Strong Financial Leadership Needed

Plainfield has not had a certified CFO for over 2 years and has suffered major vacancies in the position of Director of Administration & Finance for the last 5 years. Without a strong financial leadership team in place, the business of the City cannot be handled properly. This is an issue that should outrage all residents!

By not having these key positions filled, the City has suffered from lack of direction and oversight and poor financial planning and management. These shortcomings have manifested themselves in major ways including a late budget introduction, repeatedly unaddressed audit findings and questionable financial decision-making.

The Council is ultimately responsible for the finances of the City. We have a fiduciary responsibility to the public and cannot be afraid to insist that more be done to address any issue, especially one so critical to the basic functioning of government.

At last night’s meeting the Council had an opportunity to begin correcting this situation with the approval of Resolution 190-10. That resolution, however, failed to pass. Councilors Mapp, Storch and I voted in favor of the resolution. Councilors Burney and Reid did not. Councilors Rivers and Carter were not present at the time of the vote.

The resolution gives a brief synopsis of the current financial management situation that Plainfield is facing and why the need for a qualified CFO is so vital to the functioning of the City. Ultimately it calls on the State to appoint a temporary CFO and assist the Administration in finding a qualified permanent CFO. The language of the resolution is included at the end of this post.

The Administration made it clear that they completely oppose this resolution, arguing that the Mayor alone has the ability to appoint a CFO and that the Council would overstep its boundaries in passing such a resolution. I do not believe that this is the case as the resolution is clearly asking the STATE to make an appointment. Surely the Governor has more authority than the Mayor.

The Administration also attempted to make the case that the resolution was offensive by making it seem that the Mayor has done nothing to appoint a CFO. As I said on Monday night, this resolution is not intended to offend anyone, nor is it the intent of any Councilperson to disparage the Mayor’s efforts. This is not about the Mayor. This is about the residents of Plainfield and what is right for them.

Over the course of the week it became clear that certain members of the Council also did not agree with the resolution, believing that at the very least we should wait until after the 90 day extension from the state (the third granted) expires on July 19th. The problem here is that the Division of Local Government Services has continually granted extensions. What will cause DLS to take pause and do something different? The passing of this resolution could have done just that.

Although the resolution did not pass, I am including it on the July agenda. By then, perhaps all members of the Council will see wisdom in pressing forward and putting Plainfield First.


Councilmanic Resolution Requesting the Division of Local Government Services, in the Department of Community Affairs, to appoint a Temporary CMFO for the City of Plainfield

WHEREAS Plainfield has not had a permanent Certified Municipal Financial Officer (CMFO) since the retirement of Peter Sepelya in 2008; and

WHEREAS the lack of a permanent, Certified Municipal Financial Officer is compounded by the lack of a Director of Administration and Finance, a position that has been vacant since Bibi Taylor elevated to the position of City Administrator on Jan 1, 2010; and

WHEREAS the Plainfield City Council has not received regular monthly financial reports during the time of these vacancies thus impairing its ability to carry out its financial fiduciary responsibilities; and

WHEREAS Plainfield had many financial audit findings in the most recent annual audit, many of which were repeat findings; and

WHEREAS the FY2010 introduced budget was presented to City Council on November 23,2009, almost 5 1/2 months into the fiscal year, making it extremely difficult for the governing body to reduce a 10% introduced property tax increase; and

WHEREAS the Division of Local Government Services in the Department of Community Affairs has extended the deadline for Plainfield to fill the CMFO position for the third time to July 19, 2010; and

WHEREAS the Plainfield City Council has continually urged the Mayor to appoint a qualified candidate with no success to date,

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Plainfield City Council hereby requests the Department of Community Affairs to appoint a temporary CMFO immediately, and provide assistance to Plainfield in recruiting a qualified, permanent CMFO.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that duly authenticated copies of this resolution be forwarded to Governor Chris Christie, Commissioner of Community Affairs, Acting Director of the Division of Local Government Services, Marc Pfifer, Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs and Assemblyman Gerald Green.

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Albert T. McWilliams III in the Paper/ Update on McWilliams kids

Residents constantly ask me about how my family is doing. For those who are wondering, click on the link below.

The link will take you to an article on my little brother, Albert McWilliams III, which was published in the Sunday Edition of the Courier News. He was recently accepted into the highly competitive Institute for Responsible Citizenship and will be interning in D.C. this summer. He is doing very well at Yale University where he just completed his second year. As you can imagine, my mother and our entire family is extremely proud of him.

The article also mentions the successes of my other younger brother and sisters. Allison (21) recently graduated last month from Savannah College of Art and Design with a B.A. in Film & Television. She produced a number of short films and music videos while on campus and has her own production company – Beyond Sight Films.

Adam (17) will be graduating from Union County Magnet High School this week and attending Fordham University in the Fall. Although he isn’t sure what he wants to study, the excellent education he received at the Magnet School (a public school) has given him a college-level understanding of technology and science.

Avery (15) is a sophomore in high school and excelling in school, sports and socializing. As the youngest of 5, she is truly 15 going on 50. She is also passionate about cooking and has a gift for making delicious dishes.

***I want to thank Mark Spivey for consistently writing positive articles about Plainfield. It is easy to write controversial stories that highlight only negativity, but Mark has found many positive stories about Plainfield residents that give us all a sense of pride.


http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20100612/NEWS/100612008/1018/NEWS0401

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Congratulations to Rebecca Williams

Congratulations to Candidate-elect Rebecca Williams for a well-run and hard-fought campaign. The numbers speak for themselves and indicate that residents continue to seek positive change. Rebecca Williams is a loyal member of the New Democrats and the mastermind behind many successful campaigns, including my own. Her background as an activist and educator give her a skill set that we need to move the City forward. I have no doubt that with a favorable outcome in the general election she will bring a passionate and progressive point of view to the 2011 City Council.

I hope that Councilman Burney and long-time Plainfielder Don Davis will continue to offer their many talents to the City. It will take more than just the City Council to improve Plainfield.

Emotions run high in elections and local primaries are no “exception to the rule”. As I stated at the Democratic City Committee at which Councilman Burney was given party support, after the campaign is over, we have to put our differences aside and work together for the sake of Plainfield. Working together does not mean blind loyalty. It means checking egos at the door and leaving petty politics out of serious city business. If all City leadership does this, we can make meaningful progress.

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