Among 58 resolutions up for consideration Wednesday, four have to do with plans for the July 4th Celebration, two specifically related to a concert.
The cost for use of Cedar Brook Park is $8,800, payable to the County of Union. Fireworks by Garden State Fireworks will cost $12,000. And then things get a bit murky. A proposed resolution allocates $4,700 to HSP Event Planning for a concert, but correspondence from the company indicates a $6,500 option if the city agrees to let HSP provide staff and services. Otherwise, the city is to provide a stage manager, two or three stage hands, a production assistant, two crew members for "artist/rep coordinators" and additional staff if required.
According to background documents in the council packet, the city's budget was initially $3,200. But HSP recommended a $5,000 production cost instead of $3,200, with another $1,500 for "pre-production and site logistic visit." A schedule calls for payment of $1,500 by May 28 for the preliminary visit; $1,600 payable on June 7; and $1,600 on show day "before site breakdown." HSP recommends $2,500 each for the last two items.
If this all sounds confusing, it is. The city is only authorizing $4,700, but then will have to pay for required staff separately, according to HSP's scenario.
Then there is another set of costs to Infinite Events & Marketing for "the talent." The total allocated by the city is not to exceed $10,800. Six performers have agreed to fees totaling $5,300 and presumably the company as producer gets the balance. However, the "client" - City of Plainfield Recreation Division - must provide insurance, advertising, security, a stage and stage lighting, sound and power and stagehands to set up and take down the performance venue.
For several years, City Council members have sought a full accounting of all costs associated with the July 4th Celebration. The documents cited above lead one to believe there are costs associated with this concert that are not spelled out. The timetable for payments appears to have elapsed in part. At any rate, the June 17 meeting is when the council will vote on these expenditures, so advance payments do not seem possible.
The issue of planning ahead for this annual event dates back at least to 2006, when former Recreation Superintendent Dave Wynn sought $55,000 for a July 4 concert on short notice. The council denied his request for a budget transfer to fund the event and had previously denied using $100,000 in Urban Enterprise Zone funds for a concert. Click here for Plaintalker's report.
Please note that all July 4th events will take place in Plainfield this year on Saturday, July 6.
--Bernice
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Friday, June 7, 2013
What Happens in La Vega ...
According to Blogger Dashboard, I made five posts between 1:43 a.m. and 10:48 p.m. on June 6. So I feel justified in taking a day off today, June 7. I will, however, take note of an oddity on the agenda for the City Council's June 12 meeting. The sole item under Public Affairs & Safety is a resolution to donate a 1972 Mack fire truck to the La Vega Fire Department in the Dominican Republic. Aside from the question of why our Fire Division still has a 41-year-old piece of equipment, I did find some answers online as to why La Vega? It seems their volunteer fire department collects donations from others around the world. One story mentions a 1976 pumper truck from Germany. Another tells of a 1989 E-One Hush Pumper from Twinsville, Ohio. The firefighters wear gear with names of fire companies from all over. They are housed in an old fort built in 1813. So Plainfield will become part of this tradition of generosity to needy bomberos with the 1972 truck if the council agrees. I hope somebody with deep pockets is planning to defray the cost of transporting it to La Vega.
--Bernice
Thursday, June 6, 2013
CBAC Offers Budget Amendment Recommendations
Social services and overtime costs were among targets for cutting 2013 budget costs as the Citizens' Budget Advisory Committee made its recommendations for amendments Thursday.
CBAC Chairman Chairman Charles McRae said Plainfield is the only city that has a Bilingual Day Care program. The committee recommended shifting it to a non-profit and also outsourcing the Women, Infants and Children nutrition program for possible savings of $1.1 million, but budget consultant David Kochel said the programs are largely grant-funded and the city only spends $48,000 on the Bilingual Day Care program. The only savings might be on pension and benefit costs, he said, but Finance Director Al Restaino said because grants exceed salary lines, the excess covers those costs.
Police overtime stems in part from a 4-day on, 4-day off schedule, Public Safety Director Martin Hellwig explained at a previous budget session. Relief may not come until 2014 after a new union contract is negotiated, Councilman William Reid said.
