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.

State of chaos

Here is the text from Mayor Tony Mack's "State of the City" address given a year ago.  It has been annotated it with some {bracketed}comments.
Good Evening and Welcome to the State of the City Address.

 

Good Evening Council President, City Council members, elected officials, and distinguished guests.

 

I stand before you with one mission: a better Trenton. A better Trenton cannot be realized

without looking first at our past, then toward our future. Tonight is when we do both, together.

 

Looking to the past, we see that when I took office, a lot of things were wrong, a lot of things had to be cleaned up, and I’m going to tell you what we did to clean up that mess. But, much more important, I’m here to talk to you about the future, about my vision for the City of Trenton. It’s a vision of a greener city, with world-class parks for our children. It’s a vision of a safer city, with police officers walking the beat, focusing on preventing crimes before they happen. It’s a vision of a more beautiful City with freshly paved, litter-free streets, and community gardens in every ward. And, most of all,

it’s a vision of a vibrant city, with an active street life, new private sector jobs and a strong growing economy.

 

First the past, when I took office on July 1, the administration faced a monumental $55,000,000 million budget deficit. No single administration in our City’s great history wrestled with a larger financial obstacle. I am proud to announce that last week we eliminated that budget deficit completely, and we were able to do this without cutting one service to residents of Trenton.{Don't forget, state law mandates municipalities operate with a balanced budget} When we entered office, the prior administration was kind enough to leave us with a layoff plan. If we had implemented the layoff plan designed by the prior administration, it would have reduced the City’s workforce by 328 employees, 328 people would have lost their jobs including 111 police officers and 61 firefighters. This plan also included closing public pools, all libraries, and senior centers; the reduction of garbage collection to one day a week and the complete elimination of the entire Department of Recreation, Natural Resources, & Culture. The layoff plan also called for the downsizing of our Sanitation division by 25 employees and the loss of two street sweeper employees. {He gave this speech in March. In September he laid off 118 police officers along with other city workes}

 

Had this layoff plan been executed I assure you we would be looking at a completely different Trenton. At the time, our administration determined maintaining the vital services to residents were our top priority. Reducing police, fire, and sanitation services was immediately taken off the table.

 

Instead, we encouraged the City’s bargaining units to offer givebacks.

 

We directed department directors to scrutinize every line item in their budgets for possible savings.

 

We focused more on ascertaining funding, grant writing and on encouraging departments to put extra effort into researching and applying for these grants. {We lost the FY2012 round of COPS grants, probably because he didn't layoff any police in FY2011}

In short, our administration operated on the budget with a scalpel to address our deficit, instead of wildly swinging an ax with little thought to the consequences. The road to this point has not been an easy one, nor should it have been. It is not an easy task to reduce the number of employees or eliminate vacancies in a department while the public expectation of services goes unchanged. It is not an easy task to increase the workload of existing employees, while unable to offer increased wages or benefits. Some employees are performing the work equivalent of two to three employees. These employees, including those who were laid off, remain dedicated to public service. Our administration owes gratitude to all employees and the team of dedicated acting and recently appointed permanent department directors who went above and beyond the call of duty. Please join me in applauding them now for their continued service to the City of Trenton.

The operative ideal essential to our success during this economic climate is the ideal of partnership. Partnership requires everyone to be willing to give something up for the greater good. Partnership requires us to recognize that alone we cannot solve the issues our City faces. Common sense dictates we unite and combine resources. Again, the ideal of partnership will remain a pillar of my decision-making process.

The problem’s we continue to face are multi-directional. Discussions that should have occurred around conference tables were waged on the pages of newspapers and blogs. Let’s move away from these battles, and agree tonight that we can do better, and we will. We hosted town hall meetings throughout the summer, fall, and winter, and we will continue to do so to ensure open communication, transparency, and access to information. We also host a monthly radio program on WIMG 1300AM, so that we can speak with one voice to the City.

Getting back to partnership, we partnered with community organizations and stakeholders to host a Youth Development Summit, an Art, Culture and Heritage Summit {and nothing came of it}, and we will host an Economic Development Summit at the end of this month.

As a result of these summits I signed two executive orders into law, creating a youth development task force and a domestic violence task force {merely recreating what the previous administration had done because it expired at the end of that term}. We partnered with Rutgers University and borrowed one of the City of Newark’s highly successful programs: the Youth Education Employment and Success Center at the Daylight/Twilight High School on Hanover Street.

