Appointments Put Off For Details

Numerous appointments proposed by outgoing Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs failed to gain City Council consensus to be moved for action at the Dec. 9 regular meeting.

With only six members present (Councilman William Reid was in South Carolina), most instances found three members (Vera Greaves, Tracey Brown, Council President Bridget Rivers) in favor of moving nominations and three not in favor (Cory Storch, Rebecca Williams, Adrian Mapp).

As Plaintalker pointed out in this post, many of the mayor's nominations lacked necessary details, such as terms. Williams also noted that candidates for boards and commissions have in the past been interviewed by the council prior to a vote, but none on the list were interviewed nor were applications available for review.

All the nominations for the Plainfield Municipal Utilities Authority failed to get a consensus. Most consisted of rearranging current commissioners to realign terms, with Malcolm Dunn and Cecil Sanders favored for the longest terms.

Shade Tree Commission names also failed to get consensus.

Eight names were offered for the new Community Emergency Response Team, formed by ordinance in September, but on advice of Corporation Counsel David Minchello, Greaves removed herself from nomination rather than give up her council seat due to the city's prohibition on dual office-holding. Williams pointed out there were no terms indicated for the nominees and City Clerk Abubakar Jalloh confirmed that he received only names with no dates.

"So this won't get this group off to a good start," Storch said.

Mapp said the nominations should not be moved until the terms were spelled out.

"Let's do it right," he said.

Formation of the African Caribbean Commission was proposed in August and passed in September. The ordinance provided for nine members, with initially staggered terms of three members each for one-, two-, or three-year terms. Eight names were offered, but the one-year terms were misstated as ending on Dec. 31, 2015.

Although Williams and Mapp called for a delay until nominees could be interviewed or at least have their applications reviewed, Rivers objected, saying the group had already held a celebration and swearing-in.

"Which makes it all the more egregious," Williams said.

A bit of confusion ensued, with the council attempting a vote to table the matter and Jalloh saying it failed, but Mapp pointed out the council can't actually vote at an agenda-fixing session. It was unclear whether the names will be up for a vote on Dec. 9, but at any rate nominee Charles Eke will have to make a choice between having a seat on the commission or keeping his current alternate's seat on the PMUA.

--Bernice

"The People's Inaugural"

The City Council agreed Monday to hold the annual reorganization on Jan. 6, but Mayor-elect Adrian Mapp also announced plans for "The People's Inaugural," a week of service activities launched with ceremonies and a "people's feast" on Jan. 1.

"I want to include everyone in the city of Plainfield," Mapp said.

 He plans to take a ceremonial oath on the steps of City Hall, then let attendees come through the building to greet him as mayor before going to heated tents in the rear for "the people's feast."

The food will come from restaurants invited to participate and Mapp said the event is expected to last four hours.

The service theme for his first week as mayor will include a service activity on each day, he said.

Traditionally the mayor is sworn in at midnight on Dec. 31 and then oaths are taken at the annual reorganization. Councilwoman Bridget Rivers will also be taking her oath of office for a second four-year term representing the 4th Ward.

The reorganization meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on Jan. 6. It usually includes numerous appointments, including cabinet members, and naming of official newspapers and other business for the year, as well as the mayor's State of the City address.

Plaintalker will provide more details on "The People's Inaugural" as they emerge.

--Bernice

Council Meeting Tonight

City Council Agenda-fixing Session

Tonight 

7:30 p.m. Dec. 2

Municipal Court

325 Watchung Ave.

Click here to view agenda

Proposed Appointments Sketchy, Flawed

Resolution submitted for Community Emergency Response Team

Looking through the December 2 packet at the Plainfield Public Library revealed once again that the outgoing administration has never quite understood the appointment process.

Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs submitted nominations for the Plainfield Municipal Utilities Authority that mirrored a roster she offered in August. See Plaintalker post here. The idea was to switch terms around to give the longest ones to Malcolm Dunn and Cecil Sanders and replace Commissioner Harold Mitchell with former mayoral aide Barbara James  The ploy failed in August. It seems doubtful that the City Council will move it to the Dec. 9 agenda at Monday's agenda-fixing session. These terms start and end in February, so the timing is off anyway.

The appointments listed above are for the new Community Emergency Response Team. As readers can see, the terms are not specified. How can the council intelligently discuss such a vague proposal?

Nominations for the Plainfield African Caribbean Commission

Nominees for the Plainfield African Caribbean Commission have staggered terms, as is normal for a new commission, but because the mayor apparently wants to push them through before her term ends, some members will only serve a couple of weeks in 2013, despite the terms being billed as two- or three-year terms. The most confusing is a one-year term ending in 2015.

In addition, the question arises whether Charles Eke will have to give up his alternate's seat on the PMUA in order to serve on this new commission, as Plainfield has a prohibition on dual office-holding.

The worst attempt at appointments involves the Shade Tree Commission. The term "mayoral designee" means someone meant to serve during the current mayor's term.  But the proposed nominee is listed as serving to 12/31/2014. Then there an alternate designee with the same term, and another individual listed as succeeding herself for a two-year term.

Disclosure: I was an original member of this commission and served as its secretary, but did not seek a second term in part because I was appalled at how mixed-up appointments to this brand-new commission became. Duplicate nominations, wrong terms and successions - you name it. Applicants also had their information lost multiple times.

