State Sets Audit Example

One of the last stories I worked on as a reporter in July 2003 was an overview of City Council cell phone use. Actually, I started working on it much earlier, but due to a certain editor's dilatory ways, I spent much of my first day of retirement on the phone answering his questions.

The story ran on A-1 and jumped to a double-truck centerfold. Its charts, graphics and copy told a tale of cell phone usage that ran the gamut from zero for one council member to shocking excess by another. Soon the governing body established strict policies for cell phone use, with reimbursement required for costs over plan limits.

Today news broke of flawed oversight at the state level. For example, one employee's cell phone bill continued to be paid for six years after his resignation. Numerous unused phone lines were also found in state offices. Click here to read the full audit findings. You can be sure that phone and wireless usage will now be tightened up for millions in savings.

Now that city staffers and officials have pricey devices such as Blackberries, let us hope that the new "DoIT" (Division of Information Technology) plans to look into municipal policies and costs. A tale recently heard in City Hall was that one individual ran up a $2,000 wireless tab before voluntarily reimbursing the city. Unless a person carries two Blackberries, one for official business and one for personal use, it is easy for costs to be commingled. And all that texting under the table may also be expensive.

It's a different world from 2003 in other ways as well. Every year, the city has the same listings in the phone book. There are two listings for the formerly city-run substance abuse recovery program, Dudley House and Project Alert. It has since been privatized. Safe Haven, a grant-funded program that expired many years ago, is still on the list, but callers are asked to leave a message for the "engineer," a role that has also been outsourced. These are small things that could be corrected.

The IT division has only one employee. At the June 28 special meeting, City Administrator Bibi Taylor said the city requested a waiver from a state-imposed hiring freeze to add another employee, but the state never acted on it. IT Director Chris Payne has given one overview of goals for the division and was supposed to give another last month at a council retreat, but it did not take place.

Given the newness of the division and lack of staff, it is not likely that all issues can be addressed. But certainly the lack of fiscal oversight doesn't help. The state audit was performed by the Office of Information Technology within the State Comptroller's office. As bloggers and council members alike have pointed out, the city has no chief finance officer or finance director to mind the local purse strings. The mayor has stated that media and communications should be under her purview, not that of a department head as required by the city's special charter.

The state audit is a good reminder that periodic reviews of various operations can lead to savings. It's a lesson for city officials to take to heart.

--Bernice Paglia

Blame It On the Heat

That big word I used for the City Council meeting schedule is probably real, though I could have talked about the "inefficacy" of the schedule and cut it back by one syllable.

This heat is enough to addle the brain and we are promised a week more of it. The cat refuses to take my advice about where to lie down to be cool. But as long as he indulges in his favorite trick of manipulating his water dish to make it splash all over, I guess he is coping with the heat.

He first inspects the dish while giving just the most contemplative small tail-twitches, then does his best imitation of having opposable thumbs by lightly pushing the dish from side to side with his big mitts. When the inevitable happens and water splashes over the side, he studies the spreading water with great scientific interest, taking mental notes on the pattern and sometimes giving a small squeak as if to say, "Eureka!"

This experiment holds never-ending interest for Mau. He used to just flip his old metal water dish from its holder by hooking a claw under the rim. The Pfaltzgraff one is heavier and presents more of a challenge, but Mau is always up to it. It is also a great way to exert his influence in the household, because the water must be mopped up and the dish must be refilled by somebody.

As long as his water-movement studies continue, I must conclude he is his normal self. I just hope it cools down soon.

--Bernice

Block 832 is HOT!

Had to run errands on foot this morning - the post office, bank, Twin City, library - and came home to find out it was 105 degrees before noon!

Take care, everybody. I plan to sit still and read a book until it cools off later today.

--Bernice

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--Bernice

"Abnormal Warmth"

No, we are not talking about this week. State Climatologist David Robinson says this abnormal warmth has been going on since March.

Click here to read his report for June.

Now we are having a genuine heat wave, and temperatures may stay in the 90s for several more days. July in New Jersey, ick!

--Bernice

Save the Dates/Timeliness

The next City Council action will take place at the July 12 agenda-setting session and the July 19 regular meeting.

Those of us who deplore the once-a-month business meeting will be able to provide evidence of its inefficaciousness by citing the many left-over items, most recently presentations at the June 21 meeting that should have occurred at the June 14 agenda session.

In the past two years, meeting changes have only taken place partway into the calendar year. This has caused quite a bit of confusion. Plaintalker's stance is that if changes are warranted, they should be timed to kick in with the annual publication of meetings from Jan. 1.

--Bernice Paglia

State: Want Aid? Tighten Controls

After reading the new state rules for transitional aid (formerly extraordinary state aid), I can see why the administration may not want to apply.

Localities have to demonstrate strict fiscal prudence, meaning no discretionary spending and curtailing costs for city services. Click here to read the full document.

The city spent the last six months of FY2010 under similar controls due to a Memorandum of Understanding that was tied to the $250,000 in aid received. The city had asked for $3.5 million. All municipal spending on food and parties had to be halted, among other constraints.

Without new restrictions, the administration can resume its pattern of adding food to public events such as the annual Holiday Tree Lighting and many others. Meanwhile, the city still lacks the two key employees that are mandated to examine and guide spending, a chief finance officer and a finance director.

Although the administration said the reason for the decision not to seek aid was to speed budget passage, Councilman Adrian Mapp correctly pointed out the other side of the coin: No reins on spending for food, parties and other amenities. The only thing the governing body can do is raise objections, but the administration will have the last word, unless citizens also demand an end to the partying.

--Bernice Paglia