The little man with the outsized ego

Mayor Tony Mack was arrested Monday on federal charges of conspiracy. He was arrested along with his brother, Ralphiel, and JoJo Giorgianni.

That is old news.

While Trentonians breath a little sigh of relief that something, finally, is being done about the inept and allegedly corrupt Mack administration, the saga has not ended.

We say that because the arrest was just the first step in the process of bringing Tony and Ralphiel and
JoJo to justice. Next comes the grand jury and (expected, but not guaranteed) indictments. Then, months later, a trial.

In the mean time, Tony Mack is still the sitting Mayor. He still has the authority and power granted him under state law.

And that brings us to the point of this post.

Tony Mack, as reported in today's Times, has no intention of stepping aside and letting someone else run the city while he deals with his legal issues.

Tony Mack, no matter how much we want to think otherwise, is still "in charge."

We cannot forget or overlook that. We must continue to scrutinize everything that is done; every penny that is spent; and whether or not proper process and procedure is being followed.
T
here are still thousands of dollars of expenditures out of the Recreation budget that were not properly explained, contracted for or approved by council.

We still don't know whether radio station WIMG ever aired a single commercial for the $12,000 the city paid them last June.

We still don't know what Herb Ames and the Capital Region Minority Chamber of Commerce did with the $12,000 the city contributed to it in two installments over the past year.

What we do know is that Mayor Tony Mack is not any more likely to change his way of doing business than confidant and aide Anthony Roberts is likely to change his taste for garish, striped suits.

Take for just one, small example city Purchase Order #12-00211.

This purchase order in the amount of $170.00 is made out to Trenton Photographers and Video. It is for 4, 8x10 Color Portraits of the Mayor, in a step-up mat and frame.  The bill was paid out of account number 01- 10 -1000 -299 which is the budget line for the Mayor's Office, Other expenses.

Again, the amount, $170.00, is not terribly significant. The purchase is, however, indicative of how our Mayor's tiny little brain and out sized ego works.

While the documents don't state it specifically the fact that there are four of these portraits suggests that they might be destined to hang, one each, in the Mayor's Learning Centers.

The timing of the purchase is interesting. The invoice was placed May 31, 2012, the requisition and PO are dated July 16, 2012.

The order was apparently placed late in FY2012 at the same time that the first three Learning Centers were being opened and the fourth was being worked on and while questions were being raised about the Mayor's free spending ways.

The purchase was completed and paid for out of FY2013, a new budget year. Coincidentally, the requisition and PO were dated just two days prior to the FBI providing a surprise wake-up call to the Mack residence in the early morning hours of July 18.

There is another interesting bit about the requisition and PO.  Both are signed by Anthony Roberts.

Normally, wouldn't one party complete the requisition and another sign off on the PO? You know, just to provide a little bit of control over spending?
And under what power, what position, what title is Mayoral Aide Anthony Roberts authorized to sign city purchase orders? He hasn't been the "acting" BA since Mr. Hutchinson came on board in mid-April.

Certainly the dollar cost of this purchase is small potatoes in the grand scheme of things. It remains symbolic of the Mayor's belief that he is above the law and that the meager resources of our beleaguered city are there to serve him, not the other way around.

How many other purchases have been requisitioned and/or approved by Anthony Roberts with no proper authorization beyond "the Mayor wants it?"

How much in tax dollars and state aid has been wasted merely to stroke the overreaching ego of our inept and ineffective Mayor?

Things will not improve until Tony Mack is no longer Mayor of the City of Trenton. And the sooner that happens, the better.

On the air

See if you can follow this one:

On May 20, 2011 Maggie Morris Guzzardo, the CEO of radio station WIMG, drafted a letter outlining three advertising packages. (all the documents referenced in this piece can be found here)

The letter has a fax stamp of 6/1/2011 and reads in part:

“Please keep in mind that this proposal is flexible and that we can adjust any aspect mentioned. Advertising may include any project or event the City of Trenton wishes to promote. This may include housing projects, camps, pool schedules, city recycling and/or trash collection revisions due to holidays, special recreation events, city updates or a special address to the public.”

The three packages described are for 125, 175 or 200 sixty-second commercials run over a three month period, July 1, 2011 – September 30, 2011.  The prices quoted are for $7,500, $10,500, and $12,000 respectively. 

Per the letter:

“Each package includes Mayor Mack’s monthly appearance on Trenton Talks segment ‘In The Public Interest’ every first Tuesday of the month at 6:00pm. This is an added value {emphasis added} of $1,000 per show.”

The city apparently contracted for the $12,000 package because they paid that amount to WIMG with check number 182074 dated 6/15/12 and signed by the mayor.

The questions are many.

First, as a public official, why was Mayor Mack’s “monthly appearance” on the radio considered an “added value” to the contract?

Would Mayor Mack not have had a regular monthly appearance on the station without buying the advertising?  Plenty of people have made regular, semi-regular or solo appearances on public service programs and they don’t pay for the privilege. Why would anyone put a dollar value on the Mayor’s appearances?

Did Mayor Mack actually make all three appearances that were “included” with advertising package?

What of these 200 radio commercials, just what were they used for? What did they promote or inform the public of? Nobody seems to know.

An OPRA request for documents pertaining to the content of these 200 radio commercials got the following response:

“…your request was sent to all departments who might be able to provide you this information. All departments have responded that they do not have the documents that you are requesting. We will now consider this OPRA completed/closed.”

Nowhere in city hall was there a copy of the script or scripts for 12,000 seconds of radio advertising that the city paid $1 per second for.  Nowhere in city hall was there a audio recording of any of the finished commercials that were broadcast (if, indeed they were broadcast).

Twelve thousand dollars of tax payer money committed and nobody in city hall can tell us, show us, let us hear what we spent it on.

But, wait! There’s more!

An expenditure such as this should have come before the City Council for approval. Like so many purchases that this administration has made, it didn’t.

There was no approval to spend this money from the governing body. Is that why it took almost nine months for payment to find its way to the vendor? Funny thing, unless you or your business is a heavy advertiser with a good payment history, payment is usually due up front; before any of the commercials would air. If not payment in full, than some percentage of the fee may be required before the commercials are produced and aired.

Perhaps the City of Trenton has such a solid financial standing that the business community is willing to act on verbal promises and handshakes.

Is it normal, then, that a requisition to pay for the radio spots would be submitted eight months after the commercial(s) last aired?

