Thoughts on Plainfield’s Branding Challenge

Anyone who knows my family and me knows how much we love Plainfield. There are not many places where you can find a diverse community, beautiful homes, talented residents and many other assets all within 6 square miles. Furthermore, like you, I know that Plainfield has the potential to be even better. Our 2 train stations, rich housing stock, fascinating history and close proximity to major highways make us a “sleeping giant”. Unfortunately, the problem is that we are, well, asleep.

In order to wake up the Queen City, Plainfield’s leadership must address what I will call our “Branding Challenge”. I am not the first to say it and I won’t be the last: Beyond our city limits live many people who think of Plainfield as dirty, unsafe, difficult to do business with, poorly managed and stagnant. In general it is not seen as the most attractive place to live, work or shop. Re-branding Plainfield as a safe, clean, developing city with a wide appeal to a diverse group of people must be our long-term goal.

Furthermore, we don’t have to be a Westfield or a Summit or a Princeton to develop a valuable brand. We can create our own appealing brand that builds on the assets that we already have. For example, there are a number of talented professionals in the arts and entertainment industries that hail from Plainfield. Alonzo Adams, Indira Bailey, Chanj and Alrick Brown come to mind. Could the Plainfield name attract art, music and film aficionados to the Queen City? We could also focus on the richness of our diversity. We have a number of restaurants that serve different ethnic foods. Events like EthFest have been successful in the past. Could Plainfield’s brand be “The Melting Pot”?

I firmly believe that the Queen City has the potential to grow into something truly special. As my father used to say, Plainfield is “a very manageable city.” By setting the right goals, working with the administration to develop a vision for the City and ensuring that the basic foundations of safety, cleanliness and efficiency are in place, we can clean up Plainfield’s image and develop a brand that entices people to live, work and spend their hard-earned money right here.

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An Apology

I am quite behind in posts! Mea culpa! Between work, attending meeting after meeting, strategizing for the City and travelling, I have simply not given this blog the attention that it deserves. That’s the bad news. The good news is that I have been hard at work for Plainfield residents in an effort to bring about the positive change that I promised in last year’s election. I have been working on a number of initiatives that I believe will benefit the City. I will be posting more regularly on the plans that have been put in place and on progress made in several areas. Stay tuned for more.

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Celebrate. Remember. Fight Back.

Plainfield’s 3rd Annual Relay for Life is scheduled for May 30th - 31st. Relay is American Cancer Society’s signature event and all funds raised go towards a worthwhile cause - the study and treatment of cancer. In fact, most of the funds raised stay here in Plainfield and the greater Metro NJ Region to help fund support groups, provide wigs to women who have lost their hair to chemotherapy, give free transportation to treatment centers and provide free cancer screenings among other benefits.

Plainfield is fortunate to have been chosen to host a Relay for Life event as not all municipalities host one. My mother, Darlene McWilliams, is this year’s Relay for Life Chair. She has been working diligently on this cause - urging people to get involved and make a difference for the millions of people who have been affected by cancer.

I hope you will consider creating a team - does your Church, neighborhood association, or organization have a team? If not, you can create one. It's very easy to do.

You might want to join one of the 20 teams that have already been created. Each team can have up to 15 members. The McWilliams and Sloane Team is looking for team members!

Finally, consider donating. You can donate to any of the teams online or you can purchase purple ribbons as part of the “Paint the Town Purple” Campaign. Each ribbon costs $5 and can be put on your trees beginning May 1st. (The ribbon for the trees are VERY nice!)

For more information please visit: http://www.relayforlife.org/plainfieldnj

You can also reach Darlene at darlenemcwilliams@comcast.net

Why Do I Relay?

2 years have passed since my father's death and I'm still working with the American Cancer Society (ACS) to raise money needed to fight this disease. Every day crucial scientific breakthroughs are being made and critical new treatments are being developed in the fight against cancer. As a result, lives are being saved. ACS is leading this effort and the Relay for Life has become an amazing night for all those affected by cancer.

I'm dedicating this Relay to my Dad's memory and to all the girls around the world who lost their father too young. Please make a donation - $10, $50, $100 - any amount makes a difference! And please consider joining the McWilliams and Sloane Team as we walk all night long for a great cause.

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Budget Deliberations

The Council has held 2 budget deliberations meetings so far with sparse attendance. There are several more scheduled before the end of this fiscal year. I want to take the opportunity to personally invite you to attend these meetings. The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 31 at 8:00pm at City Hall Library. Your input is not only desired, but necessary.

While I am not a member of the finance committee, I did want to share some of my thoughts. Sitting in these meetings brings back memories of management courses heavily based on the teachings of Porter, Senge and Drucker. What would these management gurus say about Plainfield? Probably something simple, obvious and catchy but previously not clearly stated. For example, Plainfield should implement the “3 Ps - Priorities, Process, Performance”.

1. PRIORITIES - We need to prioritize the services we want. Having limited resources means we need to make tough decisions. Several Councilors have already suggested adopting a list of priorities and I agree whole-heartedly.

