Some may find my opinion pieces repetitive, and that’s understandable—no one is obligated to read them. Yet these columns reflect the standards I use when deciding my vote, and they are offered sincerely to the many motivated young candidates stepping into public service. My goal is to help make our city and neighborhoods better places to live.
Recently, the city accepted its annual audit and committed to corrective action plans addressing longstanding issues: budget oversight, revenue tracking, payroll management, and internal accountability. These steps matter—not because audits are exciting, but because they reveal how a municipality truly functions.
This aligns with the core principle in my Venn diagram: fiscal responsibility as the essential base for strategy, execution, and growth. Without sound financial management, economic development is merely rhetoric.
Anyone discussing urban growth without grasping budget fundamentals isn’t advocating real transformation. Accepting an audit and filing corrective plans is only the first step. For these measures to have meaning, they must translate into departmental goals and staff-level targets. Each audit finding should assign responsibility; each corrective action must have a designated department, measurable outcomes, timelines, and performance expectations.
Equally important, the budget must enable implementation—not just fund promises. When spending aligns with structured processes, clear benchmarks, and consistent follow-up, reforms shift from paperwork to tangible progress.
Without accountability in execution, the same audit issues will resurface. Voters should question any mayoral candidate who speaks passionately about growth but cannot explain the city’s budget cycle, how waste will be reduced, or how departments will achieve consistent results—not with hostility, but with seriousness.
Budgets are moral documents. They expose priorities, discipline, and judgment. They determine whether a city can maintain services, invest in communities, and earn trust from residents, businesses, and higher levels of government.
Sustainable growth demands discipline. The city’s commitment to audit reforms acknowledges that systems, controls, and execution matter. Initiatives unsupported by goals and follow-through eventually fail.
To first-time candidates, this is not criticism—it’s an invitation. Study the budget. Understand the fiscal cycle. Trace how funds flow, where they stall, and how performance will be measured. Growth does not happen by chance; it is deliberately managed.
Fiscal responsibility and economic expansion are interdependent. One without the other is an illusion. Voters deserve leaders who grasp this truth; candidates deserve to be evaluated by it.
— news from Trentonian
— News Original —
Economic Development Requires Discipline, Not Just Rhetoric [BROTHER GENE BOUIE COLUMN]
Some may be growing tired of my op-eds. That’s fair. No one is required to read them, but I pray you continue to. n nBut these columns serve a purpose. They represent the criteria I will use as I decide how to cast my vote—and they are offered in good faith to the many thoughtful, energetic young people who have stepped forward to run for office. This is my contribution to making our city and our neighborhoods a decent place to live. n nRecently, the City accepted its annual audit and agreed to corrective action plans to address long-standing weaknesses—budget controls, revenue monitoring, payroll discipline, and internal accountability. That matters. Not because audits are glamorous, but because they tell the truth about how a city actually operates. n nThis is exactly what the first circle of my Venn diagram represents: fiscal responsibility as the foundation upon which strategy, execution, and growth must rest. n nEconomic development without fiscal responsibility is just talk. n nAnd anyone discussing economic development without understanding the importance of managing the budget is not talking about transformation. n nBut accepting an audit and filing a corrective action plan is only the beginning. For those plans to mean anything, they must be translated into clear department goals and staff-level objectives. Every finding should point to ownership. Every corrective action should have a responsible department, measurable targets, timelines, and expectations for performance. n nJust as important, the budget must support how the work gets done—not merely what is promised. When spending is aligned with disciplined processes, clear standards, and consistent follow-through, corrective actions stop being paperwork and start becoming results. n nIf no one is accountable for execution, the same findings will simply reappear in the next audit. n nIf a mayoral candidate speaks passionately about growth but cannot explain the city’s budget, the budget cycle, how waste will be eliminated, or how revenue will be responsibly grown—and how departments will be expected to execute with consistency and discipline—voters should ask questions. Not hostile questions—serious ones. n nBudgets are moral documents. They reveal priorities, discipline, and judgment. They determine whether a city can sustain services, invest in neighborhoods, and earn the confidence of residents, businesses, and higher levels of government. n nYou cannot grow a city without discipline. n nThe City’s agreement to audit corrective action plans is an acknowledgment that systems matter. Controls matter. Execution matters. Promises unsupported by goals, standards, and follow-through eventually collapse under their own weight. n nFor those running for office—especially first-time candidates—this is not a criticism. It is an invitation. Learn the budget. Understand the cycle. Ask how dollars flow, where they stall, and how expectations will be set and measured. Growth is not accidental; it is managed. n nFiscal responsibility and economic growth go hand in hand. One without the other is illusion. n nAs voters, we deserve leaders who understand that truth. As candidates, you deserve to be judged by it.