Anti-violence rally last week

I attended the rally organized by the Peoples Organization for Progress last week on West Front Street. I was struck by the hunger of the participants for leadership to emerge in Plainfield to address the problems facing the youth of our city.

Most of the recent focus by elected officials has been on law enforcement solutions like spot shotter technology and promoting anonymous tips to the police about criminal activity. And there is no doubt about the importance of the police department to ensure the safety of Plainfield residents. But lets be honest. Law enforcement will not solve our gang and drug problems. We need to get to the causes.

So I was encouraged when Councilwoman Annie McWilliams put the idea of a youth master plan on the table at the last Council meeting. It is a starting point. Bring together all the adults and young people who are currently serving as role models and providing services, opportunities and mentoring to young people. Get them to work in a more coordinated way. Bring more volunteers into the helping process. Learn from other cities that have implemented best practices in youth programs.

There are signs of hope. I heard one of the youth baseball leaders say at a recent Council meeting: why can't the two leagues play each other so the kids can mingle. I would prefer we have one league but hey this is a step in a positive direction after many months of accusations and ill will between the adults of the two leagues.

If we want our children to become good citizens, we adults will need to lead the way.

League of Municipalities Convention

I attended for one day this year. I attended a session named "Real Property Tax Reform - How do we get there." Professor Ernie Reock from Rutgers led off led off and told us the bad news we already know - New Jersey is a leader in taxation. He listed principles to follow for tax reform - tax changes need to be broad based, progessive and shifted away from property tax. He felt that an increased sales tax is a good way to replace property taxes. It tends to hurt people at the lower end of the earning spectrum and he said this can be corrected by exempting items such as clothing and over the counter medications. Dr Reock was following by three state legislators. There was a fair amount of rhetoric and not much substance. The highlight was Jon Bramnick saying that municipalities have done a better job of budgeting than state government because they are forced to make hard decisions every year and the state can defer its problems year after year. He urged the audience not to send its money to Trenton. Another legislator advocated an increased gas tax as long as the revenue is dedicated to the Transportation Trust Fund. I agree with that.

The most useful session for me was "Doing Less with Less - Prioritizing Needs and Staffing". I knew this would be good because the moderator was Reagan Burkeholder, the retired City Manager of Summit and instructor of the class for newly elected officials in New Jersey (I took his course 7 years ago). Reagan is active in the national movement to use comparative performance measurement to improve the performance of municipal government. This approach is currently used in only 12 of the 566 towns in New Jersey. Plainfield is not one. We did take a step in the right direction thanks to Annie McWilliams who required Plainfield division heads to use goals, objectives and data when they made their presentations recently at the Council's budget hearings.

Here is what Reagan had to say:

1. from 2004 - 2009 the average NJ municipal budget
* grew 4.9% per year
* surplus shrank .4% per year
* non property tax revenues few 2.5% per year
* delinquent taxes grew 4.7% per year
* taxes grew 7.6% per year

2. the experts projections for 2010 - 2015
* total revenues will grow 2.3% per year
* surplus will continue to shrink
* delinquent taxes will grow 3% per year
* taxes will grow 2.5%/yr (this accounts for the 2% tax levy cap and exemptions)

3. The outcome: without a drastic cutback, expenses will exceed revenues by 15% after five years. Not all municipal expenses are under the control of local elected officials. So 80% of the budget would have to be reduced by 20% over five years.

Imagine what that would do to Plainfield city government. If we do business as usual, it would not be possible to maintain our public safety staffing at current levels.

4. What to do:
* decide what services are needed
* least expensive way to provide them
* much more engagement and education of citizens in the budget process
* comparative performance measurement - how do we stack up against other towns
* 3 year budgeting
* engage employees in discussion of how to save money and improve services

A panel of city administrators and CFOs spoke about initiatives in their towns. The highlights:
* two towns share overnight police patrols
* once a week trash pick-up
* talk honestly and early about lay-offs in all departments
* apply credit card company business practices to the tax collection office
* combine divisions with city government to share administrative support staff:
examples - planning and economic development
- city administrator and city clerk
- recreation and health
- finance and tax collection

2nd Ward Roads Update

There is a flurry of activity on roads in the 2nd Ward. Here are the highlights:

1. Watchung Ave between 7th St and Hillside is being paved. Curb work continues this week. Concrete driveway aprons will be installed beginning later this week or next week. Paving is expected to happen the last week of November or the first week of December.

