COUNCIL AGENDA FIXING SESSION #4

This last segment “report” about Council’s Agenda Fixing Session is by now superfluous since the discussion about the 2013 audit presented by CFO Al Steinberg and Bob Swisher of the auditing firm Supplee has been well documented days earlier by both Bernice in her blog “Plaintalker II” and Dan Damon in his “Plainfield Today’.

It is important to understand that although Plainfield did pass on 41 of the 50 “Best Practices” State questionnaire and thus attained an 82 % score which was about the minimum needed to keep it eligible to receive its full share of State Aid this year; there is nothing to be satisfied or proud of.

Steinberg did allude that it took some innovative reasoning to justify a yes answer to some of the questions.

The Robinson-Briggs Administration’s complete lack of any desire to have required and needed fiscal controls was apparent to all and was abetted by a friendly Council that refused to force her to appoint full time certified CFO’s or enforce established purchasing procedures.

Yes, each year every member of the Council received a copy of the Audit including a list of corrections that had to be made. Each year every Councilor signed a group affidavit that he/she had read and understood the Audit and the recommendations. Was there perjury?

Each year the same lack of financial controls were reported for correction. Yet Monday night member’s of this present Council seemed stunned by the picture that CFO Steinberg and Auditor Swisher painted.

As expected both Reid and Taylor had comments about how Mapp’s administration must proceed to remedy all the problems. Ignoring that this audit was for 2013,one even remarked about how Mayor Mapp had contrary  to procedures  taken funds from one salary line to pay an employee in another position; forgetting that Councilor Reid still finds no wrong in Mayor Robinson-Briggs using without Council approval $20000.00 designated for one purposed to pay for another unrelated program.

Sad to say that in answer to a question if there could be criminal procedures against individuals for certain mis-allocations it was noted that the statute of limitations had already prevented such action in some cases.

We are still awaiting some report on the tangle finances of Recreation.

More than ever the facts revealed Monday night call for that long desired forensic audit which should start with 2013 and go back as far as legally  possible. There were enough errors and malpractices that would not only overlook petty theft but  hide major embezzlement of  city funds.

Since it may be too expensive for the City alone, the State or even the Feds should  be partners in that audit. Let the chips fall where rhey should.
 .

We would also like to know how the State Agencies responsible for municipal oversight could have ignored all the flagrant violations.