DCA letter now online here, question of criminality remains

Detail of letter, showing it was addressed to both
the Mayor and the City Council.

Exactly two weeks after the state wrote Plainfield Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs and the City Council concerning its concerns over Plainfield's CFO (Chief Financial Officer) situation, I am pleased to post a copy of the now-infamously missing letter online for the world to read (see end of post).

You will recall that the public only became aware that there REALLY was a letter after Councilor Mapp dragged the admission from City Administrator Marc Dashield and Corporation Counsel Dan Williamson at Monday's special council meeting (on that meeting, see Dan here, Bernice here, and Olddoc here).

Though both acknowledged they were aware of the letter, neither was able to explain why the Council had not received a copy of the letter, nor why the Mayor had not forwarded same to the City Clerk.

Though the letter has since surfaced (amid suspicions the Robinson-Briggs administration wanted to keep it under wraps until after the election), the issues is raises are still with us.

The three questions that bother me most are --

1. If having a certified Chief Financial Officer is one of a municipality's CONSTITUTIONALLY MANDATED OFFICERS (as with tax assessor, tax collector, municipal clerk, etc.), why has the Robinson-Briggs administration not filled the office with a permanent, certified appointment after a nearly two-year vacancy?
   
   
2. What is the quality of the legal advice that the Robinson-Briggs administration is getting for $159,500 per year -- if it was getting ANY on this matter -- that Her Honor could offer the Council resolutions for 'ACTING' or 'INTERIM' appointments which contravene state regulations and cannot legally be made. (Sadly, the Council has to rely on the Administration's statements that what it is doing is legal and by-the-book, since the Corporation Counsel evidently feels no compulsion to protect the public's interest in this matter.)
   
   
3. Lastly, there is the question of whether the MISUSE OF A PERSON'S SIGNATURE STAMP rises to the level of criminality. In the next to last paragraph on the first page, it comes to light that the Robinson-Briggs administration has been using an employee's signature stamp as co-signer on municipal checks even though the employee is NOT the CFO. The employee expressed her concern to the State, and rightly so -- her certification is put at risk by the reckless behavior of the Robinson-Briggs administration in using her signature stamp improperly. But more than that, the question arises in my mind whether the Robinson-Briggs administration's actions in this matter rise to the level of 'uttering a false instrument', knowing that the use of the signature stamp on municipal checks was in violation of DCA regulations. Should the Council call for an independent investigation of the matter, or turn over the entire affair to the Attorney General's office?

In any event, the Division of Local Government Services has put the Robinson-Briggs administration on notice that it must bring the City into compliance with its regulations.

Members of the public having questions about Robinson-Briggs' conduct in the matter may prefer to ask their questions at the League of Women Voters candidates' forum next Wednesday, rather than wait for the next City Council meeting, which will occur AFTER the November election.

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Letter-DCA-On-Plainfield-CFO-situation-091008

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Wednesday - October 28. 6:30 PM and 7:30 PM. LWV Candidates' Forum. The Plainfield chapter of the League of Women Voters will present its candidates' forum in two segments: at 6:30 PM, candidates for the 22nd District Assembly seats; at 7:30 PM, candidates for Mayor and the Ward 4 Council seat. At Emerson Community School, East Third Street at Emerson Avenue.

---

• Plainfield Today: "Plainfield mayor covering up criminal financial deception?"
• Plaintalker: "State questions CFO process"
• Doc's Potpourri: "Back from Oz"

-- Dan Damon

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Plainfield IT job is posted, get busy if you want it

Anyone interested in Plainfield's new IT position needs to get cracking.

The position has been posted (you can see the posting online at the League of Municipalities website here -- about three quarters of the way down the page). Here is the text of the post --

MANAGER 1 INFORMATION PROCESSING – PLAINFIELD CITY. The City of Plainfield is currently seeking applications for the position of Manager 1 Information Processing, responsible for organizing and directing the City’s information processing unit. Interested applicants must have a Bachelor’s Degree form an accredited college and five (5) years experience in work involving the development of application software and systems analysis and design in a multiplatform environment; two (2) years of which shall have been in a supervisory capacity. Applications with salary requirements may be submitted to the attention of Marc Dashield, City Administrator, City of Plainfield, 510 Watchung Avenue, Plainfield, NJ 07060. Please note that the City of Plainfield has a residency ordinance which may require that the successful candidate establish residency. The City of Plainfield is an equal opportunity employer. Ad Posted October 13th, Ad Removed October 31, 2009

The job should also be posted now on the bulletin board in the hall outside the Personnel Division on the third floor of City Hall, as required by law.

Call the Personnel Division at (908) 753-3401 for current information.

I would be happy to hear from anyone who submits a resumé (email me here, in confidence), as I am quite concerned that talented and experienced Plainfielders who are interested get a REAL crack at this opportunity.

But note the posting expires on October 31 -- you must ACT QUICKLY and STAY ON TOP OF THINGS.

If you suspect a run-around or double-dealing, let me know.

The initial appointment will no doubt be, in Civil Service parlance, as a 'provisional' until the State issues a call for an examination for the position. Provisional employees are responsible for seeing that they take and pass the Civil Service examination in order to get permanent appointment to the position.

