2008-09 Citizens Budget

Advisory Committee
for the Betterment of Plainfield

Plainfield, NJ
November 10, 2008

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 Citizen’s Budget Advisory Committee
• 16 concerned people from many backgrounds, careers &
perspectives – all with the intent of improving our City
• Key areas of expertise:
– Social Worker and Buyer at Lord & Taylor
– Sr. Project Manager, Board of Education Member
– Sr. Budget Analyst, Process Management Consultant
– Marketing Consultant & Corporate Business Manager
– Corporate Accounting Manager
– Director, City of Plainfield Administration & Finance
– And many others
• The advice and recommendations are at NO CHARGE

2
 CBAC Perspective
• Task: provide recommendations to City Council
and Administration for 2008-09
• Reality: too little time and too much $ already
committed
• Compromise: help with 2008-09 changes as
appropriate, but set the stage for long-term
strategy and priorities

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 CBAC Perspective
What We Are: What We Are NOT:
• Practical • Political
• Pragmatic • Personal
• Persuasive • Pedantic
• Purposeful
• Proactive

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 Citizens’ Perspective (emails)
• I have a question and this is not meant to be disrespectful. Does anyone in the budgeting
process have a background in accounting or own their own business?

• I look at it like this. Plainfield is already being hit with a large amount of foreclosures. If the
city continues to raise taxes, Plainfield will become a ghost town. With the economy the way it
is, it’s disturbing that our city administration would even consider raising taxes.

• You can’t spend what you don't have. For example why do we have two people sitting at a
desk all day at the entrance to city hall. That’s $50-60K plus benefits.

• Teach people to multitask. I have never seen so many people in a city hall.
• Also what about all these tax abatements on properties? And churches keep popping up on
every corner. They should pay taxes. This city has more churches and temples than any town.
The population is not any larger. If it is give out more liquor licenses so we can generate more
revenue and open more restaurants and bars.
• This town needs more industry, not more housing. Business brings people which brings
revenue. Until our schools are fixed, we should not build more housing. If we had better
schools, we could bring better families and businesses which would generate more revenue
and then create more housing. Instead we do it backwards. We need to look to Newark as an
example. We have vacant buildings everywhere. Let's make it easier for businesses to start
up and move here. Bring this city back to life.
• Get rid of the illegal housing. Better the low income housing. 5
 Citizens’ Perspective (emails)
• I would like to see the streets repaved, matching color awnings or signs on the
store fronts in our downtown area.

• Better trash cleanup in some neighborhoods. (Let's face it some neighborhoods

litter more than others). The city is aware of this and on Sunday when I attend
church there is so much garbage on the street on West 4th and 5th Sts.

• More city services like having the city repair the sidewalks and update the curbing
in the neighborhoods.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_

• I'd would like to see a reduction in the mayor’s public relations staff since we hear
so little from this mayor. Also I'd like to see reductions in moneys spent for perks
that might have come to be expected & looked at as standard business expenses.

• One thing that still annoys me is that my taxes have significantly increased over
the last 10 years, and during that same period I was forced to use the PMUA which
now charges an average home owner $1,300 each year. Since we are obviously
facing a recession I think this is one time the city needs to make serious cuts and
become proactive. 6
 CBAC Observations
• Accuracy & Quality of Presentations & Info
– How can we expect parking tickets and pot holes to
be “high quality” if we’re not?
• Technical Competence & Productivity
– IT systems and user expertise are huge bottlenecks
• Customer Service Orientation
– Several City Employees forget who pays them
• Must make all “touch points” valuable and productive
• Help vs. hindrance (examples)
– Make outcomes simpler
• Currently too much focus on process
• All Forms on the City web site

