Tony Mack, International Man of Business!

So, for this new “Mayor’s Commission on International Business Affairs,” or CIBA as Tony Mack’s Administration (TMA) likes to call it, Trenton has agreed to fund the first year’s budget to the tune of at least $100,000, and as much as $243,000.

Do I have your attention now?

That’s right, at least One Hundred Thousand Dollars. Half of this is estimated as In-kind services to be rendered during meetings (audio-visual equipment, public address systems, etc), but $50,000 is hard cash. And, as you will read below, the City may be on the hook for even more expenses, since Mack has declared the City will pay “all the expenses of such commission. ” A preliminary budget for the CIBA estimates a little under $243,000 in its first year of operations. This budget assumes $100,000 from the City with the rest of the funds to be raised in the form of Corporate Sponsorships. But if those sponsorships fall short, we are on the hook for the whole amount.

Mayor Mack has made this commitment without public review, without Council approval, and without review or approval of the state’s Department of Community Affairs (DCA), the agency supposedly acting as watchdog over the city’s financial affairs.

Tony Mack created this CIBA by Executive Order (the text of which can be found here), the authority for which he may not in fact have. A mayor may appoint unpaid advisers without prior approval, but his Order establishes a 9-member body – including the President of City Council or other designee – Administration department heads, as well as members of the public. And he may not have the authority to do this unilaterally.

There is a LOT that is wrong with this numbskull “Commission,” and I intend to write more about it.  From the fuzzy rationale and mission as described in the Executive Order, to concerns surrounding its budget and finances, to the question of “Who Benefits?” from this Commission. Plenty to talk about.

I just want to leave you with this language from the Executive Order:

Section 1. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION
The City of Trenton, Mercer County Mayor Commission on International Business Affairs (“the Commission”) is hereby established in the Mayor’s Office, which office shall pay, from appropriations made to it, all the expenses of such commission [Emphasis mine – KM]

Ponder on this a while: In the middle of financial distress in this City everywhere you look – layoffs of one third of our police force, the prospect of layoffs looming for firefighters when Federal grant funds expire, neighborhood libraries closed and remaining dark, and more –  Tony Mack has the unmitigated gall to establish a new plaything, pay for it out of his own office budget – a purpose never considered or approved by anyone – Council, DCA, the public – responsible for that budget (which by the way has not yet been approved for the current fiscal year!). And he does so in a statement that offers to pay for all the expenses of that Commission!!!

The other day, in my first piece on this “Commission,” I suggested that the Mayor is not a well man. The more I hear about this scheme, the more I believe it.

What do you think? Do you think we have a spare quarter-million to spend on something so frivolous, so poorly-conceived?

Or do you also think this is nothing but Madness?

More to come.