In order to honor the achievements of our students, right now the atrium is transformed into a display room, showcasing works authored and illustrated by students from Washington Elementary School, Stokes Elementary School and Hedgepeth Williams Elementary School. City Hall will become its own Orchestra Hall on Friday evening where students from Foundation Academy Charter School Orchestra and Choir will perform “An Evening of Student Achievement.” We also reopened our South Broad Street senior center. Soon we will have a state of the art tennis facility {which was in the works prior to Mack coming into office} which already made national news. I am very proud of these major accomplishments for the City of Trenton.

That then is it for the past. Now I want to move forward on to my vision for Trenton.

First, a few concrete goals we plan to implement over the next year.

• We are considering special legislation, for the Capital City, requiring all noncivilian new hires to live and reside within the City of Trenton.{Nothing to report on here} We will partner with County, State, and Federal entities, to encourage their employees to live where they work. Through the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, it is our hope people will take advantage of the live where you work low interest mortgage to rebuild and infuse our City with new residents.
• I will sign an Executive Order establishing the Capital City Educational Trust Commission. Institutions of higher learning in Camden, Newark, Paterson, Jersey City, and New Brunswick have transformed portions of these cities. We believe a similar transformation can happen in Trenton. This Commission will begin serious discussions with public and private colleges/university to consider our proposals. {Has that happened?}
• Our administration will work with our educational partners to secure funding and reopen Trenton Central High School’s Vocational Program. There are many successful men and women throughout the region who learned a trade at our Vocational Technical Program. This program will once again be a resource for our children. We should be opening doors for our children’s success not shutting them, and when opened, VoTech will be regarded again as a transformative gateway. {No progress there that we know of}
• We will seek revenue sharing agreements with the County as it relates to the Sun Bank Center and Waterfront Park. Following in the footsteps of many other prosperous cities across the nation, we will pursue ways in which to receive a portion of proceeds from sales of tickets and parking for entertainment and sporting events. {Hasn't happened} In the same line of reasoning, we will also work aggressively with the state to establish an equitable ‘Host Benefit Fee Program’ so we can recoup the costs of wear and tear on our infrastructure directly resulting from use by government workers. {This has been talked about, but we have not heard of any definitive progress}
• Currently, our unemployment rate is twice that of the national average. The City of Trenton should be a place for second and third chances for those who want the opportunity to gainfully contribute to our community. We must be willing to open our hearts and minds and look beyond the past. I encourage leaders in our religious, business, civic, educational, and non-profit communities to continue to use your organizations as places that welcome statewide re-entry initiatives. 

As I stand before you today, my heart is beating with excitement- excitement at the vision of a Trenton reborn. A greener, safer, more beautiful, vibrant and growing Trenton- Here’s how I plan to make that vision a reality.

The Department of Recreation, Natural Resources, and Culture was slated to be eliminated, as mentioned earlier. Instead, we retained key staff and maintain department functions in order to preserve recreation programs, parks, and our cultural venues. {Wait! There has not been a director for a year; the division of public property has been overseeing much of the functions of the department; the experienced professional staff retired or was laid off and not replaced by any qualified individuals}

Because of our decision, we are proud to say that four of our recreation centers remain open and a resource to our residents. We have signed off on park and cultural site renovations that exceed $12,000,000 million which demonstrates our commitment to a greener and more active community.

On a very cold bitter December morning we broke ground on our new Tennis Center at Cadwalader Park. Once completed this facility will be the nation’s largest junior tennis facility and we will have a full ceremony with individual and corporate donors and sponsors. {Currently there are some problems with communication and cooperation between the city and the NJTL people}

We are grateful for our partners the National Junior Tennis and Learning of Trenton; the United States Tennis Association; Friends of Cadwalader Park Tennis; D and R Greenway; and private individuals. 

I will not stray from my commitment to these projects because these projects are Trenton’s future. You cannot have a community without community space. Some of those locations to be renovated include: Calhoun Street Field, George Page Park, Mill Hill Park, Greg Grant Park, Mill Hill Playhouse, The William Trent House, The Ike Williams Center, and Cadwalader Park. Let me share a little more detail: Calhoun Street Park renovates the existing multi-purpose field into two separate fields designed for use as a soccer field and football field. Site improvements will also include the addition of turf irrigation, stadium style bleachers and field lighting. In addition, a small playground will be added near the existing pool and the parking area will be reconfigured and renovated. Landscaping improvements will be installed throughout the facility. Future improvements for the next phase will focus on the renovation of the pool house facility.

