LOL... like someone said on another post, your right, you can't make this stuff up. Healy is doing a what? Welcome to the country of Jersey City!
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How does that goon Bob Cotter look at himself in the mirror each morning? I nearly fell off my chair when I read this:

"Anything that will clear the air is welcome," Cotter is quoted as saying. "I'm very proud of the work that we do, and my staff are extremely professional."

Sadly, 85% of the citizens here could care less about any of these crooks cash filled envelopes and the shoddy, crap developments that dot our landscape. Unless the city government were to limit the intake of fast food, and/or video game and Cable TV usage the majority will just glumly walk along oblivious to these white collar crimes.

Hi Observer:

You're probably right that there's really no need to conduct an audit, as the potential areas for serious conflict of interest in most of the city's processes are already well-known. What's been missing all these years is the political will and a well-defined and focused public demand to change these practices. I've seen an anti-corruption demand, but it's not focused on a "range" of needed and sustainable changes or reform. Further there still appears to be substantial fragmentation among those calling for reform to work together strategically without personalities getting in the way to deliver what's really needed.

A sustainable change or reform is something that changes the city's process and procedures that will permanently outlast the resignation of any one or more targets of our anger. That anger has to be refocused into a demand for a range of specific reforms (and many are required). It's not about "who" needs to go or be in office, but about "what" needs to change beyond the personalities. If we don't take a stand for specific reforms, (and not kid ourselves that there's only one magic bullet reform), it will just simply happen again and again -- and we will have missed a real opportunity for reform.

As for the abatement review committee, its been around in one form or another for almost as long as there have been abatement Although it's a bit off topic, I called for a wholesale revamp of the Abatement approval process in 2001, which included having it's entire process conducted in public and transparently, and including more independent composition, and clear, transparent policy guidelines for the issuance of abatements in the first instance -- consistent with the original intent of the abatement legislation -- i.e., to bring development to sectors of the city where its most needed. Robert Cavanaugh had a brilliant idea a number of years ago, which was to zone the city along abatement needs, as a more clear approach to determining whether abatement should be issued or not, and if so, what range of abatement options should be available in a particular zone.

All the best.

Geoff

Talk about hypocrisy. An audit to assure transparency? Healy is the one who created the commission that decides who gets offered a tax abatement in 2002-2003 and specifically exempted it from the sunshine laws so that no one would know anything about the abatement process until the abatement was being voted on. He should call this the CYA audit.

The City needs a truly independent Ethics Commission, with real teeth and power to take action in such cases.

The commission needs to operate independently from the City and the County, and its commission members need to be 100% independent from the City, County and political process-- meaning no city or county employees, should sit on the commission, nor should any publicly elected official or other appointee sitting on any other city or country structure.

The above may require State and local legislative action to implement fully, but there is a structure in place, which has been largely ignored by the City to date.

This would be but one element of a major, reform effort to stem corruption. Pay to play is but one, still very imperfect element, and needs to be augmented by efforts as described above. Ethics training is still required, but at this stage, it's an incredibly insufficient step to begin to address the issues at hand.

All the best.

G

This might have been impressive if it happened before the arrests on his own initiative. Doing it afterwards makes it look like a cosmetic effort to keep his job. Even if we accept that there is not sufficient evidence to indict him, it is not possible that Healy was unaware of the shady dealings going on all around him. The need for ethics training and audit was obviously there before the arrests, and the fact that Healy didn't want such efforts then says a lot about him.

And it sounds like this investigation is all about process going forward and will not reveal to the public what has happened in the past. If the City government wants to come clean, it needs to investigate and reveal what has already happened.

Not good enough.

More self correction BS. At our expense.

Why would he name the law firm conducting the audit? He goes out of his way to set up this "high-integrity" three man panel - why wouldn't they choose the firm performing the audit?

Yeah that's it. All they need is ethics training. What a waste of taxpayer dollars.

Like the people that have been charged with corruption would even consider taking ethics training. This is a joke.

I bet the administration just happens to have some friends that offer such training and the city will be more than happy to pay them for such services. Or better yet, I bet one of the developers offer such a course.

Too little. Too late. The allegations have been made with substantial proof to backup the claims. It's time for a purge.

Quote:

The feds already conducted an "integrity" investigation. You're crooked.

Healy calls for independent audit, ethics training in wake of corruption probe

by The Jersey Journal
Sunday August 09, 2009

Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy, seen here on July 29 explaining why he won't step down from office in the wake of a massive corruption probe, is expected to call tomorrow for an independent audit and for ethics training for city employees involved in development.

Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy is expected to call tomorrow for an independent audit of the city's development process and for ethics training for city employees involved in development in the wake of a massive corruption scandal that resulted in the July 23 arrest of the city council president and six employees, according to the Star-Ledger.

Healy, who is referenced one criminal complaint but not charged, will have the city retain the law firm of McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter LLP to examine documents and legislation and interview city employees in an "attorney-client privileged setting," the paper said.

He is further is expected to sign an executive order requiring all city directors and employees involved in development to undergo mandatory ethics training within the next month.

"In light of the events of July 23, 2009, we believe it is prudent to undertake a legal audit and analysis of our development process in order to verify that it is fully transparent, fair and efficient," Healy said in a statement expected to be released.

The arrests also included a number of people who had been seeking election but lost at the polls this year.

Under a government sting, an informant posing as a developer gave cash bribes to officials and wannabe officials in exchange for the promise of favorable treatment, according to the federal complaints.

Planning director Bob Cotter who has overseen much of that redevelopment told the Ledger yesterday that he is eager for the audit to both dispel any suspicion from the development process as well as to provide constructive criticism for the future.

"Anything that will clear the air is welcome," Cotter is quoted as saying. "I'm very proud of the work that we do, and my staff are extremely professional."

According to Cotter, in the last 25 years, Jersey City has built 18 million square feet of office space, 20,000 waterfront housing units and 5,000 affordable housing units.

"In that time frame, we rose from not even being on the map, to the 12th-largest downtown in the United States," Cotter said.

City attorney Bill Matsikoudis and Healy conferred shortly after the corruption scandal broke and determined an audit conducted by well-respected attorneys would be the best course forward to avoid any blemish on the city's integrity.

Healy has asked the city council to retain former Seton Hall law dean Ronald Ricci, former U.S. attorney Walyer Timpone, and Thomas Scrivo, author of the "New Jersey Local Government Deskbook," to lead the audit.

The corruption scandal also snared, among others, the mayors of Hoboken and Secaucus who, while saying they are innocent, have resigned.

"We wanted attorneys that brought local government experience, prosecutorial experience, but -- most importantly -- unassailable integrity and gravitas," Matsikoudis said yesterday. "We think we found that in this trio."