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Mayor Robinson-Briggs now has to get toothpaste back in the tube? |
City Hall whispers yesterday were that the Mayor personally ordered the $20,000 check cut to WBLS on Friday, July 30 and that the funds were drawn from the IT account.
It seems that acting CFO Sandra Cummings was not in the office and was not involved, which would go a long way to explaining why her answer to the Council's questions on Monday evening were less than enlightening.
Mayor Robinson-Briggs was supposedly expecting a 'sponsor' check from an area business to cover the expense but it failed to materialize in time.
I'll leave it to others to figure out if this was an illegal act, but whether it is or not Her Honor now has an embarrassing situation on her hands: How to get the toothpaste back into the tube.
Even if a sponsor came through, monies cannot be donated by a non-governmental organization to a specific municipal account. That means any payment, whether or not it was the full $20,000, would go into the General Fund.
Does that mean the Robinson-Briggs administration would have to approach the Council to make the IT account whole?
And what would Mayor Robinson-Briggs have to do if the 'sponsor's' payment fell short of the actual amount she personally authorized?
Besides answering these questions, we now have to find out what the FIRST check to WBLS for $2,500, improperly drawn against the CAPITAL EXPENDITURES account, was for.
And you thought August would be full of 'dog days'?
- Plainfield Today: "Questionable spending by administration uncovered by Council"
-- Dan Damon [follow]
Posts
13 comments:
Doesn't council have to pre-approve an expenditure like the one to WBLS? Is the mayor allowed such discretionary spending? What a crazy place Plainfield is.
I can't believe that $20,000 of tax payer money was used to do nothing to change the gang situation in Plainfield and give the mayor free publicity that said nothing about what a terrible mayor she is. That stinks.
why is there so many issues because its a black radio station please people wake up when are we going to get it right in plainfield, i can promise you if it was going to effect the 2nd ward there would be no issues.
The issue is NOT the black radio station, the issue is where the mayor decided to pull the money from...which department/account and did she go thru the necessary procedures/protocols. If the President of the United States have to follow procedures and protocols, so does the mayor of Plainfield.
Don't make this a racial thing because it's not. This is a right or wrong thing. And she's been wrong in so many ways, i don't think she's capable of being right.
Who would allow the Mayor to take 20,000 from the sinking IT Department, when the IT Manager was never given a budget for a staff? How smart is that? first you hire a IT manager, you don't give him a budget so he is the tech, secretary, manager, etc... What you do is take from his budget. Whoever authorized this is not working with a full deck. Put a CFO in place and stop this Mayor from all this spending. Just like the 75,000 spent on the July 4 weekend, I ask for what? MAKES NO SENSE!!! This sounds illegal if you ask me.
. . . was this $20,000.00 part of Reverend Al Sharpton's speaking payment? If not . . . wait til that payment pops up.
Think about this for just a moment . . . $20,000.00 (plus) to broadcast over the radiowaves -
BEWARE!!! Plainfield New Jersey is a crime ridden place. Don't live there! Don't move there! Don't visit there! Don't GO there!!!
THREE MORE YEARS???!!!
HELL NO . . . SHARON MUST GO!!!
RECALL!!!
I am assuming that if a "sponsors" -- wink wink..nod nod -- payment were to fall short, she would repeat what Jerry Green says and blame it on George Bush or Governor Christie. That's what I would expect...
Per the actual "payment/fee" ( again with the wink wink...nod nod ) I don't know about any of you... BUT I feel SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much safer now that Reverend Al has come to Plainfield and helped Assistant Mayor Sharon tarnish Plainfield's image even more...it's almost like there is a tranquil peace flowing through the streets of Plainfield.
Who would have thought that all it took to end gang violence was pay a boat load of cash to have other people help hurt your reputation as a city?? Damn...Camden's been missing this boat for years!! Sharon, go help Camden..PLEASE!!!
and per the anonymous comment attempting to bring race into the issue...PLEASE...
Merely asking Reverend Al to attend a pet funeral makes it all about race..he's the worst race baiter out there. Nothing says unity and community like bringing someone whose only contribution to American Society has been race baiting.
Illegal? unethical? Waste of money? Waste of time? Heck yeah! (and I'm keeping it clean) Trust me, Rev Al's money is not included in the fee paid to WBLS. I know him personally and he does NOTHING free. Anyone remember a few years ago when there was an issue with a black attorney's son and he came? They didn't have his money and he got back on the bus and left. I am black and have no use for him and trust me Rev Al speaks for Rev Al and no one else. He cares about as much for "his" people as Sharon does and we all know how much she cares. See how much good came out of that meeting??? There were 3 more shootings! Who will she bring in next?????
Imagine......with all the money spent on this "event", how many youth recreational scholarships could have been awarded to the children of Plainfield.
Well, I guess we know what her priorities are.
To all of the people that posted, what is going to be done about it?
1. This is illegal
2. It is unethical
3. The funds were not approved properly
4. The Mayor should not be directing staff to cut checks
5. Where is the invoice?
6. Did IT Director Chris Payne know about it? If so then he is a part of all of the above.
7. Has anyone called for an investigation outside of Union County? Call the State Attorney General.
8. Was Rev Al paid (we know the answer)?
9. Whp paid him?
10. How much?
Simple questions, right? What is going to be done about it? I am going to write my letter. I have made a call. but it has to be more people. This has to be a movement.
As far as race, dont but that nonsense. I am black and Im not buying it.
$20,000.00 to WBLS but at a recent council meeting some members were hesitant at paying security officers (for 3-4 hours work) to work at two elementary schools hosting Open Gym. A community based grass roots organization is trying to help get the kids of the street..but the council can't help are they kidding us? Someone from the Youth Council appealed to the council to help the BOE fund the officers but were rebuffed. It is crazy when you consider these same people paid Rev. AL and the WBLS crew $20,000.00 to assist with the gang problem....with what??? The people who actually work with the children were not even on the panel....it was Photo Op time for cronies and phonies.......
Dear Plainfield colleagues,
Plainfield needs much better representation. The individuals in office make poor decisions because they are not educated or ethical in their own ways. They do not have a purpose nor a goal to getting things done. Moreover, it is imperative that ALL city officials and employees have the education credentials that teaches them common sense traits and the common sense methodologies to ending violence, cutting cost expenditures, and hiring diversity in the city hall—not just African Americans. But what do I know? Nothing...
Furthermore, we must NOT lower our standard way of thinking when speaking or collaborating with uneducated and unethical individuals. As leaders, we must have the vision to know where we are going and the courage to get us there. Nothing, I say nothing gets done if WE do not have the leaders in place to step outside their realm to lead...
ALL city officials—city council—everyone—follow each other in a circle, leading no-where. We could write all the blogs in the world but if we do not create synergy amongst “annoyed” Plainfield residents, nothing will get done. The residents control the city—we dictate who will have a seat in office.
If we can get 2,000 residents before next election—we will make our own change for the better and never again believe any councilmen/women’s hype.
Regards,
Plainfield Resident –MBA, Six Sigma
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