Interested? The ball is in your court.

Get a move on!

---

-- Dan Damon

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Dems Green, Robinson-Briggs energize GOP campaigns

Republican mayoral candidate Jim Pivnichny with
Barbara Sandford, who hosted a meet-and-greet Sunday.

Entering the two-week home stretch to the November general election, missteps by Plainfield Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs and Assemblyman Jerry Green have energized local GOP campaigns.

Over the past week, I have checked out events hosted for mayoral candidate Jim Pivnichny and Assembly candidate 'Bo' Vastine, to find them packed wall-to-wall with folks who say they are fed up with 'business as usual' and sense a real opportunity to change the electoral landscape this time around.

To those who believe in a two-party system (and I certainly hope that includes Green, Robinson-Briggs and their supporters), these signs of life among Republicans can only come as a breath of fresh air after years of somnolence in Plainfield's Grand Old Party.

One of the problems of one-party dominance is that there is no incentive to draw in new talent and groom successors. (Why should we? We're gonna ride this rollercoaster to the end of the line.)

Another is that ideas for solving new (and old) problems and issues suffocate for lack of oxygen in rooms that are filled with the blah-blah-blah of pols patting themselves on the back for their honors and titles.

Not to mention using governmental powers as if they belonged to the official personally and not to the public. Consider this --

• Assemblyman Jerry Green used the cops to physically hustle a duly-elected City Committee member out of a June meeting at the YWCA, and
  
  
• Mayor Sharon used the cops to physically oust Senior Center member Pivnichny when he tried to ask questions at her recent monthly Seniors meeting.

The way the pols see it the police are not there to de-escalate situations, but to do as the pols want as they make up their own interpretations of the law.

This -- and the fact that the pols involved have not apologized to their victims -- has gotten a lot of voters steamed.

Then there is the matter of Muhlenberg Hospital.

Try as they might, Assemblyman Green and Mayor Robinson-Briggs have not been able to wriggle out of their complicity in the closing of Plainfield's 131-year-old hospital in 2008.

'Bo' Vastine gets roars of approval from attendees every time he says, 'If it was me and Corzine was proposing to close Muhlenberg, with its 1,100 jobs and history as a lifeline for 13 surrounding communities and a couple hundred thousand people, I WOULD CHAIN MYSELF TO THE FRONT DOOR'.

If such a dramatic sign of support for the hometown hospital ever occurred to Green, it was probably muffled by the money he was making through the Alman Group, for which he was a vice president, and which counted Solaris Health System, Muhlenberg's corporate parent, among its clients.

Mayor Robinson-Briggs earns her boos from the fact that she has NEVER IN HER ENTIRE FOUR-YEAR TERM taken up her responsibilities as a member of the Muhlenberg Hospital Board. In warming to Pivnichny, voters seem to be saying Sharon's alligator tears over Muhlenberg's demise are just that -- alligator tears, a sort of emotional 'cubic zircon', not at all the genuine article.

Voters are also upset at the thought that the Robinson-Briggs administration is not only INEPT, but may actually have engaged in POSSIBLE CRIMINAL ACTIVITY, knowledge of which Mayor Sharon may have attempted to suppress (see yesterday's post here, and the record number of comments -- 28 and counting -- along with it here).

Pivnichny signs can be seen everywhere,
here near City Hall.

What do pols like Green and Robinson-Briggs do when their 'negatives' are high and they are in a tough race?

Looks like they've adopted the 'lie low' approach.

Though I have offered to publicize ANYONE'S CAMPAIGN EVENT, no Democratic event has been offered (unless one counts the forum by WFPIP -- Women for Progress in Plainfield -- a Redshirt Sharon support group).

Green and Robinson-Briggs either do not have any grassroots folks inclined to open their homes to friends and neighbors to hear the candidate's pitch and ask questions, or they are afraid to do so for fear that voters will put them on the spot.

Ditto the kind of non-spin opportunities to put themselves before the voting public. Again, consider the facts --

• Today's Courier print edition has the League of Women Voters informational ad. All candidates are invited to supply background information to this 80-year-old, highly respected nonpartisan group and answers to three questions posed by the League. Candidates get the questions weeks in advance. For Assemblyman Green and Mayor Robinson-Briggs not to have an entry raises three possibilities -- either a) they have no answers, b) they are afraid to answer, or c) they want to show their disrespect of the organization.
  
  
• Monday's Courier print edition had its 'Election Yearbook' in which candidates for Plainfield elected offices were invited to submit their accomplishments, affiliations and contact information. Pivnichny is there. Robinson-Briggs is not.

There will be other opportunities over the next two weeks, but one can only wonder what Assemblyman Green and Mayor Robinson-Briggs will do, given the voting public's increasing frustration with things-as-they-are and the incumbents' defensiveness.

In any event, Pivnichny and Vastine seem energized.

And the voters are looking for their pitchforks and torches.

---

• Tomorrow - October 22. 4 PM. Mayoral Candidates Discussion on Harvest Radio. Mayoral candidates have been invited to participate in Rev. Zechariah Jackson's Town Talker radio program. Harvest Radio, WKMB, is at 1070 AM on your radio dial.

