In the current (July 2012) issue of the Trenton Downtowner, there is an article about how the Mack administration decided NOT to utilize some grant management software that was costing the city $70,000 per year for a three year contract.
In the article, it is explained that the contract was pretty much airtight and the city was on the hook for the annual subscription fee whether or not anyone used the service.
Well, guess what?
That's right. eCivis has filed a complaint against the City of Trenton asking for the $70,000 owed for year two of the contract (June 2011-June 2012) and the $70,000 for the third year (June 2012-June 2013) that was due earlier this month.
There's another $140,000 plus interest plus attorney fees that was well spent.
Showing posts with label grant writers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grant writers. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Friday, July 29, 2011
Save a cop's job
We can all agree and accept that the city of Trenton
We all recognize that there must be some severe cuts in staff and services to balance the budget.
We all recognize that there must be some severe cuts in staff and services to balance the budget.
According to the folks at Fix Trenton’s Budget, their survey showed people somewhat favored cutting spending on cops. While we won’t argue the results of the survey, we do disagree and we do wonder if people will feel the same after the police department is reduced in size by one third.
Be that as it may, what is disconcerting now and was equally questionable at the time of last November’s layoff/demotion cycle (and the May correction to that faulty process) is the continued employment of do nothing folks.
For example, the two grant writers hired by Mayor Mack. Yakial McBride (yes, daughter of now Council President and then running mate of the mayor, Kathy McBride) and Samara Lentz.
At last check, neither of these women had produced any significant grant income for the city. Ms. Lentz in particular has had her hands on two grants. One was for $25,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts to develop a reality video series spotlighting urban art. Yeah, well you can pretty much figure out how much the NEA wanted to fund that plan. $0 money received.
The second grant application was to the National Endowment for the Humanities in the amount of $400,000 to upgrade the HVAC system at Ellarslie Mansion in order to better preserve the collection at the City Museum
Between them, McBride and Lentz earn $105,000 PLUS benefits! And what do we get in return?
Now, if that isn’t bad enough what about that whip smart Management Assistant, Colin Cherry? Mr. Cherry, for those of you keeping score, is the son of Merkle Cherry. You may remember Mr. Cherry from when he was employed in the Palmer administration and his, um, departure, from that position.
Anyway, young Mr. Cherry has been assisting Business Administrator Berry with special initiatives. For instance, Mr. Cherry was working on the long promised, yet to be delivered city vehicle fleet inventory etc. That was, until Mr. Cherry was dispatched out to Ellarslie mansion (yes, the same Ellarslie Mansion
What we do know is that Mr. Cherry earns his $56,000+ salary sitting all day playing on Facebook.
Add that salary to McBride’s and Lentz’s and we are over $160,000. Before benefits.
Do you see where we're going with this?
I’ve found over $160,000 in salaries we might better spend elsewhere.
Want more?
Shortly after taking office, Mayor Mack hired two old buddies of his to work as laborers in the Water Utility: Rodney Washington and Terrance Bailey. These guys are each earning over $20 per hour/$40,000 per year before benefits and whatever overtime they might catch. They have yet to be threatened with layoffs, nor are they being disciplined for their various behaviors, lack of driver’s license, etc.
Add another $80,000 to the salaries above and we’re at $240,000 before benefits and such.
Then we have Charles Hall, son of Harold Hall. Hall the younger got tapped for a meter reader job last August pulling in $46,356 in annual salary. He seems to be safe from layoffs too.
Well, here’s my radical idea. Let’s get rid of these six people before we even utter one word about laying off cops.
Wednesday, June 08, 2011
Spin, spin, spin
Well, there you have it.
A group has come together and filed the necessary paperwork to start the recall process for Mayor Mack.
Late Monday afternoon, a response was posted on the City of Trenton website. Besides being a questionable use of city resources in the service of the Mayor trying to hold onto his position, the press release contained erroneous information along with the usual poor grammar we’ve come to expect from this administration.
In the release, it is stated that: Under the law it is the requirement of the recall committee to pay for the costs associated with the actual election.