And who requisitioned this payment for services? Why none other than Mayoral Aide/Acting Director of Housing and Economic Development Carmen Melendez.

Requisition R2-06810, dated 5/31/12 is signed by Ms. Melendez.

Interesting that a query of the Edmunds accounting software shows only two approvals: Ms. Melendez’s name appears in the 2^nd approval field and Acting Purchasing Agent Marchell Marshall’s name appears in the 3^rd approval field. There is no 1^st approval.

Why? Aren’t the series of approvals required so that people don’t play games with the taxpayers’ dollars?

And why was the check paid from the account line for Economic Development, Professional Services 60-6040-290 rather than the Economic Development, Advertising line 60-6040-201?  If we are buying advertising, shouldn’t we pay for it from the advertising budget?

So we have yet another glaring example of the complete lack of control over the spending of the Mack administration. Twelve thousand dollars out the door, paid from the wrong account and with no clue whatsoever as to what the money was actually spent on.

Why does this continue to happen?

Buyer beware

There are a multitude of properties for sale in the city of Trenton at this time.

Some are on the market due to the unfortunate realities in the aftermath of the real estate bubble burst.

Others are on the market because the owners simply want to get out. They want to cut their ties to a city whose municipal government is in crisis.

Either way, it looks like a buyer’s market if one is willing to take a leap of faith and invest in the city’s housing stock.

As with all investments, due diligence is needed.

Take for instance just two recent listings of properties for sale.

The first is located at 29 Hampton Avenue in the city’s Wilbur Section.

Here’s how the website reads:

Highlights and Description

• 2 stories
• In the Wilbur neighborhood
• Part of the Trenton school district

Investment opportunity. Two unit semi-detached property has fenced in backyard, plenty of space and did I forget to mention...Affordable! Seller is Very Motivated, make us an offer today!

It doesn’t show a photo of the property.

Because we are a full-service blog, we offer this image taken this morning.

And the asking price for this gem of an investment property: $55,000.

The property appears to be assessed at $44,900 and the taxes are just over $2,500 per year.

Not much into fixer uppers? Maybe you would this property at 245 Tioga Street.

The description on the website says: Single Family Home for sale by owner in Trenton, NJ 08609. Great opportunity for investors at this already low priced fully rented great income producer. Two story semi-detached property has fenced in backyard, plenty of space and did I forget to mention...Affordable! Seller is Very Motivated, make us an offer today!

This one even includes a photograph too.

The property is reportedly assessed at $40,200 and taxes are just under $2,300 per year.

Of course what the website doesn’t say is that a Lis Pendens has been filed on this property. A foreclosure is in the works. Also not noted is that there are two other creditors who have loaned the owners money with the property as collateral.

If you haven’t figured it out by now, both of these properties are owned by Trenton Mayor Tony Mack.

Buyer beware.

No surprise here!

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.

Time to hang up on Blackboard Connect

For the past several years, the city of Trenton has paid for a telephone and seldom used email notification system. The system was "sold" to the residents as a way for city officials to keep the community at large notified in the event of an emergency. 

Not a bad idea.

Not bad, if used correctly.

Almost from day one, the system has been abused.

Those who signed up for the service were soon treated to such frivolous messages as then Mayor Doug Palmer's daughter telling you not to put trash out or the Mayor himself promoting ticket sales for the "Trenton Jazz Festival" (another boondoggle we'll tell you about sometime).

People quickly grew aggravated and frustrated with the abuse of the phone contact system. They were annoyed at the fact that it was overused and mostly for the wrong reasons.

This caused people to want to be removed from the notification list, a task that seems to be nigh onto impossible to complete.

When the administration of Mayor Tony Mack took the reins of the city the situation got worse.

During the "brown water" crisis of October 2010, the use of the phone notification system was inadequate to keep the public up to date on the situation at the water works.

Strangely, as that crisis passed and we neared the date of the city's poorly planned and executed Thanksgiving parade, residents were treated to repeated rounds of calling inviting them to attend the event.

In recent weeks, residents in the South, East and West wards have been treated to phone calls inviting them to attend the opening of the Mayor's Learning Centers and encouraging them to volunteer to help operate said centers.

Last night, however, when there was an electrical problem at the city's water pumping station on Pennington Avenue that caused low pressure issues across the water system, not a peep was uttered via the Blackboard Connect system.

After several years of this stuff, maybe it is time to reevaluate the cost effectiveness of this mayoral toy. 

Documents obtained via OPRA request in December of 2010 show that the city of Trenton pays $58,000 per year to provide the telephone notification system to up to "29,000 households."  Any numbers over the 29,000 limit would be charged $2 per number per year.  Anything fewer than 29,000 households, and the city pays more per number.

Curious as to just how many households there might be in Trenton, we looked up the census data from 2010. According to the census quick facts page for the period 2006 - 2010, the city of Trenton has only 27,901 households  That is about 1,100 fewer than we are allowed under our contract with Blackboard Connect. And remember, Trenton has been losing population not gaining it.

Keeping this in mind, we propose the city of Trenton ditch the contract with Blackboard Connect and work out an agreement to use the Mercer County Reverse 911 for real emergencies.  This will cut the abuse of the system and save the taxpayers $58,000 per year.

Who is minding the store?

Mayor Mack continues to do what he pleases when it comes to city resources.

Besides the costly, sparsely attended and almost completely un-advertised or promoted so-called Heritage Days Festival held this past weekend, two other items have come to light.

Yesterday afternoon, this unbelievably unfitting and inappropriate sign was erected over the main entrance to Cadwalader Park. (written about so well here by Kevin Moriarty).  Notice, that, ugly as this sign is, it is graced with a completely out of context "Mayor Tony F. Mack" sign dangling beneath. 

Photo by Kevin Moriarty

Were all the proper sign-offs and approvals granted for this work?

Who gave our mayor's the right to "tag" every piece of city property possible with their name?

Yes, Doug Palmer did it too. And we didn't like it then. For a man who purports to want to be everything Doug Palmer wasn't, Mayor Mack sure likes to emulate his former boss.

Maybe it is time for the governing body (that is you, City Council), to introduce and pass an ordinance banning this kind of "naming" of city property, vehicles and such. It will be a cost saving measure because signs won't need the extra verbiage and we won't have to change them each time the mayor changes (no matter how infrequent that has been in the recent past).

