Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Special Meeting Yields Only One PMUA Appointee

In split votes, the City Council approved Rev. Tracey Brown Monday for a new term on the PMUA board of commissioners, but rejected Charles Eke and Cecil Sanders Jr.

Brown, previously an alternate, will fill a five-year unexpired term to Feb. 1, 2015, succeeding holdover Dave Beck. Council members Vera Greaves, William Reid, Bridget Rivers, Cory Storch and Annie McWilliams voted "yes" to appoint Brown and Adrian Mapp and Rebecca Williams voted "no."

On the other two, McWilliams said she had nothing against them but said they were "not the right people for the role."

The authority has been under fire for two years over rate increases and spending on travel and conferences. Citizens formed a group called DumpPMUA and not only investigated authority operations, but openly encouraged property owners to opt out of its services. The movement escalated this year after the PMUA approved a 61 percent increase for "shared services" that include trash pickup in public places.

McWilliams said she hoped Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs would submit names of individuals "willing to look at PMUA with a more critical eye." Reid disagreed, praising Sanders and Eke and noting that vacancies on the PMUA board of commissioners have gone on for a year. But Storch said he was looking for "change agents" in the appointees and did not hear that from Eke and Sanders.

All three nominees were interviewed by the council at the Jan. 10 meeting.

Mapp agreed with Storch, saying, "I think what we need is transformational change, so the city can get the most out of the authority."

Mapp called all three "excellent citizens," but said he did not hear what he needed to hear from them regarding service on the PMUA board.

Eke was to have succeeded deceased Commissioner James Green in a term to Feb. 2, 2014 and Sanders was to have received a term as alternate to Feb. 1, 2015 succeeding Brown. But in roll call votes, Greaves, Reid and Rivers voted "yes" on Eke and Sanders and Mapp, McWilliams, Storch and Williams voted "no."

The authority is set to reorganize on Feb. 15.

McWilliams said the council needs to have PMUA officials visit the governing body in March "to continue the conversation that began in July." PMUA officials declined to meet with the council last fall, asking for a scheduled meeting to be postponed until after the November general election, but the year ended without it taking place.

--Bernice

33 comments:

  1. I hate to defend the mayor on this one...but this coalition of new dems is out of control. First, if they are looking for a change then why did they reappoint Tracey Brown? Second, Mr. Mapp was not an obstructionist to appoitments when Al McWilliams was Mayor on PMUA appointments. Third, these are citizens of Plainfield. The New Dems should publicly state names who they would like to see as commissioners.

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  2. Same old, same old. The council has shown that it has no intention of bringing change to the PMUA. Tracey Brown is just like every other commissioner - in it for themselves and their cronies. Otherwise they would be advocating for fair treatment towards the public - which includes fair and reasonable rates.

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  3. Glad to see Mapp and Williams holding their ground. TIME TO CLOSE THE PMUA DOWN!

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  4. Change agents? Unless the NO voting councilpeople lay out their vision (oh, oh, loaded word choice) for what they want PMUA to be how can we know whether rejecting some but not others is a wise move? What, exactly,is the skill set that the council is looking for in a commissioner? C'mon McWilliams, Storch, Mapp and Williams: you've got your own platforms, tell us precisely what it is you want PMUA to be so we can get behind you, or, reject the idea if we think you're just sucking up to the "my rates are too damm high" crowd.

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  5. Politics is a game. The council approved Brown (my opinion the second least qualified to be on the council behind the reverent) as a trade off for something else from the mayor.

    Stay tuned!

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  6. Hi Ms. Paglia,

    As I sat in the audience last night the most disgusting thing that I heard was when one of the residents spoke to the council in reference to PMUA and stated that they need to bring in youthful appointments, and the worst statement of all was when he stated if you appoint trash to the PMUA then you will get trash. I felt extremely upset. Who is he calling trash? Council President should have stopped him immediately but instead she allowed him to continue. Why did she allow him to continue? HE IS A NEW DEMOCRAT. Yes residents that's how they feel about residents whom do not live in the 2nd ward TRASH. What a disgrace. I am appalled and I am disgusted with all council member's for not interrupting him immediately. What a disgrace

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  7. To anon @ 8:34 - Sure rates are too high but this isn't about the rates being too high. It's about the misuse of funds and wasteful spending. To top it off the commissioners are in on it. In a few days, two executives will be in Washington for causes unrelated to garbage or sewer. A few months ago more than 10 people went to Atlantic City. Over the spring/summer, 8-10 people left the state for "training" opportunities. One could go on and on but the bottom line is, Plainfield taxpayers are stuck with an agency that is wasting millions away. All of the candidates should have been rejected. The mayor has received numerous candidates but has selected people who don't have a clue.

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  8. How can you have "change" when you appoint someone who is already part of the problem? The Council voted for status quo.

    Not change.

    Poor, pathetic Plainfield.