• Sunday - October 25. 5:15 PM. NAACP Candidates Forum. Sponsored by the Plainfield chapter. At the Whitney Allen Young community room, 300 Central Avenue .(Entrance to parking lot from New Street).
  
  
• Wednesday - October 28. 6:30 PM and 7:30 PM. LWV Candidates' Forum. The Plainfield chapter of the League of Women Voters will present its candidates' forum in two segments: at 6:30 PM, candidates for the 22nd District Assembly seats; at 7:30 PM, candidates for Mayor and the Ward 4 Council seat. At Emerson Community School, East Third Street at Emerson Avenue.

-- Dan Damon

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Plainfield mayor covering up criminal financial deception?

The unspoken question hanging over the Plainfield City Council's special meeting Monday evening was this: Are Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs and her Administration engaging in a coverup of potentially criminal activity with regard to the city's finances?

And it all hinges on a letter from a DCA official to Mayor Robinson-Briggs and the City Council which the Council members have yet to see.

The special meeting, originally scheduled to discuss economic development, was expanded to include the appointment of a PART-TIME chief financial officer (CFO) and three resolutions that could not be acted on previously owing to the lack of a bona fide CFO.

The possibility of a coverup only came to light through a bizarre exchange between the Council and the Corporation Counsel.

When Corporation Counsel Dan Williamson asked to have the appointing resolution withdrawn at the beginning of the meeting, a line of questioning was opened that eventually led to the evening's shocker.

Saying he had spent the day on the phone with DCA Commissioner Susan Jacobucci and Dan Kaminski, the DCA official Williamson says is in charge of certifications, there had been some back-and-forth over Plainfield and its CFO situation.

Bottom line: 'Part-time' and 'acting' CFOs are not allowed by DCA regulations, hence the withdrawal of the evening's appointing resolution. Williamson added that he had drawn up an aide-mémoire of the conversations that he was willing to share with the Council later.

Further, though the DCA had offered a 90-day alternative of the appointment of an 'acting' CFO while the City conducted a search for a permanent appointee, Williamson said he was unable to provide the certification for the proposed appointee -- Sandra Cummings -- at last night's meeting.

Then came the first Ozian moment: Williamson asked the Council to adopt the three resolutions requiring a CFO's certification of funds availability, stating that the City would provide the appropriate certification Tuesday, or the resolutions would be rescinded.

Councilor Mapp took immediate objection, saying 'I will not vote to have a resolution adopted pending certification because that is not proper...if we have to take a break, so be it...the Council should not act on any resolution without the certification'.

Mapp then dropped his bombshell of the evening, asking Williamson about a letter supposedly sent by the DCA to the mayor and council, which the Council members still as of Monday evening did not have.

Mapp asked City Administrator Marc Dashield if he could explain why the letter, which should have been in Friday's Council packets, was not supplied.

Dashield admitted he was aware of the letter, but could not explain where it is and why the Council failed to receive copies of same. (No one asked Dashield if HE had a copy of the letter.)

Councilor Annie McWilliams then said that she would like to see the letter 'before we vote' so the Council could understand exactly what issues the state says there are.

At this point in the discussion the idea that the Mayor may have purposely withheld the letter from the Council was raised.

Corporation Counsel Williamson interjected that he was aware of the letter and its contents and that he 'cannot believe the Mayor would purposely withhold the letter from the Council'.

In verbally outlining the contents of the letter for the Council, Williamson included a reference to one of the so-called 'part-time' CFOs certificates being used in 'an inappropriate way' according to the DCA.

Williamson, perhaps without intending to, had supplied confirmation of a rumor that has been circulating for months that someone in the Robinson-Briggs administration had continued to use the certification of a former 'part-time' CFO after that person had submitted a letter of resignation and was no longer being paid by the City for professional services.

There are questions as to what has happened to that letter of resignation, and why copies of it are not on file with the City Clerk or in possession of the Personnel Division.

Further, we need to know exactly what the details of the 'inappropriate' use of the certification entailed --

• Was it for certifying funds for various resolutions? If so which, how many, and when?
  
  
• Was it for the purpose of providing needed countersignatures to checks issued by the City? If so, how many and for how much?
  
  
• Lastly, of course, WHO EXACTLY misused the certification?

The DCA may not see itself in any role but that of enforcing its regulations, but that does not mean that a prosecutor might not have another point of view.

The misuse of the certification was certainly 'inappropriate' as Corporation Counsel Williamson said in his recap of the missing letter. It seems likely that it was also illegal, and perhaps even criminal.

Having Mayor Robinson-Briggs supply copies of the letter would help answer some question, but would doubtless raise others she would rather not discuss.

After a 10-minute recess for Williamson to try and reach Mayor Robinson-Briggs, he reported he met with no success and that she had not responded to repeated calls. (The mayor's confidential aide was in attendance and sat tight-lipped throughout the entire matter, never volunteering whether she could be of any assistance -- either in reaching the Mayor, or in resolving the issue of the letter's whereabouts.)

Upon resuming the Council meeting and hearing from Williamson that he had no success in reaching the Mayor, Council President Burney asked Councilor Reid to offer a motion withdrawing the three resolutions on the agenda. Reid did and the resolutions were withdrawn by unanimous voice vote.

Burney then dismissed Dashield, Williamson and the other administration officials in attendance.

The question, however, of whether there has been criminal activity in relation to the abuse of the CFO's certification has not been dismissed.

Once again, what Mayor Robinson-Briggs knew and when she knew it becomes important.

And, whether failing to share the DCA letter with the Council is an attempt -- if not to cover up the whole matter, at least to delay its exposure to daylight until after the November election.

Once again, residents and taxpayers owe Councilor Mapp thanks for keeping a sharp eye on this Administration's activities.

---

-- Dan Damon

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Election-time budget hanky-panky by Robinson-Briggs administration?

I am scratching my head wondering why Plainfield Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs, having to face the voters in two weeks in her quest for re-election, would engage in budget hanky-panky just when the voters are most likely to be paying attention.

After having promised to present the city's FY2010 budget proposal 'at the next meeting' more than once, City Administrator Marc Dashield disappointed yet once again last week, when he allowed as how the budget would NOT BE OFFERED TO THE COUNCIL UNTIL THE NOVEMBER MEETING, which is, of course, AFTER THE NOVEMBER ELECTION.

Now that might just be attributed to SIMPLE POLITICAL CUNNING (an accusation which is not often made against this Administration), since one result of the defeat last week of the ordinance to exceed the annual budget increase cap is to put the matter of fiscal restraint squarely on the Mayor's plate.

Consider Mayor Robinson-Briggs' dilemma: On the one hand, having to impose fiscal restraint by arm-wrestling the unions (at election time) or on the other hand, having to come before the Council with a proposal to exceed the budget increase cap (at election time). Neither alternative is palatable, so it's not hard to understand the notion of avoiding the budget until after the election.

Except for a little unnecessary hanky-panky that may blow up in the Robinson-Briggs administration's face.

According to sources in the Division of Community Affairs, the Robinson-Briggs Administration submitted a budget proposal to them for review WITHOUT PRESENTING IT TO THE COUNCIL FIRST. Not only that, eyebrows were raised in Trenton when the document arrived WITHOUT THE REQUISITE SIGNATURE OF THE MUNICIPAL CLERK.

You'd think the Robinson-Briggs administration would understand the nervousness in Trenton during election season, when all kinds of folks -- media and otherwise -- are snooping, and prophylaxis demands the dotting of all i's and the crossing of all t's.

Not so, evidently.

Not only was a budget sent down without Council knowledge or approval, the Robinson-Briggs administration also submitted its request for Extraordinay Aid without Council knowledge or input, as has customarily been the case for years.

Not only the hanky-panky but now the embarrassment of having to try and withdraw a budget whose numbers will no longer reflect the reality on the ground after the defeat of last week's cap waiver ordinance.

Is the Robinson-Briggs administration trying to be placed in nomination for The Darwin Awards?

---

-- Dan Damon

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Governor appoints Estevez to School Ethics Commission

Plainfield Board of Education member Christian Estevez has been appointed by Gov. Jon Corzine to a seat on the state's School Ethics Commission (see appointment here).

The School Ethics Commission is a nine-member body appointed by the Governor to oversee enforcement of the School Ethics Law, including conflicts of interest involving both BOE members and school administration staff as well as the Code of Ethics for School Board members (see more on the commission's duties here).

---

• "Governor's Appointments"
• "School Ethics Commission"
  

-- Dan Damon

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Two train fatalities near Netherwood Station

A Plainfield Today reader wrote over the weekend --

We were at a neighborhood gathering Friday night and 2 men at the party said both of their trains were interrupted last night...5:30 train, in Fanwood, supposedly a man was chasing his dog from the tracks..the dog made it, the person didn't. They halted everything and loaded one train to the other and proceeded. They said the man was killed.

Saturday's Ledger and Courier both had brief items concerning the fatality -- the man was struck and killed.

I have also learned that the man was indeed chasing a dog, presumptively his own, and that the dog also was killed by the train.

The accident occurred near the Terrill Road bridge, where high tension wires cross the tracks, according to a source.

---

• "Man struck, killed near Netherwood Station" -- Courier | Ledger |

-- Dan Damon

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Another Connolly water shutoff notice posted

New water shutoff notice for 600 East Front Street.

For Connolly Properties' Plainfield residents, the news just doesn't stop being worrying.

A reader -- and Connolly tenant -- sent along the above photo, which she found on her building's door Friday with this note --

I'm sending a not so great shot of the water shut off notice on my building tonight as I arrived home from work. We also had notices posted in May before all the Connolly brouhaha went down. I'm also sending a copy to Marc Dashield. The photo of the notice is legible, but not truly great quality as I had to use the flash. It's on the front unable to lock front door. A bum was sleeping in the hallway the other day.

Argh ... and I do pay fair market value on the place.

Is the city working on the Connolly situation?

