Is Brandy Forbes doing her job?

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Permalink Reply by robert randall on March 23, 2010 at 2:18pm

Forbes is Director of Community Development - her job involves consulting with planners not being one though her background in planning is certainly helpful. Saying the city doesn't need to hire a planner because Forbes has the credential is kind of like saying the U.S. doesn't need an Attorney General because Obama is a lawyer. Kind of silly when you think it through.

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Permalink Reply by Tony Soares on March 23, 2010 at 6:13pm

A city planner is absolutly needed

Forbes is a director of community development

This sounds like a smear /gotcha post and is certainly misguided

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Permalink Reply by Peter Lavine on March 24, 2010 at 9:28am

Then what is she doing? Grant writing? A contractor was hired for that.

Building parks? Isn't there a stop work order at 1500 park.

Speeding up business development? See anything open? Fee increases across the board are a good way to encourage businesses to open in hoboken.

Why are we spending 50k to have someone for another 8 hours a week?

Each time Ms. Forbes spoke at the CC she sounded clueless.

If she is not, then why not push her to sacrifice a little more time each week and do the job. I work in the private sector - each round of layoffs has added another pile of cr*p to my job. I do and so I have a job. It takes more time but I am not able to move on right now. Why are the city workers exempt from any of this? She has the required certification.

Also - Obama could act as AG if he wanted. He needs someone to do the job because the US is big and he has other things to deal with.

Hoboken is city that needs to stop spending like a drunken sailor. Workers need to step up and work harder, rather than contiually demanding more staff.

I find it sad that any attempt to question Dawn's people results in accusations of heresay. To defend Forbe's actions, tell me what the planner will be doing and why Forbes cannot step up and do it.

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Permalink Reply by robert randall on March 24, 2010 at 6:06pm

Peter do you have any idea how many hours a week Ms Forbes is working? I don't and I suspect you don't either. But presumably based solely on the fact that she works for the city rather than for a company you believe she must not be working hard enough. You don't seem to think the job of community development director entails much. What is the basis of your view other than reflexive antagonism toward government?.

Just curious - do you feel that since Cammarano was a lawyer he should not have had a corporation counsel? Now that Zimmer is Mayor, since she's not a lawyer we presumably do need a corporation counsel. Zimmer's background is communications so we should hire lawyers but get rid of all the communications people and have the mayor deal with the press herself.

In a similar vein, I've heard that Director Saks knows how to write parking tickets. I guess we should get rid of all the traffic enforcement officers and have the director get off his duff and write the tickets himself.

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Permalink Reply by scott m siegel on March 26, 2010 at 1:21pm

Director Forbes is an outstanding individual. Do you remember Director Bado? "The developer says..... I don't know the answer let the developers lawyer answer your question". Director Forbes instead comes with the law giving equality to both sides. She is working on grants, has obtained grants. She is working on 1500 Park, the Municipal garage and several redevelopment zones to boot. Instead of a developer's lawyer guiding the redevelopment process she has offered the council their own independent counselors to guide them through the process. I asked one of my friends, a lawyer for the EPA about Brandy's recommendations. He said the first one is the best law firm in the state and the second was the second best. As others have said a planner is an absolute necessity given the multitude of projects on the burner.

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