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 CBAC Observations
• Process is very late, fiscal year is 1/3 over
– Our recommendations are just scratching the surface,
more substantive cuts and efficiencies are possible
– Consider changing to calendar fiscal year to better
manage revenues & expenditures
• Disappointed in City Council attendance and
somewhat passive responses
• “Goals and Objectives” are neither, more like job
descriptions
• Where are maintenance and repurchase plans
for fleet, buildings, equipment, etc.?
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 CBAC Observations
The Citizen’s Plan for the Revitalization of Plainfield report was
prepared in October 1995 by the Citizens’ Committee for Social and
Economic Revitalization of Plainfield. It’s worth reviewing to create
a framework for Plainfield’s vision. To summarize:

•   Plainfield needs to present itself as a community in which people

want to live. This includes ensuring houses are well kept, and
zoning ordinances are enforced
•   By making Plainfield look desirable, people will want to move here
•   Businesses will want to locate to Plainfield in order to capitalize on
the growing population
•   Housing prices will increase based on a thriving downtown and
housing stock

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 Keys to Success
Effectiveness is “Getting the Right Things Done Right”
– Peter Drucker

• Vision for the City not well defined

• Strategy and Priorities to implement the Vision
– City Objectives and Goals to align with strategy and vision
– Department Goals align with City Objectives
– Align goals and objectives with compensation
• More accurate understanding of duties, tasks,
costs and expected outcomes
• Continued desire to improve through motivation

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 Comparisons with Other Cities
City 2000 Population 2006 Budget Spending/Resident

Rahway 26,500 $41,030,000 $1,548

Plainfield 47,829 $64,719,000 $1,353

New Brunswick 48,573 $59,535,000 $1,226

Piscataway 50,482 $43,226,000 $ 856

Irvington 60,695 $78,069,000 $1,286

Edison 97,687 $99,050,000 $1,014

Proposed 2008 47,829* $70,158,522 $1,467

* - Assuming the population is now ~50,000,

the annual cost/resident = $1,403 Source: Rashid Burney, 2006 11
 Comparisons with Other Cities
City 2000 Population 2007 Budget Spending/Resident

Rahway 26,500 $43,011,843 $1,623

New Brunswick 48,573 $72,349,045 $1,489

Plainfield 47,829 $67,733,964 $1,416

Irvington 60,695 $85,200,000 $1,404

Edison 97,687 $106,626,911 $1,092

Piscataway 50,482 $45,687,668 $ 905

Proposed 2008 47,829* $70,158,522 $1,467

* - Assuming the population is now ~50,000,

the annual cost/resident = $1,403 Source: Marc Dashield, 2008 12
 Key Long-Term Priorities
• IT
– IT technology enhancements and training to get us into this decade

• HR
– Mid- to long-term HR staffing and retirement plans
– Performance measurements and compensation to align with goals and
objectives
– Bi-lingual staff in key departments to align with changing demographics

• Cost Control
– Contract negotiations and annual raises
– Systemized bidding process for contracts

• City Development
– Developer friendly environment
– Funds for anticipated long term building and equipment upgrades

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 CBAC Approach
• Total Team developed priorities, POINTS
– Public Safety 30 ?
– Improved Schools 25 ?
– Economic Development 20 ?
– Communications (IT & other) 15 ?
– Beautification 10 ?
• We divided up key sections and provided
recommendations based on priorities

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 CBAC Approach
• Total Team developed priorities & scorecard:

Grades from each Committee Member based on the

Priority common A-F scale (10/27/08)

Public Safety & Crime Prevention C D+ C C C D C C C

Public Schools (performance,

F F F F F F F F D
reputation)

Economic Development (businesses,

D F D D F D F D D
jobs)

Communication (timely, accurate) D F F F F F F F D

Beautification (buildings, trees, etc.) C C C C F D F C C

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 Overall Budget Recommendations – 1
• Significant progress made in last three years to reduce operating
expenses
– 2008-2009 budget facing extraordinary conditions