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  9. @10:38 a.m.: The speaker to whom you refer has never indicated any affiliation with the New Democrats. He spoke in favor of a "very strong vetting process" for candidates to serve on the PMUA and wanted more of a mix of young and old. He said he attended a PMUA meeting and found responses from the sitting commissioners "disheartening" and somewhat "confrontational." He said, "It's important to bring on people who are qualified" and used the computer code slang term, "garbage in, garbage out." That was the end of his comments. To label him without any knowledge of his political affiliation and to bring in that old Second Ward argument is a bit of a stretch. His GI,GO analogy was perhaps unfortunate and liable to be misread by those who never heard the term before.

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  10. Here is an explanation of the term "garbage in, garbage out"
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garbage_In,_Garbage_Out

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  11. To 10:38am - I take exception to your comment. I live in the 2nd ward, and mention that only because YOU mentioned wards. We are all Plainfield, we are all one.

    PMUA raises rates in Plainfield, not ward by ward. And if you think that your PMUA bill is reasonable, with surrounding towns paying HALF of what we pay, well then, if we must speak in terms of wards, other wards have a lot more expendable money than ward 2.

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  12. Ms. Paglia, I take strong offense to garbage in garbage out. That is a very heartbreaking phrase to call someone garbage. Why do people think it's ok to judge citizen, whether they live in the 2nd or the 1st and 4th ward. Garbage in garbage out what a statement and the council did nothing to stop him, just allowed him to keep disrespecting citzens. We all Vote. Yes it's a fact he is a new democrat. He marched with them in the 4th of July parade. Who do he think he is to call people GARBAGE. Just terrible. Council President sat back and allowed this to happen, incredible.

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  13. GARGAGE IN / GARBAGE OUT WHAT A STATEMENT!!! WE ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT COMPUTER'S WE ARE TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE. WHIO IS THIS GUY!!!

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  14. Not once has the council stated that they were going to do anything about my sewer bill. I pay approx $185 per quarter for a family of four. This is close to $750 a year for sewer. This is absurd. I looked at my 2001 sewer bill and it was around $200 per year. My family dynamics haven't changed. In fact, we actually use a little less water now. What are we getting for such a large bill?

    I agree with the disband movement. PUMA is costing us collectively way too much!

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  15. Garbage in and Garbage out. This is not right. Council President this is very offensive and you should be ashame of yourself. I just can not believe the statement. We have to stand firm and not allow the New Democrats to do this. I am so hurt right now. That statement have really offended myself and my entire generation. for someone to say that is computor language is disgusting. Now residents are computer's go figure

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  16. I don't know why Storch voted for status quo on the PMUA while denying new blood.

    Maybe he and the New Democrats are for status quo now that they are back in control?

    Stay tuned on this also.

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  17. They should be voting to abolosh the PMUA. Not keep sending more and more people on there.

    How many are there now? I know my bill keeps on going up!

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  18. Council President is not going to vote to abolish the PMUA, who would buy her lunch?

    Check the OPRA records, Mr. Watson bought Annie McWilliams lunch at some fancy establishment at OUR (rate payers) expense.

    Come on Annie, tells us it just aint so!

    New Democrats, old Democrats, their all the same. Vote them all out.
    Cory is up for election next. Somebody has to run against this guy.

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  19. They do not need to abolish PMUA. There have been only a very few 4-5 people that make decisions for the New Democrats serving on the council. The city do not consist of just the 2nd ward. There are residents from the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd ward that praise the PMUA. Please residents wake up it is defiantly time to vote the new dems out

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  20. Somehow I get the impression that the indignation expressed over PMUA in some of these comments is really mudslinging in advance of the 2011 elections. So that's it - the comment portion for this post is now closed. You can always carry on at the nj.com forum, write letters to the editor, speak at council meetings, etc.

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  21. @11:12 a.m.: I do not see guests named on lunch vouchers for PMUA. Can you prove your allegation about Council President McWilliams?

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  22. As the person who said the comment, let me be clear in what I stated...

    1. My comments where about selecting DIVERSE and knowledgeable commissioners and committee members for the city of Plainfield. I know there is a lot of talent in this city and if we exercise due diligence, we can have more community involvement in the decision making of our city. I know that many cities and our city has challenges, and through our volunteers, we can all help provide solutions.

    2. I believe committees/commissions should be diverse - they should include proponents AND opponents of a specific position, old AND young. If you select just one type of person for a group that is charged with helping/managing a division or process, it will not be successful.

    3. THE most IMPORTANT thing about commissions/committees is to have people who have the capacity to contribute and will to WORK. Not provide lip service or fill a seat because you are buddies with someone with nothing to contribute but rhetoric. I believe commissioners/committee members should be independent, with the residents in mind first and foremost.

    4. My comment was the PMUA Commission looked pretty homogeneous, except for Ms. Brown when I attended the meeting and diversity should be added. My comments were designed to charge our elected leaders to appoint/advise/consent volunteers who were independent, representatives of the people and have the interest and ability to contribute - not just in words - but in actions - in work to help in whatever their mission directs.

    Garbage In Garbage Out is a commonly used business term, which in marketing applies to data - if you put data in that is not accurate, measured or vetted properly, you will not get good results.

    That's the point.

    I have no affiliation with anybody except my family - I believe regardless of your affiliation, where you live or race, creed or whatever, we are all there to help our residents.

