KISS

As in, “Keep It Simple, Stupid!”

This morning’s Times features an article by Erin Duffy describing a budget workshop held last night by City Council to review the Public Works departmental budget, under “Acting” Director Harold Hall.

In short, it’s a shambles. Read the article for details. Two phrases say it all: “soaring overtime costs” and a “bevy of account deficits that dotted budget documents.”

According to the article, Council members “grew increasingly frustrated with acting public works director Harold Hall and department spending they said willfully ignored budget constraints.” However frustrated they may have been, there was no action taken last night, due to the fact that the session was a budget workshop and not a regular business session for Council.

Business Administrator Sam Hutchinson did promise sweeping new procedures and policies to tighten up purchasing and expenses, because in his words “I agree totally that in many areas, even small control and accountability have been lacking, lacking and perhaps even nonexistent.”

New controls will be good, but in the case of Public Works, that announcement constitutes closing the barn door after the cows have left. Or, since this is the City of Trenton we are talking about, closing the barn door after the barn has burned down.

May I suggest something a little more immediate and perhaps more effective in the short term? In the interest of Keeping It Simple, of course!

At the next Council meeting, one member of Council should say something like the following:

“Madame President, after reviewing the condition of the budgetary controls at the Department of Public Works – or to be more precise their total lack – and, considering other problems within the Department we have discussed, I believe that the current leadership of the Department has proved its failure. Accordingly,  as provided in the Ordinances of the City of Trenton, Section 2-9, Chapter A. (2), in which Council is granted the power to remove any Municipal officer other than the Mayor or a Council member, I move that the current Acting Director Harold Hall, also having far exceeded his statutory maximum term of 90 days as Acting Director, be subject to removal from his position for cause. I also move to schedule the required hearing as early as  possible, preferably ten days from now, the minimum time required by law. Madame President, let’s start throwing the rascals out!”

There. Simple.

Nearly every day we see more and more examples of the sorry state the departments of our City Government is in. This morning, we read of yet more.

We can’t fix these departments overnight. But a huge part of the problem is the leadership in these departments. That has been frequently, repeatedly demonstrated.

Why keep these guys around? What is holding Council back from firing these guys and kicking their sorry asses out of City Hall, starting with Harold Hall? This has apparently been in the works for a while; what is holding this up?

Don’t get “frustrated,” guys. You can DO something about this!

What is NOT simple about this???