Saturday, May 9, 2015

Commentary on Budget Talks

If there was any hope that 2015 budget talks would be more collegial than last year's sessions, it was dashed Wednesday night. In remarks that almost seemed scripted at times, councilors and budget committee members skewered the Mapp administration on camera over police and fire items.

Public Safety Director Carl Riley made an impassioned plea for staffing needs of the Police Division, which is being hit hard by a wave of retirements on the mature force. In all, the ranks will be down 14 percent by September, although new recruits are in training to fill the gap eventually. Still, he was able to report a significant decrease in violent crimes and projected an increase in community engagement, with more of the walking patrols that residents clamor for.

Put on the spot by former Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs, Riley had to confirm that Mapp and City Administrator Rick Smiley had new official vehicles purchased with funds transferred out of the police budget to Smiley's office. Smiley had to admit each black Explorer cost $26,000.

Curiously, the issue had not come up at either the 2014 or 2015 annual reorganization, when the council normally authorizes use of city-owned vehicles for top officials. To shed even more light on the it, Robinson-Briggs even read out the license plate numbers on camera  Wednesday.

Fire Chief Frank Tidwell had an even more inflammatory issue when he said an aerial platform truck - the only kind that could fight a six-story blaze - was out of commission. The image of elders trapped in high-rise senior housing was invoked. Two months had passed with no resolution from the Mapp administration, Tidwell said.

In the hair-on-fire reaction to this piece of information, maybe it was lost on some that the truck was purchased in 2007 and was known to be a "lemon" in 2013. The "gotcha" element of the revelation was rather obvious.

Upcoming budget sessions focus on the office of the mayor, economic development, IT & media and the divisions of Health, Purchasing, Public Works, Inspections and Recreation before amendments are formulated. Expect more of the same pre-primary drama which some are enjoying as a political spectacle, but which in terms of stewardship of public money and assets is actually a sorry sight.

--Bernice

4 comments:

  1. It's a shame that Jerry's kids are trying to sink Plainfield and work for Jerry not us. Putting Sharon and Reid on the committee to look at the budget has got to be the stupidest thing I've ever heard, and I attend City Council meetings. Sharon could not get a budget through the Trenton review office without forgetting to fund departments or giving money to her friends. We need to remember that because of Reid our budget for this year was short and that was his fault along with Rivers and the rest of Jerry's kids. ARE THEY KIDDING?

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  2. The original, albeit unofficial, intent of the CBAC was to investigate and if possible embarrass the SRB administration's spending and lack of accountability. Well, what goes around comes around. Except now the committee has members who are truly professional at trying to embarrass their enemies. Yes, only the gullible will be confused but we know that there are tons of gullibles in this world.

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  3. Are you talking about this CBAC with Sharon, Reid, etc. calling them professionals? Seriously?

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  4. I do not understand the tenor and tone of Chief Tidwell's commentary. I was unable to attend the meeting due to my work schedule, but if this is something that he knew about in 2013 under the previous administration, it is very unfortunate that he waited until 2015 to bring it up. I am concerned that he let it go through all of 2014 without saying a word. I will see if I can get clarification.

    Rebecca

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