Money

Slippery finances kill off jazz fest; grant writer resigns.

Word out of Trenton City Hall yesterday was that the money-losing Trenton Jazz Festival has been suspended. It was reported that a press release distributed by the Palmer administration cited lack of corporate sponsorship in these tough economic times meant there would be no festival.

No doubt that is true. But let's look a little deeper at the problem.

The festival, a vanity project of the current administration, has never made money or been self-sustaining because of bad management and poor attendance. There have been rumors of inflated talent prices along with over spending on sound and stage equipment and technicians. It is actually surprising that corporate funders didn't pull the plug on the event sooner since we doubt they ever got any sort of real accounting of how the money was spent, what the proceeds were, etc.

Interesting that Chief of Staff Renee Haynes was quoted in the Times as saying that the city's contribution has been mostly "in-kind."

The festival's budget had grown to $250,000, with the city contributing assistance worth about $50,000, said Renee Haynes, committee member and chief of staff for Mayor Douglas Palmer.

"City support has largely been in-kind, relying on the countless hours of devoted volunteers," she said. "Having the Jazz Fest be mostly self-supporting has always been within our reach, but this year it is clear that the economic conditions would not make that possible."

Last year's festival apparently lost so much money funds reportedly were taken from the city recreation budget make up the difference. Funds that might otherwise have gone to the also cancelled weekly summer music series that traditionally brought free musical entertainment to various city parks throughout July and August.

Just another example of the gross mismanagement of the city administration.

Compounding the city's fiscal mess, it appears the city's leading grant writer is leaving her post in Trenton. Nancy Diehl, the Coordinator for State and Federal Grants, is reported to be joining former business administrator Jane Feigenbaum in Perth Amboy.

Ms. Diehl has been quite successful in securing outside funds for various departments of the city government. The Trenton Police Department is but one beneficiary of her good work.

What remains to be seen is if the vacancy will be filled and with someone as competent as Ms. Diehl. Or will they let the position remain empty, thus short-sightedly saving money on wages and benefits.

The city continues to wither from neglect while the Mr. Palmer and company ignore their responsibility for the financial hole we are in. We're drowning in red ink and one of our lifeguards just quit.

Palmer out of fiscal tricks to fix budget woes

Well, at least he admits it.

Doug Palmer’s administration finally presented the budget for the current, 7 month old, fiscal year to city council last night. Banking on the completion and final approvals for the sale of the outlying water distribution system to reduce the city’s debt, the new budget calls for nine cents per $100 of assessed value increase in property taxes.

Council and citizens alike were warned of dire consequences if the sale of the outside portions of the water utility was somehow thwarted. Taxes will go up an additional $1.00 per $100 of assessed value claims acting business administrator Dennis Gonzalez in the Trentonian.

There is no doubt that the City of Trenton is in dire financial consequences. And it has been for several years.

But Palmer, at his quixotic best has pointed the finger at the State for not continually increasing aid to the capital city and not readily allowing the state parking lots to be developed for ratables. It never seemed to occur to the Man of Hiltonia or Dennis “Sancho Panza” Gonzalez to cut back city spending on non-essentials before going to personnel layoffs and asset sell offs to balance the budget.

In the Times article on the budget presentation, reporter Meir Rinde quotes Palmer’s admission that he’s never approached the problem from a long-term perspective:

"In the past, we've had Houdini-like, one-shot deals," to balance budgets, Palmer said. "They're certainly running out."

That’s right, Doug. And you were called on that fact each and every time you pulled one of those tricks out of your sleeve. But you wouldn’t listen.

Now that you may be nearing the end of your reign, you are scrambling to find ways escape for the fiscal house of cards you built collapses on you.

Too late my friend, it’s coming down and it’s coming down fast.

Something doesn't add up

The city of Trenton is facing a $25 million budget shortfall.

The state of New Jersey will give Trenton $21 million (above and beyond the $16.5 million already being paid to Trenton "in lieu of taxes" on the state properties within the city limits).

The money comes with "strings attached" and the Mayor doesn't like it.

He doesn't like the fact that he's at the Governor's doorstep, hat in hand, asking for help, but might have to rein in his profligate spending practices and file monthly reports with the state in order to keep the city solvent.

Hmm.

Mayor Palmer was quoted as saying "For them to ask us to sign this is laughable and unfair."

The Mayor went on to say that the conditions attached to the money are usually reserved for municipalities who have mismanaged their finances but implied that wasn't the situation in Trenton. Rather, it is the state's fault for not paying it's fair share of property taxes to the city and for having no other mechanism in place to hand over $21 million dollars to a city that...has what? Mishandled its finances?

Now, let's recognize right off that the problem of the state paying its fair share of property taxes has been an issue as long as Doug has held office (and before). He's known about it, talked about it and made noise about how it needs to be changed. At the same time, his financial people have known about it and had to deal with it. Yet the spending continued as if "the money were there."

So what does our city's chief executive do? He cries poor and throws good money after bad on neon fire helmets; out of town gang consultants; and stipends for non-resident cabinet level directors.

Four years ago he tried to sneak raises for himself, his directors and city council after having frozen department budgets and asking for cutbacks. When the public found out, a fuss was made, but the raises stayed.

While the Mayor (and his pet, the Police Director) have demonized the Police Unions and cursed the four-on/four-off police schedule, the number of cops on the force has decreased, homicide's have increased and overtime spiraled out of control.

They installed, touted and then cursed a video surveillance system that has failed to perform the promised crime fighting miracles (although it is reported that video footage from one camera did help in the recent solving of the Eure homicide, how many other crimes occurred under the blind eye of the faulty system?). For what purpose all this spending?

So Mr. Palmer and Mr. Santiago can point and say they are doing something. But it is just throwing money at a problem, not solving anything.

The city is losing businesses every day: restaurants, cheesecake bakeries, hardware stores, auto body repair shops. In large part this is due to the reluctance of people to shop or dine in the city out of a sense of discomfort with the less than clean streets; frequent panhandling; lack of suburban style parking convenience and increasing number of abandoned or poorly maintained buildings (including city owned ones).

The administration, through an act of city council, gives hundreds of thousands of dollars to one "connected" developer out of the Urban Enterprise Zone monies that could be better spent bolstering the small business that exist here and need help to survive.

Our hotel, financed with bonds backed by the taxpayers of the city of Trenton, was to be sold. And as part of the deal, the financing burden was going to be shifted from the wallets of Trentonians and spread to New Jersey's taxpayers as the state agreed to substitute its bonds for the city's. Sale or no sale, we're all still on the hook for the financing of the hotel.

Most recently, the Mayor proposes to sell off the part of our water distribution system that serves non-Trenton customers. It's a relatively short term financial fix at the cost of losing one of the city's greatest financial assets (or at least one with great financial potential in the coming years...if managed and maintained properly).

At the same time, the City of Trenton is cashing in it's limited financial stake in the TriGen co-generation system downtown. Again, a one shot financial fix from the sell-off of a potential future revenue source for the city.

The list goes on.

The City of Trenton is not only poorly managing it's finances, it is poorly managed.

To belittle some common sense conditions placed on the state money is irresponsible of the Mayor.

That is to say, "It is laughable and unfair."