• No (0%) Budget increase is deemed necessary as citizens perceive

current services are not adequate (why pay more for services we are
not happy with?)
– Lack of efficient processes
– Budget presentations were so sloppy that the Budget Committee has no
confidence in the city’s ability to effectively manage it
• Negotiate more favorable cost of living increases and reasonable
expenses for contract employees (medium- to long-term)
• Do not fill any open positions until deemed fiscally viable by the council
– Council should confirm any positions that become available through
retirement or voluntary separation
– Fire department should examine the impact of OT vs. hiring (additional
workman’s comp, hiring costs, health benefits, pensions, etc.)
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 Overall Budget Recommendations – 2
• Remove Dudley House from City payroll, have non-profit
run the organization
• Freeze non-contract salaries for 18 months
• Have 6-day staffing for Inspections Department
– Many dwellings can only be seen on weekends
– Schedule appointments as appropriate
– Department should be self-sustaining
• Initiate a 4-1/2 day (salary) work week for several weeks to
save 10% as necessary
• Have one person oversee workman’s comp claims
• Initiate a group insurance (vs. self insurance) policy
– Need analysis & guidelines for prospective insurers

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 Overall Budget Recommendations – 3
• Total recommended expense cuts = $2,503,743
– Does not yet include full reconciliation or department alignment
– Total could be over $3,000,000 depending on what’s implemented

• Revenue increases from Municipal Court, Police Summons,

Inspections and Recreation
– Increase Municipal Court $ by 15% to match July-Sept. 2008-09
– Zero Tolerance for Code Enforcement (30-60 days)
– Nominal fees for usage of community pools, facilities, etc.
– Study ROI for new police equipment (radar, etc.)

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 Suggested Expense Cuts – Orig.
Department Member(s) Savings
Legislative/Executive Cecil ($184,102)
Administration & Finance Carrie/Jeanette ($43,865)
Other Salary Increases Carrie/Jeanette
Economic Development Ana ???

Public Works & Urban Development

Inspections Robin ($13,781)
Recreation Robin ($47,968)
Dept. of Public Works Ana ???

Public Affairs & Safety

Police Bill ($697,374)
Fire Lee ($511,740)
Community Activities Cecil ($115,000)
Centralized Accounts Don ($29,000)
Salary Adjustments Don ($500,000)
Total Account Review Nancy ($1,741,153)

Total Recommended Cuts ($3,883,983)

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Suggested Expense Cuts – Rev.
Department Member(s) Savings
Legislative/Executive Cecil ($184,102)
Administration & Finance Carrie/Jeanette ($43,865)
Other Salary Increases Carrie/Jeanette $0
Economic Development Ana $40,000

Public Works & Urban Development

Inspections Robin ($13,781)
Recreation Robin ($47,968)
Dept. of Public Works Ana ($35,000)

Public Affairs & Safety

Police Bill ($247,374)
Fire Lee ($36,500)
Community Activities Cecil ($115,000)
Centralized Accounts Don ($29,000)
Salary Adjustments Don ($50,000)
Total Account Review Nancy ($1,741,153)
Total Recommended Cuts ($2,503,743) 20
 CBAC Questions & Observations

• $2.5MM in potential cuts – reasonable, doable?

– Focus on effectiveness & customer service
• What are the true implications of the PMUA
contract?
– How does PMUA add to or relieve the tax burden?
• Public Works, Public Safety, Municipal Court,
HR and Planning appear to be on top of issues
• Are grants (primarily CDBG) being appropriately
distributed to Plainfield?

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 Next Steps
• Create an understandable vision which can be clearly
understood by Citizens (tax payers) and followed by City
employees
• Make IT a priority
• Start budget process earlier and have a Citizens Budget
Committee involved
• Recognize those who provide excellent services

• Lots of “Positives in Plainfield” – need to highlight those

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Appendix

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 Inspections

My comments on section  #4 Inspections. Dept 330-002

* For FY 2009 there is a elimination of a Code Enforcement Officer position
being replaced by Recreation Program Specialist.
I would think more revenue is to be gained from a Code Enforcement  Officer
so I would recommend to the board to not approve of the change
 without a valid explanation.
* For FY 2008 the longevity amount for Secretarial assistant is $339,077. Is
this correct ? Needs an explanation regardless.
* Why is the Director of Inspections receiving a 9% increase in salary for
FY2009 ? Are they assuming additional responsibilities?

