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No one ever said 'just and capable' would be easy. |
In another long Plainfield City Council meeting, more than forty people spoke in the comments section preceding the Council's business.
When the Council finally got down to its agenda as midnight approached, the mayor's veto of the ordinance establishing a Recreation Commission stood, with Councilors Greaves, Reid and Rivers voting against the override (a 'super-majority' of five votes is needed to overturn a mayoral veto).
Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs' victory on the ordinance, however, was Pyrrhic as the Council failed to amend the FY2011 budget adopted in December to add amounts to the staffing lines for either Recreation or Purchasing. (Again, a super-majority of five of the seven councilors was needed for any amendment of the budget.)
Another item of interest, the mayor's proposal to appoint two Constables, which had been made without consulting the PBA, was withdrawn by the Administration without explanation.
The bulk of the evening was taken up with impassioned public comment, much of it in support of Recreation Superintendent Dave Wynn.
Many speakers urged a spirit of compromise and collaboration on Wynn, his critics and the mayor and Council. (Three speakers spoke out in favor of the PMUA, despite there being no business involving the PMUA on the agenda; and one person spoke in favor of the Constable notion.)
Comments of a few were personally abusive and even menacing of several Councilors by name, and at least one seemed to resent a woman (Council President Annie McWilliams) having a position of authority in city affairs.
Sadly, Wynn's defenders did not address the fact that the Recreation Division fails to service the recreation needs of probably ten times the 600 said to be enrolled in Division activities.
How many sport stars waiting to be discovered, encouraged and developed are among those unserved thousands? How will we ever know?
How many thousands of youngsters will fail to be saved from the pressures of gangs, drugs and crimes because the Recreation Division is not reaching out to them? How will we ever know?
As Mayor Robinson-Briggs and the City Council face another difficult budget year, the pressure for accountability and effectiveness for every dollar raised from taxpayers is only going to increase.
And the Mayor's failure to begin the collaborative budget effort with the Council which she promised at the January reorganization meeting is troubling.
Perhaps things will pick up when Bibi Taylor returns to her post as City Administrator in the next couple of weeks.
We must live in hope.
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9 comments:
THIS MAYOR MUST GO AND THE COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO CONSISTANTLY SUPPORT HER AGAINST THE WISHES OF THE PEOPLE OF PLAINFIELD. VOTE THEM OUT AND DEMAND SHADY SHARON'S RECALL. WHERE DO I SIGN?!
Dave Wynn services MAYBE 600 youth. And out of those 600 there were only 2, T-W-O stars -a wrestler and a boxer???!!! Oh yeah and a star basketball team. And we have approximately 6,000 or more, SIX THOUSAND youth within the Plainfield School system???!!!
And this makes him a Saviour of our youth. There are more kids shot, killed, incarcerated and criminals within Plaifield than Dave Wynn has "saved".
Great job Dave Wynn, Vera Greaves (the voice of Jerry Green), Bill Reid, Bridget Rivers and the sorry excuse for a mayor Sharon RobinsonBriggs.
There are no "sport stars waiting to be discovered, encouraged and developed" in Plainfield. Sports programs are like gifted and talented programs; there's no shortage of applicants. It's recreation programs for the other 5400, not sports, that's at issue, and that's where Wynn has clearly demonstrated he doesn't have a clue.
All three who spoke in favor of the PMUA are employees or relatives. It's a self-serving entity!
Personalities count, but results are meaningless. Transparency and accountability are obstacles to be circumvented. Days pass by and we are asked to meet in the middle to come together in mediocrity. At best we take one step forward and one step back. Business as usual.
The meeting accomplished one thing. It made it quite apparent Assistant Mayor Sharon and Mayor Jerry have a new cheerleader, shill, lackey and lap dog with the addition of Vera Greaves...I am sure Reid and Rivers were getting lonely in the Fool's Parade. Now they have more company. That is of course, until Jerry and Sharon toss another one of them overboard.
It's actually amusing to think Rivers, Reid and Greaves believe they are "part of the gang".
Vera, welcome to the Club of No Self Respect...you'll get all the way there like Reid and Rivers soon..don't worry. I've heard once you start throwing it away it gets easier and easier to throw all self respect into the garbage.
High Five !!
I must APPLAUD Plainfield City Councilpersons -Annie McWilliams, Adrian Mapp, Cory Storch and Rebecca Williams for standing up to all of the stones thrown.
It's a shame the Dave Wynn supporters felt they had to throw insults at these councilpersons in order to convince the Jerry Green puppets -Vera Greaves, Bridget Rivers, and William Reid to vote the way they already knew they would vote.
Hmmm . . . or was this their (including Sharon) strategy to scare the others into voting NO for the Recreation Commission?
McWilliams and Mapp -you took most of those stones and you are still standing strong and looking good.
I am so very proud of you.
The citizens of Plainfield must make the Rec department accountable. You must email Bridget, Bill and Vera and ask them to account for each Rec program, and an accounting for how many more children are added to the roster.
It's like any other corrupt commission in Plainfield. They are VERY good at getting their own 'supporters' out to praise them in public, while the masses who REALLY know what's going on stay home because it's not important enough to them to participate in local governmemt.
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