tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006829178157020052.post5058279904722570604..comments2023-04-02T06:52:00.615-04:00Comments on MAPPING IT OUT: Budget-tightening Ideas for Plainfield--My ThoughtsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006829178157020052.post-77141030404161936942009-12-01T18:06:11.563-05:002009-12-01T18:06:11.563-05:00I respect and like your suggestions, but I have on...I respect and like your suggestions, but I have one additional comment. Another way to cut costs is to look carefully at what public officials and employees spend and/or are reimbursed for. For example, PMUA commissioners and executives are regularly reimbursed for "business lunches", travel expenses, and other non-essentials. Some people balk at the idea of cutting these expenditures because they seem small when compared to other waste. However, anyone who has ever filled a jar with coins knows that it quickly adds up. It is important to note that these lunches are not a couple of dollars either. You often see $300-$400 lunches. I am not sure that the PMUA is the only culprit. They are just the ones under the microscope of late. Put all of the city agencies and departments under that same microscope and eliminate these expenditures. We all look forward to working together to make sure our money is well spent!Arinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006829178157020052.post-72758190155251123462009-12-01T17:34:24.384-05:002009-12-01T17:34:24.384-05:00To Anonymous..Nov 30 @ 5:26 PM
It is happening a...To Anonymous..Nov 30 @ 5:26 PM <br /><br />It is happening according to today's news. The State is going to hold the $21M in aid payments to municipalities! Things are really going to get interesting from here on.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006829178157020052.post-21998849239492011562009-11-30T20:26:33.022-05:002009-11-30T20:26:33.022-05:00The state should eliminate all aid to towns and ci...The state should eliminate all aid to towns and cities. Each town should be forced to determine their income and costs, based on that which takes place within their own borders. This drastic action would finally force towns to work together on shared services. As an example I have seen the Plainfield Police mobil commonad center on South Ave frequently over the last few weeks. That vehicle must cost an enormous amount of money. Is it really needed in a town of our size? Could not the county provide this service when needed? Could not this vehicle be a shared service with many other towns in the area? <br />Our school budget is out of control and if not for the additional money received from the State our local taxes would triple. I wonder if all State monies were eliminated for the schools how many people in non teaching positions would still be employed. <br />The PMUA is a mess, with no idea how to effectively control their costs. Perhaps the town, through the Mayor, should simply tell the PMUA that the City is cutting its annual payment by 50% and at the same time limit the PMUA to 4% annual increases. I wonder how many non-direct labor staff would be let go. <br />The Governor elect has talked about declaring 'a state of emergency' to use special powers to make drastic decisions. Perhaps something similar should be done at the local level here in Plainfield to force rational solutions to the fiscal time bomb we are facing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006829178157020052.post-8332314415418040172009-11-30T13:54:06.161-05:002009-11-30T13:54:06.161-05:00In addition to your ideas I would suggest finding ...In addition to your ideas I would suggest finding out how many employees we tax paying citizens are employing that live in Plainfield. Standing outside waiting for the last Council Meeting to begin I struck a conversation with an employee informing me that he doesn't live in Plainfield. So it makes me wonder just how many more are we paying that actually do not live in Plainfield. I heard one employee come to the microphone and say when she applied there was a residency requirment. I'm sure that everyone pay their taxes to the municipality they live in, so I feel they should work where they live (Piscataway, Westfield, Rahway, Hillsboro, Somerset, South Plainfield) just to name a few. Please look into this and keep the Plainfield employees.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006829178157020052.post-87882953825426759942009-11-30T11:21:55.988-05:002009-11-30T11:21:55.988-05:00Sorry to say, but most of what you have outlined w...Sorry to say, but most of what you have outlined will increase costs not reduce them.<br /><br />There are good reasons not to share services. I have found that sharing services almost always increases costs. One reason is that no one studies customer demand before entering such agreements, we have found that failure demand (demand caused by a failure to do something or do something right for a customer) represents any where from 25 to 75% of all demand to hospitals. So before sharing services we should look at customer demand.<br /><br />Also, the design of the work is poorly done in most cases. This is a huge opportunity for improvement. Too many front/back office designs with entrapping technology. Most of this can be designed out of hospitals resulting in better service and lower costs.<br /><br />Once these are looked at then we can have a conversation about sharing services.<br /><br />Please Read:<br /><br />http://blog.newsystemsthinking.com/blog/shared-services-strategy/0/0/dos-and-donts-of-a-shared-services-strategy<br /><br />http://blog.newsystemsthinking.com/blog/bryce-harrison/0/0/economies-of-flow-defined-for-service<br /><br />Tripp Babbitt<br />www.newsystemsthinking.com<br />www.thesystemsthinkingreview.com (govt help)TriBabbitthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13679973147681046062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006829178157020052.post-38678079137514780712009-11-30T11:21:55.989-05:002009-11-30T11:21:55.989-05:00In order for this City to continue,your suggestion...In order for this City to continue,your suggestions must be taken seriously. There is a definite need to become financially sound. <br /><br />In addition to furloughs, etc, there should be serious desk audits to determine what each employee is producing per their position. This to eliminate "make work" positions.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006829178157020052.post-11278979902756865082009-11-30T10:37:04.879-05:002009-11-30T10:37:04.879-05:00Thank you Councilor Mapp for your thoughful and se...Thank you Councilor Mapp for your thoughful and sensible ideas for solving our budget crisis. I wish our administration would put as much thought into what they do.active citizenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10884062448798453240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006829178157020052.post-72864187135355019162009-11-30T10:37:04.880-05:002009-11-30T10:37:04.880-05:00I am glad to see your attendance at the Annual Lea...I am glad to see your attendance at the Annual League of Municipalities meeting has produced an action plan to help address the fiscal challenges facing Plainfield. I am also glad to see we have a councilman who serious about change and not a caretaker Councilman. Good luck with your initiatives, you have my support!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com