Good to see our Council – as a whole – stake out some independence last night, as they voted to deny the Administration the ability to lay off city employees with 20 or more years tenure. At a time when the administration is considering consolidation of the city’s departments and agencies in the wake of massive layoffs and budget retrenching, and at the same time also not moving forward with finding permanent leadership for city departments, it doesn’t strike me as a good move to layoff nearly 20 individuals with valuable experience and institutional memory.
Yes, I realize that if several departments are going to be merged, it might be hard right now to recruit a Director-level person whose job might be eliminated in a few weeks. But does anyone think that the job of Police Director, or Fire Director, or Business Administrator would be struck from the city’s rolls? The clock is ticking toward the end of the 90-day statutory limit on temporary appointments to cabinet-level jobs. Since there seems to be no movement on that process, I applaud Council for blocking the move to lose the senior staff-level employees.
However, it is a disappointment that Council’s action came via a 3-3 vote. That there was a bloc short of 1 vote who thought the proposal made sense is unfortunate. Thanks to Council members Muschal, Chester and Reynolds-Jackson for that vote. You can always revisit the issue when you have more solid information about any proposed reorganization and consolidations. Better to do that than grant a blank-check authority now. Too bad the other three members of Council didn’t see it the same way.
Another encouraging development was the announcement this week about a plan to renovate the tennis courts and facilities in Cadwalader Park. The plan is not yet fully funded, still requiring donations of several hundred thousand dollars, no simple task in these times. But the way this was rolled out – with an announcement of a large piece of anchor funding from a federal Community Development Block Grant already in hand to give the project credibility, the presentation of a solid fundraising team in the person of Albert Stark and and outside institutional partner National Junior Tennis and Learning of Trenton – was solid and professional. Not like the stillborn Library funding plan from July. Again, although there is a lot of work to be done on the tennis plan before it is made real, it’s off to a promising start. More efforts like this, please.
Unfortunately, the ongoing mess at the Board of Education, as seen on Tuesday at a state senate hearing. Our school managers did not come out week from that hearing. This hearing was inevitable after the audit report two months ago unearthed irregularities in the BOE’s lax oversight of special education and home instruction. The news from Superintendent Rodney Lofton that there are criminal investigations under way in this matter comes as no surprise to anyone who read the audit report.
The most damaging quote in the Times’ article this week came from Mark Cowell, the fiscal monitor appointed by the state this past spring to oversee Trenton BOE’s operations as a result of these irregularities. His take on the question of how the BOE could have been so irresponsible:
“You know, when there’s a lot of money you can cover up a lot of things, because you have extra money, you can pay for different items you weren’t anticipating,” Cowell told the senators. “But with the reduction in their state aid, it really pointed out some glaring problems that were in the district.”
Wow. That is a stunning indictment of financial mismanagement. It’s backed up with proof, though. In that same hearing, Superintendent Lofton testified that spending for home instruction plummeted from $1 Million in the 2008-2009 school year, down to $200,000 last year, a reduction of 80%!
I would guess that with the State Senate holding hearings, and with grand juries involved in criminal investigations, there may not be much room for the City to get involved. But it would be nice if City Council invited the Superintendent down to City Hall to hear about what steps he – and the state monitors – are taking to clean up the mess going forward. The Mayor should step forward to indicate whether he continues to have confidence in his Superintendent and his Board of Ed, most of whom he has inherited from the previous administration, or whether he will continue the process of putting new people in.
Mr. Cowell’s observation could also apply to the City’s own financial operations. Up until this year, with extensive state aid filling the holes in our operational budget, is it possible that City Hall was also, you know, “covering up a lot of things?” Hmmm????
Good to know that there are reorganization plans begin discussed. They should go forward with a good, detailed solid look at our operations over the last few years. We need to consolidate, and we need an audit.
Cowell’s quote reminds me of Warren Buffett’s line to the effect that only when the tide goes out do you see who has been swimming naked.
Ha! That’s a great quote, and boy is it appropriate!
The sewer utility was once an organization which you rarely heard about. That is because it is well run. It will now be losing over 100 years of experience due to layoffs. Initially ther will be savings but the utility itself will be doomed to failure. The funny thing is that the damage has already been done. The folks being laid off are licensed professionals who are already finding jobs.
Before you know it 100 plus years of experience at the Trenton Sewer Utility will be out the door. You never hear about TSU because it is well run. This will soon end. It is doomed to failure. The funny thing is the licensed professionals being laid off are quickly finding jobs even in this depressed economy. The damage is done.