FACT: the city foots the bill for any special elections held as a result of a recall effort. The city's statement is point blank incorrect.
And while we’re at it, the $100,000 figure touted as the cost of a recall may be a little high. But, for the sake of easy math, let’s accept it. The simple fact is that $100,000 spent on anything calculates to a tax increase of about $0.00507, or about 1/2 of 1 cent per $100 of valuation. That means if your home is assessed at $100,000, a special election would cost you $5.07 more in taxes.
It is an added cost, yes. But compared to some of the other waste that is occurring in city hall, it isn’t much.
We’re paying that much right now for the Mayor’s two “grant writers” who have produced absolutely zero in the way of revenue for the city. In fact, looking over public records, we are hard put to find even a half dozen grant applications that can be credited solely to either of these individuals. Cut them loose…save over $100,000 just in salaries and a bit more in benefits.
Don’t let the rhetoric from city hall fool you. The constant spinning of the facts have left them all a little dizzy.
A group has come together and filed the necessary paperwork to start the recall process for Mayor Mack.
Late Monday afternoon, a response was posted on the City of Trenton website. Besides being a questionable use of city resources in the service of the Mayor trying to hold onto his position, the press release contained erroneous information along with the usual poor grammar we’ve come to expect from this administration.
In the release, it is stated that: Under the law it is the requirement of the recall committee to pay for the costs associated with the actual election.
FACT: the city foots the bill for any special elections held as a result of a recall effort. The city's statement is point blank incorrect.
And while we’re at it, the $100,000 figure touted as the cost of a recall may be a little high. But, for the sake of easy math, let’s accept it. The simple fact is that $100,000 spent on anything calculates to a tax increase of about $0.00507, or about 1/2 of 1 cent per $100 of valuation. That means if your home is assessed at $100,000, a special election would cost you $5.07 more in taxes.
It is an added cost, yes. But compared to some of the other waste that is occurring in city hall, it isn’t much.
We’re paying that much right now for the Mayor’s two “grant writers” who have produced absolutely zero in the way of revenue for the city. In fact, looking over public records, we are hard put to find even a half dozen grant applications that can be credited solely to either of these individuals. Cut them loose…save over $100,000 just in salaries and a bit more in benefits.
Don’t let the rhetoric from city hall fool you. The constant spinning of the facts have left them all a little dizzy.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
GRANT WRITER \ CONTRACTS
Now this is what one might expect of an organization seeking grant writers to bring in funding to support and sustain programs.
GRANT WRITER \ CONTRACTS
While we understand that by using the technical title of "aide to the mayor" the jobs don't have to be posted and aren't subject to the normal civil service process, it would have been more transparent to go public with the search.
Unfortunately, it may have resulted in finding more qualified and experienced talent than Ms. McBride-Garnier or Ms. Lentz. Instead, we have to rely upon the Mayor's {questionable} judgment.
We at the stoop don't believe either would have made the cut if they were answering the advertisement above. Check out their resumes here.
Why do we think they are the best choice for the city of Trenton?
And what of the potential conflict of interest between a member of the Mayor's staff and a relative that sits on City Council?
Trentonians should expect more bang for their buck and appointees earning $50K plus per year should have some demonstrable experience in bring money in via grant writing.
GRANT WRITER \ CONTRACTS
While we understand that by using the technical title of "aide to the mayor" the jobs don't have to be posted and aren't subject to the normal civil service process, it would have been more transparent to go public with the search.
Unfortunately, it may have resulted in finding more qualified and experienced talent than Ms. McBride-Garnier or Ms. Lentz. Instead, we have to rely upon the Mayor's {questionable} judgment.
We at the stoop don't believe either would have made the cut if they were answering the advertisement above. Check out their resumes here.
Why do we think they are the best choice for the city of Trenton?
And what of the potential conflict of interest between a member of the Mayor's staff and a relative that sits on City Council?
Trentonians should expect more bang for their buck and appointees earning $50K plus per year should have some demonstrable experience in bring money in via grant writing.
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