    Know that I will never be anonymous.

    Let's be about it!

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  23. Good for you Mr. Wilkins!

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  24. In reading many of these comments, it's a shame that many in Plainfield continue to pit wards against each other. There is definitely a complex of sorts that folks need to get over. We are one community and as such what a great thing it would be if we could just manage to put our personal issues aside, work together and move forward. If we can't get over this hurdle, then we will never move forward.

    Thank you Dwayne for explaining your comment.

    The fact is that PMUA has been, for lack of better words, stealing from Plainfield tax payers and we need to come together and abolish this agency. This is just smoke and mirrors for large salaries and folks hiring all of their friends and family members.

    I hope that Gov. Christie (although I'm not a fan of his) comes in to Plainfield and starts to clean house as he just did with the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commissioners. These people were doing the same thing the PMUA directors are doing - - taking local residents to the cleaners and filling up their pockets with OUR MONEY!!!

    We pay way too much in property taxes in Plainfield and we need folks that will represent our interests, not theirs.

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  25. All Plainfield residents pay the same rates, so those who have less money are actually paying MORE of their income to the authority. If I make $25,000 per year and have to pay the PMUA $1,400.00 a year, I am spending a large portion of my income than if I earn $35,000 or $50,000 or more per year.

    The increases in the rates hurt seniors and working-class and middle-income folks much more than any other group in this city. Renters are also deeply affected, as landlords often raise rates on tenants when their own rates increase.

    When I was out campaigning, the folks who complained the most about the PMUA were NOT the more affluent among us, actually, but were those whose budgets were stretched to the absolute limit--senior citizens on fixed incomes, and the working class folks who live in every ward in our city. My focus for my campaign was, of course, the 2nd and 3rd wards (since that is the seat I was campaigning for), but for those of you who labor under the mistaken impression that these two wards are filled with "rich" folks, I would ask that you actually look up the facts on the income levels in the neighborhoods in Plainfield.

    Whether I was canvassing on East 6th Street or West 6th Street, Randolph Road, Park Avenue, Fernwood Avenue, Columbia Avenue, George Street, Watchung Avenue, Dorsey Place, Leland Avenue, Richmond Street, Essex Street, Berckman Street, Central Street, Sleepy Hollow Lane, West 4th Street, West 7th Street or East 7th Street, Sterling Street, etc., the complaints about the high bills were the same across ALL income levels.

    I am serving as one of the city council liaisons to the PMUA.

    Rebecca

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  26. @12:36PM: I am rejecting your comment because it is just repeats the New Dem/Second Ward stuff.

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  27. http://dumppmua.com/files/Meals_Watson_Jan10B.pdf

    Bernice as you requested, above I have pasted the link that shows Eric Watson's expense voucher for lunch with Council President Annie McWilliams.

    Since you questioned the legitimacy of my statement/comment, I respectfully request that you post this response.

    It is unfortunate that Council President (and Ms Rivers for that matter) used bad judgement when they allowed this to happen. I am a BIG fan of Annie. But she looses credibility when she allows Eric Watson and the PMUA (and ultimately us the rate-payers) pay for her lunch at a very expense establishment.

    Why could she not have had a meeting at PMUA headquarters and have Mr. Watson buy her a cup of coffee.

    Mr. Watson must go! And Ms McWilliams needs to acknowledge this shortcoming.



    Signed Annon 11:12

    PS just for the record I am not affiliated with DumpPMUA or anyone involved in it.

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  28. @"Annon 11:12" - I seriously doubt that a handwritten notation on the back of a receipt is definitive proof either of who was at the restaurant or who paid for the two lunches noted. If there were three or four people present and only two billed, somebody must have either brown-bagged it or paid their own way.
    P.S. I like the little circles over the i's - reminds me of somebody ??

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  29. Bernice. . .good points. But I still believe the bookkeeper at the PMUA included the back of the receipt with the names handwritten in because they were relevant to the lunch.

    I suppose there could be reasonable doubt as to whether Eric Watson (PMUA) paid for Ms. Williams and Ms. Rivers. Only they can set the record straight.

    Annon 11:12

    PS enlighten us as to the circles over the i's ??

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  30. It shocks me that everyone talks about the PMUA, but no one talks about the, higher than the surrounding towns, property taxes. WOW!!!!

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  31. The property taxes in this town are also ridiculously high for the services we receive. Get the PMUA fiasco under control and you also see the problem with the taxes fixed. You can start with a complete audit of the city offices, including the Mayor.

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  32. Bernice,

    I am not sure what type of "definitive proof" you expect to see? In a court of law, the notations would be sufficient/admissible and one could depose the witness about them. They would not have been summarily dismissed, as it appears you are doing. If you question the veracity of the contemporaneous notations, why don't you ask Ms. McWilliams and Ms. River about them?

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  33. 2:33 PM: Anybody can ask Ms. Rivers and Ms. McWilliams about the lunch vouchers, why assign that task to me? There is a meeting Feb. 7 and one on Feb. 14 where the public can comment or ask questions. So go for it.

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