Greg Grant Park construction will create a new park on a former industrial site and will include the construction of a brand-new basketball court, large playground, amphitheatre/spray-pool, picnic grove and gazebo, as well as an extensive pathway system with decorative lighting. The completed park will also provide extensive lawn areas and landscaping.

Cadwalader Park includes 3 dynamic projects.

1. Picnic pavilion, playground, and pedestrian bridge: this project will include the removal of the existing 1983 pavilion and installation of a beautiful new structure which closely replicates the original 1903 pavilion, destroyed by fire. The pavilion will include secured access to utilities provided to make the structure serve a broader range of functions. A ‘state of the art’ playground will be constructed nearby. The existing canal bridge is scheduled to be removed and a new structure, more closely resembling the original bridge, will be constructed at the original location.
2. As described above, the tennis courts project is structured into two phases, phase one will include the restoration of the existing asphalt courts including a new asphalt surface and color coating, new nets and post and new fencing. Phase two will include a new asphalt surface on the clay courts, with new nets, posts and fencing and will provide for ‘short courts’ used to teach the sport to children.
3. Ellarslie, the City of Trenton Museum will finally be lighted at night, showing off this historic jewel.

Mill Hill Park improvements: includes three projects

1. Renovations to the existing park include: new park entry plazas along the Broad and Front Street perimeters as well as the reconfiguration of the entry at Broad/Front Sts., a new pathway system within the park, interpretive signage, a renovated and stable historic iron bridge,{only we are now being told there are no plans to work on the bridge} a new bathroom within the basement of the Douglass House, replacement of the park lighting and extensive landscape improvements.
2. The Ike Williams Center (Clay St.) will receive extensive exterior and interior renovations including: the replacement of the existing garage door façade with a series of glass paneled doors and entry canopy, new exterior lighting, accessible entry and renovations to the adjacent courtyard. Interior renovations will include new flooring, lighting, mechanical systems, a kitchenette, bathroom renovations and new courtyard entry doors.{Done, but there is no programming going on there}
3. Mill Hill Playhouse will receive a new roof and exterior lighting. {Done but the city won't come to terms with Passage Theatre, the primary tenant of the space, on a longterm lease}

George Page Park: phase one includes restoring the historic entry plaza on Clinton Ave. and expanding the existing playground. Subsequent phases include: the addition of landscape improvements, decorative lighting and a pathway system to tie into the adjacent Clinton Commerce and Crescent Wire sites. Future plans are also being developed for Hetzel Field that will include renovations to the ball-fields and pool-house and redesign of the pool complex to include a new pool and spray-ground. Parking, accessible pathways, pedestrian lighting and landscape improvements will be completed as well.

Trent House: We will clean and paint the Trent House, and light it at night, to show off yet another of Trenton’s many historical sites.

Artworks: renovations to this facility include putting on a new insulated roof system, renovating to the exterior brick walls, new rain scuppers and downspouts and upgrades to the existing HVAC system to increase efficiency. {Materials for the roof work are on site, but the city appears to have reconsidered the project. No work has been done.}

Cook Y Field : renovations to the existing turf field and provision of bleacher, goal posts and a portable irrigation system to maintain the field turf.

 

Roberto Clemente Park: renovations to the existing park include expanding the existing pool compound, building a new color-coated basketball court, ornamental fencing and brick plazas at the two entrances, ornamental lighting and extensive landscaping as well as a new playground and a gazebo within the renovated children’s garden to accommodate environmental classes and garden crafts.

In addition to all of that, I am happy to share; we will re-start the Parks Commission. The Parks Commission is a citizen’s advisory committee that works with the City to ensure our parks are among the best in the world. It was deactivated during the previous administration. This administration is bringing it back to life, to allow our most important consumer; the park users, to have a say in how their parks are run. As you can see from all that I’ve mentioned, we are well on the way to my vision of a greener, more active Trenton. {A call went out for interested parties but that was the last we heard of the group}

You all know public safety is near and dear to my heart. Starting with the Trenton Police Department – it is constantly improving its police management model to meet the changing needs of our community. I have long thought that community policing, a strategy that has worked so well in other large cities, was the right strategy for Trenton.

