This past weekend the Executive Session Minutes of PMUA's December 28, 2011 landed on my mailbox. I didn't OPRA the Minutes but the documents were forwarded to me by a private resident and while I have not been involved with PMUA matters, PMUA matters concerns us all here in the city. I kept the documents unread for the weekend and it was not until this morning that I sat to read the whole document, 10 pages in total.
The Minutes contain a lot of background information that details what the two former executives were entitled to, what the Commissioners wanted to know about the contracts and past salaries and entitlements, what the arbitration cost would had been, legals cost and more. PMUA commissioners are also documented on the December 28, 2011 Minutes going back and forth on what they felt these former executives deserved or not.
The Minutes are interesting on various fronts, but what I found interesting was that PMUA's commissioners were aware that the state comptroller's office has received a complaint and apparently their office is already looking into this matter. On page 9 is also stated that if there were any further payments (this Meeting happened before the million dollar settlement) there was a potential for the Comptroller's Office to come back, look for documents and conduct an investigation.
Another potential issue springing from any further payments was discussed and it was that any taxpayer can file an action in Superior Court to challenge the Commissioner's decision. This idea gets further explored on page 13 as Ms. London explains that commissioners are not financially exposed to a lawsuit as any legal action would go against PMUA (the organization) and if the court could find that any decision for payment was made by a capricious and arbitrary decision then possibly the Governor and the Comptroller would come here.
If you have the time, and the inclination, to read the Minutes you will most likely find them highly interesting as they allow one to see how decisions get made, in this case by PMUA commissioners. Decisions made by those in power are often not understood by the cloak of secrecy that often involves public decision-making, thanks to OPRA (and in this case, thanks to a private resident) we can see what went into play when making a decision that has been viewed as controversial; the Minutes offer you the opportunity to decide by yourself whether the decision on the million dollar payment to two PMUA former executives was right or wrong.
PMUA Executive Session Minutes are HERE.
3 comments:
Do we have to get on "Shame on You" again, or will the PBOE see the light and allow digital taping TONIGHT???? We'll see!
"Bogota council rescinds law restricting taping at public meetings" ~http://bit.ly/y3ZMHZ
"Open-government groups criticized Bogota’s policy, saying that it impinged on citizens’ right to videotape public meetings and their constitutional right to free speech."
"“I am glad that Bogota and, hopefully, other towns are taking a second look at their policies, and will, hopefully, attempt to comport with the rights of citizens to videotape public meetings,” said Edward Barocas, the legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey."
"The model resolution, which was drafted in response to the Bogota resolution and a similar policy in place in the Plainfield school district, does not require individuals to give advance notice that they plan to record a meeting. Residents would be required to record in a manner that is unobtrusive and complies with federal and state laws."
It was interesting to read in the just released PMUA Executive Session minutes that Malcomn Dunn's main concern was whether there was insurance protecting him from being sued.
NOW WHY WOULD HE BE WORRIED ABOUT THAT?
From the PMUA minutes. . . .
"Commissioner Dunn asked how much insurance the Board has for the decisions it makes?
Mr Perry (PMUA CFO) replied that there's D and O (Directors and Officers) insurance. . . for 10 million dollars.
Commissioner Dunn asked if he (the CFO) thought 10 million was sufficient for protection of the Board"
Ega Brag
The minutes are telling! This is an outrage. The question remains how many Plainfield property owners will be fed up to actually do something about it.
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