“Full of Sound and Fury…

… Signifying Nothing!”

When Mayor Mack  announced last month his “plan” to keep the four neighborhood branches of the Public Library open, for at least a few hours each weekday, I applauded the sentiment, but couldn’t help but notice that, well, There Was No Plan. Library management was taken rather by surprise by the Mayor’s announcement. As far as the financial resources to make the plan reality were concerned, there was only vague talk of “private philanthropic donors,” although they were not yet “formally confirmed.”

Now you have to wonder if they were ever there at all. Library Director Kimberly Matthews is reported this morning as saying she and the rest of the Library management haven’t heard from the Mayor since that press release a month ago, and after the mayor attended a Trustees meeting.  The Library’s plans and resources on its own are insufficient to provide the money needed to fulfill the Mayor’s “plan.” That’s why Matthews and colleagues were proceeding with their plans to close the neighborhood branches and consolidate operations at the Main Branch on Academy Street, and lay off several Library employees.

These were very, very sad developments, but realistic given the dire circumstances the City faces. In this context, the Mayor’s announcement and plan was bold, yes. But in raising expectations that in no way could be met, the announcement last month was really more cruel than inspirational. It was a distraction from the bigger, more intractable budget problems facing this City.

Ditto for the Mayor’s big aspirations and plans for the City’s Parks. Heaven knows there is desperate need in the parks for new equipment and even basic maintenance. But to announce, as the Mayor has been at his local Ward Town Hall meetings, plans to build one of the nation’s biggest youth tennis centers? With a business model that would require local contractors to donate all the labor to construct? Crazy. For issues such as the Library and the Parks, you just don’t make big pronouncements about major donors – At All – until you have at least one or two solid anchor commitments that you can point to as proof of concept and personal credibility.

Otherwise, you’re just blowing smoke. And if you establish a pattern of blowing smoke on small issues, what happens to credibility on the big issues?

Speaking of which… with all of the heartbreak and drama associated with the city’s current round of layoffs, which includes 111 police and 78 firefighters, lost in the mix is more likely bad news. The City faces, we are told, a deficit in the current year budget of $64 Million. The current round of layoffs and restructuring, as apocalyptic as it is, makes up a net of $30 Million of that gap. We are still left with $34 Million to cover.Mayor Mack hopes that the State of New Jersey will make up that gap, depending on his good friend Governor Christie.

Can I see a show of hands? How many of you think Chris Christie is good for $34 Million for Trenton.?

Yeah, me too.

At his West Ward Town Hall meeting on August 30, Mayor Mack described how the application form for State Aid this year required a balanced budget projection for the fiscal year. The City’s application reflected the effect of the current layoffs, but still showed that $34 Million gap. Although the Mayor hopes the State will be good for that $34 Million, he did say that the City’s application showed – as it had to – that $34 Million gap being made up by a local tax increase if State aid was not forthcoming.

That bombshell hasn’t been reported very prominently. A fiscal year is well under way in which the State of New Jersey canceled $43 Million in grant aid from past years,  and explicitly told us we would have to compete with every other municipality in the State for a drastically reduced pot of financial support. In that environment, our city projects we assume the State will deliver $34 Million in aid, or we will raise taxes to cover it.

That translates to another potential raise in property taxes in the neighborhood of $1.80 per $100 of assessed value. On top of the previously-announced 59-cent increase for this year. On top of last year’s punitive increase.

Of course, any state aid toward covering the $ 34 Million gap would offset some of that increase. Can I see those hands again, all those who expect the Governor to send a $34 Million check to Trenton?

We are still in a deep, deep mess on the City’s budget. Distracting us with unrealistic and ultimately heartbreaking announcements  about saving parks and libraries, Mayor Mack is just telling us tales full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.