I would take last years - 2008 expenditures and mirror the expenditures by line items for
2009.
For example FY2009 - AC#204 telephone $0 request but FY 2008 expenditure was
$2971.66.
Example 2; AC#228 Other Contracts and Services FY 2009 request $10,300 but FY 2008
expenditure was $3020.67.
I know that budgets should be some what flexible but there should be some
accountability by line item. This is one of those measurable performance indicators
that seems to be taken for granted or simply ignored.
Budget Recommendation;
FY 2009     Salary & Wages                       $1,064,161   (I am still questioning
salary of Director)
                Overtime               $3,200         (2008 actual expenditure   -
$1800)
                 Bottled Water                               $0         (-$9 96)
                  Training Aids & programs           $5,000         (-$ 3682)
                Total Budget Recommendation   $1,102,081   vs Adm Rec of $1,115,862
 ( -$13,781)        

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 Recreation
   

My comments on section #4 Recreation Dept 370-001

Again I would I would recommend the following budget based on last years
expenditures;
101 S & W $263,000
102 Seasonal $453,000
104 Over time      $2,000
205 Building Rental         $1,275
206 Machn. Rental         $1,160
213 Janitor/Laundry    $1,430
215 Printing                $840
216 Photog/Blueprint        $825
217 Advertise                $650
218 Travel Allowance        $600
219 Prof.Contr.Serv.        $500
222 Meetings                $500
223 Memberships      $1,000
228 Other Contrac.      $6,500
229 Author Field Trips        $6,000
231 Build. Maint.                $100
232 Other                $2,000
234 Equip.Repair        $1,000
237 Material/Supplies        $1,000
238 Uniforms/Clothing        $5,000
       Total         $748,380  Budget Recommendation vs Adm. Rec.
of $796,348 (-$47,968)

My comments on section  #4 Recreation Other Dept 370-002

    
Total Budget recommendation of $14,000 with line items matching up to last year.
Savings of -$1500.
If $8,310 was spent last year on #256 chemical & gases why was only $3,500
requested ?
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 Centralized Accounts and Miscellaneous

– Here are my comments regarding Centralized Accounts and Miscellaneous.

– Centralized Accounts show total spending of $1,801,000 for 2009 vs.
$1,772,000 for 2008. The $29,000 increase is in one account: gasoline. Based
on the significant current decreases in fuel costs, I suggest we keep the amount
at the 2008 level of $310,000 vs. the proposed 2009 level of $339,000.
– Miscellaneous: The municipal debt shows a decrease in 2009 of approximately
$1,900,000 vs. 2008 due to reductions in the principal amount on both municipal
bonds and capital lease obligations. This implies the completion of a sizeable
portion of these obligations. I assume this is correct, unless someone else
remembers otherwise. The Capital Improvement Fund line item shows $20,000
in 2008 vs. $340,000 in 2009. I don't recall the reason for this increase, however
maybe another committee member does. If not, then let's find out. Pension
costs, which total approximately $5,800,000 in 2009, I believe are contractual
and therefore are not subject to change unless the employee headcount
changes. Furthermore, Social security and unemployment payroll taxes of
$1,570,000 are a function of payroll costs and are also not subject to change
unless the headcount changes. There is a line for Salary Adjustment of
$900,000 in 2008 vs. $400,000 in 2009. I honestly can't recall what this was. If
any other committee member recalls this item and is comfortable with it, then
fine. Otherwise, we should ask what it is.
– Finally, as I discussed on Monday evening, I strongly believe we should hold off
on filling any open positions included in the budget. This would result in savings
on not only salaries but also on medical insurance, payroll taxes and pension
costs.
– In addition, I suggested increasing the municipal court revenue by 15%.

