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Subscribe to RSSPolitical gridlock in New Jersey left government buildings with no toilet paper. WNBC-TV's Katy Tur reports.
The great Toilet Paper Crisis of 2012 -- at least for the city of Trenton, N.J. -- is over after the mayor authorized an emergency order of the indispensable material for city buildings.
The local crisis became an international sensation, and that wasn't lost on council members, the Trenton Times reported Wednesday.
"Today all over the world we are the laughingstock not only of this nation but of the world and that, in and of itself, should send us a message that we need to get our act together," Council President Kathy McBride said at Tuesday night's council meeting.
Mayor Tony Mack's administration placed the order Tuesday and some supplies were supposed to have arrived that afternoon, with the rest on Wednesday.
The situation had become dire on Tuesday at police headquarters.
The men's rooms were completely bare and just a few rolls were left in the women's rooms, Detective George Dzurkoc said after filing a health complaint on behalf of the Policemen's Benevolent Association.
"The bottom line is they have a health issue knocking at the door," Dzurkoc said.
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The crisis started in September, when the council rejected a $42,000 contract for paper products because of concerns about the $4,000 price tag for coffee cups.
The emergency order provides $16,000 for toilet paper, paper towels and toilet-seat covers.
A city official said the search for a long-term provider continues.
Budget spat wipes out toilet paper
Public works director Harold Hall, who had earlier warned the council of supplies running low at senior centers, police headquarters and city hall, blamed the city council for not approving the contract when it was presented to them last year.
"You, as adults, know that we need these items in these buildings," he said.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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No job is finished until the paperwork is done!
They won't be able to paper over this disaster. In a related story, charities in Nebraska are sending twenty truckloads of corn cobs to help get them through the emergency.
Politics is a dirty business.
Trenton is a really crappy area.
How much you want to bet that the holdup is a teabagger concerned about the price of coffee cups? They are some of the most short sighted people in the world...especially medicare card carrying ones complaining about government spending
I thought the same when I first saw this story...not a bright bunch, those 'baggers.
You are correct. A lefty like you are would have approved over paying for the coffee cups and received a kick back from the supplier.
Not very bright are you "Rick" That area of New Jersey is a leftwinger nutbagger area that has been under democrat control for 100 years.
Now crawl back under the out house where you belong with the other trolls.
"custom 1911" you too obviously not too bright and just couldn't wait to post your trollish nonsense; its a shame that your brain is so dead from recto-cranial inserrtion.
Now back under the toilet bowl with the other troll.
Back in the mid 70s I worked at a engineering firm that hired a nice woman from the USSR as part of her citizenship requirements. Mae was a delightful person and one day told us that in the USSR,when you go out, you always wrap some toilet paper around your arm, so you have TP if you need it. We all had a good chuckle at how backward the USSR was. Thirty five years later, here we are.
Much of the Soviet tp was imported from Bulgaria. I won't ruin your day by telling you what it was like.
Probably not too dissimilar from wiping your bum with 20 grit sandpaper.
So take the coffee cups out of the budget and move on - people can always bring in their own cups! Amd they are re-usable - fancy that!
Geeze Louezzze
Way too logical and sensible.
They couldn't figure that out. Too much sh!t for brains.
Yeah, how difficult would it be for workers to bring a little t.p. from home . . . . . apparently none of these folks were ever in the scouts . . . ! And all workers should have their own reusable coffee mugs -
Deputy Mayor Mr. Whipple said "we are trying to squeeze every dime in the budget order to provide needed resources, so please don't squeeze the Charmin".
"Not a square to spare!"
LOL! Awesome!
Well played
Hhmmmm....re-using my coffee cup? Wow! What a great idea! I also carry tissue in my purse and truck - who knows when you might need tissue??? I hope the city of Trenton thinks long and hard when its time to elect their city counsel members - if toilet paper causes this kind of trauma I'd hate to see what happens when something reall important actually occurs.
Good Luck Trenton!
Having lived in NJ for seven years, this does not surprise me. It seemed that everyone expected their employer to pay for free everything.
I assume you bring your own toilet paper to your job as well, right?
I have never worked at a place where such basic items weren't provided, and I suspect you haven't either.
It isn't "free" anyway... it is an expense that your employer is paying as part of compensation for your services to the company. Providing certain supplies to your employees is part of the expense that comes with running a business.
My employer stopped buying coffee cups years ago. Employees use their own ceramic and stainless steel mugs, and company guests have an assortment of nice ceramic mugs to choose from. It saves a lot of money, space at the landfill, and has environmental benefits too.
No wonder everyone at the Motor Vehicle is so uptight.
Holy sh*t! That's a lot of toilet paper. An emergency order of $16k? Wow!
Money flushed down a drain if you ask me.
$4,000 for a city-wide year's supply of paper coffee cups is probably not that expensive.
Perhaps they should have cut Coffee from the budget instead of Toilet Paper.
Maybe city council should be cutting out toilet paper coupons from the sunday paper.
Christie to government employees: Take craps at home.
Wipe away your tears
Wipe away your fears
The Trenton TP caper
Will linger on for years
The council couldn't quite agree
Just how much TP they'd need
Or how much to spend
To keep the budget out of arrears
But in the end they did prevail
They finally did agree
To keep from looking like an a$$
They bought some much needed TP
We can't be the laughing stock of the entire world; there are quite a number of countries that do not use toilet paper. Look at you, ya cute worldly mayor!
Just TODAY? I think you have been the laughingstock of the world for a long, long time...
So... sounds like the city is not 'flush' when it comes to supplies. Maybe they could use memos and post-it notes, those little squares with adhesive...in the 'end', it just depends on who 'wipes out'....here's my question... $4,000 for cups? Why not find a contracotr or supplier who would just provide toilet paper, or is it that the mafia in New Jersey decides who gets what? Just imagine... a city government that collectively is as dumb as Sarah Palin.
I do hope that NJ residents (taxpayers) realize that their hard earned tax dollars are paying these bright bulbs salary as well as their platinum retirement packages. Talk about flushing good money down the drain! So, NJ folk are indeed much like Snookie - in dire need of cranial tissue infusions.
I always have an emergency roll of toilet paper in my car trunk. You never know when you might have a spill, someone vomiting in the car, or a restroom without toilet paper, which is essential for us women every time we use the bathroom.
If there wasn't any more toilet paper to go around, why didn't someone go to the store and buy some? I got 24 rolls for $7.17 the other day, would it have killed someone to do that, or for employees to pool the money to buy a pack? Our building uses the cheapest rolls available, which are rough, but only cost .99 per roll. I am sure it wouldn't bankrupt them to go for this option if there's no room for fancy toilet paper in the budget.
Ours kind of reminds me of sandpaper, extra rough.
We see these as reasonable things to solve the problem (just go buy some) but that doesn't fix the underlying issue of the budget and conflicts associated with it.
Sometimes you have to push the envelope to either make your point or make change and every once in a while it will be over what appears to be a silly topic. It's just how it has to sometimes happen.
Its probably the "John Wayne" variety - rough, tough, and takes crap from no one.
*snicker*
For once, reading the responses to a MSNBC article is truly hilarious.