Plainfield like all communities is faced with an impossible future. There are fundamental services that must be provided or the social and material structure of the community will collapse. The problem is that everything needs funding and there is just a finite amount available and no more. Staffing and services can be cut just so much before they fail to operate. There is no quick solution and perhaps there never will be until the mandatory annual raises, the mandatory health and other perks, and the methodology of funding pension plans is subjected to draconian alterations. The power unions must accept the fact that they are continuing to act out Aesop's" Fable about the Goose who laid the Golden eggs. But that will be only a part of the solution.
Industry has temporarily solved its problems by packing up and moving to other countries. Municipalities can not do that.They are held hostage by legal obligations and union contracts. They can declare bankruptcy which has been advocated by some, but that is not practical. In many municipalities the essential unions have made major concessions to maintain a working force. In other governmental entities the powers that be have arbitrarily broken union contracts, even at the risk of suits.
As a simple minded elderly citizen who lived through the great depression I have some distorted ideas on how some of our fiscal problems can be ameliorated. The list is incomplete and will grow.
We do know that personnel costs are our biggest uncontrolled item.
One of the first is a collaborative review of municipal services, what are absolute core, what programs/ services not now emphasised deserves consideration, and what should be transferred to private sources preferably non profits. One major area of review for efficient use of personnel would be in the Public Safety Department.
The second is a reduction to just a critical mass of full time employees, supplemented by an adequate (the key word) number of part-time workers. That will result in a great savings from reducing mandatory pension plan contributions, insurance benefits and other perks. Health care a necessary item can be made available in a minimum plan with a workable co-payment from the employee. This should also be applicable to all retirement plans despite existing contracts.
Strict control of overtime, extra part time employees, volunteers including auxiliary police will help solve this problem.
Expenditure control is the key to our financial problem. The purchasing segment can not be eliminated but instead must fulfill its function. The fair and open contract is not an option. A one fee by bid for all yearly engineering services can be the rule rather than separate bids for each project. Likewise an overall retainer for legal services without supplemental increases based on time is workable. The Corporation Councils duties and responsibilities as a full time position can be spelled out.
Other areas where use of our tax dollars need whatever action is permitted by law involves the PMUA and despite its legal independence the BOE and the education system with its facilities. What services and venues the latter has that can be co-opted with the city's needs and reflected in both budgets which impact on our tax base.
By the way 60% of the first quarter tax city tax bill is for municipal taxes, the other 40% which is not broken down is for County and School System taxes.
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At the top of the list has to be sound capable management of the cities administration. Typically when you compare management skill exhibited in Plainfield to some other well run cities we are found lacking. Good managers don't offer excuses or wait for a problem to grow before taking appropriate action. Good managers are sensitive to the needs of their employees, but at the same time understand that it is their customers who must always come first. In Plainfield the citizens are the customers!
ReplyDelete8:27 You are right about capable management. But ultimately the fault is not the Mayor or Council. It belongs to the voters who elected those individuals and even more important to those who do not participate in elections.
ReplyDeleteThe Mayor does have the job to appoint the department heads and other critical officials such as the CFO. The Council gives its Approval and Consent by Charter so they have a high degree of accountability. Therefore if the important management posts are not filled due to failure of fiduciary responsibility by Mayor or Council the voters have elected incompetents. But that is Democracy.
I agree.
ReplyDeleteA list of core basic services with maybe 1 or 2 EXTRA items such as the 4th of July Parade perhaps and that's it. See where that stands and work on union concessions. If they don't want to discuss...no problem. Then you simply lay people off. The unions will get the hint when they see their dues drop.
This isn't being cruel. My boss actually talked to me once about half way through the economic downturn after having laid off almost 20% of the work force company wide that nothing killed him more than having to lay off good people who did a good job and did nothing to cause them to be let go.
He did what he had to do. We can pretend all we want but it comes down to that.
The Mayor and The City Council are going to have to do what they have to do. IF not....boot em.
That of course means Sharon has to go as well as her 2 loudest cheerleaders Reid and Rivers. ( Do you think she makes Reid and Rivers tell her how pretty she is ?? How good her outfit looks today?? Stuff like that?? Kind of like the evil queen in Snow White with the mirror...)
Doc,
ReplyDeleteThe Bible verse says the LOVE of money is the root of all evil, not, money is the root of all evil.
Come on man..
2/21/2011;9:48PM; I was not quoting the Bible or even paraphrasing it. What I am referring to is the lack of fiscal resources to meet the never ending increasing demands.
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