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 Legislative / Executive and Community

• Consistent with the views expressed at Monday's budget committee meeting, here
are my recommendations with respect to section 1 (Legislative Executive) and
section 6 (Community Activities). Basically I compared the budget amounts for 2009
vs. the prior year expenditure and suggest the following reductions.
Mayor's Office - $ 36,102
City Council - $ 13,500
City Administrator - $ 8,000
Corporation Counsel - $ 52,000
City Clerk - $ 25,000
Public Information & Media - $ 50,000
Total Section 1 Deductions - $184,102
Library - $100,000
Art Council - $ 10,000
Independence Day - $ 5,000
Total Section 6 Deductions - $115,000
Total Deductions for Section 1 & 6 - $299,102

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 Police

• Below are my comments about the Police Department. This is a difficult situation for
me personally, because these officers put their lives on the line every day, and
frankly, work in a town that requires more effort on their part than many surrounding
towns.
1) there should be an immediate freeze on all overtime ($500,000) unless there's a
specific emergency situation that requires "all hands on deck"
2) I don't know if this is negotiable with the Police Unions but for 6 months or so, we
should put holiday pay as regular pay (~$100,000)
3) Other Expenses (in the Admin. Dept.) $53,476 last year and $150,850 this year (a
difference of $97,374)
4) We have 6 captains @ $129,243, 9 lieutenants @ $112,038, 23 sergeants @ $95-
97K (depending on longevity), and 13 officers @ $49-56K (depending on longevity).
5) The Service department has $10,000 for Food and Drugs.
6) Narcotics has increased their salaries by $449K. This is part of a reorganization,
and based on salary decreases in other departments, is pretty much a wash.

• Total Recommended Cuts = $697,374; Realistic Cuts (-$50K in O/T) = $247,374

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 Fire

Line 232 pg 4. ($449,000) fire hydrant repair. Shouldn’t this be included under Public Works? Is this an
item that could be given to American Water Co. to maintain along with other sewer/water
services in town?
Freeze hiring for 2009. PFD is looking to hire 8 new cadets ($59,405 x 8 = $475,240) – not doable…
Eliminate OT pay and replace it with comp-time to be used annually or forfeited. Saves $25,000
Eliminate public education. Saves $15,000 - instead perform annual inspections of every home in
Plainfield. There are 9,130 residential homes and 532 exempt homes which would equate to
1.79 inspections per week for a roster of 112 firemen.
What is the purpose of cell phones, radio service is sufficient saves $9,000
Elimination of professional membership, books & publications saves $2,500
if not contractually obligated line 238, the dept members should be required to purchase their own
equipment and take the appropriate tax deductions (equates to $432 savings per person to the
budget)
All new hires for 2010 will be cross trained for inspections and code enforcement to give city additional
coverage missing after 5pm and on weekends.
Instead of building a new facility on South Ave., PFD should look to take advantage of existing
structures and sites such as Muhlenberg Campus.
Additional goals of PFD should be to certify all personnel 1st response EMS; create junior academy to
teach youth about fire safety and careers; implement a volunteer FD to create pool of
candidates who serve the community first for consideration of future hire.

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 Total Accounts (same items in different places)

255 Books and Publications total $ 17,300

260 and 232 Bottled Water total $ 4,150 (two different accounts codes were used)
257 Food & Drugs $ 18,700
262 Meeting Refreshments $ 1,000
222 Meetings, Conventions $ 72,500
223 Memberships $ 28,180
224 Misc. Expenses $ 400
264 Office Furniture and Equipment $ 9,300
237 Office Materials & Supplies $ 67,250
267 Other Equipment $ 14,000
209 Other Expense General $ 466,000
[these are Fire Department expenses for Uniform Fire Safety Act and Office of Emergency Management]
232 Other Expenses $1,009,292
[the top three are Public Information - $ 110,000
Police Admin. Bureau $ 150,850
Library $ 499,355
if you take those three out, the total would be $ 249,087
262 Other Material & Supplies $ 33,081
A grand total of $1,741,153