Readers of this blog who are Connolly residents have commented that the Mayor has not gotten back to them as she promised she would.

Meanwhile, tenants suffer indignities such as intruders (see note above) and worries over their future as tenants.

And the city faces having to pay to move any tenants if essential services (light, water, heat) are shut off.

---

-- Dan Damon

View today's CLIPS here. Not getting your own CLIPS email daily? Click here to subscribe.

It's a rainy day, perfect for Jazz Brunch and 'Four Centuries'

Like the weatherman said, it's a rainy day in Plainfield.

Meaning a MUCH BETTER ALTERNATIVE yard work today -- Jazz, brunch and history!

Plainfield's own Bev and Kev (Beverly Calland and Kevin Catwell) are hosting a JAZZ BRUNCH today at Adrian's Restaurant.

'It will be a perfect day to treat that someone special with Jazz and a very special brunch', says brunch organizer Bev Calland, 'and then take in some of Union County's Four Centuries in a Weekend sites.' The hearty brunch (see menu at right) will be offered with the inimitable touches of Plainfield's very own Kevin of Adrian's on East Second Street. Bev has arranged for Lady CiCi and Don Williams' Jazz Just-Us Band to provide the special musical setting.

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

BRUNCH MENU Chicken Marsala Salmon Ribs Oxtails Fresh Fruit Salad Garden Salad Assorted Cold Salads Mac & Cheese Rice w/Peas Carrots & String Beans Collard Greens Tropical Punch Coffe/Tea Assorted Desserts

Jazz, like good wines, needs to be aged properly to be appreciated. Having entertained audiences for a quarter century together, this dynamic duo knows how to deliver that soulful musical experience perfect for a rainy day. With smooth and spicey sliding tones, Lady Cici highlights the bluesy jazz style and gospel roots that have thrilled audiences here and abroad.

Lacy Cici and Williams' Jazz Just-Us Band have toured nationally and internationally over the years with the likes of Arthur Prysock and the Jim McGriff Quartet (check them out on the Web here and here).

You won't want to miss this very special treat.

After brunch, you can pop on over to the DRAKE HOUSE, one of the twenty-five historic locations around Union County open specially this weekend to celebrate the annual Four Centuries in a Weekend event.

The Four Centuries event is Union County's annual spotlight on its historic sites' heritage.

All the county's sites are open to the public FREE on both Saturday and Sunday, with special programming revolving around five themes -- including the age of the Robber Barons and the Great Depression as well as the Revolutionary War and Civil War eras.

While at the Drake House, you will be able to see the extensive work done (much of it unobtrusive) in a two-year capital upgrades program that has seen the installation of central air and dehumidification systems as well as accessibility improvement to Plainfield's house museum, which is operated by the volunteers of the Historical Society of Plainfield.

All in all, a perfect treat for a rainy weekend.

Did I forget to mention Bev's incomparable homemade pound cake?

Shame on me.

---

Jazz Brunch at Adrian's
Sunday | 11 AM - 3 PM
$35/advance | $40/at the door
Tickets and Info: (908) 361-8533 or (908) 313-6568

Adrian's Restaurant
1100 East Second Street (at Netherwood Avenue)


Drake House Museum
Four Centuries in a Weekend
Sunday | Noon - 5 PM
FREE
602 West Front Street (at Plainfield Avenue)

---

-- Dan Damon

View today's CLIPS here. Not getting your own CLIPS email daily? Click here to subscribe.

Plainfield Friday Night: Shootings, Robberies, Beatings, more

Crime on Friday night, October 16, in Plainfield --

1. Robbery -- Armed robbery with handgun, Crescent Avenue;
   
   
2. Robbery -- Armed robbery with knife, East Second Street;
   
   
3. Robbery -- West Front Street, man shot in arm;
   
   
4. Shooting -- Two males shot in the leg, Madison Avenue;
   
   
5. Assault -- Male attacked, beaten unconscious by two others, Park Avenue & West 6th Street;
   
   
6. Fight with serious injury -- Four males in fight behind Chez Maree, one now in coma with bleeding on the brain. If he dies, it will be homicide number 3.

Today's news includes bail being set for a homicide that occurred outside Chez Maree in December, 2008 (see here).

Plainfield Today readers may not be aware that the Police Division is understaffed.

In the past year there have been retirements and officers removed or resigned from the force in various court cases.

Word in the street is that Mayor Robinson-Briggs ABSOLUTELY REFUSES to consider hiring police officers laid off from other towns or law enforcement agencies, preferring instead to try and fill the ranks with Plainfield residents.

While that is a nice sentiment (and disregards the fact that police and fire employees CANNOT be required in NJ to reside in the town in which they work), the net effect has been ADDING ONLY ONE OFFICER in the past year, I believe (I am working from memory here, and stand to be corrected).

So, where do the public's safety and police effectiveness stand in the Mayor's list of priorities?

Let's hope it's not somewhere behind Leon's Catering.

---

• Plainfield Today, 9/30/09: "Crime wave hits Plainfield after second homicide"

-- Dan Damon

View today's CLIPS here. Not getting your own CLIPS email daily? Click here to subscribe.

Plainfield artist Maria Mijares in Newark show

Paramount Theater, Newark. By Maria Mijares.

Plainfield artist Maria Mijares is an invited participant in Theater Town, the theme for this year's annual group show at the New Jersey School of Architecture.

Maria has four paintings drawing on fabled Newark movie theaters.

The show opens with a reception tonight and runs through November 28.

---

Gallery Show: Theater Town

October 17 - November 28
NJ School of Architecture
113 Summit Street, Newark

---

-- Dan Damon

View today's CLIPS here. Not getting your own CLIPS email daily? Click here to subscribe.

Jazz Brunch and 'Four Centuries' perfect for rainy weekend

Plainfielders dismayed they will not be able to do yard work on Sunday because of the expected rain have a MUCH BETTER ALTERNATIVE.

Jazz, brunch and history!

Plainfield's own Bev and Kev (Beverly Calland and Kevin Catwell of Adrian's) are hosting a JAZZ BRUNCH Sunday at Adrian's Restaurant.

'It will be a perfect day to treat that someone special with Jazz and a very special brunch', says brunch organizer Bev Calland, 'and then take in some of Union County's Four Centuries in a Weekend sites.' The hearty brunch (see menu at right) will be offered with the inimitable touches of Plainfield's very own Kevin of Adrian's on East Second Street. Bev has arranged for Lady CiCi and Don Williams' Jazz Just-Us Band to provide the special musical setting.

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

BRUNCH MENU Chicken Marsala Salmon Ribs Oxtails Fresh Fruit Salad Garden Salad Assorted Cold Salads Mac & Cheese Rice w/Peas Carrots & String Beans Collard Greens Tropical Punch Coffe/Tea Assorted Desserts

Jazz, like good wines, needs to be aged properly to be appreciated. Having entertained audiences for a quarter century together, this dynamic duo knows how to deliver that soulful musical experience perfect for a rainy day. With smooth and spicey sliding tones, Lady Cici highlights the bluesy jazz style and gospel roots that have thrilled audiences here and abroad.

Lacy Cici and Williams' Jazz Just-Us Band have toured nationally and internationally over the years with the likes of Arthur Prysock and the Jim McGriff Quartet (check them out on the Web here and here).

You won't want to miss this very special treat.

After brunch, you can pop on over to the DRAKE HOUSE, one of the twenty-five historic locations around Union County open specially this weekend to celebrate the annual Four Centuries in a Weekend event.

The Four Centuries event is Union County's annual spotlight on its historic sites' heritage.

All the county's sites are open to the public FREE on both Saturday and Sunday, with special programming revolving around five themes -- including the age of the Robber Barons and the Great Depression as well as the Revolutionary War and Civil War eras.

While at the Drake House, you will be able to see the extensive work done (much of it unobtrusive) in a two-year capital upgrades program that has seen the installation of central air and dehumidification systems as well as accessibility improvement to Plainfield's house museum, which is operated by the volunteers of the Historical Society of Plainfield.

All in all, a perfect treat for a rainy weekend.

Did I forget to mention Bev's incomparable homemade pound cake?

Shame on me.

---

Jazz Brunch at Adrian's
Sunday | 11 AM - 3 PM
$35/advance | $40/at the door
Tickets and Info: (908) 361-8533 or (908) 313-6568

Adrian's Restaurant
1100 East Second Street (at Netherwood Avenue)


Drake House Museum
Four Centuries in a Weekend
Sunday | Noon - 5 PM
FREE
602 West Front Street (at Plainfield Avenue)

---

-- Dan Damon

View today's CLIPS here. Not getting your own CLIPS email daily? Click here to subscribe.

UPDATE: Mayor Sharon and 'lying bloggers challenge'

Plainfield Today challenged Mayor Robinson-Briggs to cite chapter and verse to back up her charge that "city bloggers don't always tell the truth" (quoting Bernice, see here).

It is now one week since the challenge was issued, and no response from the Mayor.

---

• Plainfield Today: "Challenge to Mayor Sharon on blogger allegations"

-- Dan Damon

View today's CLIPS here. Not getting your own CLIPS email daily? Click here to subscribe.

BREAKING: Director's settlement with Dover may have to be divulged

The Government Records Council has ruled that Plainfield's Director of Administration and Finance's settlement with her previous employer is a public record and that a confidentiality agreement in the severance agreement does not constitute a legal basis for denying public access to the document.

This according to an email received this morning from John Paff, who is with the NJ Foundation for Open Government.

Here is the text of Paff's email --

[An] article in Wednesday's Daily Record concerns the Government Records Council's September 30, 2009 decision in Joe Ungaro v. Town of Dover (Morris), GRC Complaint No. 2008-115. In that decision, the GRC ruled that a confidentiality clause in an administrator's severance agreement does not constitute a legal basis for denying public access to the agreement. (Unfortunately, I have not been able to read the GRC decision because it hasn't yet put any of the cases decided on September 30, 2009 on its web site.)

The GRC's decision is consistent with the Appellate Division's March 17, 2009 decision in Asbury Park Press and John Paff v. Monmouth County. In that case, the court held that the Open Public Records Act (OPRA) did not permit Monmouth County to deny access to an agreement that the county entered into to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit.

Despite the positive rulings, the issue of whether or not a confidentiality agreement forecloses public access is still an open question. At Monmouth County's request, the New Jersey Supreme Court has agreed to review the Appellate Division's decision, and oral argument will be held on November 2nd or 3rd.

John Paff

Paff references the Daily Record story on Ms. Taylor's settlement, which Plainfield Today broke here.

Seems like the curious may get to find out the FINANCIAL details soon enough, though the reasons for the severance itself may never fully come to light.

---

-- Dan Damon

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Monarch Condos: P&F/Dornoch end run around rentals prohibition?

Monarch sales sign was recently blown over by strong winds.

Notwithstanding Plainfield City Council President Burney's recent announcement that the proposed tax abatement for the Monarch condos is off the table, that does not mean the project may not be in desperate straits.

And, as the old saying goes, extremis malis extrema remedia, or 'desperate times call for desperate measures'.

My curiosity was piqued when city administrator Marc Dashield wrote in answer to a query by Councilor Adrian Mapp (see here) that sales of condo units was 'approximately 13-15 units'.

What's to be 'approximate' about? Either they are sold or they are not, right?

It's not quite that easy.

Actually, there are NO COMPLETED SALES YET, only contracts to buy units.

And, considering that some offers to buy were made as long as SEVEN MONTHS AGO, it is hardly any wonder that some prospective buyers are canceling their contracts so they can get on with their lives.

Faced with potential cancellations, rumors in the real estate community are that those with contracts are being offered 'use and occupancy' (U&O) agreements by P&F/Dornoch in lieu of closed sales. In residential real estate, U&O agreements are sometimes used when a buyer is unable -- but on the verge of being able -- to complete a sales transaction.

Essentially, the buyers are granted 'use and occupancy' of the premises for a stated length of time for a stated amount of money, at the end of which the deal is expected to close.

(The twist here is that it is P&F/Dornoch which is unable to complete the sales transaction -- not enough units are sold, and there is no Certificate of Compliance.)

You can be forgiven for thinking it sounds like RENTING, which is not part of the Developer's Agreement.

Does it happen anyway? Youbetcha. In Rahway, the developer of the Sky View at Carriage Plaza condos simply started renting units in disregard of the development agreement which prohibited same (see here).

But the Monarch situation is complicated not only by the fact that the agreement does not allow rentals, but also that there is NO Certificate of Compliance, which would allow legal occupancy of any units.

Is P&F/Dornoch trying to make an end run around its Developer's Agreement with the UCIA?

Could be.

But in any event, the City is likely to be the last to find out.

---

• Plainfield Today: "Monarch condos: More wrinkles than Dorian Gray"
• Mapping It Out: "Answers to tax abatement questions"
• Rahway Rising: "101 units accounted for at Sky View"
  

-- Dan Damon

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Public employees removing roadside Christie signs?

Are public employees removing Christie for Governor signs in Plainfield?

Seems it might be so.

Got the following comment Wednesday in response to the post about Linda Stender getting in the sign game (finally) by chipping in for some new Linda/Jerry signs.

Here is the comment, in full --

Dan,
Was driving to work this morning at 6:15 am listening to 101.5 (Trenton). A caller from Scotch Plains told the host Jim Gearhart that yesterday he witnessed Plainfield DPW employees removing Christie signs on West 7th St. The caller asked the DPW employees why and they said "the signs were too close to the road." The caller said Corzine, Green and Briggs signs were in the exact same location and left untouched. Seems to me the DPW is now working for the re-election of the Democrats. Can you investigate? Call the station. Talk about unfair -- first the removal of the Republican mayoral candidate from a public forum and now opposition party signs being removed compliments of city employees. Come on.

An email inquiry to the producer of the Gearhart's call-in show has not been answered as of this posting.

However, I wonder whether the caller may have confused the identity of those allegedly picking up the signs.

West Seventh Street (on which I live) is a county highway, and the city's DPW trucks do not come down it to pick up leaves or yard waste, nor plow snow. However, Union County trucks are regularly seen. My suspicion is that the driver may have spotted Union County public employees along the county roadway.

Besides, if Assemblyman Jerry Green or his protegé Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs wanted any signs removed, I have a hunch that Christie's would NOT be at the top of their lists.

---

• Plainfield Today: "Monarch condos: More wrinkles than Dorian Gray"

-- Dan Damon

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Administration runs off a cliff at Council meeting

Wile E. Coyote was constantly running over a cliff's edge.

Plainfield's City Council meeting on Tuesday reminded me of the old Looney Tunes cartoons, in which the hapless Wile E. Coyote often is found running off a cliff, hanging in the air for a suspenseful moment as the import of what has happened dawns on him, then crashing into the canyon below -- only to repeat the scene in yet another cartoon adventure.

You could have caught that suspenseful realization-while-hanging-in-air moment if you had had a camera with you last night (Alas! I did not, and I think Laurence Rice videocam was aimed in the wrong direction.)

Actually, there were TWO such moments.

