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There is a request for $208,000 for unspecified office supplies on Tuesday's agenda. |
While the ceremonial reorganization meeting of the Plainfield City Council takes care of a lot of housekeeping matters to start off each year, the real business begins with the first business meeting following the reorganization.
And 2020 is no exception. However, the Mapp administration has presented City Council with an extraordinary list of expenditures -- with very little in the way of specifics as to exactly what the money requested is getting the taxpayers.
This is the meeting at which Corporation Counsel lays out the contracts and law firms Plainfield will be dealing with over the next 12 months. This year there are 9 firms, for a total expenditure of $330,000. That's for now. These firms often come back during the year for additional funding.
Big as that is it pales compared to other items on the agenda. (I can remember when Corporation Counsel Jackie Drakeford was reluctant to use any outside attorneys except under extreme circumstances.)
The real biggie is requests from the Finance Department for funds for purchases totaling $3.4 million ($810K for DPW equipment; $208K for office supplies/equipment; $1.977M for public safety equipment; $322K for fire equipment; and $93K for computer equipment).
The resolutions available for the public are all identical except for dollar amount and recipient. None of them shows a breakdown of what the money is being spent on.
I certainly hope the Council has more information than the public. These are the kind of numbers than can give people the heeby-jeebies.
Continuing a long tradition, 2020 kicks off with three Workmen's Compensation settlements totaling more than $192,000. Would be interesting to know how Plainfield stacks up against other communities based on the payments every year (some employees take more than one bite of the apple).
Next up: the proposed pedestrian mall for North Avenue and Gavett Place. R058-20 concerns a loan Plainfield is getting from the NJ Transportation Bank for $2.1M for this. At the same time, Bond Ordinance 1270 calls for the issuance of more than $2M in bonds to finance 'part of the cost thereof'. While improvement to the roadways is certainly welcome as well as considering an outdoor entertainment venue, the loss of parking as the project has been proposed would likely be catastrophic to North Avenue businesses and residents. A topic from which everyone shies away.
Then we have the perpetual rebranding marketing campaign -- how long has it been going on? R081-20 provides another $125K from UEZ funds. Once again, there are no specifics in the publicly available resolution as to exactly how the money is to be spent.
City Council is also being asked to give advice and consent to a number of appointments to various boards and commissions. I noted at last Thursday's Planning Board that new members had already been sworn in and seated. Is this a cart-and-horse thing?
City Council meets for a combined agenda and business session at 7:00 PM Tuesday (Monday is the MLK observance) in the Council Chambers / Courthouse at Watchung Avenue and East 4th Street. Parking available on the street and in the lot across from Police Headquarters.
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