Monday's City Council Meeting

There were plenty of surprises at the City Council's regular meeting, including introduction of the new director of Public Works & Urban Development, David Brown II, and introduction of budget amendments for the fiscal year ending June 30.

Brown was appointed Jan. 1, but will now take office as of Monday, Feb. 8. Previously, he was expected to take office April 1. Former department head Jennfer Wenson Maier was not reappointed Jan. 1, but was expected to stay on until April 1. However, she took a position in Hoboken and was expected to leave Plainfield city employment this month.

Plaintalker's foray to City Hall Monday morning yielded no budget amendments, but the evening agenda contained under "New Items" amendments that reduced the local municipal tax levy by $1.07 million. The amendments were too numerous to list here, but Plaintalker will follow with an analysis.

The Citizens' Budget Advisory Committee came up with amendments that would have slashed the budget by $1.4 million. In their presentation Monday, the CBAC detailed many cost-saving measures, including shared services, restructuring city operations, measuring outcomes of goals, considering outsourcing and ensuring consistency in key administrative positions. Plaintaker will report more later on the report, which in a way became moot once the council specified amendments.

This writer did not stay for public comment, favoring checking the 0ther blogs and print media for reports. More later.

--Bernice Paglia