A headline last week on nj.com links former Public Works & Urban Development Director Eric Jackson to a proposed audit of the department, making insinuations about his leadership.
As someone who has seen directors of city departments come and go, let me say Eric Jackson did his best to increase professionalism in that department, but there were a couple of divisions where individuals did their own thing, perhaps due to a notion that they enjoyed special protection and backing from certain elected officials.
While it is true that a director is responsible for results, a couple of Jackson's subordinates consistently stonewalled requests from the governing body for fiscal information on events or programs. Before Jackson arrived in September 2011, there was also a span of five months without any director overseeing division heads in the department. Perhaps this is when some developed a laissez-faire attitude toward accountability.
Jackson's demeanor impressed many residents. Although it was likely he would be making a run for mayor in Trenton, many were glad to see him stay on as department head when the administration changed in January 2014. His most visible legacy is the physical restoration of City Hall and its grounds to a place of dignity befitting the Queen City.
It is unfortunate that the news article assigns blame at the very inception of an inquiry into fiscal practices in a city department. A director can hold up a standard, but cannot always overcome intractable habits and behavior of employees. Only the outcome of the audit will tell the facts and for that we shall have to wait.
--Bernice
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From my Plainfield High School English class:
ReplyDeleteSoothsayer. Caesar!
Caesar. Ha! who calls?
Casca. Bid every noise be still: peace yet again!
Caesar. Who is it in the press that calls on me?
I hear a tongue, shriller than all the music,
Cry 'Caesar!' Speak; Caesar is turn'd to hear.
Soothsayer. Beware the ides of March.
Caesar. What man is that?
Brutus. A soothsayer bids you beware the ides of March.
Caesar. Set him before me; let me see his face.
Cassius. Fellow, come from the throng; look upon Caesar.
Caesar. What say'st thou to me now? speak once again.
Soothsayer. Beware the ides of March.
Caesar. He is a dreamer; let us leave him: pass.
It's a shame Mr. Jackson's hands were tied to have the biggest culprit charged but there are still others left. It appears the council was the only ones still trying to stop the process during this administration. I wish them well in trying to clean up Plainfield's government.
ReplyDeleteThis is what you get when everything is hush hush and municipal government stands in for law enforcement. With no transparency there is no accountability. There's more than enough 'fraud, waste and abuse' in this city that goes untouched while people look the other way.
ReplyDeleteThis administration threw Mr. Jackson under the bus by insinuating that he had something to with the DPW&UD infractions. I'm all for accountability and transparency. Don't just stop with the DPW&UD but take a real look at the Police Department which is full of corruption, fraud and waste..
ReplyDeleteIf you read the Times of Trenton article, you would see that the mayor praised Director Jackson as having done stellar work. The headline was rather misleading. The administration did not throw Mayor Jackson under the bus, nor did the council, which agreed to the audit. The truth will out eventually,
Delete