THOUGHTS ON READERS COMMENTS

If one could believe the comments that we blogger receive it would become evident that Plainfield's problems are solely due to ether Assemblyman Green ,or the New Democrats, or just Councilor Storch or Burney, or Mayor Briggs, although some would blame former President Bush or even the less than 3% of registered voters who claim to be Republicans. There is no middle ground expressed in these postings.

If the truth were to be told, none of the above by itself could be the source of our sad state. The real villain encompasses all of the above and more. In fact the political system which encourages patronage, nepotism, and favoritism is the real culprit, not any one of the mentioned factors.

Public apathy plus personal agendas that encourage accepting , to some. a "benevolent", party boss who for years is reappointed constitutes the core problem. This is manifested by the Council's desire to have a harmonious relationship with the executive branch. Occasionally Councilors speak out in opposition but that seems to be for popular consumption rather than a sincere desire for the Council to exert its fiduciary responsibility.

For years the Auditors have called attention to excessive amounts of transfers of funds between various accounts, as well as the existence of a great number of "inactive" bank accounts. Yet the Councilors sign off on the annual audit without insisting that these financial irregularities be corrected.

Too many contracts are awarded to "State approved vendors" by the so call "fair and open process' or through the exemption of "professional contracts" from competitive bidding. Provisions in the City's Charter or mandated by State Statues are glossed over if not completely ignored. The role of the CFO in these matters is non existent. There is no proof or record that the City is getting the best bang for its dollar.

There is no followup of actions taken and often no record of having been fulfilled. The Dudley house being an example.

When an inappropriate action may have been taken there is no evidence that an attempt to correct has occurred. The recent awarding of a large grant contract to a firm with no experience in that specific field resulted in this email to me from an anon: " Local Public Contracts Law may permit the City the leeway to engage in sham bidding, but it doesn’t allow for violating Federal and State laws pertaining to the use of funds. I think the law is pretty clear on this. I find it pretty amazing how weak this Council appears." To date neither Administration or Council has rebutted the writer's concern.

The Charter was written to provide for "checks and balances" between the Administrative and Legislative bodies. If the Council does not get the reports it desires it can not function. If Council does not mandate the receipt of those reports it ignores its responsibility to the citizens.

It should be obvious that until the City's financial controls are operative there is little accounting how our tax dollars are being used or misused.