Another abuse we're noticing is the mayor's seeming arbitrary policies with regards to who can use city buildings, when and how. 

If you remember, the Mack administration sent consultant/volunteer Lisa Whitaker around to various city buildings to collect the keys and kick out the non-profits who were using them under agreement with the city.

Shortly thereafter came the big controversy over the Team Hope boxing program that was using the old fire house at S. Broad and Bridge Streets.  Mayor Mack had the program removed from the building in response to unfounded allegations of drug use/dealing on the premises. 

Now, two months after the building was emptied and the program relocated, we suddenly find boxing equipment has again been installed in the building.

 

A conversation we had with former Trenton police officer and Team Hope manager, Bill McLaughlin revealed it doesn't belong to him. 

So who does this equipment belong to? And how did it get into the building? Has the administration issued another lease or use agreement to another entity? Has city council had the opportunity to approve of any agreement to use this facility as outlined under state statute N.J.S.A. 40:69A-36:

N.J.S.A. 40:69A-36 Legislative power
The legislative power of the municipality shall be exercised by the municipal council,  subject to the procedures set forth in this plan of government. Legislative powers shall be exercised by ordinance, except for the exercise of those powers that, under this plan of government or general law, do not require action by the mayor as a condition of approval for the exercise thereof, and may, therefore, be exercised by resolution, including, but not limited to:
a. The override of a veto of the mayor;
b. The exercise of advice and consent to actions of the mayor;
c. The conduct of a legislative inquiry or investigation;
d. The expression of disapproval of the removal by the mayor of officers or employees;
e. The removal of any municipal officer for cause;
f. The adoption of rules for the council;
g. The establishment of times and places for council meetings;
h. The establishment of the council as a committee of the whole and the delegation of any number of its members as an ad hoc committee;
i. The declaration of emergencies respecting the passage of ordinances;
j. The election, appointment, setting of salaries and removal of officers and employees of the council, subject to any pertinent civil service requirements and any pertinent contractual obligations, and within the general limits of the municipal budget;
k. Designation of official newspapers;
l. Approval of contracts presented by the mayor;
m. Actions specified as resolutions in the "Local Budget Law" (N.J.S. 40A:4-1 et seq.) and the "Local Fiscal Affairs Law" (N.J.S. 40A:5-1 et seq.); and
n. The expression of council policies or opinions which require no formal action by the mayor.
The mayor does as he pleases. The council is not acting as the governing body. Once again, there is nobody left minding the store.

She said, He said

On May 17, 2012, Councilwoman Phyllis Holly-Ward introduced a resolution stating that in an attempt to bring the governing body into compliance with the city code, they would vote on whether or not to extend the status of any acting directors who had been serving in that capacity beyond the 90 day limit.  This vote would take place at the June 7 meeting, giving the administration and/or those acting directors adequate notice to prepare to come before the council and make their case for continuing in the acting capacity.

The resolution passed, 6 – 0 with one abstention…Councilman Alex Bethea.

You may find a copy of the audio recording of the introduction, discussion and vote upon that resolution here.

Apparently, members of council and the administration have problems with short term memory. Listening to the proceedings a mere three weeks later makes one think that Councilman Bethea and Council President McBride had just flown in from some extended time away. They seemed to not recall the prior discussion and vote.

Worse, the Mayor, the Business Administrator and the acting department directors all seemed to forget (ignore is more likely) what was supposed to transpire on Thursday, June 7.

That day, Mayor Mack appeared before the city council to give a brief status update on the general state of affairs in the city and to take questions from the members. Councilwoman was somewhat surprised to find out the Mayor appeared to have no clue of what was about to take place:

Councilwoman Holly-Ward: …and then the other one was, you do know that we are having that 90 day review today?

Mayor Mack: Which one is that?

H-W: That the directors are coming before us for their review

MM: Yes. I ‘m hopeful that we will have that resolved before that time comes. When is that date?

H-W: It’s today.

MM: Today?

H-W: Today.

MM: Ok. Are the directors aware of that?

H-W: You’re business administrator, the clerk…

MM: Is that on the agenda?

H-W: Yes.

MM: Ok.

Later, after the Mayor had left and the governing body reached that point in the agenda:

Municipal Clerk Leona Baylor: The next item on our agenda is regarding 90 day review for acting directors.

Council President McBride then yielded to Councilwoman Holly-Ward. She in turn asked if the resolutions had been prepared.  The Clerk explained that she had drafts, but nothing that had yet been reviewed by the law department. Copies of the draft resolutions are passed around.

Council President McBride: And so, Mr. Denson, I just want to know the legal status as far as the resolutions are concerned.

Acting Law Director Walter Denson: Thank you Madame President. The city code section 2 – 4 it provides for  90 days for temporary appointments. It simply says those positions terminate after 90 days unless council passes a resolution to extend the time period.

H-W: For one, I wanted to say that just for us, as a body, this was done way back on May 17 which gave us more than enough time to have this together. And I know I put in a specific request which is almost two and half weeks ago for these to be individual resolutions and to state the language. So I will just say I am truly disappointed that we are at this juncture.

I guess it would take us to read them individually and not to mention we don’t even know if all the directors are here and once again the mayor obviously didn’t even know that they were coming before us to even have this issue addressed. He’s not here so once again for me it just takes it as another time where since nobody cares why should we?

Once again, McBride asks for Denson’s input. He just repeats what he has already stated, that the acting positions terminate after 90 days unless extended by council resolution.

Business Administrator Sam Hutchinson arrives and Ms. Holly-Ward addresses him:

H-W: I’m glad Mr. Hutchinson is here so we can ask Mr. Hutchinson what happened. He was here when we did it so what happened between him and the Clerk. Something didn’t connect.

Sam Hutchinson: Relative to what? Excuse me.

H-W: Why the resolutions for the acting directors weren’t presented....

SH: I was not aware of that either. My understanding was that at the last council meeting what council was asking was for an opinion from legal with respect to the Mayor’s 90 day appointment authority. That was my understanding.

H-W: No. We took a vote to have them come before us.

There was more discussion on how to proceed. Then Councilwoman Holly-Ward addressed Mr. Hutchinson again.

H-W: Mr. Hutchinson, do you want to do a presentation as to why they should stay as acting directors? Do you want to tell us what a wonderful job they are doing?

