From the inbox

The following arrived in our inbox several times overnight:

Citizens for Appropriate Mayoral Compensation

Somewhere the question arose. And now it is moving thru out the City,” Why are we paying Mayor Mack so much, to do so little?” People are saying that he is excessively over paid. His results are simply not worth the $126,460, annual salary we pay him.

A committee of citizens in favor of appropriate mayoral compensation has formed. Their goal is to build citizen support to move City Council to enact an ordinance reducing Mayor Mack’s compensation to an amount more appropriate for his disappointing level of performance.

Upon taking office, Tony Mack fired every Director in the City administration. He then proceeded to appoint family and friends with little or no experience to these leadership positions: Hardly meritorious performance on his part.

After cooperatively approving his initial appointments against their better judgment, City Council refused to continue approving ill chosen new appointments to those same positions. Tony Mack side-stepped the permanent appointment process by using Acting Director status appointments. We are almost half way thru Mack’s four year term of office. And we have Acting Directors, open positions: Scandalous time keeping for pay purposes, and incompetent employees in many positions. This is not why we pay Tony Mack $126,000 a year.

City Council needs to pass a new ordinance reducing his honor’s pay to something like $80,000 a year, or less. Here is the ordinance.

AN ORDINANCE TO FIX THE COMPENSATION FOR THE OFFICE OF MAYOR,

PROVIDING FOR THE PUBLICATION OF COMPENSATION ORDINANCES FOR

CERTAIN OFFICERS AND REPEALING ORDINANCES INCONSISTENT HEREWITH.

WHEREAS, pursuant to the provisions of the Faulkner Act, N.J.S.A.

40:69A-43a.,40:69A-180 and general municipal law, N.J.S.A. 40A:9-

165, the power to fix the compensation for the offices of Mayor,

City Clerk, Business Administrator, Department Directors, and

City Council Members is required to be exercised by the adoption

of an ordinance; and

WHEREAS the City Council finds that it is in the public interest

That the compensation of the office of Mayor be adjusted and

Fixed at an amount commensurate with the current economic

Circumstances of the City of Trenton and that it and all other

Compensation ordinances shall be restored to published status

along with all published ordinances of the City of Trenton and be

readily accessible by the public; now therefore, be it

ORDAINED by the City Council of the City of Trenton as Follows:

1. Effective January 1, 2012, the annual monetary

compensation for the office of the Mayor shall be $80,000.00.

2. Any other provision of the Administrative Code or other

ordinance or instrument which provides for any monetary

compensation other than the amount of money set forth in Section

1. above or is otherwise inconsistent with the provisions of this

ordinance is hereby abrogated, repealed and superseded to the

extent of such inconsistency.

3. The City Clerk is hereby directed to provide for the

inclusion of the foregoing amendment of the Administrative Code

to become published along with the other published portions of

the City of Trenton Ordinances along with any and all future

revisions thereof and to respond to public inquiry with regard

thereto without requiring the formality of a written request for

access to public information.

4. Effective Date. An emergency having been declared with

respect to the effective date of hereof, this ordinance shall

become effective upon final approval and publication.

If you agree that Mayor Mack is over-paid, you should e-mail your Council Person and tell him to introduce and vote for this ordinance. Send your e-mail to Linda Kelsey, Council Aid,

lkelsey@trentonnj.org , and ask her to distribute it to each Council member.

You should also call your Council person and urge him to introduce and vote for this ordinance. All of them can be reached at their office telephone, 609-989-3146 .

And finally, you need to attend City Council meetings and ask them to introduce and pass this ordinance.

Please plan to attend the next Council meeting Thursday, February 16, at 5:30. If each of you do that, Council will be compelled to do your will, and will enact this ordinance. Then the Mayor will be paid a salary more appropriate for his level of performance in these poor economic times.

Please feel free to share this wonderful request with your friends and relatives. Encourage them to make a difference by joining this effort for more appropriate Mayoral compensation.

From your committee of Citizens for Appropriate Mayoral Compensation.