Reid, Cory Storch and Adrian Mapp heard the CBAC recommendations in their role as members of the City Council's Administration & Finance Committee. McRae described the recommendations as preliminary and expected further discussion at another joint meeting, but the council has just set a special meeting for next Wednesday to approve possible amendments, with an eye to final passage this month.
Among other CBAC recommendations:
- Replace the Recreation Division with a volunteer commission. McRae said information on the Recreation web site was outdated and might be part of the reason for low enrollment in its programs, which he said amounted to "262 kids, with a $1 million budget."
- Make the Inspections Division self-sustaining. A recommendation to have workers out on weekends ran afoul of contractual issues, officials said.
- Reinstate the position of public information officer to help "re-brand the city." McRae said the Office of Economic Development "has little to show for is department," bringing in only about $3 million over four or five years while its director is paid $85,000.
- Do not ask the Plainfield Public Library for givebacks. McRae called it "the only real department that is giving back to the citizens" with its programs.
Reid made frequent allusions throughout the meeting to a "new mayor" who will bring a different approach in 2014, indicating Mapp, who just won the Democratic primary. Mapp still has to face Republican Sandy Spector and independents Mustapha Muhammad and D. Scott Belin in November, but historically a Democratic primary winner has prevailed in November.
Reid told the CBAC members he felt they had learned a lot about how the city works, if sometimes how inefficiently. McRae said a lot of CBAC members are professionals who "take a corporate view." CBAC member Lisa Cright-Bryant questioned a lack of data, such as the number of seasonal workers hired.
"Record-keeping is everything," she said. "I don't think we're doing it very well."
The Administration & Finance Committee charged Kochel with formulating budget amendments, taking into account the CBAC suggestions. The special meeting for possible action on amendments is 8:30 p.m. Wednesday (June 12) in City Hall Library, with an agenda-fixing session beginning at 7:30 p.m.
--Bernice
CBAC Chairman Chairman Charles McRae said Plainfield is the only city that has a Bilingual Day Care program. The committee recommended shifting it to a non-profit and also outsourcing the Women, Infants and Children nutrition program for possible savings of $1.1 million, but budget consultant David Kochel said the programs are largely grant-funded and the city only spends $48,000 on the Bilingual Day Care program. The only savings might be on pension and benefit costs, he said, but Finance Director Al Restaino said because grants exceed salary lines, the excess covers those costs.
Police overtime stems in part from a 4-day on, 4-day off schedule, Public Safety Director Martin Hellwig explained at a previous budget session. Relief may not come until 2014 after a new union contract is negotiated, Councilman William Reid said.
Reid, Cory Storch and Adrian Mapp heard the CBAC recommendations in their role as members of the City Council's Administration & Finance Committee. McRae described the recommendations as preliminary and expected further discussion at another joint meeting, but the council has just set a special meeting for next Wednesday to approve possible amendments, with an eye to final passage this month.
Among other CBAC recommendations:
- Replace the Recreation Division with a volunteer commission. McRae said information on the Recreation web site was outdated and might be part of the reason for low enrollment in its programs, which he said amounted to "262 kids, with a $1 million budget."
- Make the Inspections Division self-sustaining. A recommendation to have workers out on weekends ran afoul of contractual issues, officials said.
- Reinstate the position of public information officer to help "re-brand the city." McRae said the Office of Economic Development "has little to show for is department," bringing in only about $3 million over four or five years while its director is paid $85,000.
- Do not ask the Plainfield Public Library for givebacks. McRae called it "the only real department that is giving back to the citizens" with its programs.
Reid made frequent allusions throughout the meeting to a "new mayor" who will bring a different approach in 2014, indicating Mapp, who just won the Democratic primary. Mapp still has to face Republican Sandy Spector and independents Mustapha Muhammad and D. Scott Belin in November, but historically a Democratic primary winner has prevailed in November.
Reid told the CBAC members he felt they had learned a lot about how the city works, if sometimes how inefficiently. McRae said a lot of CBAC members are professionals who "take a corporate view." CBAC member Lisa Cright-Bryant questioned a lack of data, such as the number of seasonal workers hired.