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 Community Relations & Social Services -- #1

Dept 335-001 Community Relations and Social Services

1. Why is the “Assistant Director of Public Works“ heading this department with a salary of 99.7K? and using over
25% of the grant for this social service department.
2. Why are departmental salaries doubled from last year?
3. Is this department Plainfield Action Services?
4. Why wasn’t this department presented to us?
5. How could LY salaries total 46.2K and this year require 108.4K with a grant of 194K… the numbers don’t add up
6. At the bottom of Attachment A this is a line item under longevity amount for 10K with no identifier under the title.

Dept 335-002 Bilingual Daycare

1. This is a great program that is entirely grant funded, there are no listings for LY salaries. WHY NOT?

Dept 370-003 Senior Citizens Center

1. It looks like they used a grant to give huge salary increases WHY?
2. Supervisor = 50 % salary increase
3. Sr. Program Analyst = 39% salary increase
4. Secretarial assistant = 30% salary increase
5. Sr. Citizens program aid = 40% salary increase
6. Chauffer = 39% salary increase
7. Part time Chauffer = 14.9 % salary increase
8. Sr. Citizen’s program aid = 15.9% salary increase
9. Recreation leader arts and craft = more then doubled salary
10. Why couldn’t they use the grant money, giving the “standard 3.5%” salary increase. The grant money should fund
reasonable salaries and not be used for huge increases. This money could be used elsewhere.
11. Even if you look at the bottom line gross salary numbers LY: 213,488 vs TY: 234,084 = 9.6% salary increase

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 Community Relations & Social Services -- #2
335-003 Dudley House
1. If this is currently not functioning and the workers have been laid off, the program should remain suspended until
grant monies are received to continue the program.
2. This is an important program for this and surrounding communities and extraordinary efforts should be made to
get it up and running with the appropriate grant funding ASAP!

330-001 Health Department

1. Again unreasonable salary increases
2. Health Officer = 88% salary increase
3. Assistant Health = 42% salary increase
4. Health Educator = 28% salary increase
5. Senior Investigator Communicable = 39% salary increase
6. Public Health Nurse = 67% salary increase
7. Supervising Registrar – Vital Statistics shows a large salary decrease, almost 20K is the job changing to part-
time. Is this a result of the closing of MRMC and fewer birth and death certificates needed?
8. Senior Clerk Typist = 27% salary increase
9. Community Service Aid BIL = 10% salary increase
10. One position was eliminated but if you look at the raw number for the department there is still more then a 9%
salary increase overall
11. On the second page there are 2 lines with 64K and 71.5K with no descriptors, what is this?

WIC Program
1. There are no salaries shown for LY and no grant information shown. This program has been in existence for
years. 455K expected from the city. Is this another lost grant???????? Or is WIC Grant funded?????

Animal Control
1. Why do we need 10K over LY spending?
2. Why did we overspend LY appropriations by double?

Bottom line: A lot of money could be saved if there were really 3.5% salary increases and not these overblown
increases with no explanations. And I cannot believe that 20+% increases are due to raises that did not occur LY.
Show me where. Without the proof there should be no approval. 32
 CBAC Observations
• 1-     The budget committee feels that in looking at processes described by the departments in the budget meetings, there is still a great
deal of inefficiency in how the city is run. Prime example is in the budget presentation with the many inaccuracies in budget numbers, and
even spelling errors. The committee is not convinced that the city is running at optimum efficiency and therefore does not see any
reason for an increase in taxes. There should be no tax levy until processes are aligned.
• 2-     The Budget Committee feels that the city council members themselves should have higher expectations for what comes out of the
administration office regarding the budget. To that end, the lack of attendance by the full council was disappointing to the Budget
Committee members. We feel that this is one of the most, if not THE most, important responsibility of the council (who receives payment
for this position). The lack of participation on the part of some council members led us to believe that the city’s lack of vision and planning
does not lie exclusively with the administration.
• 3-     What is the vision for the city and what are the priorities? We saw budget lines asking for money, but there was no cohesive thread
running through the departments illustrating a vision for Plainfield. The Committee decided to create their own priorities as to what we
believe are important quality of life issues within any city. Listed below are five categories, which we believe are important in every city.
We graded each category against the services we feel we are getting from Plainfield. This is of course non-scientific, but we believe has
some merit across the city.

