The Grinch team makes off with Whoville's gifts.
Plainfield Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs and City Administrator Marc Dashield are playing the Grinch (and sidekick) to City Council's Christmas.
While the Grinch and his dog Max stole Whoville's Christmas gifts, the present the duo is stealing here is the Council's holiday time with friends and family.
Once it became clear that Robinson-Briggs had avoided delivering a budget proposal -- including a layoff plan -- to the Council until (safely) after the November election, the Council's fate was sealed.
As Councilors pointed out to Dashield and Corporation Counsel Dan Williamson last week, once handed over the budget becomes the Council's -- and amending it is entirely their prerogative.
Unfortunately for the Council, making meaningful changes and setting them in place in time to actually have any fiscal impact means getting under way immediately. Though they have set a compressed series of meetings (see Bernice here, and the calendar here), you can be sure that Council members have mulled both the issues involved and options they might take (see Councilor Mapp's detailed proposal here, and Councilor Storch on what other towns are doing about budget dilemmas here).
But as with all things Plainfield, this Grinchly tale has its own special twist.
In Seuss' story, the Grinch learns a valuable lesson about Christmas.
The only lesson it seems Mayor Robinson-Briggs is taking away from this budget crisis is that no matter how bad the difficulties the City faces, she can always order up some more eats to make it palatable (for example, Friday's annual tree lighting where she announces she is serving 'A LIGHT MEAL').
Meanwhile, the Council, on whom this wicked budget trick is being played may just have a few Grinchly surprises of its own for Mayor Robinson-Briggs.
One wonders what Robinson-Briggs will do if it turns out to be true that Marc Dashield's last day as city administrator will be December 31st.
Will there be a surprise for the red-costumed Grinch, too?
- Wikipedia: "How the Grinch stole Christmas"
-- Dan Damon [follow]
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4 comments:
Dashield leaving will be the 3rd best Christmas gift Plainfield has ever received! 2nd best: Williamson leaving! Best: Robinson-Briggs resigning! Since we know she won't leave, let's hope that Dashield is gone. We can thank Mr. Mapp for exposing Dashield's incompetence in the two community town meetings which I attended. Dashield's willful refusal to answer questions shows that he was just here collecting a paycheck. If you read his responses to the questions Mapp submitted to him back in August regarding the Monarch tax abatement debacle, you can see that he had no real answers, and he took almost a WHOLE MONTH to give those mostly non-answers. His awful performance here should serve as a warning to other towns. Fire him now! Then fire Williamson. In this difficult economic climate, there must be good, ethical, and competent individuals who exist. Unfortunately, the mayor only hires people for political reasons after her mentor Green tells her to.
Be still my heart, Dashield is leaving?? Good riddance. Please find someone who takes notes during meetings, doesn't always say "I'll get back to you" and who can answer basic questions about what is happening in the city. Dashield has failed at all three. My vote for next to go is the do nothing Wenson-Maier. I want the council to ask the mayor honestly, what has she done to deserve to keep her job? I would like that question put to each of the council people. Since her term ends with the mayor's first term she needs to be held accountable for the "nothing" she has done for 4 years while double dipping and padding her pension. Will President of council Burney dare to ask this question? How about the others?
Why are things so difficult to get the Mayor to stop spending money foolishly and to stop the food give-aways? Council simply needs tp pass a Resolution which authorizes the Council to approve all expenditures within the Mayor's Budget. After all, Department (figure)Heads have to approve expenditures within a Divisions Budget.
If the Mayor doesn't like that then the they should pass a Resolution to mandate the City Comptroller not authorize any payments to food service vendors unless first approved by the Council. The Mayor may choose to ignore such mandates, but a Comptroller, authorizing expenditures where a Resolution forbids them, would be up on charges and lose their certification.
To the Anonymouse writer who said the best would be Robinson-Briggs resigning only needs to look at the wonderful and obviously informed voters of Plainfield who keep this woman elected. The election is over. Stop wishing! Food, you want to pass a resolution about food. The answer is not looking under the sofa cushions for change, the answer is in the electorate not giving this woman a seat at the table.
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