"Record-keeping is everything," she said. "I don't think we're doing it very well."
The Administration & Finance Committee charged Kochel with formulating budget amendments, taking into account the CBAC suggestions. The special meeting for possible action on amendments is 8:30 p.m. Wednesday (June 12) in City Hall Library, with an agenda-fixing session beginning at 7:30 p.m.
--Bernice
Belin, Muhammad Seek Mayoralty
Mustapha Muhammad and D. Scott Belin filed Tuesday and will be on the November ballot along with Democratic primary winner Adrian Mapp and Republican Sandy Spector.
Belin has served for many years as chairman of the Zoning Board of Adjustment
Mapp was endorsed by the Democratic Party in March and won the June 4 primary, defeating incumbent Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs. Spector has served for many years as chairman of the Republican city committee in Plainfield.
The general election is Nov. 5 and the mayoral winner will take office on Jan. 1, 2014 for a four-year term.
--Bernice
Council Reschedules June 11 Meeting
The June 11 City Council agenda-fixing session has been re-scheduled to 7:30 p.m. June 12 in City Hall Library, City Clerk Abubakar Jalloh said today. A special meeting for the purpose of considering and acting upon possible amendments to the 2013 budget will be held at 8:30 p.m. June 12 in the same location.
Many More Political Decisions Ahead
The June 4 Democratic primary election confirmed that party choice Adrian Mapp will be on the November ballot and that two-term incumbent Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs will leave office on Dec. 31. But there are many more outcomes to be realized in the political sphere over coming weeks and months.
On Monday, June 10, the Democratic City Committee will meet to choose a chairman for the next two years. Assemblyman Jerry Green has served in that role for many years, but with Union County Democratic Party Chairman Charlotte DeFilippo stepping down, Green has made it known that he would like to be her successor. The county committee meets on Tuesday to choose a new chairman.
The City Council also meets on Tuesday, which may cause members who are part of the Democratic City Committee to make a choice of which meeting to attend. They are Mapp, Rev. Tracey Brown and Vera Greaves. The council will still have a quorum of four members if the committee members attend the county meeting. The Plainfield Municipal Utilities Authority's board of commissioners also has a conflict Tuesday, but there all five members - Malcolm Dunn, Alex Toliver, Cecil Sanders, Carole Brokaw and Harold Mitchell - are on the Democratic City Committee. Their meeting is at 6 p.m., however, so they could make the county meeting if they wrap up their business quickly.
Farther down the road, someone will have to be appointed as of Jan. 1, 2014 to fill the vacancy created if, as expected, Mapp overcomes any November challenges to win the general election. The usual procedure is for the Democratic Party to offer three names and the council picks one. The appointee would then have to run in the June 2014 primary and, if successful, win the November 2014 election for the balance of the unexpired term, which ends Dec. 31, 2016.
Another topic of speculation is what the incumbent mayor will do after her term ends on Dec. 31. She has stated she will still be serving the city "in another capacity," which pundits are already guessing will be related somehow to the PMUA.
It all remains to be seen, along with appointments to boards and commissions and cabinet members for 2014. And of course, the outcome of the Assembly race this year with two Plainfielders on the ballot. Keep punditizing until all is known!
--Bernice
Joint Meeting On Budget Amendments
The Citizens' Budget Advisory Committee and the City Council's Administration & Finance Committee will meet tonight in a special joint meeting to discuss suggested amendments to the CY 2013 Municipal Budget.
The meeting is 7:30 p.m. in the Planning Conference Room on the second floor of City Hall, 515 Watchung Ave.
The city is in the sixth month of the calendar year budget. The governing body must hold a public hearing on any amendments before final passage and budget adoption. Plans call for the budget to be adopted this month. The City Council meets for an agenda-fixing session at 7:30 p.m.on Tuesday, June 11 in Municipal Court. The regular meeting is 8 p.m. on June 17 in Municipal Court.
Budget documents are available for public viewing in the City Clerk's office during regular business hours.
--Bernice
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