Take My Council, Please: Cheers & Jeers...

(WMassP&I)

Monday was a day of minor victories, but also grim financial news and schizophrenic behavior at the Springfield City Council.  With three members absent, councilors debated a host of resolutions, put off several measures to committee and even took some further steps on ordinances.  Prior to the meeting, bleak numbers from financial officials cast a pall over a rare Committee of the Whole meeting of the City Council.  While digging into those numbers must wait for another time, the short version is cuts in services, increases in fees, flat wages for workers and other depressing news, absent a turnaround on state aid and property tax revenue.  

At-large Councilor Kateri Walsh, Ward 4 Councilor E. Henry Twiggs and Ward 7 Councilor Tim Allen were absent due to personal reasons.

The agenda itself was a mix of routine announcements, paper pushing and substantive policy.  Reports from utilities were accepted from the council as were financial transfers within and to the fire department.  The Fire Department's Overtime budget has come in way over budget, partly a consequence of chronic underfunding of the department over the last decade.  However, the council also approved transfer of the city's fire-training facility to the commonwealth for $2 million.  The transfer will enable Massachusetts officials to train firefighters in neighboring communities nearby rather than sending them to another facility in Stow.  The city will continue to use the Grochmal Street facility, which will be rebuilt, at no cost aside from electricity and phone service.  City officials said the proceeds from the sale will go into the city's general revenue account.

Area Fire Chiefs Showed up to Support the Transfer of
the training center to the state (WMassP&I)

Two other property transfers in the city's South End were also approved by the Council.

The city also received financial reports for this year that indicate the city will retain about $2 million in free cash at the end of the fiscal year.  The council also approved, by a 10-0 vote an authorization for a bond necessary to cap Bondi's Island.  The bond is required under state law for the owner of any landfill and as the city's primary dump faces closure by the end of this decade, the city must maintain a bond under Department of Environmental Protection rules in order to assure the facility is properly closed.  

Another bond was authorized to pay for design work for Elias Brookings School, one of the school building damaged in last year's tornado.  Ward 2 Councilor Mike Fenton questioned the use of bonds, rather than free cash or stabilization reserves, but finance officials seemed to admit the objective was to preserve stabilization.  However, officials noted that the bond may not need to be used and payment for the design work could come from another source, avoiding interest payments.  Fenton cautioned against the use of this approach in the future, but backed the measure.

Two ordinances were also before the council (with a third brought up to get its second step passage).  The two ordinances on the agenda bulked up the large crowd, which was mostly present in support of one of the resolutions before the council.  The first ordinance, sponsored by at-large Councilors Jimmy Ferrera and Tim Rooke, sought to extend to thirty days from ten, the amount of time merchandise at a pawn shop must be held before it can be resold.  Several pawn shop owners turned out in opposition to the new rule, calling it an unfair burden on business.  Ultimately, on a motion from at-large Councilor Thomas Ashe, the measure was sent to committee before any step was taken.

The Outer Belt Comes Off, Lashes Council President...

 **The following is a follow-up to our Tuesday (1/10) bulletin about the Outer Belt Civic Association's letter condemning Councilor Ferrera's Council Committee Appointments.**

Councilor Ferrera (Urban Compass)

The pressure on Springfield City Council President Jimmy Ferrera continues to mount, but Ferrera shows no sign of buckling after igniting one of the city's highest profile personal political spats in several years.  Earlier this week, the Outer Belt Civic Association sent a letter to city officials and the news media condemning Ferrera's decision to dole out to two of the city's ward councilors meager committee assignments.  The OBCA is a neighborhood council for the city's southeastern corner.  Ward 2 Councilor Mike Fenton received no standing committee assignments, a situation without precedent in the council's recent history and Ward 7 Councilor Tim Allen, who represents the Outer Belt, received one committee.  Other councilors received as many as five assignments.

The letter from the OBCA, signed by its president, vice-president, treasurer and three board members calls the appointments or lack thereof "childish" and a "slap in the face" to the people who voted Fenton and Allen into office.  The OBCA writes that it needs councilors that will listen to them, not ones that "slight us because we may not always agree."  The letter goes on to criticize the rather blatant political process by which Ferrera appointed councils, which, despite dictionary definitions, he claims was not "political."

In a phone interview, OBCA Vice-President Mary Dionne confirmed that her organization wrote the letter and described what brought the letter into being.  Dionne said she had already decided to do something herself, but fate would have it that an OBCA Board Meeting was scheduled for the Saturday after Ferrera made the appointments public on January 5.  At that meeting, the Board of Directors decided to write the letter after two hours of discussion.

Councilor Allen (Facebook)

Dionne emphasized, as the OBCA Board members did in the letter, that the most appalling aspect is the lack of communication.  "Our relationship with City Councilors has always been very good," she said.  There are always disagreements, but she continued, we move on from them with respect among all parties.  In this case, however, she and the others felt, Ferrera had gone too far and given no notice of what he planned to do.