2. Old and missing street signs are being replaced in the Netherwood neighborhood today and tomorrow.

3. The intersection of 7th St and Belividere Ave. will have crosswalks painted tomorrow or Friday, weather permitting. Pedestrian crossing signs will be added for west bound traffic along 7th St east of the intersection. This busy intersection has seen many accidents and has a lot of pedestrian traffic going to and from the Netherwood train station.

Thanks go to the Public Works employees and to the local advocates for speaking out on behalf of their neighbors for these improvements. More to follow.

CFO update

I spoke last Friday with the Deputy Director of Local Govt Services, a division of NJ Department of Community Affairs. He said Plainfield will be hearing from DCA imminently with a resolution to our CFO problem. He would not disclose what the answer would be because his letter was sitting on the Commissioners desk for approval.

I am not sure if this is good news or not. It would be a real let down if DCA does not come to the aid of Plainfield on this matter. What is DCA for if not to assist local governments in need. I will hope for a temporary resolution to our problem as well as a permanent one.

Thanks must go to Maria Pellum who contacted DCA herself to urge them to action. I asked the state official if he could acknowledge any communications from Plainfield citizens and he said he had heard from a number of people.

Attending the NJ League of Municipalities Convention

I applaud Councilman Rashid Burney for his decision not to attend the League Convention in November. It is not a good use of taxpayers money for an outgoing elected official to spend city dollars in such a way. This should hold true for the Board of Education, the PMUA and the Housing Authority, each of which sends elected and appointed people to conventions on the taxpayers dime. When I was on the Board of Education, I argued for the same approach to be made policy but did so in vain. It is on the to do list of the City Council's Finance Committee. The only thing one official can do for certain is to set the good example as Burney does.

I want to make sure there is not a misperception on the cost of the League of Municipalities Convention. Rashid mentions saving $1500. The cost for Council members to attend is more like $400. That assumes the costs are limited to registration ($60), two nights for the hotel (at $140 per night) plus gas and tolls. I do not believe that Plainfield Council members are requesting reimbursements for food and drink. There was one unfortunate exception in the past but that person is no longer on the Council. And when that came to the attention of the Council, we refused to make the reimbursement.

As for getting the most from the convention, Rashid makes good points. I only need to add that every sitting Council member I have attended the League convention with has been an active attendee at sessions and networking events. I agree with Rashid that the convention sessions are very helpful.

I plan to attend for one day as I did last year. Last year I did not stay overnight. This year I am still undecided but if I do, it will be for one night only. I promise to share through my blog what I learn from the 2010 convention and hope to implement.

Shot spotter technology: two things to consider, two things to avoid

Plainfield is poised to purchase technology that will enable the police to instantly locate gunshots in our city. The upfront cost is $1 million to cover an area stretching completely across the city from east to west. The ongoing cost will be $100,000 per year for the service contract. Proponents say we will get more convictions and the shot spotter program will be a deterrent to crime. Other cities are getting onboard and the company that sells the shot spotter program claims that it reduces crime.

Public safety is a huge concern in Plainfield and nowhere more than in some west side neighborhoods. Citizens deserve to be safe and to feel safe so this technology needs serious consideration. The Council has already approved the financing for it on first reading. Second reading will likely be in October.

I am in favor of Plainfield becoming a shot spotter city. My problem is the approach we are taking. Two things we must consider:

1. We are taking a buy first, plan later approach. Technology in and of itself will not solve our crime problems any more than a computer on a desk at the One Stop Career Center will get someone a job. We need a comprehensive strategy for crime. It needs to include technology, adequate police manpower, best practices in rapid response, recreation programs for youth and jobs programs for young adults. If we are going to spend $100,000 a year on a technology contract, we need to ask if some of that money could instead help balance our strategy by hiring mentors to work with kids evenings and weekends. It appears to me that we are rushing into this because no-one wants to appear to be against crime fighting. The reality is that fighting crime does not address the core problems facing our youth and we need to deal with them and fight crime at the same time.

