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Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Is Green giving Robinson-Briggs, PMUA backers on Council new marching orders?


Sign at the PMUA's Rock Avenue Transfer Station.
In a statement on his blog today (see here) and a story appearing on NJ Today's website (see here), Plainfield Assemblyman Jerry Green unequivocably calls on Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs and the City Council to hire an independent firm to conduct a review of the fiscal situation at the Plainfield Municipal Utilities Authority (PMUA), which has been at the center of growing ratepayer discontent for at least the last two years.

While Councilors Adrian Mapp, Cory Storch, Rebecca Williams and Annie McWilliams have pretty much agreed that the agency needs  to be sharply reined in -- if not outright dissolved -- there has always been the issue of support for the agency's continued status quo among the remaining three Councilors: Bill Reid, Vera Greaves and Bridget Rivers.

Not to mention Mayor Robinson-Briggs' implicit support for the agency.

As Storch has repeatedly pointed out, without a super-majority of five votes, there has been little likelihood of the most dramatic actions being taken, since they would likely face a veto from Robinson-Briggs that would not be overcome.

So, the question for PMUA- watchers arises: Will the Assemblyman's new directive bring Mayor Robinson-Briggs into the fix-it or dissolve-it fold, along with the previously recalcitrant three Councilors?

This could be real interesting. Ratepayers will want to stay tuned.

 

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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7 comments:

Bob said...

Robinson-Briggs, our infamous mayor, is surely getting something from the PUMA's continued survival. She never does anything unless she is getting something for it. We need to remember that we are talking about a self-serving and self-center person who cares little about anyone but herself. It's about time Mr. Green takes a stand and I laud him on it. Now he needs to back an audit of the city's finances.

Anonymous said...

Isn't the State Comptroller's office already looking in the PMUA? If so, why spend taxpayer dollars. Let the State do its job.

Anonymous said...

Faced with the inevitability of an audit Mr. Green endorses an audit.Think about that for a moment. To what extent and to what advantage 2 audits may prove is confusing. Given Mr. Green's auspicious position in State Government I would think that he could communicate with the Comptroller's office and determine the scope of the Comptroller's pending audit to see if there are omissions which warrant a second audit of different scope?

The Commissioners, past and present, are not strangers to Mr. Green. They are associates and acquaintances of varying degrees. It is unlikely that the Mayor's nominations to Commissioner posts occured in a vacuum.

Mr. Green's apparent concern for the PMUA ratepayers comes too belatedly to be credible. He has these many years been a part of the problem endorsing the conduct of the PMUA through his silent consent.

Anonymous said...

Green is a joke, the mayor is a joke and the people of Plainfield who will not break party lines an vote them out are the problem.

To those of you in Plainfield who cannot vote for anyone other than a Democrat - PLEASE DO NOT VOTE AT ALL.

I would rather someone not vote, than vote a straight party line with no thought.

Anonymous said...

Wasn't your partner on the PMUA board for many, many years?

I'll bet he called for audits!

Anonymous said...

Maybe Mayor is saving PMUA for her new job after next year.

olddoc said...

Dan his is an important issue about which I have intended to write a post, however the Hub Stein field shenanigans have taken too much of my time.