SH: What I will do a presentation on is the authority of the mayor to make appointments even in an acting capacity. I don’t think it is appropriate to discuss before council each individual unless of course you are going to “rice” them. And I certainly don’t think it is appropriate in a public session.

At this point Alex Bethea chimes in and the pitch is made for delaying, yet again, the action.

There was a lot more back and forth but a motion to reschedule the vote for a week later was defeated 5 – 2 (Bethea and McBride voting for it). McBride left and Council Vice President took the chair. All five resolutions were introduced and voted on. They passed 5 – 0 with Bethea abstaining.

You can download the full audio of the 35 minute discussion and vote on this matter as well as Mayor Mack’s surprise at finding out the 90 day review was scheduled for that day at this link.

The morning news...and more

The Trentonian’s front page is screaming about the fact that one of Mayor Tony Mack’s properties is on the current tax sale list.

It is a shame.  Public officials should set a better example.

But what is a larger shame is that this Hampton avenue property has sat vacant and burned out for years with nothing being done. The city has never moved to forced Mack to fix up the building or tear it down. Never mind that he is now the mayor and CEO of the city. What does this say about Trenton’s ability to operate effectively as a city?

The Trentonian article mentions a few other names that appear on the tax list: Raphiel Mack, the mayor’s brother, for one. Jo Jo Giorgianni, a Mack confidante and supporter, for another.

What wasn’t mentioned was that Bayville Holdings, the owner/developer of the Broad Street Bank building, is also on the list. They owe $15,992.65 a combination of their payments in lieu of taxes and their assessment for being in the Trenton Downtown special improvement district. 

Bayville, you will recall, financed their extensive and expensive renovation of Trenton’s first skyscraper in part with state funding that resulted in an income cap for prospective renters of the buildings apartments. This meant that what could have, should have been a pricey, desirable urban enclave turned into just another high rise filled with subsidized tenants.  At the same time, the developer twisted the city’s arm to get a lengthy PILOT on the property taxes.  Payments they apparently aren’t making anyway.

Good deal (NOT!) that the Palmer administration stuck us with. 

The Times has an interesting story by Alex Zdan about Mercer Countytaking back control of the TMAC grant from the city because of non-compliance with the terms of the funding agreement.

The TMAC grant is state money passed through the county to municipalities to fund alcohol and drug abuse prevention programs for children.  Since the Mack administration took over, there has been the typical lack of attention to conforming to the terms of the grant agreement. The monies have been used, at least in part, to pay friends of the administration, like Lisa Whitaker, with no reported work product being shown.

In April, the city convened the required steering committee in a last ditch effort to retain control over the funding but the county was not impressed.  In this morning’s article, Zdan states that the county will select the program providers, taking the decision away from the city.

Interestingly, the article also states that Joyce Kersey was named the coordinator for the grant.  This is a paid position. It begs the question: if the county is now running the grant, why is it paying, through the city, someone to coordinate the program?

Is Ms. Kersey, who was recently singled out as the individual Mayor Mack used to inform two school board members that he was rescinding their appointments (which, it turns out, he can’t do), yet another “Friend of Tony’s” grabbing a few extra taxpayer bucks for no real reason?

Not reported in the article was another little tidbit we heard re: the TMAC steering committee meeting. One Ms. Linda Gundy was chosen to chair this committee to steer the program that the county has now taken control of.  As ridiculous as that sounds, it gets better.

Ms. Gundy is a friend and supporter of Tony Mack.  She was listed in TMAC grant documents asbeing a “concerned citizen” that was appointed to the steering committee. (It should be noted that many people who were named on this list weren't even aware of it until Anthony Roberts convened that April meeting. It should also be noted that Ms. Kersey's name is not on this list.)

Ms. Gundy may very well be concerned, but she is also on the city payroll.

Since January, Ms. Gundy has been employed by the TrentonWater Works.  Prior to that, she was listed on documents as “an intern” in the recreation department.  She was paid as an independent contractorfrom September of 2011 until she was placed, full time, at TWW.  Interestingly, in August and September of2011, Ms. Gundy was also listed and paid as a “seasonal employee” of theTWW. 

This means that during September of last year, she was a city employee and a paid city consultant. This would appear to violate state law, not that the Mack administration has ever appeared to be concerned about following such law.

Being a friend of Tony Mack’s sure has its advantages.  

There he goes again

In an act of obvious spite that should come as no surprise to anyone who has been paying attention, Trenton Mayor Tony Mack is attempting to rescind the appointment of two school board members because they hold views different than his.

Press reports in the Trentonian and the Times (article not yet available online) indicate that Mack had his friend and former school board member Joyce Kersey call current board members Denise Millington and Marisol Ovalles to tell them their services were no longer required.  This occurred the day after the women had been sworn in for their three year terms and the day after they voted for a school superintendent candidate that was not the mayor’s choice.

The legality of such a move is being investigated but it stinks regardless.
{Update: local attorney George Dougherty did some research today and offers the following "...Title 18A (Education) regarding the removal of Board members. I am quite sure that there is no power in the mayor to “rescind” an appointment. Once the appointee has been sworn to the office she/he has a term. There are very limited removal provisions in the law. They operate by such things as disqualification by loss of residency or some other personal conflicts. There is no indication that a Mayor can pull an appointee for any reason." This would seem to be common sense and certainly matches our thoughts as well as those in the comment below}

Trenton is one of nearly two dozen New Jersey municipalities where the school board is appointed by the mayor rather than elected by the voters. The argument over which is a better system is a toss up. The capital city has tried both methods and neither seems to have yielded great results. A hybrid board made up of some mayoral appointees and some elected members might be the way to go, but that is a topic for another day.

For years, the appointed board in Trenton has been subject to the whims of the sitting mayor. Former mayor Dough Palmer was known to not reappoint board members after they had somehow displeased him.  And it appears that Mayor Mack is following right along in that tradition.

What is interesting, too, is some of the appointments Mayor Mack has made.

Last fall, for instance, Mack appointed Waldemar Ronquillo to the seat vacated by Algernon Ward. Within a month, Ronquillo stepped down for personal reasons.

Then Mack appointed Ovalles to complete the term. She was just appointed to a new, full, three-year term. Ovalles was sworn in Monday even though she has plans to move out of the city soon and therefore must resign.

You would think that some of these issues would come out in the vetting process prior to the mayor making an appointment.

Then again, maybe not.

In April, Mack appointed Gerald Trueheart to a vacancy on the school board.