Community policing involves getting police officers out of their cars and into our neighborhoods, getting feet on the street. Tonight I am enthusiastic to share the start of community policing in Trenton. Starting this week, our police force will put in place the Neighborhood Enforcement and Stabilization Task Force (NEST) initiative. {If I'm not mistaken, NEST was actually created during the previous administration}

The NEST program was created to merge police enforcement and community policing practices, to open the lines of communication and adopt a neighborhood team approach to crime and safety issues. In addition to NEST, we are putting in place an Intelligence-Led Policing initiative (ILP). ILP makes sure that all the information the officers on the beat collect from their neighborhoods filters up the command structure.

That way our commanders can make decisions based on the best kind of intelligence, intelligence learned on the street, from the community. This year we will thus make a dramatic change, a change from solving crime, which is important, to joining together with the community to prevent crime. We saw how effective this was, city-wide, during this summer’s, Take it to the Streets program, and we heard you loud and clear at our Public Safety Summit.

We have already implemented the Comstat Model,{in use for the better part of a decade} which provides police with the computer data they need to track crime in real time. Comstat is based on four basic principles: accurate and daily intelligence, rapid deployment of resources, effectiveness of tactics, and relentless follow-ups and assessments. The aforementioned principles allowed the department to reduce the number of crimes committed in the City by tracking “hot spots,” high-crime areas, and assigning police officers based on real data. Further, as the year progresses, the department will pursue an expanded model for intelligence gathering, while continuing to expand its Criminal Intelligence Unit. Refining this dataled model will allow for the best possible deployment of resources.

Additionally, in a new collaborative effort between the Trenton Police Department and the Trenton Municipal Court, an initiative is being created to institute a Safe Surrender, Amnesty program that will assist residents and those with outstanding matters in the Trenton Municipal Court. Through this program the Trenton Municipal Court will assist these individuals in disposing of their matters by paying their fines, setting up payment plans, complying with court orders, scheduling new court hearings, and other types of relief. {Oft talked about. Period}

With all these changes, with the introduction of community policing, feet on the street, with police decisions informed by real-time computer data, we are well on the way to fulfilling my vision of a safer Trenton.

I also want to see a more beautiful Trenton; we have received 10 grants funded by the New Jersey Department of Transportation totaling $6 Million dollars. We’re using these grants to fund immediate improvements to Hanover Street and Cadwalader School.

Additional projects include repairs to Stockton Street, Perry and Bank streets, North Warren Street, Montgomery Street, South Clinton Avenue, installing ADA Ramps in various locations, Bellevue Avenue, and Broad Street. Last summer roads were aggressively paved, this summer we will pave a record number of roads by doubling our roads crews. In fact, most of last summer’s roads were recommended by residents at our town hall meetings, and we were excited to make noticeable improvements to the City. {Besides being a typically poorly written paragraph, these projects are just continuations of basic infrastructure improvements and repairs that any functioning city would be undertaking}

Let me take a moment to thank our unsung heroes who keep our streets clean and healthy. There is something to be said about every road, sanitation, waste and recycling worker. Please join me in applauding their dedicated service to our City.

Along with freshly-paved streets, we are also continuing a project dear to my heart:

the Annual Clean Communities Litter March. This year’s theme is, “Its Simple Go Green…Keep Your City Clean.” The City of Trenton will celebrate our clean communities and our natural resources. This year, local schools, community groups, civic associations, churches, private businesses, city residents, and public employees will participate in our Litter March on Monday, April 18 from 8:30am to 3:00pm in Mill Hill Park. I served as past chairman of the Litter March Committee for over 14 years. I am so excited to march with you to Keep Trenton Clean. {And we learned later in the year that a city employee has been securing the contract to provide food for this event for years by using other people's names on the paperwork even though it was common knowledge amongst city hall employees who was getting paid for the work}

To further beautify our neighborhoods, we are happy to announce a new, comprehensive community gardens program. This program will utilize city-owned property to ensure we have community gardens throughout the City. We will put gardens first in every ward, and eventually in every neighborhood in the Trenton community. {Seem to have missed that one}

Community gardens not only beautify our neighborhoods, they serve as a place for neighbors to socialize and provide the people of Trenton with freshly-grown, locally produced food. I am proud to be the Mayor that introduced this long-overdue program.

With freshly-paved, litter-free streets, with community gardens brightening our neighborhoods, we are well on our way to achieving my vision of a more beautiful Trenton.

