The City of Trenton needs a money manager, someone to make wise decisions and to stop officials from wasteful spending. While other municipalities may enjoy their own money, Trenton needs to monitor every dime. It’s bad enough we depend heavily on dollars from Sugar Daddy state officials and Uncle Sam, but all monies should be watched hawkishly. Case in point, Trenton continues to house dogs in a Yardley, Pa. kennel as a boarding tab reaches several million. Plus, Trenton paid $350,000 for Kennels of Columbus in May with a plan to move all dogs from the Yardley facility. Eight months later, Columbus Kennels remains empty. Invoice shows this shipment arrived in early November from Missouri. (L.A. Parker/The Trentonian) An empty City of Trenton security vehicle gives impression of law enforcement presence. (L.A. Parker/The Trentonian) A man inside this shown vehicle guards playground equipment stockpiled in Hetzel Pool parking lot. (L.A. Parker/The Trentonian) Playground equipment stockpiled at Hetzel requires round-the-clock protection. (L.A. Parker/The Trentonian) Show Caption1 of 4Invoice shows this shipment arrived in early November from Missouri. (L.A. Parker/The Trentonian) Expand It’s December and the great plan of Mayor Reed Gusciora to fix the Trenton Animal Shelter problems shows no success. His Executive Order 24-01 promised a pivotal change for the Animal Shelter, including creation of an Animal Welfare Advisory Board. “The welfare of our city’s animals is a priority,” Mayor Gusciora stated during the executive order decree. “We owe it to our residents and our furry companions to provide a shelter environment that upholds standards of care, public safety, and animal welfare.” Well, we owe hairy humans assurances regarding haveing access to well-adequate shelter, food, safety, mental health programs, and security, too. Our animal shelter problem connects to people who fail to obey laws. Period. By the way, if Trenton suffers from a depleted police force, it made no sense for Gusciora and police Director Steve Wilson to place Lt. Alexis Durlacher in charge of the Animal Shelter. If Durlacher owned Dr. Doolittle abilities to converse with cats, dogs, and ferrets, give her the Shelter position. Durlacher, a friend, owns a successful history of building trustworthy connections with community members. Her ultimate value involves interaction with humans, especially necessary now after a near year-long Department of Justice investigation revealed egregious behaviors enacted by police against residents. Back in the day when National Night Out meant partying on your own block and attempting to build relationships with neighbors, Durlacher produced the best events throughout the city. More on this topic another time. Big finish on being spend thrifty. Right now, or noontime, and all through the night, Trenton pays people to sit in a parking lot near Hetzel Pool and guard stockpiled playground equipment. Imagine the cost of this incredibly ridiculous enterprise. Let’s do some figuring. Say the persons seated in cars make approximately $16.66 per hour which would mean Trenton pays $400 daily for this service. A ballpark figure means we, as in taxpayers, blow $12,000 per month. So, in the past two months, people seated on their derrières have collected $24,000. City officials could store the equipment in maintenance yards just off Brunswick Ave. or on Calhoun St. at no cost. Installation of the equipment could also remedy this situation. Bottom line — Trenton needs to tighten its belt, understanding that the American Rescue Plan millions will eventually disappear. L.A. Parker is a Trentonian columnist. Find him on Twitter @LAParker6 or email him at [email protected].