2. PROCESS - We need a yearlong budget process encompassing both passing the budget and managing it throughout the year. The Finance Committee is already working on a process to pass the budget for this year and next. I would also like to see how the Council will oversee the budget throughout the year. For example, reporting on monthly department spending would give us an idea of where we are over budget or under budget and allow us to work with the CFO to encumber department budgets when necessary. In other words, it allows for more controlled spending.

3. PERFORMANCE - We must measure the impact of spending. This will ensure that we are getting a return on our tax dollars. In addition, it sets the standard for one year so that we can raise the bar in the next year. This was discussed during budget meetings held last fall and should be continued this year.

I hope to see more residents at the next meeting.

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IT in Plainfield (Part III)

The Administration pulled the Salary Ordinance for the Director of Data Processing off the agenda tonight. I am happy to say that the Administration has promised to give the Council a detailed presentation on the creation of this position at the March 9th meeting, allowing the Council more information and time before deciding how to move forward.

Detailed presentations illustrating the thought process behind making any decision should be standard. It should be the rule and not the exception. Going forward the Council must accept nothing less. I look forward to seeing a thorough presentation by the Administration.

As I have stated before, I am committed to bringing Plainfield’s technology into the 21st Century; however, I want to make sure that the decision on HOW to do this is well thought-out and carefully considered. I am accountable to the residents of Plainfield and I have not forgotten my promises to taxpayers.

Without the support of residents via response to my blog entry, phone calls and e-mails sent to me and other Council members, I would not be reporting such an outcome. THANK YOU!

I have posed a number of questions over the past several weeks that have gone unanswered. I have listed those questions (and the suggested questions of resident Sandy Gurshman) below. Please suggest any additional questions that should be addressed next week.

1. What will be the total IT cost (best estimate will do) for the remainder of this year? What are the annualized costs?
2. How does the City plan to off-set these costs?
3. What research has been done on the possibility of a shared service agreement, either to replace or to supplement the position of a Director?
4. Are there other options? (ex: Livingston has an IT Manager at 70k/yr)
5. What are the expected outcomes of hiring a Director of Data Processing?

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IT in Plainfield (Part II)

I shared the following information at Monday night's council meeting:

On Thursday evening I called for an IT committee meeting. The Union County Director of Data Processing agreed to come in and share her opinion on creating the position of an IT Director. During our initial phone conversation she was adamantly opposed to creating this position, suggesting instead that 2 technicians would get Plainfield moving in the right direction. At the meeting, however, she presented the opposite viewpoint - that an IT Director IS needed. I was thrown off by this change in opinion; however, I wanted to share this new piece of information with the public.

If there is a need to bring in a technology professional with a high-level understanding of technological processes and systems, then we should continue to look into what options exist to meet those needs.

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IT in Plainfield

As Chair of the IT Committee, I gave a committee update at Monday’s Council meeting. The IT committee is focused on bringing Plainfield’s technology into the 21st century. There is no doubt that a strong technology infrastructure and IT vision will move the City forward.

The only option that has been discussed to address our technology need is to create a brand new position - Director of Data Processing (aka Director of Information Technology). I agree that we need better leadership and direction in this area. I do not agree, however, that the Council should create this position without an understanding of 1) the true cost to taxpayers and 2)other (less costly) options that exist to meet our needs.

Here are some facts:
1. No other municipality in Union County has an IT Director.
2. Woodbridge Township does have an IT Director, but shares the cost with Woodbridge BOE.
3. In September 2006 there was a Union County Summit on Shared Services. 18 municipal representatives attended, including Plainfield’s Carlton McGee. The consensus from that meeting - All municipalities are suffering from a poor IT structure and a shared services approach is the best approach.
4. Director of Data Processing salary ranges from $90,000 to $130,000. At that maximum number, this position would be the second highest salary in the City, costing more than any other non-union position except one.
5. The Director will not work alone. He or she will require staff and a budget for training, equipment, etc.

Here are the unanswered questions that the IT Committee has posed:
1. What will be the total IT cost (best estimate will do) for the remainder of this year? What are the annualized costs?
2. How does the City plan to off-set these costs?
3. What research has been done on the possibility of a shared service agreement, either to replace or to supplement the position of a Director?
4. Are there other options? (ex: Livingston has an IT Manager at 70k/yr)

The prevailing argument to move forward in creating this new expense is that we can’t afford to go any longer without investing in IT. I agree, we can’t. But we also can’t afford to make short-sighted decisions that would increase our budget at a time when other municipalities are taking huge actions to cut costs.

I am urging my colleagues on the Council to hold off on this decision until we are fully informed. Originally I voted to move the creation of this position forward because I was assured the Council would receive more information. We have not. Furthermore, I am not convinced that the Council will have any meaningful say in the funding of this position, once it has been created. The Administration is in charge of day-to-day operations of the City. The Council is the legislative body. While the Council votes on what the budget will be, it is ultimately the Mayor and her Administration that decide how the money is spent. Our government is set-up this way to ensure checks and balances and that is a good thing, but only if the Council makes thoughtful decisions.

I will continue to research this issue and hope to have more information by the end of the weekend.

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