Street Paving Update

City officials are saying that the South Avenue street paving project is scheduled to begin the first week in April. Atlantic and Pacific Streets will be done first.

PMUA Taskforce Presents its Recommendations March 19

The taskforce will present its findings and recommendations at Washington School at 7 pm on March 19. The public is welcome. The charge to the taskforce was to analyze the PMUA rates and compare them to other towns. The taskforce also was given the latitude to take its research wherever the facts led it.

The controversy about the settlement for retired PMUA executives is bound to come up and whatever is paid out will have a negative effect on Plainfield residents' family budgets. This will be part of the discussion but the taskforce, the Council and ultimately the PMUA Commission must keep their focus on the big picture. That means the biggest costs: labor and fees paid downstream within the waste management system.

Having said that, there is a lot of buzz about a letter from the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA)to the PMUA Commission. DCA Director Neff indicated that DCA and the Comptrollers office will be investigating the PMUA and actions of its commisioners regarding the $1 million settlement. I received a copy of the letter. Due to technical difficulties I could not copy the letter into this post so I will email it to other bloggers. Check to see if they will share it.

Mondays Council meeting should prove interesting as the Mayor's PMUA commission nominations are on the agenda.

Update on Local Government

Normally, my posts are on a single topic. Since I haven't posted frequently for many months, today I will cover a number of topics of interest to Plainfield residents.

PMUA - at the PMUA Commission re-organization meeting last month, there was an opportunity to permanently apppoint Duane Young as Executive Director. The City Council had not acted on new commission appointments so that the existing commission members, those with the most knowledge of Mr Youngs work, could take that action. They did not do so. I was particularly disappointed with Tracey Brown and Alex Toliver for declining to support Mr Young. I fear where this is going.

Also on the PMUA front, information has come to the attention of the public about how commissioners decided on the financial settlements with retired executives. Those who voted for the settlement have a lot of explaining to do on why they opted not to continue with arbitration that would have saved residents a lot of money.

The PMUA Taskforce, appointed by the City Council in 2011, will present their findings and recommendations to the public on March 19 at 7 pm at the Washington School. This should prove interesting and informative.

There is still an opportunity for the PMUA to lower its rates and thereby prove that it serves the residents first. I have always been a supporter of the PMUA in spite of its management and governance flaws and have opposed disbanding it. The way things are going, I am reconsidering my position on this.

City of Plainfield annual audit
The Council now has the audit report for the year ended June 30, 2011. It is not a positive report. There are what appear to be a record number of findings and repeat findings. Anyone who has questioned the Council on the cost of the WBLS investigation should think twice. The audit demonstrates the critical need for the City Council to increase its fiscal oversight on the Mayor and administration even more than it has done recently. WBLS is just a relatively small indicator of dysfunction at city hall. And there are no signs that Mayor Robinson Briggs intends to collaborate with the Council or change her management style.

I don't like to put the city in a negative light and for our Mayors first term, I generally held my tongue or softened my criticisms about missteps to give her a chance to learn her job. But I have not been as concerned about local government as I am now and I took office 8 years ago. The Mayor has generated so much negative publicity that I don't see any more downside to telling it like it is.

I will post soon on economic development. I want to end this post on a positive note and there are many non-governmental opportunities for sharing good news about Plainfield:

* the Van Wyck Brooks Historic District has received national recognition from This Old House magazine as "Best Old House Neighborhood". Congratulations to their neighborhood association and to Plainfield for this important designation.

* the Plainfield High School boys basketball team advanced to the state tournament section 2 group 3 final last night with a victory over Newark East Side. It has been a pleasure watching this team. They exemplify teamwork. Unlike most of pro basketball and a good number of college teams, the players aren't standing around watching their stars go one on one. They play like the team comes first. That is a credit to them, their families, coaches and to Plainfield. Go Plainfield - all the way to the state championship.

PMUA - Major Developments Require Residents Attention

The Plainfield Municipal Utilities Authority settlements with "retired" executives Eric Watson and David Erwin are getting a lot of attention. Plainfield residents are on the hook for $1 million because the PMUA Commission decided on this settlement instead of leaving the decision in the hands of an arbitrator.