The engine that powers these improvements, of course, is economic growth. That’s why it’s so important for us to make the last part of my vision a reality. To make Trenton a vibrant, growing City.

We have a myriad of ways we are going to achieve that goal. The first is encouraging the use of the Urban Transit Hub Tax Credit Program. Trenton is only one a few cities allowed to use this program, which encourages development around our newly-renovated Train station and our light-rail stations. I am pleased that we already have a project underway, a $250 million office tower next to the train station that will be built as part of this tax-credit program.

But development cannot happen unless people have decent places to live, unless we can revitalize our housing stock. One way we are doing this is through the $100 million HOPE VI redevelopment project. As a result of our continued partnership with the Trenton Housing Authority 600 Trenton residents attended the HOPE VI job fair. {All reports indicate the job fair was more farce than fair}

Projects like this will continue to serve and attract commuters to the sixth busiest train station along the Northeast corridor.

On the housing front in 2010, the City has been working diligently to renovate abandoned homes and make Trenton’s housing what it should be. For example, in the last few months we have rehabilitated 14 homes on Dunham Street, started construction on 18 homes for working families on Carteret Avenue, finished construction on 34 homes on Lamberton and Lalor Streets and continued the rehabilitation of 78 homes in the East Ward. Additionally, we commenced construction of 20 units on East State Street during the early part of the year and new working families are expected to move in by April 2011.

We are also increasing revenue generation and helping revitalize the City by selling abandoned homes. We sold a total of 58 properties in our last auction. The total proceeds from this auction netted $383,400. Other sales include: the sale of 657-659 Calhoun Street to Cleantex for their business expansion, netting $50,000 and potentially creating 150 jobs; the sale of two acres of the Kramer Site to Faigle Realty, netting $150,000 and creating an industrial facility for Standard and Roofing, a Trenton business which is projected to create additional jobs once the new facility is up.

On the economic development front in 2010, City staff continued to expand outreach to local businesses to join the Urban Enterprise Zone Program (UEZ), using the 'door-to-door' campaign to explain the cost savings and grant benefits of membership. Additionally, the City continues to support redevelopment and revitalization through its Award-winning Brownfields Program. The Brownfields Program utilizes State and Federal resources to conduct environmental cleanup for important revitalization projects such as the Assunpink Greenway, the rehabilitation of the former Magic Marker

site and East Trenton Homes, to name only a few. {All of these projects were just continuing work underway since the previous administration initiated them}

In October, the 17th Annual Trenton Small Business Week was very successful.

We have also re-established important links to the Trenton Downtown Association, and are committed to the integrated approach espoused by the Downtown Capital District Master Plan. On March 31st we will hold an Economic Development Summit, which will focus on implementing the Downtown Master Plan. Additionally, an RFP has been issued to develop the Glen Cairn Site. In spite of the challenging economy, other economic development highlights include: Delicatessen on South Warren Street and a new restaurant, 'Eleven' on Front Street.

That’s not all, projects in the pipeline include: NJBIA's new headquarters on Lafayette Street; the proposed redevelopment of Building 101(Roebling Complex); a new housing development by the Rescue Mission; new housing development by HomeFront; Phase II of the Delaware run project by K. Hovnanian Homes; the creation of a loan pool with funding partners to facilitate residential development in the city; the redevelopment of the Polizzi meat market site; and the redevelopment of the former Mill Hill Hotel. {Again, all in the pipeline prior to Mack taking office}

Finally, we expect that the Economic Development and Historic Tourism Summit will facilitate reinvestment in important landmarks in our downtown including the Bell, Aleda, Trenton Savings Bank, Tremont, and the Commonwealth Buildings. {This was the last we heard anything about these buildings from the administration. They are all just as they were a year ago with the exception that the brass gates were just recently stolen from the Trenton Savings Bank site}

One other exciting development I’d like to highlight is the planned expansion of the James Kerney Campus of Mercer County Community College in Trenton. In response to the growing need for academic and career opportunities for Trenton and other residents of Mercer County the college is launching a major expansion of its Trenton Campus.

Future initiatives include a Center for Art and Design, Modeling and Simulation, and room for an expansion of the Health Science, Business and Entrepreneurial Studies curriculum.

