Audit Uncovers Fiscal Disarray

Meeting 41 of 50 fiscal "best practices"means the city will receive all its state aid this year, Chief Financial Officer Al Steinberg told the City Council Monday.

Steinberg led with that good news before he and Bob Swisher of the auditing firm Supplee, Clooney went on to paint a picture of financial disarray uncovered in the 2013 audit.

Among answers to the state best practices checklist, when it came to whether all prior audit findings had been addressed so they would not appear again, Steinberg said, "The answer is a resounding "no."

After Mayor Adrian O. Mapp took office in January, Steinberg became the first permanent chief financial officer since 2007. At times there was no one holding the state-mandated position. Most recently, the business administrator/CFO of a neighboring town spared the city five to seven hours a week from February 2012 through December 2013.

The 2013 audit revealed lapses such as the general ledger, which Swisher called "the most important document," not being maintained. Swisher said it has been a problem for years in Plainfield due to lack of a CFO. At one point, it was off by $55 million.

Money handling was another problem. The city sometimes failed to deposit cash within 48 hours as required. Employees bypassed the purchasing office. Purchases were made without CFO certification that funds were available. People were getting paid without documentation of Social Security numbers for tax forms.

Cash collected for fees in Recreation was then used for purchases. "Obviously that's wrong," Steinberg said.

With financial record-keeping out of whack, Steinberg said, "It takes us weeks to do stuff that should take us days to do."

The audit report is online at the city web site. Although some including Councilwoman Gloria Taylor and Councilman William Reid tried to cast blame on Mapp, the audit was for the final year of the prior administration, as Councilwoman Rebecca Williams and Councilman Cory Storch pointed out.

"I'm glad the house is getting cleaned," Williams said.

Storch said he has heard  the findings for many years and noted it is not the auditor's job to fix them.

"What I see here is something different," he said, namely a CFO "willing to dig deep."

"I have confidence for the first time in eight years," he said.

--Bernice

Have to Crash, More Tomorrow

Monday's City Council meeting was heavy on drama, but also included a detailed presentation by Chief Financial Officer Al Steinberg and Auditor Bob Swisher that needs more explanation than I can muster at this hour. Check back tomorrow for that post.

Sports Disputes Erupt Again

Rev. Jason Greer, center front, in tan suit, addresses City Council

A large number of parents, some with their children, turned out in support of Rev. Jason Greer, who called the 2014 youth baseball season "a catastrophe" and questioned the leadership of Recreation Superintendent Veronica Taylor.

When he took office in January, Mayor Adrian O. Mapp had announced resolution of the acrimony between a volunteer-led league and a city league. There would be one unified league in 2014, he said. Greer said Monday all the registration money went to Karen Glencamp-Daniel, head of the Queen City Baseball League. Resident Faye Clark gave the council members a 150-page report on the finances to bolster Greer's assertion.

Greer also said Seidler Field "has always been our football field," apparently referring to a proposal to create a soccer field there. Speakers at the Aug. 18 council meeting perceived the expansion of soccer as catering to Latinos at the expense of sports favored by African-Americans.

Greer claimed Monday the administration was "cutting back programs," which he said would lead to an increase in crime.

"We really need some answers," Greer said. "If Veronica Taylor is not willing to work with all youth, she needs to be removed."

Greer voiced other complaints before raising his voice and saying, "I need to know where our money went. If this problem is not corrected, we will fill this house and turn it inside out."

Mapp said at the beginning of the year one league was formed and for the transition monies were still going to Queen City "to complete the merger."

The Plainfield Recreation Division did not run the baseball program this year, he said.
As Mapp and Greer traded views, Councilwoman Gloria Taylor opined that there were some disagreements and the groups did not really merge.

"It's a takeover, that's what I am hearing," Taylor said.

Councilwoman Rebecca Williams said she is on the Recreation Committee and the council had only heard from one group. Since Greer's allotted 10 minutes had grown to 29, she asked for five minutes for Glencamp-Daniel to speak. But as the topic shifted from baseball to football, Council President Bridget Rivers said, "We are not having that discussion."

Banging her gavel, she ordered a police officer to remove Glencamp-Daniel from the courtroom.

Greer got the last word, saying he did not want Seidler Field to be converted to a soccer/football field.

--Bernice

PMUA Nominations Withdrawn

Only one of three nominees for PMUA seats was available to be interviewed by the City Council Monday, so the administration withdrew their names until next month.

Thomas Crownover, nominated to replace holdover Malcolm Dunn, was present and sat through most of the lengthy council meeting even though the resolution was withdrawn. Mayor Adrian O. Mapp said Michelle Graham-Lyons, named to replace holdover and current PMUA Chairman Harold Mitchell, was absent due to surgery. Carlos Ponton, the nominee to fill a vacant alternate's seat, was unable to attend the meeting, Mapp said.

