population. If Mr. Williamson reports that he anticipates a significant reduction of the Shared Service fee, say 20 to 30% for 2015, that will be the hallmark of success. If the phrase "maintain the rates" is used, it signifies no net gain. It means cost savings and improved sales which will likely be cited are being offset by increased costs on other areas which will not be identified in the presentation.
ReplyDeleteWhether the bottom line of the PMUA is improving or not, there is no reason why Mayor map's nominees should not be appointed. New blood brings new ideas and the potential for improvement. The refusal to appoint them goes beyond maintaining power and loyalty to the Commissioners currently in office. It is my belief that the Council is apprehensive that the newly appointed Commissioners will have access to a number of closets. In those closets are skeletons which will fall out and clutter up the floors if the closet doors are opened. Bill Kruse
Another rule is this:
ReplyDelete6. Disclosure of Interest
A member who has a personal or private interest in any question or measure proposed or pending before the Council shall disclose such interest and shall not vote thereon nor take any part in the discussion of the same. Said member will leave the Council Chamber at he time the matter is being discussed.
If everyone who fits the above ruling had to leave the chambers their would be nobody left.
DeleteMonday’s meeting with the Council and the PMUA is nothing more than a ‘dog and pony show’ for the PMUA to pat itself on the back for a few things while completely ignoring the outrageously abusive rates they change to their customers for the services they provide. There may also be a ‘photo-op’ when the PMUA presents the city a sizeable check erroneously called ‘revenue sharing’ which is in reality part of the excessively overcharged rates being given back to the city as a hidden tax on rate payers.
ReplyDeleteBy any objective measures, the PMUA charges are outrageously high for the services they provide. Here are some ‘inconvenient’ facts that neither the PMUA nor the Jerry Green Council will be discussing tomorrow night.
- Grand Sanitation charges its Plainfield customers $30.98/month for the same trash service the PMUA charges its customers $61.66/month for even after their new rate reduction.
- In 2012, when the Council-sponsored PMUA Task Force gathered comparative cost data for trash and sewer services from surrounding communities, the City of Union which had 6,500 more residents and disposed 14 tons more waste than the PMUA did, paid $8.6 millions dollars for trash and sewer services, while the PMUA charged it’s customers $22.4 million dollars. So, the PMUA charged its customers $13.8 million dollars more to do less work than the City.
- The actual tonnage the PMUA collects from its Shared Services activities (collecting trash from City parks and City trash bins and illegal dumping is actually less than 1% of the tonnage they collect, even though they charge their customers $27/month (or 44% of the Solid Waste charge) for a Shared Service Fee.
- The PMUA charges its single family homeowner customers 274% more than the Township of Cranford charges its single family homeowners for sewer services (PMUA = $574.88/year; Cranford = $210/year)
Despite the facts, the odds are against any real changes being made at the PMUA, especially given the current Council's unwillingness to either dissolve the PMUA or to even approve Mayor Mapp's nominees for reform-minded PMUA Commissioners. The sad truth is too many people and companies both locally and as far away as Trenton are making too much money based on how corruptly the PMUA is being run today and they will not willing give it up easily or willingly.
Tom Kaercher
Its a shame, council can't read the rules on how to conduct themselves and their meetings. Should have to go to a school before you can run for council.
ReplyDeleteThey are running a 70 million dollar company. Where is their resume that they are always asking everyone else for.