As if We Needed More Reasons to Recall!

At this point in time, 494 days into the Administration of Trenton Mayor Tony F. Mack, I for one don’t think we need any more reasons to recall the man form his office. His term has been one disaster after another. Multiple and frequent occasions of incompetence shown since July 2010 are now being joined by charges of corruption and illegality. There is certainly enough of a public record on which he should be shit-canned from office as soon as the law allows.

But, like a gift that keeps on giving, today’s newspapers give us two more examples why each and every day that Tony Mack remains in office damages the City of Trenton and its citizens more and more.

One of the more than 150 persons laid off in September of this year was the city plumbing inspector. His position cost the City budget $111,000 in wages and benefits, but his inspections generated $131,800 in permit fees paid to the City during the 2010-2011 budget year, according to the Matt Fair story in today’s Trenton Times. Seems like the position paid for itself; why lay the guy off?

Good question! The State Department of Community Affairs (DCA) was “not pleased that the city of Trenton created a problem for itself by laying off its only plumbing inspector,” according to a DCA spokesperson. What kind of problem? Well, the City is still required to have someone perform plumbing inspections in homes and businesses. If the City doesn’t have an in-house person, it has to hire an outside contractor.

Which we have. Trenton has hired a Jersey City-based company, EIC Inspections, to perform those mandatory inspections. The Times is unclear as to what the total financial arrangements are, but according to the newspaper article and EIC’s website, Trenton will only receive 15% net of the proceeds of permit fees, the remaining 85% going to the contractor. And the contractor doesn’t do any of the other work that our employee used to do, just plumbing inspections.

It’s not a good situation, a judgment which our “Acting” Director of Inspections Cleveland Thompson agrees with. Last week at Council, he said “I’ve been working in this [Inspections] department for 22 years. I’m going to tell you, and I’ve said it over and over, hiring a third party is not going to work in the city of Trenton.”

On paper, this layoff was a bad decision. In practice, it was a bad decision, and just provides one more example of an Administration that can’t tell the difference between a bad decision and a hot rock.

Speaking of “Acting” Directors, Mr. Mack’s current AD of Housing and Economic Development, Carmen Melendez,  is reported today to be in judgment for over $90,000 in unpaid business loans connected to her real estate business in Trenton. That story is in a newspaper piece in today’s Times by Lisa Coryell. Now, I’ve said often that I don’t necessarily hold a person’s individual financial condition against them. These are hard times, Trenton’s a poor city, stuff happens in people’s lives. But for our Director of Economic Development – perhaps the city’s key player in trying to market our city to outside investors for redevelopment and improvement – to be publicly known to be a deadbeat in her own real estate business?!?!?!

Who thought appointing a person like this would be a good idea? Oh, yeah…

So this morning brings news of yet more occasions of two of Tony Mack’s signature management failings: policy decisions and personnel appointments. Add them to the list!

That this list is an ever-lengthening one may be why I was informed via a Press Release today that five former Mayoral Candidates are today endorsing the recall movement. A release from the Recall Committee announces that John Harmon, Eric Jackson, Paul Pintella, Manny Segura and Frank Weeden will today publicly add their names to those calling for the Mayor’s removal.

Thanks, and Good Luck to them!

You have one more week to sign the petition to Recall, if you haven’t already. You can go down to the recall office at 830 Lalor Street, or call them at 609.614.0668. Do it today.