The November meeting will be a combined agenda-fixing and regular meeting starting at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 10 in Municipal Court.

--Bernice

East Second, Potholes, PMMA and More Tonight

Tonight's City Council agenda (Oct. 6) includes a necessary first step toward East Second Street revitalization, a four-year contract for city managers, another pothole repair plan and indications of environmental problems near police headquarters.

The meeting is 7:30 p.m. in Municipal Court, 325 Watchung Ave. Items accepted tonight will be up for voting at the regular meeting, 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 14 at the same location.

- The council may authorize the Planning Board to conduct an investigation of properties in the East Second Street Neighborhood Commercial District to see whether they are in need of revitalization/redevelopment. A previous proposal in 2005 was never acted on. In 2012, students of Dr. Roland Anglin of the Rutgers University Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Policy developed strategies for  plan for revitalization of the East Second Street corridor. The resolution to be considered Monday directs the Planning Board to make a formal study, hold a public hearing and send a recommendation back to the council, which may then direct the Planning Board to make a redevelopment/rehabilitation plan.

Merchants and residents of the district expected $1.2 million in Urban Enterprise Zone funds to be committed to improving the area and appeared before the council twice to plead for action. Finance Director Ron West said the UEZ funds that were turned back to the city still need an accounting. The planning process must also be honored before any expenditure.

- Legislation to be discussed tonight will give members of the Plainfield Municipal Management Association 1.5 percent cost-of-living increases annually from 2014 through 2017.

- Patch Management of Fairless Hills, Pa. is in line to receive up to $42,000 for pothole repairs throughout the city if the council approves its contract. The same firm received a $35,000 contract in April for pothole repairs.

- Among other sites, a study of 301-327 East Fourth Street revealed the need for further investigation for contaminants including heavy metals and "extractable petroleum hydrocarbons." The engineer's report notes former uses for coal and oil storage and the historic presence of factories at the site which point to the need for further investigation. As noted in the link above, the site was suggested as a possible location for a skateboard park in 2013. The site is just east of police headquarters.

The agenda has many other items of interest and bloggers will no doubt be spinning out stories and comments throughout the week before the regular meeting.

--Bernice

In Memory of Pat Turner Kavanaugh

I received word that Pat Turner Kavanaugh died Saturday. Besides being the first public information officer to serve the city in the 1980s, Pat was involved in many other aspects of life in the Queen City. I don't know all her titles, but she worked with the YMCA, the Friends of Sleepy Hollow and the Plainfield League of Women Voters, among other organizations. She was a fierce fighter for causes she believed in and a tenacious advocate for Plainfield. She liked to get things done.

She had an appetite for adventure that took her all over the world and maybe that's what gave her the energy to come back and tackle problems in her hometown. If at times she seemed brusque, it was probably because she was in a hurry to get results.

Pat gave of herself in many ways. She saw old friends through hard times brought on by aging or ill health, matter-of-factly taking on tasks they could no longer perform.

She will be missed by many, many individuals and groups who benefited from her willingness to help out, whether it was driving someone to a meeting or publicizing events. The best celebration of her life would be simply to emulate her engagement in civic affairs, and to keep the wheels turning, in her name.

--Bernice

More Details on PMUA Nominations

Mayor Adrian O. Mapp is proposing replacement of PMUA Commissioners Malcolm Dunn with Thomas Crownover and Harold Mitchell with Michelle Graham-Lyons in addition to filling a vacant alternate position with Carlos Ponton.

The nominations are up for discussion at Monday's City Council meeting, 7:30 p.m. in Municipal Court.

Dunn and Mitchell are both holdovers, Dunn since his term expired in February and Mitchell since February 2011. Ponton would succeed Cecil Sanders as Alternate No. 2, a seat Sanders vacated when he replaced former Commissioner Tracey Brown in January 2013. The PMUA board has five commissioners and two alternates, who can only vote when needed due to absence of a commissioner.

In the past, the council has interviewed PMUA nominees in public before moving their names to the agenda for a vote. As has also happened in the past, the council president can decline to move the names to the agenda.

Both Mitchell and Dunn were council members before serving on the PMUA and Mitchell also served four years as mayor.

Crownover is an attorney and is director of a municipal parking authority. He frequently attends PMUA meetings and was previously nominated for a commissioner's seat. Graham-Lyons is a senior investment research analyst employed by a data management firm and Ponton administers a research center with 35 employees and 20 interns, according to their resumes. Ponton is a member of the Plainfield Advisory Commission on Hispanic Affairs.

If confirmed, Crownover would serve an unexpired term to February 2019 and Graham-Lyons would serve an unexpired term to February 2016. Ponton's unexpired term would end on February 1, 2015. They would join Commissioners Carol Brokaw, Cecil Sanders and Charles Tyndale and Alternate No. 1 Charles Eke. See more information on the PMUA here.

--Bernice