The Recall Workshop was held last night. Jim Carlucci and I led a well-attended (about 36 people) session on the how’s and when’s of the recall process as set out by State law. I will write about this at greater length, hopefully tomorrow. But for now, the Trentonian has a pretty good account (after a few revisions).
For now, I just want to comment on the goings on at Trenton Water Works.
The County Prosecutor’s raid at the Water Works and the subsequent arrests are bad news for the City. On several levels. The angle that may perhaps take a while to develop but is likely to be the most significant to the City in the long-term is the fact that once again Trenton has provided an example of why it should not be trusted with the management of the water supply for much of Mercer County. After the long and hard fight last Spring that kept the system intact and under municipal ownership, the one-two punch of “BrownWatergate” of early October which jeopardized the safety of our water and stressed many of the main pipes to the literal breaking point, and yesterday’s arrests and charges of systematic abuse of overtime, falsified timesheets and outright theft, may be too much for this system to bear.
With this week’s news, expect to hear of more meetings between the Mayor, County Exec Brian Hughes, and the mayors of the several townships served by TWW, discussing the future of the City’s sole ownership. The Water Works’ loss of integrity – the physical kind as well as the moral – will be the lasting legacy of the last three months. Sadly.
The news about lax supervision of workers and abuse of overtime is another example of the absence of good management both at the Water Works and at City Hall. Acting Public Works Director Ralph Burzchachiello has shown – again – he is not up to the job he is filling on an interim basis. We are 159 days into the administration, 69 days past the statutory deadline for a permanent director. Permanent Department Heads need to be nominated by the Mayor and confirmed by Council, as our law requires. There is no excuse for this.
And once again, City Hall has shown its lack of executive capabilities. Mayor Mack, and this City, needs additional executive level management talent. The Mayor needs to hire a capable, talented and experienced Deputy Mayor/Chief of Staff to help bring some order to the chaos we now have.
Finally, Mayor Mack’s response so far (up to 2:00 PM) to the raid and arrests is disappointing. There have been no formal statements or releases from City Hall: the newest release on the city website announces the Mayor’s invitation to the City’s First Annual Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day Ceremony.
Pearl Harbor. I guess no one at City Hall understands the definition of the word “Irony.”
Mayor Mack’s other responses have been to the effect that he is not commenting. He refused questions from our local media, and apparently deflected questions at his Town Meeting last night. He was contacted by a writer for the Associated Press. That didn’t go too well:
(Mayor) Mack was reached last night on his cell phone but told an Associated Press reporter that she had the wrong number and had to call City Hall. Minutes later, he called back to complain about being bothered on his personal phone. He refused to answer questions and hung up.