Trueheart is a former employee of the Trenton School District.  According to the minutes from an April 12,2010 school board meeting, Trueheart was not only denied a salary increment, he was not reappointed to his position with the district.

Trueheart is also associated with the failed Paul RobesonCharter Schoolthat is being taken over by the Philadelphiabased Scholar Academies. As part of the plan to salvage Robeson’s charter, all current administrators and board members must resign their positions. That wouldappear to include Trueheart as well.

This begs the question: is Gerald Trueheart competent to sit on Trenton’s school board?

Is this another example of Mayor Mack’s inability to exercise solid judgment in selecting and keeping people for key positions? 

For Immediate Release

Mayor Tony Mack Saves Public Safety

TRENTON—Mayor Tony Mack hosted a press conference today regarding the recent shooting attempt on two Trenton Police Officers on patrol in a city vehicle. Mayor Mack announced key updates to his comprehensive plan to fight crime in order to keep the public up-to-date with new information. Mayor Mack made the following statement:

Public safety is essential to the City of Trenton we can not permit crime or symptoms of crime, poverty and oppression to continue to burden the peace of mind of our residents, business owners, and stakeholders. 

Crime is deplorable, and I am serving crime an eviction notice-you are not welcome in

Trenton anymore, and I am asking all residents to join with me in sending crime and

criminals a farewell exit. 

In order to restore the vitality of the city through recreational and cultural programs and

services we are announcing a new initiative from the Mayor’s Office. The Mayor’s

Learning Centers.  

We are making strides that are tough and challenging but necessary to keep the public’s

best interest our focus. It is crucial to keep our libraries open.  

That shows that our children need any and all resources our City can offer as it relates to

education. I know that our police officers would much rather walk a child home after a

library visit, then walk them into a precinct.  

Therefore, my administration plans to retrofit the Mayor’s Learning Centers with plate steel sheathing, polycarbonate window coverings and install gun turrets that will be manned by volunteers.   

This work will be accomplished with the use of CDBG funds and the application of the surplus from the Trenton Water Works. This revenue stream will enhance our city by providing jobs and engaging the community to participate in the protection of our most precious resource, our children.  

Under the direction of my volunteer coordinator of volunteers this comprehensive action will be undertaken under the guidance and directorship of my special Committee Of Non-paid Supporters, or CONS.

Because of the emergent emergency of this matter Mayor Mack will, by executive order and with the blessing of less than half of the city council, waive the normal bidding and contracting procedures required under state statute.

All work will be performed by individuals who have sufficiently demonstrated their belief in the Mayor's initiatives, have contributed to his campaign fund and/or have a prior criminal record thereby qualifying them for re-entry program funding.  

###

NOTE: This is not a real media advisory from Trenton's City Hall. If it had been, you would have been directed where to turn and when to scream in outrage. On second thought....

Tell the truth, Mayor Mack

Mayor prevaricates at opening of second learning center.

According to Carlos Avila's report in this morning's Trentonian, Mayor Tony Mack continues to blame the board of trustees of the Trenton Free Public Library for the branch closings two years ago.

“I have been working diligently to reopen all four of these buildings since the Trenton Free Public Library Board decided to close them in August of 2010,” he said.

That is his side of the story. And it is just plain wrong.

In a letter dated September 13, 2010, TFPL Trustee Virginia Dietrich writes:

"The over $1M reduction to this year's budget has had a devastating effect on our ability to provide neighborhood services. Your generous offer of an additional $350,000 funding would be a welcome addition to the $2.1M allocation the City has already committed for the 2010-2011 fiscal year. Unfortunately, it is not enough to cover the cost of your proposed plan for a 3-7 pm 5 day per week schedule at all four Branch locations. As we detailed in the budget sent to your office on August 20, 2010, the Library would need an additional $845,952 for a total allocation of $2,945,962 to implement your plan."

There it is, ladies and gentlemen, in plain English.

"Unfortunately, it is not enough to cover the cost of your proposed plan for a 3-7 pm 5 day per week schedule at all four Branch locations."

The question that needs to be asked by citizens, taxpayers, the governing body and the mayor's own administration is simply this:

If you cannot afford to fund the TFPL to provide the hours and services you want, how can you find the money (according to this report in the Times, now up to $75,000 per "learning center" per year from the $30,000 stated on April 30) to operate this parallel system of ersatz libraries?

Tell the truth, Mayor Mack.

What does the Trenton Water Works have to do with the Mayor’s Learning Center Libraries?

That’s what we wondered after noticing Paul Harris at Monday’s ribbon cutting at the former Skelton Branch Library building.

Mr. Harris, if you recall, was hired as an “intern” by the Mack administration on August 9, 2010. His rate of pay was $15 an hour. On October 15, 2010, Mr. Harris received a 33% pay raise to $20 an hour, just a few weeks before the city’s first wave of layoffs and demotions of regular employees was put into effect.

Ostensibly assigned to the city’s department of Health and Human Services, no one was ever really sure Harris’ described job duties were. It was pretty evident that Mr. Harris was to serve basically as yet another assistant to the mayor. He seemed to spend all of his time taking photographs and videos of the mayor in action (or would that be “the mayor’s inaction?”); working on the city website; trolling Facebook and other online sites for any negative comments about the Mack administration.

In a memo dated February 14, 2011, Joseph Rubino, then the director of HHS, informs Harris that three days a week he is to report to Gwen Carter to assist with the Health Clinic.  The other two days a week Harris would be assigned to “ancillary projects” working with other units under HHS.

In an accompanying description of his duties, Mr. Harris appears to be assigned to marketing and other activities relating to the city’s senior centers. It is interesting to note that this “intern” is also charged with helping to “supervise” certain employees stationed at the centers.
(NOTE: we really hope to delve further into the Mack administration’s use and abuse of the term “intern” in a future post)

But all of the above almost seems sensible when compared to what has recently transpired.

Sometime this year, Mr. Harris was “transferred” to the Trenton Water Works. His payroll information from March 1 forward clearly shows him being paid out of the TWW administration account.

Yet there he was at 3 pm on a Monday afternoon, recording the mayor's ribbon cutting for posterity but being paid on the water customer's dime. 

Hence our question: what does the TWW have to do with the Mayor’s Learning Center Libraries?

Words

The Mayor’s Learning Center Library.