2. Big problem, limited resources. Our administration wants to spend taxpayer dollars without having really looked for the grants that are out there and being used by other towns. When faced with an expensive gamble that shows promise, a sensible thing to do is ease into it. I am not saying study it to death. I mean install shot spotter in a smaller section of town. Starting with the west side makes sense because our crime statistics tell us we should concentrate there. We can see how it works and decide later if the east side of town would benefit from shot spotter. Hopefully we will have made some progress on getting grant money. Or perhaps we would decide to concentrate more on the core problems through recreation and jobs programs for kids in the sections of town where gang activity is prevalent.

There are many unanswered questions. What if silencers are installed on handguns? What if a gang member fires shots in the eastend to divert the police from a planned gun confrontation in the westend? We need answers and comprehensive strategies. Lets move on this but not rush into an emotional decision that may or may not be the best way to use Plainfield's limited resources.

Two things we need to avoid as debate on this initiative continues:
1. I don't believe Council members are polarized on this issue as New versus Regular Democrats. But some members of the public will want to pressure Council members by accusing them of being "political". I heard that during the public comments at the last meeting. I worry that elected officials may be pressured to rush into this to avoid the accusation of not caring about citizens safety. That is nonsense.

2. The perception that city resources are unfairly distributed between the 4th ward versus 2nd ward also came up at the last Council meeting. The comment referred to people on the hill. I live on "the hill" and here is a news flash: there are gunshots on the hill. Another news flash in case you think "the hill" is synonymous with white people: it is the most ethnically and racially diverse neighborhood in Plainfield. By far. And people "on the hill" care about what happens in other parts of town. We understand that for Plainfield to thrive, the whole town needs to be safe and secure.

I hope we can move on the shot spotter proposal but not before elected officials look at this with open eyes and rational minds.

Dear Assemblyman Green – Cease and Desist in Your Actions to Smear a Non Profit Agency that Helps People in Need.

In light of the fact that Assemblyman Green has inexplicably brought my employer, Bridgeway, and its internal personnel transactions into the public arena, my Board of Trustees has asked me to respond on behalf of Bridgeway.

It is unfortunate the Assemblyman’s political agenda would lead him to attack a leading organization that champions the rights of disadvantaged people to lead lives worth living. Every person served by Bridgeway has a diagnosis of a serious mental illness. These individuals deserve the same respect and opportunities as everyone. Additionally, most of Bridgeway’s clientele are poor with a high percentage of people representing minority groups.

Bridgeway is dedicated to the rights and equal opportunities of minorities, advocating to eliminate disparities based on disability, gender and sexual preference as well as race. Bridgeway’s services continue to be cited as “exemplary” by both the State of NJ and the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, the international agency that accredits mental health providers. The NJ Association of Mental Health Agencies named us as the Mental Health Provider of the Year in 2007. To maintain those standards, Bridgeway strives to recruit and retain the best employees in the field and ones who can relate to persons served because they look and speak like them.

It is true that 3 people, myself included, who helped build Bridgeway over many years to what it is today, are not members of minority groups. But we at Bridgeway are proud of the fact that our employees truly represent the communities we serve. Our most recent Affirmative Action Report (AAR) shows that of 167 full time employees, 54 were African American, 25 were Hispanic and 10 were Asian. So the minority employees totaled 89 or 54% of all Bridgeway employees. The total number of promotions for the most recent reporting period shows that of 4 promotions, 1 was African American and 2 were Hispanic. None of the most recent promotion information is contained on the AAR. Of the last 5 promotions, one (Assistant Director) was African American, one (Quality Improvement Director) was Asian. Four of the five were females. They bring the total number of current minority employees who are managers and supervisors to 13, of which 6 are African Americans. We are proud of the efforts made to recruit and promote minority employees but we will continue to push for more minority employees to climb the career ladder at Bridgeway.

Bridgeway does not use a civil service system approach to promoting staff. Our system is merit based with seniority being an additional factor. This ensures that Bridgeway’s service recipients, who have been discriminated against and have frequently been denied opportunities, receive the very best in services.