PUT IN RANGE INFORMATION

• Public Safety
• Economic Development
• Schools
• Communications (includes IT – Public Relations)
• Beautification

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 CBAC Observations
In October 1995, there was a Citizen’s Plan for the Revitalization of Plainfield report prepared by the Citizens’ Committee for Social and
Economic Revitalization of Plainfield. It is a report worth reviewing in order to create a framework for Plainfield’s vision. To summarize
the report:
∀ •         Plainfield needs to present itself as a community in which people want to live. This includes ensuring houses are well kept, and
• zoning ordinances are enforced
∀ •         By making Plainfield look desirable, people will want to move here
∀ •         Businesses will want to locate to Plainfield in order to capitalize on the growing population
∀ •        Housing prices will increase based on a thriving downtown and housing stock
4-     For what is the PMUA extra revenue being used?
• 5-     We recommend an 18-month salary freeze on all non-contract employees.
• 6-     Do not fill any current unfilled positions.
• 7-     INSPECTIONS Department should be staffed at least 6 days a week. Many violations, like observing multi-dwellings in a single
family home, can only be viewed on weekends. Inspections should be a self sustaining unit with revenues paying for the department
• 8-     Contract negotiations do not appear to have the city’s interest in mind. Some items that are negotiated, and are concern to the
committee, are uniform cleaning. All people not under a binding contract must supply and clean their own clothes. In these hard times, it
seems that there is a lack of support for the city of Plainfield. Items like this should be eliminated from the next round of contracts.
• 9-     The municipal court revenue should be increased by 15% in order to take into account the first three months of the 2009 fiscal year
actual revenue realized. If you annualize the July through September 2008 actual revenue it
comes out to about 15% higher than last years revenue.
• a. City should have ZERO tolerance on the position of code enforcement.
• b.     The time allotted to citizens who have violated codes should be dramatically reduced to 30 –60 days maximum. This should be
strictly enforced as the ramifications go beyond the violator, and extends to ALL citizens of Plainfield.
• 10-  Study of newer police equipment and ROI should be conducted and council should be an integral part of the study.

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 CBAC Observations
• 11-  There should be a position whose sole responsibility is to oversee workman’s comp claims.
• 12-  The budget committee is concerned that there may be department heads getting two full time salaries but
performing only one job. The committee would like to council to look into this and assure the committee that this
is not the case.
• 13-  Numbers consistently do not match documents give to the committee. For example, professional services in
Economic Development in the budget book total $35,000. On the Professional Services Contract handout, the
total is $25,000. In addition, there are professional services listed in the budget book (Finance and
Administration) and not listed in the handout. This lack of synchronization causes the Committee to wonder of the
accuracy of all of the budget numbers.
• 14-  Some departments should be more self-sufficient by charging nominal fees for services. For example, the
Plainfield Recreation Department can raise revenue by charging nominal fees for their programs and pool
participation. Charging $5.00 or less for entrance to the pool, or $30.00 for a season pass to the pool also results
in community buy in. Fees quoted are for example purposes only. The director of Recreation is better equipped
to know what the market can bear in charging for services.
• 15-  Goals and Objectives should be more quantifiable.
• 16 – Dudley House should be taken over by a non-profit, but no monies should be appropriated by the city.
Where are the employees of Dudley House working at this time?
• 16- Planning, Dept of Public Works, Public Safety Departments seemed to be doing a good job

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