Well, we can’t really use the term “library.” There is no professional staff. No reference help. No resources.

“We cannot be a library, so just look at this as a publicbuilding with books.”

What difference does it make? It’s all just a bunch of words.

Words: Mayor Mack’s biggest nemesis.

He knows words. Sometimes he can actually pronounce them correctly. But he just doesn’t seem to be able to grasp their meaning; at least not when he is in public grasping for answers to questions.

Why do words have to be so mean?

For instance, the mayor stated yesterday during the ribboncutting for the new Learning Center in the old Skelton Library building that he’d received “…an email from someone at the state today saying they were concerned…”

“They sent out a letter asking us to reconsider or rethink opening a library.”

“$100,000 of a $2 million budget does not give you the right to dictate to us what we do with our building.”

The communication the mayor refers to here was not sent “from someone at the state” but rather from New Jersey Library Association ExecutiveDirector Patricia Tumulty. 

The NJLA doesn’t give the city any money towards its libraries. In fact, the NJLA, amongst other things, lobbies for increased financing from the state to the public libraries.

There is the “state” and there is the “state library association”. Two different entities, but it is all just words to the mayor. 

We got what he meant. “Keep your nose out of our business. I’ll do what I want.”

Similarly, Mayor Mack lashes out at the Board of Trustees ofthe Trenton Free Public Library for not letting him have his way.

“The library board,” he states, “had the same opportunity to come and join us in this effort as all the other volunteers had on this project. They had the same opportunity. For those who say they didn’t know about the committee, they didn’t know about what we wanted to do, it’s just untrue.”

Maybe Mayor Mack didn’t mean to say “it’s just untrue”. Maybe he meant to say, “it’s unfortunate that I didn’t let them know what I was going to do whether they participated or not.”

You see, here is how it really played out. 

The library, faced with budget cuts from the Mack administration, made the determination that it could no longer operate the four branch libraries.

There was some back-and-forth that included the mayor promising to deliver the funds needed to keep the branches open part-time several days a week.

On October 25, 2010, the mayor issued a press release inviting people to participate in a “community lead Library task force who will identify best practices for operating and maintaining our libraries and day to day operations immediately.”

So this press release, which we have only ever seen on thecity website and which appeared only a day or two before the infamous “Highlights of the first 100 Days” press release that was little more than a recounting of the mayors appointment calendar for the preceding three months, was issued but largely overlooked.  Was it ever distributed? Did the media pick up on it?

Well he issued an invitation in a press release. So we all “knew” about it and could have joined in.

Mayor Mack even repeated this last night at his South Ward Town Hall meeting (a very sparsely attended affair when you take away the members of the Mack cabinet, his posse and the three council people that were present).

Mack was questioned on the transparency of his government by one citizen in attendance. The mayor’s response was first to blame the newspapers for only printing negative stories and then to ask of a specific example of when his administration was not forthcoming with information.

“The library plan that was developed in secret” said the citizen.

The mayor again trotted out his explanation that nothing was done in secret. That everyone was invited to join this committee.

Mayor Mack has yet to offer any explanation for the lack of information available from the administration when requested via OPRA on two separate occasions.

He was invited to tell us what he was up to but chose not to participate.

Words.

Kill the Zombie Libraries

Update: Kevin Morriarty has launched the "Stop the Zombie Libraries" initiative. Check it out and sign the petition! You can sign it on line here: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/stop-the-zombie-libraries/

As reported by Matt Fair in the Times on Thursday, Trenton Mayor Tony Mack seems hell bent on destroying the over century old Trenton Free Public Library by creating his so called "Mayor's Learning Center Libraries" in the closed branch library buildings.

This scheme was first hinted about last December when the Mayor announced he wouldn't entertain the offer of the East Trenton Collaborative to refurbish the historic former East Trenton Library branch building and operate a combination community/learning center out of it. No details were forthcoming at that time.

During his March 21, 2012 "State of the City" address, Mayor Mack declared that he would have his "Learning Centers" open "on or before April 30." Again, no details were forthcoming.

No one on city council had any information on this. The director of the Trenton Free Public Library nor the Board of Trustees of the Trenton Free Public Library knew anything about this plan. Not the Friends of the Library group, the state librarian or even the county librarian (even though the Mayor had pledged that patrons of the learning centers would have access to the Mercer County Libary System).

Kevin Moriarty has written extensively on this matter over the past month or so. Starting with his response to the same "State of the City" address and continuing through a fairly detailed analyis of what few details of the plan we have gotten. There have been a couple of more entries about this, including this morning's wherein Kevin dubs these facilities the "Zombie Libraries."

It is a sick twist of fate that just a few years ago the people in this city were coming together in an attempt to save the branch libraries from closing and to find a way to ensure the venerable and historic TFPL remained a viable resource for the community.  Now, we are fighting to kill off these Zombie Libraries because they are evil (not to mention illegal) and if they are allowed to proliferate they will surely be the death knell for the very same Trenton Free Public Library that has its roots in an institution created before this country won its independence from England.

Let's be revolutionary, yet again, and tell our elected representatives on city council to exercise their authority and shut down this folly. At the very least, this "plan" must be stopped until factual and satisfactory answers have been given to the most basic of questions such as where is the money coming from to operate these centers? Who will be managing them? How can any of this be accomplished without the formal consent of the Trustees of the TFPL and/or city council?

Say "NO" to the Mayor's Zombie Libraries!

Tell me why

Mayor Tony Mack wants to appoint three more, full-time municipal judges.

Mayor Mack wants to open up auxiliary court rooms in the abandoned East and West Police District Stations.

Tell me why.

Here you can find the Trenton Municipal Court statistics from July 2008 through March of this year. These stats were obtained from the state judiciary website and has data going all the way back to July 2004, if you want to check for yourself.

When you look at the stats you will want to look at some key headings: Filings, Clearance Percent, Backlog and Active Pending.

Filings in FY 2009 were down 2% from FY2008.
Filings in FY 2010 were down 15% from FY2009.
Filings in FY2011were down 5% from FY2010
Filings for the first three quarters of FY2012 ARE DOWN 32% over the same period the year before!

Clearance percentage in FY2009 was 95%. That means less cases were cleared than were opened.
In the next two years, the clearance rate was 102% and 109% respectively. For the first nine months of this fiscal year, the clearance rate is 113%. 

