Things in Disarray
Random image: Purple Coneflowers.At home, my phone and modem are still not working properly, despite the efforts of a repairman on Wednesday. Across the city, things are definitely not right on several fronts. The Connolly situation has exploded from random mutterings of tenants to a fullblown, front-page scandal. Business owners are suffering from tripled rents downtown, one such longtime owner telling me last week he is working out of his home after being driven out of the central business district by an intolerable rent increase.
Add to the list the delays in road and street repairs, the seeming ineptitude in many facets of City Hall operations, a fitful City Council schedule and what appears to be a chronic lapse in making appointments to boards and commissions.
Maybe Verizon will ultimately find a way to fix my crackly phone line and unreliable modem, but as for the rest, it will take a lot of citizen outcry to get elected officials to pay attention and take action. The mayor's primary win must not be taken as an endorsement of current conditions in the city, some of which are no better than they were in 2006.
It's a sad situation. People are feeling compromised by forces beyond their control and even though some remedies exist, they are not being applied.
Any comments?
--Bernice Paglia
posted by Bernice at 3:30 AM
5 Comments:
Bernice,
You have fallen into the trap of swaying in the winds of negative press. You are seeing nothing but woe.
Take a break. Smell the flowers and spend some time with family.
From adversity we will emerge a better city. I am confident of that.
A proactive city council that takes its fiduciary responsibility seriously would be a start.
Getting a REAL (meaning competent!!) finance director who is not simply a crony of Jerry Green's or the mayor's is paramount. Forcing Dashield to ANSWER QUESTIONS put to him by the council and residents is important.
Making the mayor adhere to the timely appointments and hirings would be a start.
Otherwise, she can look forward to another embarrassing RECALL effort where her dirty laundry (and after 4 years, it's PLENTY DIRTY!) will be aired yet again.
Muhlenberg, PMUA, patronage appointments, missing tax money--just the TIP of the iceberg, Bernice.
When will city council and the mayor take a stand on PMUA? Because they have't done anything about PMUA, they really seem like bullies with their stance on Connolly. Come on folks. Take a stand. One way or the other. What a disgrace to the residents of Plainfield.
Bernice,
I have been watching the grass reclaim the cementary on Plainfield Ave. Is this because the City took it over in the tax liens and now owns it ??
That cemetery has always required periodic cleanups. Not sure about the tax lien situation.
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