Plainfield is being treated by the Commission and these executives as a deep pocket. As a long time member of the Council finance committee I can say without hesitation that Plainfield's pockets are small and are developing holes. I put in a call to the Governors office and spoke to a Richard DeRose to learn if there is any recourse for Plainfield residents. I am waiting for a response.

There is another current PMUA issue that is even more important in my opinion and is not getting much attention. The contract of interim Executive Director Duane Young is expiring this spring. He is seeking a permanent appointment. He got off to a good start, re-organizing the central office, holding the solid waste rates level and lowering the sewer rates. He deserves the opportunity to continue as PMUA's leader. He is bringing a professional style of management that is sorely needed.

The PMUA was created to serve our residents with the best services possible at the lowest cost. Based on comments made by commissioners in public meetings, I believe there is confusion about the mission. Fulfilling the long time promise to bring outside business would be a good thing if it offsets the cost to residents but not if it is for the benefit of a few entrepreneurs.

Duane Young's performance should be judged on the quality and cost of services. Outside business development is just a small part of that. And rates can be reduced in other ways than revenues from new business ventures. I think it is in Plainfield's best interests to support Duane Young as he restores credibility and efficiency to an important Plainfield service organization. Speak to your PMUA commissioners. They decide who will lead the PMUA. They are:

Malcolm Dunn
Alex Toliver
Tracey Brown
Carol Brokaw (has already expressed support for Duane Young)
Harold Mitchell (has already expressed support for Duane Young)
Cecil Saunders (alternate commissioner)

Pay to Play Reform Passes!

Last night was an important moment for local government. The City Council approved four reform ordinances that will change the way city hall bids and contracts for professional services. Three of the four ordinances passed unanimously and the fourth, the most important one of all, passed with five votes. The Mayor has 10 days to let these ordinances stand or she can use her veto power.

These ordinances do not end pay to play. For that to happen, the state legislature would have to approve much stronger legislation closing significant loopholes. On the local level, Plainfield can consider strengthening the legislation we just approved. Let's have that discussion 10 days from now.

As Councilwoman Rebecca Williams pointed out, we can urge the PMUA Board of Commissioners and the School Board to approve similar reform measures through policy resolutions. That will be a question I put to the two PMUA Commission nominees that the Mayor just put forward.

Plainfield Municipal Utilities Authority - A New Direction?

I attended the PMUA Board of Commissioners meeting last Tuesday. Duane Young, the interim Executive Director, introduced the annual budget and there was some good news for rate payers. Solid waste charges remain the same and sewer charges will go down 2.6%. Solid waste charges to the PMUA are rising and a re-organization of staff was needed to keep solid waste rates level. 15 staff positions were eliminated. The budget is up for adoption at the December meeting.

Mr Young acknowledged that that the PMUA has public relations problems and needs to change its ways to regain the confidence of the public (my words - can't recall exactly how he said it). One improvement would be to hold the meetings at a time more convenient to the public. Last weeks meeting was at 6 pm and on election day no less. That creates a bad impression, like the commissioners are trying to avoid the public.

Time will tell if this is a new direction for the PMUA, a move towards responsiveness to its customers. Further rate reductions would do a lot to ease rate payers minds as well as the burden on their family budgets.

Post election comments

I thank the voters for having confidence in me for another 4 years of service. Municipal officials and employees face real challenges and things will not get any easier. There is no evidence yet from the Mayor of a willingness to collaborate. I do not doubt her desire to see Plainfield succeed but she seems to want to go it alone. We must never close the door between Mayor and Council because the residents of Plainfield need us all to do the absolute best jobs we can do...together. I promise to meet this challenge.

Some supporters have commented that because I supported the Democratic ticket, that I have sold out my principles. There is nothing further from the truth. I ran against my local democratic party organization in the primary to earn the right to be on the Democratic line in November. I agreed to be part of a team for election with people that I sometimes disagree with. I will continue to have those disagreements but there are still some common values and strategies that I share with other Democrats. I share a belief that in our economic downturn everyone must share the pain, not just poor, working poor and middle class citizens. I believe that capitalism and government regulation can go hand in hand. These beliefs influence what I do as a councilman. But I do not walk in lock step with anyone, not the local party leader nor my allies on Council.

Time to get off my soap box. Plainfield faces serious problems. I believe that I can make a positive difference and I look forward to working with fellow residents for the betterment of Plainfield.