THE LAST DAY OF MAY

As I posted yesterday, my morning from 8; 30 am was filled by a medical study and in the afternoon I was not up to writing my blog.

As one gets older the body does change and often need repair or restorative action. Fortunately to the best of my incomplete information my status quo will remain.

Regretfully I did have to miss Thursday night’s meeting; one which I considered to be an ill-advised exercise. The results were predetermined and the argument brought no credit to those who voted for the Resolution. Most like they will end up with mud in their faces.

However this was a Council Meeting and of interest as are all to the public. Whomever decided that it should not be taped for showing on PCTV and YouTube did a disservice to the City residents. Was it the Mayor or the members of the Council who made that decision? We are entitled to know.

 10:30 am- I understand that I was misinformed; the meeting was taped but at Council expense. Supposedly Administration  stated that there was not money in budget to do anything but the Regular meetings. What an unfortunate position.

I too received the flier with the letter attributed to Senator Sweeney. There are too many phrases in that letter which suggests that it was written at best by members of Green’s staff.

I too have written to Sweeney requesting a reply as to whether if wrote it or even authorized his signature. I will post the reply if ever received.

The rest of the flier is typical Green distortion. “Nuff said”!

NOTICE

Due to an early morning diagnostic study today there will be no blog.

Under ACA diagnostic studies are frowned upon, however if it is to confirm or rule out a condition  then it is OK. Enforcing such a interpretation is difficult but will be used  by payers to keep costs down. There will be many studies that should be done that will be omitted because  of fear that it will not be covered.SAD.

I can not resist this; after reading about JG's call to Bernice. Did you receive the "Special letter from NJ's highest ranking Democrat" paid for by the "Jerry Green for  Assembly". There may be good Republicans because the New Democrats are being labeled "Tea Party Extremists".

We now have a new villain responsible for our losing Muhlenberg; Ron West. I have been in error for always blaming Assemblyman Green for not using his influence as the second most important man in the Assembly to try to prevent that catastrophe. I apologize Jerry.

I wonder if Sweeny did write this letter or is it a figure  of imagination from the Plainfield Democrat Committee's chairman. It is too much like some of his (Green's) attacks in other campaigns.

LAST WORDS ON BUDGET MEETING

A final blog about the 2014 budget.

Edmund Burke (1729-1797) said "Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it."

But credit for that comment is most often given George Santayana (1863-1952) who wrote in The Life of Reason (1905-1906):
"Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. When change is absolute there remains no being to improve and no direction is set for possible improvement: and when experience is not retained, as among savages, infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

What occurred in the past 8 years in Plainfield was the topic of much of the post vote discussion in both the Public Comment period and in the subsequent Council apologia.  

Ex-Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs in the Public Comment Session Tuesday night praised the council for its action recalling how seemingly all by himself, “Mapp” refused to fund her personal secretary  Barbara James and did not see the need of a Recreation division conveniently forgetting that there were many unanswered questions about finances in that division.

She did not approve of the new Director of Economic Development Sanchez praising the invisible accomplishments of Jacques Howard during her administration.

During the apologia following the vote approving the amended budget, Councilor Storch pleaded that we should forget what happened during the past and move forward to make it possible for Mayor Mapp to carry out his plans to revitalize Plainfield.

Reid gave a soliloquy about how it was necessary to trim the budget so that the high taxes that the seniors had to bear would not be increased, and how he was dedicated to supporting the Mayor.

Greaves said something or other. And Taylor remarked that we should remember the past in order that we would know the future.

And so it goes on. Since Robinson-Briggs tried to act as a full time Mayor at times also acting as the City Administrator she could not see why there was a need for Chief of Staff. And here I am more confused than ever but I think she remarked that she had had a Public Information Director, “Terry somebody” who perhaps Mapp refused to fund. Anyhow he was gone almost before he was here. Thus we do not need one now.

Of course Taylor is right but seemingly for the wrong reasons. We cannot forget the past but it will not foretell the future. We look back at the past 8 years to realize what harm a dysfunctional government both Administration and Council can do to our City.

If this 2014 Council would act as the members claim to do, I could no longer refer to Plainfield as OZ.  On the other hand these meetings are indicative of what this year will be , then I hope that next Tuesday the voters  make certain that the 2015 Council will be different.

SPECIAL MEETING

As expected the special Council meeting to approve the amended budget passed by a 6-0 vote. Councilor Williams has a class on Tuesday night so she missed the vote. Councilor Storch accepted the inevitable and after expressing his regrets over the Council’s action of not funding the position of Chief of Staff and Public Information Officer vote with the majority.

With the exception of PMUA Commissioner and 2/3 Ward candidate Eke and former Mayor Robinson-Briggs all the public speakers  expressed dismay over the Councils action which all felt was short sighted and not in the best interests of the city.

After the Public Comment session before adjournment, Council President Rivers remarked that she was very upset about the Mayor using the PCTV to make a “political speech” being critical of the council.

In response to her query to Corporation Counsel Minchello about the legality of Mapp using the PCTV facilities for his “personal” political reasons.

The Corporation Counsel responded that he could find nothing illegal or even unethical in the tapes of that broadcast. But, that would not prohibit the Council from passing a resolution at a Special Meeting called for Thursday 5/29.

Both Councilors Greaves and Taylor remarked how disturbed they were about what “if not illegal was very unethical”.

Councilor Reid in a long discourse remarked that he was supportive of the Mayor but had to prevent a raise in taxes which were becoming a burden on the elderly. He would continue to see that the Mayor would be able to govern.