UCCF 7/20/17: Human Services Shakeup

We learned at the last freeholder meeting of a retirement:
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Which explained some of the reasons behind Ordinance 785-2017 calling for the following changes in the Union County Administrative Code:

UCCF 7/20/17: Ordinances on Salary and Administrative Code

Two ordinances that passed unanimously on second reading:

784-2017 AN ORDINANCE FIXING THE SALARIES OF THE COUNTY COUNSEL AND DEPARTMENT HEADS.

Some questions:
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But no answers. Another ordinance:

785-2017 AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND “THE LAWS OF UNION COUNTY: ADMINISTRATIVE CODE AND POLICIES AND GENERAL LEGISLATION” BY AMENDING PART 1, CHAPTER 1, ARTICLE XVI, DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES; ARTICLE XX, DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONAL SERVICES; ARTICLE XXIV, DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.; CHAPTER 49, FEES, ARTICLE V, ENGINEERING & PUBLIC WORKS FEES TO ADD § 49-10.; CHAPTER 100, PERSONNEL–ARTICLE XVI, EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK and CHAPTER 128, SMOKING POLICY.

Another stab:
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For those interested in answers:

UCCF 7/20/17: Roselle’s Folly and the Return of the Prodigal

As a public service Freeholder Chairman Bergen warned about an invasive bug coming to Union County:
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Coincidentally, earlier in the evening we learned of the return of a familiar name as a developer of the Roselle Mind and Body Complex that some Roselle residents warned would destroy their borough as if it were an ash tree facing a horde of Emerald Ash Borers.

Bonding Blank Check

Whatever Union County can’t get from raising taxes as much as is allowable under the tax cap and stealing Open Space Trust Fund money they bond for each summer. Here is a history:

• 616-2005: $21,576,863
• 631-2006: $44,351,923
• 653-2007: $29,204,825
• 669-2008: $26,164,000
• 687-2009: $43,371,808
• 713-2010: $43,892,019
• 723-2011: $49,557,455
• 740-2012: $31,938,317
• 752-2013: $46,588,800
• 759-2014: $38,793,236
• 765-2015: $44,904,146
• 776-2016: $58,933,154

The jump to $59 million in 2016 was a record but at tonight’s meeting that record will be shattered:

Building It (2) Courthouse Timeline

So how do you go about putting a Family Courthouse on the agenda to build after you have greased the people who need greasing to give the go-ahead. We will examine each stage in some detail but, for an overview, here is a timeline based on public information, mostly resolutions of the Union County Improvement Authority (UCIA) and, when necessary for bonding, of Union County (UC):

Building It – The Series (1) Plant the Seed

How does a major building project get done in Union County?

This series will examine the process concentrating on the recently completed Family Courthouse and the recently green-lit Mind & Body Complex in Roselle.

Step one: campaign donations.

If politicians want money from Netta Architects, NW Financial, and Mast Construction they have to provide them with work.

Juvenile Detention Center Lawsuits

Resolutions from the June 8, 2017 freeholder meeting:

2017-493: A Resolution appointing Palumbo, Renaud & DcAppolonio, LLC of Cranford, NJ as special counsel to represent Diana Youst in the matter entitled Hannah Burton v. UC, et. al, in an amount not to exceed$20 ,000.

2017-494: A Resolution appointing Palumbo, Renaud & DcAppolonio, LLC of Cranford, NJ as special counsel to represent Diana Youst in the matter entitled Jessica Lederman v. UC, et. al, in an amount not to exceed $20,000.

2017-495: A Resolution appointing Palumbo, Renaud & DcAppolonio, LLC of Cranford, NJ as special counsel to represent Diana Youst in the matter entitled Kyriaki Mouratoglou v. UC, et. al, in an amount not to exceed $20,000.

2017-496: A Resolution appointing Palumbo, Renaud & DcAppolonio, LLC of Cranford, NJ as special counsel to represent Diana Youst in the matter entitled Corrina Stoker v. UC, et. al, in an amount not to exceed $20,ooo.

2017-497: A Resolution appointing Kologi Simitz of Linden, NJ as special counsel to represent Frank Guzzo in the matter entitled Hannah Burton v. UC, et. al, in an amount not to exceed $20,000.

At the time the question was pay-to-play:
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Now we have the lawsuits, all received on April 27, 2017: