Instead I will proceed to the root of Plainfield's problems; Financial accountability.
The first question I raised was; Has the lack of a competent financial officer affected the procurement of grants? We can only surmise that it has. There have been campaign accusations and denials by both major factions on this issue.Facts have been absent. The only truth is that during this administrations 31/2 years there have been FOUR Directors of Finances;
- Bonapart who had been demoted from his position of City Administrator under McWilliams and remained as CFO until he found an administrator's position elsewhere. He doesn't count for or against Sharon's leadership.However the next three do.
- Carlton McGee who left under a cloud.
- A.Rafail Daniel who left suddenly for undisclosed "personal and/or family reasons)
- Douglas Peck, who could not be bonded. He was responsible for a 1.3 million dollar error in the preliminary budget submitted to Trenton . Mr. Peck had previously done some consulting for PMUA, which was perhaps how he became a candidate for this position. His tenure was short and his leaving abrupt and unplanned.
- For prolong periods of time Dashields has done double duty as City Administrator and also as the financial division's director.
The next question; Has the 'gaffs"in the budgetary process impacted on the taxpayer's burdens? has an obvious answer, Yes.! It has taken number manipulation and use of the irresponsible fiscal pension payment deferral plan to balance a 10 month overdue budget.
We will probably never have a complete audit that answers the following; How many contracts have slipped through the cracks? It seems that there have been several this past year that have required retroactive Council approval.
We can only surmise that NO is the answer to next three questions which may be related to this State's pay to play practices ; Is the methodology of awarding contracts been to the financial betterment of the City? Has the most qualified professional vendor been awarded contracts when financially competitive? Is there a mechanism to award contracts to the best qualified vendor when not the lowest bidder? Penny wise decisions may be dollar foolish.
To any one who has followed the Council this past Fiscal Year there can be only one answer to; Is the budgetary process realistic? It is a required farce.
Other questionable practices during this Administration include the lack of centralized purchasing. This is a fault that can lead to corruption and can not be corrected by new fangle electronic IT. Basic policy has to be enforced and section heads that bypass the chain must be eliminated.
Again, each candidate should expound on their answers to these questions. Vague theoretical or whimsy statements are unacceptable. For most of these questions there can only be concrete answers.
Word on the street is that Annie McWillaims is not supporting Mapp. Drive down her house and no Mapp sign.
ReplyDeleteShe was being coerced into an endorsement but none will come.
Now what does she know that others do not know? Makes you wonder.
No leadership from Mapp is what is plain for all to see - even a 24 year old can see it plainly.
Why is it that people continue to spread silly "word on the street" innuendo and lies about "coercion" on the part of the New Democrats campaign? So far as I have seen, Mr. Mapp has tried to stick to the issues about Plainfield and discussing the mayor's record. Green is the one who has been posting vicious and false information about Mapp, Estevez, Storch, whoever he has in his sights on a given day. I am a very close friend of the McWilliams family and these lies are just not true and they hurt Annie and Adrian and serve no good purpose. Rashid Burney and his wife are running on Mayor Robinson-Briggs ticket for democratic committee seats but they don't have her signs plastered all over their lawn. Does that mean they aren't supporting Sharon? It's silly. I hope that come June 3, whatever happens, these rumormongers will go away. They hurt our city.
ReplyDelete