If residents are willing and qualified to serve, the mayor's office should at least be able to name them in a timely and appropriate way.  One hopes the new mayor will work with the City Clerk to fill vacancies on boards and commissions properly.

Click here to see the application to serve on a board or commission and note the rules. Regarding years of service, I happened across a city calendar from 1985 that listed members of all the city boards and commissions. Most of the individuals and even some of the boards are gone now, but one person on a land use board is still there after 28 years. Time to give somebody else a chance?

--Bernice

About Mayor's PMUA Nominees

Monday's City Council meeting agenda includes correspondence from the mayor regarding numerous appointments, but it remains to be seen whether they get to the point of action at the regular meeting on Dec. 8.

The same roster of names was presented in August, but no action was taken. The idea then in switching terms around seemed to be to give Malcolm Dunn and Cecil Sanders the two longest terms and to get rid of Commissioner Harold Mitchell in favor of mayoral gal pal Barbara James. See post here.

Bloggers will have to wait until tomorrow to see the council packet, if it is available at the library, to see whether the same pattern is evident, as the mayor's correspondence has no details.

--Bernice

Commentary on "Community ID Cards"

Courier News reporter Sergio Bichao's story on the "Community ID Card" allegedly backed by the city and police sounds an additional alarm about the program in this writer's mind.

As reported by Bichao, Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs and activist Carmen Salavarrieta are publicizing the program, which is operated through "Angels for Action." While Salavarrieta was not a member of the failed Plainfield Advisory Commission on Hispanic Affairs, she was identified by Assemblyman Jerry Green as being "involved" with it:

"Mrs. Salavarrieta is not a member of the committee. The Mayor just asked her if she would be involved due to her experience in dealing with similar issues. Mr. Ortega agreed that she would be a great asset."
Norman Ortega identified himself at the time as the founder of Angels in Action Foundation (since supplanted by the 501(c)3 Angels for Action Inc.) and was a member of the commission, along with another Angels in Action member. The long-awaited commission soon became controversial, as comments on this post show, and it faded away, never to be reconstituted.

Although she is not a city resident, Salavarrieta remains a political figure in Plainfield. I think one can legitimately ask why, now that Plainfield has a 40 percent Hispanic population, politicians must rely on a non-resident for advice on how to address the needs of this demographic. The sale of "community" photo IDs through Salavarrieta's Angels For Action makes one wonder whether the recipients of these cards are unknowingly being identified for political purposes as well as for practical reasons.

 

The ID appears to be redundant, if one already has the documents described in a pitch for the card: "A formal protocol is used to confirm identity and domicile. Examples of combined 

documents required to obtain the Community ID Card are: passport, driver’s license, 

or consular card, AND a lease, or utility/phone bill."
 

Recipients are assured that "To address any privacy and confidentiality concerns, none of the personal data will be retained in digital or paper form. All cardholder information will be erased once 

the card is issued." 

Still, by applying at the Angels for Action office, recipients make themselves known to Salavarrieta or her staff. If there is any thought of political organizing for local candidates, it should be disclosed along with the stated purposes of the program.

--Bernice

Hellwig On Leave, Served Two Terms

Public Safety Director Martin R. Hellwig, the only department head to have served through all eight years of Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs' tenure, is now on leave until the end of the year.
.
Hellwig is sworn in, January 2006

As noted on the city web site, Hellwig's law enforcement career began with 27 years' service in Verona and he served in other roles in Essex County.

As director of the Department of Public Affairs & Safety, Hellwig oversaw the Police and Fire divisions, which both had chiefs initially. In mid-2007, Hellwig proposed elimination of the police chief title in a surprise move which caught Police Chief Edward Santiago unaware. Santiago called it "a dangerous politicization" of the Police Division, but in 2008 he was laid off, with the option of remaining on the force as captain, which he took.

The title of police director was created by ordinance in 2008 and Hellwig became acting director in addition to department head, in effect reporting to himself.


Hellwig is named Police Director in March 2009

After a year, he was given the permanent title of police director, but there was no salary attached to the title until January 2010. Though holding both titles, he received only one salary ($106,267 in 2013).

In September 2009, City Hall was the scene of Hellwig's wedding to Huiling Liu, with Robinson-Briggs officiating and Corporation Counsel Dan Williamson walking the bride down the aisle in the elaborately-decorated City Hall Library.

In February 2010, Hellwig was suspended for three days for an unspecified infraction. Neither Plaintalker nor the Courier News reported on the incident, as there was no official corroboration of the reason, but other sources linked it to a Craig's List assignation in June 2009.

Several officers allegedly tied to an investigation of the incident were later demoted, including Michael Gilliam, who went from a captain to lieutenant to sergeant. Gilliam sued Hellwig and the city and in April won back his title and pay  for the period of his demotion. Gilliam is now the acting department director while Hellwig is on leave.

Among his achievements, Hellwig pointed to a drop in homicides during his tenure. He reorganized the Police Division and won City Council approval for a ShotSpotter system to pinpoint gunshots for quick response. Even though he never moved to the city, he attended council meetings and many community events every year.


Hellwig at Senior Center event, May 2009

Mayor-elect Adrian Mapp will have to name a new Public Affairs & Safety director in January and decide whether he wants a civilian police director instead of a chief to head the Police Division.

Good luck to Director Hellwig in his future endeavors.

--Bernice