More cases were cleared than opened. This reduces the backlog. In FY2009, the backlog was up 11% from the previous year.  In FY2010, the backlog dropped by 3%. There was an 11% reduction in the backlog in for FY2011. So far in FY2012, the backlog has dropped 27%!

The bottom line figure is the Active Pending number. While it went up 12% from FY2008 to FY2009, it has been steadily dropping since.

The municipal court has been operating with pretty good efficiency with the two full-time judges. Hiring more would just add expenses we don't need.

Tell me why.

The case load is being handled effectively in the existing facility. While I hate that the "never should have been built" East and West police buildings are sitting virtually idle, there is no apparent need to spend money to reconfigure them for additional court space.

Besides needing permission from Mercer County Assignment Judge Mary Jacobson to add the additional judges, Trenton would need Administrative Office of the Courts approval to create courtrooms in the police sub-stations.

According to knowledgeable sources, the AOC must approve the location, the courtroom itself, security issues, public health/access issues and must be willing to provide the court recording and computer equipment.

That application process could take a year. If permission is granted for the new judges, where will they work when only have two court rooms available?

If the judges are approved and can't work they can't be laid off. By statute the term is a mandatory three years. Remember the controversy surrounding Mack's first judicial appointee, Renee Lamarre Sumners and how she had to finally resign?

Right now Trenton is approved for 3 full-time and one part-time judge but we never had that many. We haven't had the need or the space. With what the statistics above show, we don't need them now. If we add judges and court rooms, will we be hiring more court staff as well?

And let's remember the simple fact that the police are not issuing as many summons, thus lessening the case filings.  Less filings, less volume in the courts.

Has any of this been thought out by the Mack administration?

Tell me why.

Lessons learned

Sometimes, things work out.

Just about a year ago peculiarities in the city's payroll system came to light. This happened, it must be noted, because of the research done by Trenton United blogger Robert Chilson.

One situation that he discovered was that (then) director of public property Harold Hall had collected overtime and double time pay in the first three months of 2011.

Mr. Hall, who in September was promoted to acting director of public works by Mayor Mack, is paid a salary of about $108,000 per year.  He is a salaried (not hourly) political appointee. As a rule, salaried employees do not collect overtime as an hourly employee does.

In February and March of 2011, Mr. Hall twice received "double time" compensation for hours worked beyond his normal 35 hour work week.  Three time in the same period, Hall received regular overtime (1.5 times his normal rate of pay) for hours worked beyond his regular 35 hour work week.

Payroll records indicate that in the check dated February 3, 2011, Hall received pay for a total of 93.5 hours. We understand that there were weather situations (snow storms) that required an extra effort on the part of the administration to oversee snow removal and such, but it is part of the Mr. Hall's job as a director to work the required time for no extra monetary compensation. Getting paid for 23.5 extra hours was wrong. Getting paid for 23.5 hours of extra time at a higher rate of compensation was more wrong. Hall was paid for 19.5 hours of overtime and four hours of "double overtime" during that pay period. That amounts to just over $2200 extra in one paycheck.

The next pay period, Hall received pay for 13.5 hours of overtime. This equaled an extra $1200 in that paycheck.

In the check issued March 31, 2011, Hall received an additional $1600 dollars in pay split between nine hours of "double overtime" and six hours of overtime.

Finally, the check issued on April 28, 2011 shows that $1526 in overtime was included. This was for an additional 17 hours worked over the regular 70 hours in the pay period.

All totaled, Hall received over $9200 in extra pay from the city that was improper.

In reviewing Hall's payroll records before and since the discovery of his extra pay, we have learned an interesting fact. Mr. Hall's pay was garnished to the tune of $562.87 every two weeks from June through December of last year. This means he paid back some $8400 of the money. (NOTE: we do not have an explanation for the $778 he didn't pay back, but assume it may have to do with some of the payroll deductions, etc.) Kudos to the powers that be (whichever ones came into play) that made this repayment happen.

While none of the money funny business is good news, the fact that it came to light because of the dedicated work of a government watchdog is. This is a prime example how necessary citizen activism is to a healthy civic infrastructure.

Without the work of concerned citizens, government is less accountable.

Who knows how much more money might have been improperly paid to Harold Hall?

Who knows if any of it would ever have been paid back?

Irresponsibility is NOT doing the right thing.

It’s not my fault. I didn’t cause it.

That was the punch line to an old George Carlin routine that poked fun at the trend of denying responsibility for anything bad.

It has become the theme song of the Tony Mack administration.

The Times’ Matt Fair wrote a story about the city being out of compliance with the Section III requirements for local work force participation in CDBG funded projects. In that story is the following quote: 

“These grants were in place when we took office,” acting business administrator Anthony Roberts said in an e-mail last night. “We will continue to make corrections to irresponsible proposals submitted by the Palmer administration just as we have with many other ill-advised projects.”

The key phrases in the Roberts defense: “in place when we took office” and “irresponsible proposals submitted by the Palmer administration.”

The reality is slightly different.

At his very first Town Hall meeting as Mayor, Tony Mack told a rapt and attentive audience at the North 25 housing complex all about his grand plans to refurbish several parks.  Astute watchers of Trenton politics knew that the funding was in place for years and at risk of being lost if action wasn’t taken. The only thing the Mack administration did was put the wheels into motion.

So…if that was the case, which administration is responsible for seeing that the contracts are let according to the Federal rules? The Palmer administration, who applied for, received and then sat on the money or the Mack administration that actually signed the contracts?

Nobody with any sense would argue that Palmer did no wrong. But after almost two years “in charge”, Tony Mack’s finger pointing has gotten tiresome.

Similarly, in stories published in both the Times and theTrentonian, the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office has put the city of Trenton on notice that it is in violation of the state’s Open Public Meetings Act. In a letter sent to Municipal Clerk Leona Baylor, the prosecutor cites the fact that the city is behind in approving and posting city council meeting minutes as required by law.

Both papers report the reasons given for being behind are that the clerk’s office is short-staffed, the workload because of OPRA requests from citizens takes priority, and…wait for it…they were behind when I got here.

In Matt Fair’s Times article, Municipal Clerk Leona Baylor is quoted as saying:

“The minutes have always been behind. They’ve never been current. They were behind when I first got there.”

