City Hall odds 'n ends

A Chevy Corvair compact car? Read on. All will be made clear.

WELCOME TO THE NEW CITY ADMINISTRATOR. Newly appointed City Administrator MARC DASHIELD is getting settled in at City Hall. PT hears one of the first things he did was get out of the office and introduce himself to some of the divisions. Management by walking around? Let's hope so. PT has hopes that an experienced hand -- which Dashield is, with in-depth experience in Franklin Township, a community of similar size if not exactly similar in issues -- will right the listing ship-of-city. PT also hopes that the mayor will develop a good working RELATIONSHIP with this seasoned professional, give him the AUTHORITY he needs to be effective in his job, and allow him to IMPROVE the timeliness and effectiveness of the Administration's communications with the Council. That would go a long way to easing the public's concerns about the competency of the leadership as Plainfield moves into the great-giveaway phase of the Mayor and the Mayoral Mentor's program for Plainfield.

...AND DIRECTOR OF FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION. PT hopes that the new Director, RAIFORD DANIELS, is able to get a handle on the City's largest department...and soon. As of now, it appears he has a full plate -- finding a Tax Collector (tip 'o the hat to LES!) and a Health Officer, cleaning up behind the late, lamented Carlton McGee (a notes rollover is due in two months), and managing the budget process which is now SERIOUSLY OVERDUE. If it's true -- as PT is told -- that he has no prior government experience, he is going to have a steep hill to climb indeed.

CHECKING THE CHECK REGISTER. When PT was a student at Clerk University, we had it drilled into our heads that the governing body MUST publicly review the municipality's payments at its regular meetings, usually meaning they get a copy of the check register and an opportunity to have payments explained to themselves and the public. Just say it's part of exercising their FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY. PT can certainly remember Councilors Malcolm Dunn and Bob Ferraro asking pointed questions of the Administration in these regular reviews. So, it is with a sense of relief that PT noted that the Council received the December check register in this past week's packet. PT cannot recall that the information had been previously provided by this Administration. By the way, those registers are PUBLIC RECORDS and the curious can either inspect them at City Hall or use an OPRA request to obtain copies.

STREET WORK. The Council is preparing to pass a $7M bond ordinance to fund CONTINUED road and street improvements. That's a relief, as the buzz had been that the Administration was considering abandoning the long-term plan to address Plainfield's seriously deteriorated streets. Here's a partial list, from the agenda --

• Ward 1 - North Avenue, Gavett Place, Netherwood Avenue, Court Place.
  
  
• Ward 2 - Kensington Avenue, Evergreen Avenue, Watchung Avenue, Stilford Avenue, Fayette Place, Brook Lane.
  
  
• Ward 3 - Maplewood Terrace, West 8th Street.
  
  
• Ward 4 - South Second Street.
  
  

Fair and balanced? PT finds it interesting that the bone-rattling, fillings-dislodging block of Somerset Street, from the North Plainfield line to Front Street (with its storm sewer inlets that flood every time it rains) is not on the list -- again. Let it not be said that visitors to the Queen City should have a smooth entrance.

MARTY HELLWIG GETS A NEW DESK. Public Safety Director MARTIN HELLWIG has new digs -- at Police Headquarters. One can hardly blame him for getting away from some of the noxious fumes at City Hall. Besides, PT could never understand the electric blue walls he inherited in his tiny City Hall digs. The best that could be said is that the color certainly wasn't INSTITUTIONAL.

McGEE SUV. What ever happened to the fancy-schmancy SUV that late City Administrator Carlton McGee finagled? Seems he was not content to have a plain-vanilla, white one -- which is what the Police Division had on order. He HAD to have black -- and all kinds of toys, including LEATHER INTERIORS. Word has it that the funds were squeezed out of the DPW budget. Your tax dollars at work. What ever happened?**

MLK MAILER. Speaking of your tax dollars at work, the MLK Week Schedule of Events was delivered in PT's neighborhood yesterday -- THE DAY AFTER THE LAST EVENT. The tab for the annual printing and mailing, when PT was producing it, was over $5,000. With all the communications professionals the Administration has on the payroll, you'd think it could have been done in A MORE TIMELY FASHION. This year, one suspects, the money might have been better spent on more eats and treats.

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**PT has to admit that his sense of propriety about vehicles for high mucky-mucks is informed by his youthful memories of Montreal's Cardinal Archbishop Paul-Émile Léger, who tooled around his diocese, sans driver, in a humble Chevrolet Corvair. (The picture above closely resembles the one driven by the Cardinal -- and the youthful PT.) The good Cardinal became a major player at Vatican II, among other things arguing for a married priesthood, and was an inspiration to many. Modesty, restraint, service. Ah, the public virtues!

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