All of these projects will help lead Trenton’s strong economic growth. However, you cannot have growth without efficiency. Anecdotal evidence suggests that developers add a surcharge of approximately 10% when analyzing whether to do a project in Trenton, to account for the inefficiency of the City’s Inspection and permitting process. That’s why I am proud to announce a new, dual-track inspections process. Based on Philadelphia’s program, developers will be able, for a fee, to receive guaranteed dates for such things as plan approvals and construction permits. Using this system we will be able to cut time and provide certainty to developers, while forcefully administering, and enforcing the City's code requirements. To add additional efficiency, we recently rolled out an online

payment system to accept payments via the City’s website for land license renewals. {And then we gutted the inspections department in the September layoffs to the point where contractors are coming to city council and complaining about their loss of revenue from the slow permitting and inspections process}

Since January 1, 2011, $250,000 in landlord licensing fees has been collected through the City’s website. This simple change freed-up front office staff to process payments submitted over the counter and attend to other issues. The department also identified 67 unsafe and dangerous properties throughout the City that are in various stages of demolition.

On this point let me go one step further. I’ve already talked about how we are renovating and selling city-owned abandoned properties. But we must go beyond that to ensure economic growth. We must and we will tackle the city-wide problem of vacant and blighted properties. Arguably, the City owns 1200 unused properties. We are exploring market-based mechanisms designed to take these properties off the City’s hands and get them back on the tax rolls. The City should not be in the real-estate

business, and so we are looking at ways to use the markets to get these properties in the hands of private owners. That way they can be developed, adding to the City’s economic growth. I am already looking forward to updating you on our progress on this crucial initiative.

Other crucial areas I am proud to highlight tonight are initiatives of our Trenton Fire Department and Emergency Medical Services who responded to a total of 9,745 and 5,233 calls respectively. The awarding of the $13.7 million federally funded SAFER grant with the aide of our congressional delegation, allowed us to save 61 jobs, and to keep all of our firehouses open, at NO additional cost to the City of Trenton. We also received a 2011 Kenworth Command Vehicle. This vehicle will allow the Fire Department, to have a mobile Incident Command Post with Satellite live feed and state of

the art interoperable communications.

The Trenton Fire Department, FMBA Local 206, FMBA Local 6, and the Family Network will launch: the Readers are Leaders program. The department will collect new and gently used books to create Neighborhood Book Stops. Children are invited to visit their local fire house to borrow a book, and when they bring it back, they may select another. Through the Readers are Leaders, firefighters will visit schools to read with students. Again, tonight you’ve heard how the pillar of shared partnership is the thread that binds the ideals of my vision. {Has that happened? We don't think so.}

The commitment to partnership is embedded in every City Department. For example, the Health and Human Services Department now shares an agreement with Princeton Borough to provide Spanish translation services to our growing and thriving Latino community. This agreement provides a unique approach for two government entities to work together to better serve our residents. We forged a new partnership with the Pennsylvania Veterinary School to enable students to obtain hands-on veterinary training at the Trenton Animal Shelter. The Trenton Animal Shelter’s website is upgraded to create a fast-paced online pet adoption process. We co-sponsored a Blood Drive with the American Red Cross at Trenton’s very own NJN studios. Tomorrow, we are partnering with the American Diabetes Association to host the Association’s 23rd Annual “Alert Day” a one-day, wake-up call encouraging Trentonians to find out if they are at risk for developing Type 2 diabetes. Finally, the Environmental Services Division successfully obtained a $20,000 grant from the State of New Jersey; from which it purchased a stateof-the-art Lead Paint Analyzer to test homes for lead paint.

Tonight you heard the accomplishments of our City’s departments and my vision for transforming Trenton into a vibrant, greener city, with world-class safe parks and safe clean streets for our children. A growing City, with a strong economy that creates new private-sector jobs. The vision outlined is clear, with measurable tangible goals. Beloved,

I will continue to put Trenton first. I know you will stand with me - as we revitalize Trenton together as partners. I am energized, optimistic, and enthusiastic. Trenton has undergone many transformative changes over the past 200 years.

Yet here we are, STILL STANDING. Here we are together. Let’s continue to work together. Believe in each other. And, most importantly, create a place where our children, can be proud - to one day - raise their children in a thriving revitalized Capital City.

Believe in Trenton! I assure you the State-of-OUR-City is well, and we are on our way.

God Bless you, and God Bless the GREAT Capital City of Trenton!

Can't wait to hear what he has to say this year.