The city website posts meeting agendas going back to 2006. There are a little more than a dozen meeting minutes that appear to be missing from between Jan 1, 2006 and Dec 31, 2009.  From Jan 1, 2010 the minutes start appearing less frequently. Interestingly enough, when the Mack administration took over on July 1, 2010, meeting minutes were approved pretty consistently for the first four months or so. Then there was a steep drop off of minutes being approved.

So, yes, Ms. Baylor, a problem existed prior to your arrival and prior to the Mack administration. The problem went away for a short time and then came back with a vengeance.

Whether complying with OPRA requests or completing the meeting minutes in a timely manner is a burden or not, it is the law. And it is the duty of the clerk's office to follow the law.

We all recognize the failings of previous administrations and some of them cannot be corrected now. But that is not an excuse for failing to follow federal grant guidelines, state statute or common sense. 

After almost two years at city hall, there is no one to point fingers at except those who are on the job today.

Mayor Mack is a cry baby

The following is the text of a press release posted on the City of Trenton website Friday, March 30, 2012. It is a childish rant from a mayor who is upset that a majority of city council stood up to him.

While he encourages the public to contact the four members of council he singles out (Caldwell-Wilson, Chester, Holly-Ward, and Muschal) and tell them they have done wrong, we feel just the opposite. These four did the right thing, the right way. They should be congratulated, not castigated.

What do you think?

March 30, 2012

TONY F. MACK

MAYOR                                                                          609-989-3030

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Today, because of the actions of four irresponsible and selfish Trenton City Council members we are forced to layoff all of the Mayor's Office staff. This selfish act could potentially harm the health, safety and welfare of the City. These actions are unprecedented by City Council members, statewide and perhaps nationally, for that matter. Council members Phyllis Holly-Ward, George Muschal, Zachary Chester and Marge Caldwell-Wilson actions are both self-serving and detrimental to all residents, businesses and the community at large.

This is the first time in the history of our City that the Mayor has been left with no staff to conduct the taxpayer's business. This "do nothing" action by Council members Phyllis Holly- Ward, George Muschal, Zachary Chester, and Marge Caldwell-Wilson is both draconian and egregious in nature.

We ask residents for their patience as we work through this mess. Make no mistake about it, as Mayor of this City, I am determined as ever to succeed on behalf of all the residents in this great City!

I urge the citizens of Trenton to join me and urge your council representatives Phyllis Holly-Ware [sic], George Muschal, Zachary Chester and Marge Caldwell-Wilson to respect the history of our great City and its significance to our great Country.

C: Trenton Times
Trentonian
WZBN
6ABC
CBS
PolitickerNJ.com
All City Council Members

Bye-bye, Ms. Lauren I

So long, Hayes, Garnier, Smith, and Vaughan.

After a lot of sturm and drang; misplaced outrage; and claims of not knowing what they were doing (which is partly correct…at least for some members) Trenton’s city council last week adopted a budget for FY2012 that reduced the salary line for the staff of the mayor’s office.  This line item reduction means that the mayor has to find a way to spread the remaining money around to pay his aides, secretary etc or let some of them go effective today. This would include the Mayor’s Director of Policy and Communication, Lauren Ira.

As much as we would like to comment on this situation, it is not our policy to discuss personnel matters publicly.

Does the mayor have any clue what he is doing?

Recent newspaper articles have sketched a picture of just how poorly the Tony Mack administration manages the city.  

On Sunday, we were treated to a story about how the city failed to comply with certain stipulations that came with federal stimulus funds. That failure to comply and the subsequent inability to properly manage the construction projects funded through the grant resulted in the loss of the money.  Now, the jobs are incomplete and/or poorly done and the contractors have not been paid.

Today we read that Passage Theatre Company, the city’s only professional theater group, may very well have lost a $25,000 grant because the city wouldn’t come to terms on a long term lease for the Mill Hill Playhouse.

How insane is all of this?

The street projects written about on Sunday involved repaving a portion of S. Broad Street and the creation of wheelchair accessible curb cuts at intersections throughout the city.  The lack of proper oversight of the contractors due at least in part to the staff shortage created by last September’s layoffs led to the poor workmanship and loss of funding.

This situation could have easily been managed by thinking things through and having a plan.  Both notions, however, are foreign to the administration.

In the case of Passage Theatre, the grant was received through its own work. It is not city money, government money or even government administered money (read: No Tax Dollars).  The money was to be leveraged into a capital campaign to replace the aged and decrepit HVAC system at the city owned Mill Hill Playhouse. 

That’s right…a non-tax dollar funded improvement to a city owned building.

The grant required a long-term lease from the city to Passage Theatre. In return for the long-term lease, Passage would step up what they were paying for utilities (power, heat and light) to use the building. Something that wasn’t brought out in this morning’s article was the fact that should Passage Theatre be forced to vacate the Mill Hill Playhouse for another location, they take with them the lighting and sound equipment that make it a viable performance space leaving the city with a stage and some chairs. That the Mack administration can’t see it’s way clear to agree to a long-term lease shows an appalling inability to think things through.

When you couple these stories with the fumbling of the directorship of the Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie, you have to question whether the mayor sees any value in the cultural life of the city.

There are other stories floating about regarding the city turning its back on other groups and non-profits utilizing city buildings. Some are cultural organizations, some are providing social services.

And let’s not forget that the city has stalled the proposal by the CYO to utilize the former Skelton Branch Library building…allowing it instead to sit fallow. The building has been broken into; the missing panes of glass replaced with wood and the shrubbery in front cut down.  The CYO proposal would take the upkeep of the building off of the city’s shoulders and keep it in use.

Similarly, the mayor out right refused to entertain the proposal of the East Trenton Collaborative to occupy and renovate the historic East Trenton Library branch building. That plan would put the building back into use and available to the community at no cost to the city. 

In both of these cases as well as the situation with the Mill Hill Playhouse, the city retains ownership of the buildings; receives a minimal ($1 per year) stipend from the entities; but in return is relieved of the bulk of the carrying costs for maintaining otherwise vacant buildings.

Another aspect of this overall situation is that by messing around and losing funds, the city’s “rating” in the eyes of other granting entities (government or otherwise) is lowered. That makes it more difficult to receive the funding the city government is so dependent upon.

Imagine what will happen if Trenton loses another round of COPS grants or other Justice Department funds that supplement our public safety budgets.

For a mayor who just delivered a state of the city address sprinkled with a few million dollars worth of grants, taking such a cavalier attitude about managing and leveraging the resources available does not bode well for the fiscal health of Trenton.