Parks & Recreation Programs

Recreational activities are vitally important for the growth and education of our young residents, our programs need to align with that goal.  We must set goals for youth involvement and start measuring against that goal. At every budget meeting, a council person or citizen asks for statistics around youth participation in programs.  How many unique participants do the parks & rec programs attract each year?  How many programs were managed and how many were deemed successful?  What programs didn’t work and why?

The primary goal of parks & rec is to get kids into programs and activities as a way for them to get exercise, meet new friends and learn/improve certain skills – while at the same time keeping them busy and away from less positive influences that could get the attention of a bored young boy or girl.

The tracking of program results should include ALL youth programs in the city, we need to start breaking down the barriers between outside youth organizations and city hall.  The city does NOT have to own and operate every program youth program.  If local parents want to create a youth sports league and they do a good job coaching and working with the kids then we should embrace that as a city and support their efforts however we can.  We should not compete with successful programs – their success is our success.

Recreation Center

Every election in Plainfield has recreation center as one of the top 5 issues.

It is also a hot button issue when it comes to location, how to pay for it and who should run it.  There is no doubt that Plainfield needs some sort of recreation or community center for our youth, however, what that youth center looks like is an unknown.  The youth center of my day wouldn’t be as relevant in today’s world.  A recreation center is not a small investment and spending that money wisely, on a facility that fits the needs of the community is vitally important.  We can’t afford to toss money around without doing it wisely ($500,000+ spent on the Plainfield Performing Arts Center with no theatrical stage and no parking is a good example of what not to do).

We should consider if the management of a youth center might better be left to a non-profit entity that is supported by the city.  Non-profits have the knowledge and skill set to train employees in creating, executing and managing youth programs and they would also be able to fundraise and receive grants that are either unavailable to or hard for a municipality to get.  We do not need to create another fiefdom where we pile up patronage jobs that cost additional tax dollars at the expense of running quality, educational programs and activities for our youth.

Before we do anything let us first get input from citizens so that it looks, functions, is located properly and funded in a way that makes it a success for the community and the taxpayers.  This is not a top down project and should be driven by the community that would utilize it.

#PlainfieldNotPolitics

The toughest 4 letter word in Plainfield and one that is certain to get people talking. 

The creation of PMUA might have made sense when it was done.  Depending on what information you read, it was created to help solve the illegal dumping issue in town and clean-up the downtown and/or to allow the new entity to borrow money on the bond market at lower cost (because city finances were so bad) and invest that money into upgrades to our aging sewer system.  No matter the reason, there is no benefit in relitigating that decision.  What we must do is analyze the independent authority in today’s world, current costs of the program to taxpayers and the current services provided.  In this analysis, we should include the costs associated with dissolving the PMUA and integrating the sewer and solid waste collection into city services.

• PMUA service costs are exorbitant
• Fees are not tax deductible
• High-cost office operations that would show immediate savings once eliminated (i.e. Executive Director, CFO etc.)
• Illegal dumping is still a huge issue
• PMUA has essentially stopped recycling and sends collections to be incinerated
• Downtown garbage pick-up is inadequate and contributes to the poor conditions in our commercial zone
• PMUA Commissioners appointed by the Mayor without the Council interviewing them or even reviewing a resume of qualifications before they vote to approve – Each paid $4,500 Annually 

#PlainfieldNotPolitics

Public Safety is a Mayor’s primary responsibility. How Mayors manage that responsibility is vital to how police and fire departments utilize resources to serve and protect the population.

Taxpayers have invested a great deal of money to upgrade Police Dept systems and technology, from data collection management and body cameras to 911 system upgrades and license plate readers.  As a council person, I have voted for these initiatives and am a proponent of utilizing technology in managing city services. However, we must do more than buy and install the equipment to achieve success.

Our data collection is not clearly audited for accuracy and our reporting is confusing and opaque.  A former PPD officer once told me that they did not really use the weekly Comstat reports generated by the department because they didn’t have much trust in the accuracy of the data or the resulting output. This is not necessarily meant to imply any nefarious activity, but to say that data collection and reporting need to be managed properly, audited regularly and shared with the public consistently. 

Crime data should be publicly available (i.e. every two weeks or monthly) in an open-source format that allows the public to independently study and analyze the information. Spoon feeding data with high level percentages such as “Violent Crime is down over 50%” or “non-violent crime is down over 65%” is unclear and creates further mistrust and cynicism towards government.

• 50% and 65% decrease from what year? 
• What is a violent crime vs a non-violent? 
• Where are the heaviest areas for spikes in crime? 
• Is there a reason for a particular spike in one crime or other? 
• How does this period compare to the same period last year? 

Additionally, if a particular crime goes up from 2019 to 2020, and an elected official says, “well its way better than it was in 2009 or 2016”, then we have another problem. Crime affects us most dramatically in the present so telling people that a 45% increase in assaults in 2020 (there was), or a more than doubling of homicides (there was) or a doubling in Rapes (there was) is not that bad because it was even higher 5 or 8 years ago, does not do anything to address residents’ concerns right now.

Keeping the data a secret and having it reported the following calendar year is an archaic approach and treats citizens (who pay the bills by the way) like children who are unable to handle information.

My focus on honest communication and transparency is not limited to Council Meetings and the more mundane processes of city government – they should be part of the entire city government, including PPD, so that our residents are informed on the issues that effect themselves and their community.

Track it, report it, share it – when we are all on the same page, we are better equipped to solve problems.

#PlainfieldNotPolitics