The FIRST came with the second reading of Ordinance MC2009-23, intended to EXCEED the budget appropriations limitation for FY2010 and establish a 'CAP bank'.

Councilor Storch had twice warned, most recently at the agenda session last week at Hubbard School, that he thought the ordinance was fiscally irresponsible and that he would vote against it.

With only five Councilors on hand (Reid and Simmons were absent), the Administration should have sensed it was in trouble when the meeting began. The reason is that BUDGETARY VOTES require a two-thirds majority of the FULL GOVERNING BODY, not just those present. That means that FIVE YEA VOTES are needed on budgetary measures.

Predictably, the measure went down.

Ask yourself this -- Knowing of Storch's vote in advance, and knowing that FIVE YEAS were needed, why wouldn't the Administration move heaven and earth to get to the magic number? Did they even try? Did the missing Councilors skip on purpose, knowing what the result would be?

You would need a magic decoder ring to even guess.

Administrator Marc Dashield then opined that the Administration would have to go back to the drawing board, which would delay the offering of the budget proposal. Well, duh.

But who REALLY believed the administration would offer its budget on Tuesday anyway, despite a previous promise?

The SECOND moment of fateful enlightenment came when Councilor Mapp questioned Resolutions 453-09 and 454-09, in which a 'certification of funds availability' was integral.

Saying this certification could ONLY be made by the Chief Financial Officer, a position which needed Council advice and consent, Mapp asked on what basis the certification was being made.

To the assertion of Administrator Dashield that Director of Finance and Administration Bibi Taylor was the 'acting CFO', Mapp asked by what authority, as the Council had not been asked for, nor given, its advice and consent.

Cue camera, catch Dashield and Corporation Counsel Dan Williamson with 'that' look crossing their faces, just before they crash to the canyon floor.

Further discussion uncovered that Mr. Dashield was not quite sure just when the City last had a bona fide CFO that the Council had approved (there had been a part-timer from Bridgewater that the Council had approved a contract for, but she had left at some point -- the exact time of which Dashield was 'not sure' but he thought it may have been February 2009).

This would be laughable except that it casts a pall over all of the financial transactions of the City since the date (whatever!) there last was a legitimate CFO.

Who was signing off in the meantime, Dashield? And by what authority?

Folks, you simply cannot make this stuff up.

Dashield and Williamson allowed as how there would need to be a special meeting of the Council to address the CFO issue, as the issue now stymies everything.

(Councilor Carter brought out that YET ANOTHER resolution, 458-09, regarding a grant for sports equipment funding would also need to be withdrawn.)

To my mind, there are TWO FURTHER QUESTIONS that this whole sorry episode raises --

1. What kind of advice is Mayor Robinson-Briggs getting from Corporation Counsel Dan Williamson that such a glaring oversight could occur? and,
   
   
2. Why, with the ability to conduct its financial affairs hanging in the balance, has the Robinson-Briggs administration not recruited a certified CFO (it's almost a year since the last CFO, Pete Sepelya, retired)?

So, is the Robinson-Briggs administration a Looney Tunes cartoon adventure or just the most inept bumblers in New Jersey?

Or is that the same thing?

---

-- Dan Damon

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New Finance & Admin director paid nearly $250K to leave former job

Plainfield's new Director of Administration and Finance was paid nearly $250,000 to resign her position as administrator with the Town of Dover (Morris County) before her contract expired, according to a report in today's Daily Record (see here).

Pursuing an OPRA request, it took the Record 15 months to get documents about the matter, though the agreement itself remains undisclosed, as both the town and Taylor (then Garvin) had agreed to its confidentiality.

---

• Daily Record: "Dover paid almost $250,000 to buy out administrator"
• City Website: "Administration & Finance"
  

-- Dan Damon

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Assembly race: Linda finally puts some skin into the game

Finally, some 'real' Stender campaign signs.

Plainfield Today readers who have been scratching their heads over the lack of any Linda Stender campaign signs are having their questions answered before their eyes, as the picture above shows.

The new white signs with blue lettering appeared on Sunday.

Jumping out of the car to get a snapshot, I had to squint to read the tiny 'paid for' line, but there it is --

'Paid for by...'

Meanwhile, Pivnichny signs are breaking out around town --

Piv signs await pickup by supporters.

and Daggett even makes an appearance -- strategically, at the flagpole at Watchung and East 7th Street, one of the city's busiest intersections.

Daggett supporters pick key location.

Despite the signs, many are undecided about who to vote for.

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-- Dan Damon

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Update: Is 'pedestrian' fatality homicide #3?

Updating Plainfield Today's post yesterday that a pedestrian was run over and killed on East Front Street Friday evening, it appears possible the incident may be Plainfield's third homicide of 2009.

Word in the street is that the male was pushed into the path of the vehicle which struck him, and that two men fled the scene on foot.

As details emerge, I wonder if my hunch that the victim may have been Hispanic and the victim of a mugging gone awry -- by individuals who may NOT have been Hispanic -- will be proven correct or mistaken. And whether the public will be given all the details.

If correct, would that make this a homicide? The city's third for 2009?

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-- Dan Damon

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