DEPARTMENTS

The previous post Clerk and Lawyers was very pedantic because various sections of State regulations (laws) and our charter not only seemed to be the basis for our present determination of appointment but also how we can alter the process.

Today the focus is on the departments; not only their present structure but a solution that could make them more efficient. By charter there are 3 departments although the “City Site” lists 4 including the Corporation Counsel. 

All report to the City Administrator a position that for long periods of time has gone  unfilled.

The size of these Departments varies from one of 3 Divisions (one recently added) to 8 divisions one of which has 8 subdivisions. The larger Departments all contain a mishmash of divisions, many of whom have no obvious relationship with each other.

Administration & Finance   contains (1) Division of Tax Assessments, (2) Tax Collector, (3) Audit & Control, (4) Purchasing, (5) Municipal Court, (6) Information Technology/media, and (7) Health & Social Services.

The  later has subdivisions:1-WIC program,2-Vital Statistics,3-Bilingual day care center, 4-Animal Control, 5-Communicable Diseases, 6-Personnel Division,7-Plainfield Action Services , and 8-Senior Citizen’s Services Center.

It is obvious that within this last Division there are subdivisions that do not have any conceivable relationship with each other. This is similar to the divisions themselves: such as Audit and Control with Municipal Court?

 

Likewise Public Works and Urban Development is as diversified as the CityYard, Inspections, Public Works (Streets/Trees etc), Engineering, Building, , Recreation, Economic Development- which is elated to, Planning, and something called Community Development which administers a multimillion dollar Community Block Grant program, emergency repair funds for seniors, and temporary housing. This division has nothing to do with the City Yard or Planning.

Public Affairs and Safety recently added Emergency Management to its two Divisions; Police and Fire.

The FAULKNER Act being used as a guide originally designated a limit of 3 Departments but added the option of up to 7 when the charter would be granted. I propose 5 that I believe are logical.

1)   Administration

a            Municipal Court

                  Personnel

c                   Senior Citizens Center

d                  IT

e                 PCTV

f                  Recreation

g                Plainfield Action Services

                 Vital Statistics

i                  Social Services

i)     WIC

ii)   Bilingual Program

2)   Finance

            Tax Assessments

            Tax Collector

c           Purchasing

            Audit and Control

3)   Public Affairs and Safety

      Fire Department

          Police Department (should be headed by a Chief not broken up into  

        6 or so Bureaus reporting to a civilian Department head.) 

                       Emergency Management

d        Health (This is a Public Safety problem)

i)     Communicable Disease

ii)   ??

e         Animal Control

4)   Public Works

a         Inspections

            Public Works: Trees etc.

c          Buildings

d          Engineering

5)   Urban Development

            Planning

            Economic Development

            Community Development –although this seems to me to belong to               Administration

These are just one man’s suggestions but I believe that the present plan has resulted in Department heads that have little knowledge of their Divisions. Department heads at these above levels should not command as high salaries and we should be rewarded with greater efficiency.