Dionne explained that since ward representation had gone into effect, they tended to work through Allen first and worked their way out to other councilors from there.  The OBCA's concern with Allen having so few committee appointments comes from the important role committees play in council processes.  Since committees review measures and ordinances in addition to gather testimony and write legislation, it seemed that Dionne felt like their ward rep and Ward 2's rep were given second class status by being largely excluded from that process.  She and the OBCA were not happy with a scenario, as they saw it, where their representative was "not part of the real city council."

The OBCA demanded in their letter that the situation to be rectified and an apology given.  Dionne also said they would like to meet with Ferrera to discuss the matter.

BREAKING: Outer Belt Rebels, Others May Follow...

Western Mass Politics & Insight has obtained a letter from the Outer Belt Civic Association condemning Council President Jimmy Ferrera's appointments to the Springfield City Council committees.

The letter calls Ferrera's appointments, which left Ward 7 Councilor Tim Allen (who represents the Outer Belt) with one committee assignment and Ward 2 Councilor Mike Fenton with essentially zero, "devastating."  It demands that the situation be rectified or that Councilor Ferrera step down as president.  The letter was also sent to Councilors Fenton & Allen, Mayor Domenic Sarno and the Republican.

Mary Dionne, Vice-President of the OBCA, said her organization has always had a good relationship with all councilors, but they found Ferrera's actions to be a direct afront to them and their ward councilor.  She also said other civic groups were also angered and may yet act, but that only hers has come forward with a letter so far.

We'll have more as this story develops!  Full story here!

"I Am Not a Committee!"...

**This post has been updated to reflect additional reporting and council committee statistics.**

The Title is a quote from Princess Leia
Played by Carrie Fisher (Wookiepedia)

Inaugurating a new city council in Springfield is more than just one day.  It is a process that in its way takes several days from the fanfare of the inauguration itself to the first formal meeting where several pieces are discussed.  Somewhere in the middle the committee assignments are doled out by the City Council President, who in 2012 is at-large councilor James Ferrera.  A former Associated Press reporter based in Boston once described former Massachuetts Senate President William Bulger's philosophy as this: government is to be used to help your friends and screw your enemies.  Despite Ferrera's claims to the contrary, it appears he did just that in assignment committees.

A reshuffling of committees and their chairs is not unusual.  As decentralized as the council presidency is compared to, say the Massachusetts Senate presidency, it does retain one prominent feature.  The council president selects the committee chairs and the councilors who serve on those committees.  Often committee chairmanships are doled out to those who support the president's nomination.  It is not uncommon for committee heads to have their chairs pulled out from under them either because somebody else has found favor with the president or because it is simply time to share.  However, in recent years a council president-elect has not gone this far.

While on a state level this practice is not uncommon as several supporters of House Speaker Robert DeLeo opponents from the 2009 speakers race can attest.  However, blatant snubbing of this kind among councilors is not a characteristic of Springfield’s otherwise often merciless political milieu.

Councilor Ferrera (Urban Compass)

An analysis of committee chairmanship assignments by Ferrera, however, appears that the council president plunged the knife a bit deeper into some of his colleagues.  Although Ferrera denied any vindictiveness in his assignments in a recent Republican article, it seems that several conventions and standing principles fell by the wayside. 

First of all Ferrera appears to have broken with a precedent going back to at least 2006 in which the council president does not serve on a committee.  Although both of his own assignments were on special, rather than standing committees, over the past six years the president officially served on no committees.  This custom may be due to the fact that the council's own rules define the president as an ex-officio member of every committee.  It is also possible that Ferrera kept both assignments for himself as the Green and Responsible Employer Ordinance committees have, to some extent, been pet causes of his.  Still, records show recent Council presidents Bill Foley, Jose Tosado, Kateri Walsh and Bud Williams did not serve on any committees.

There is no way to over state the fact that Ferrera’s decision to reshuffle committees is not at issue.  The problem is the distribution of the committee assignments.  Ward 2 Councilor Mike Fenton and Ward 7 Councilor Tim Allen were given only one assignment while Ward 4 Councilor E. Henry Twiggs and at-large Councilor Kateri Walsh received only two.  None of that four were among Ferrera’s early declared supporters announced after the election.  Indeed, Allen had pursued the council presidency himself last year, but ended his efforts when it became clear that Ferrera had enough support.

"I Never put anybody in an awkward position,” Allen said and “stopped pursuing” the presidency when it was clear Ferrera had the votes.

At-large Councilor Tim Rooke, when asked about supporting Ferrera despite a connection to the probation scandal, told WMassP&I that an informal agreement made before the introduction of ward representation dictated his support.  At the time Rooke’s response, though apparently sincere, seemed partly a reaction to the questions raised about Ferrera’s employment.  However, other councilors say Rooke told them a similar story.

New Government, Old Faces...

The Mayor's Procession Line (WMassP&I)

In a tasteful, but crowded ceremony at City Hall, Springfield swore in its City Council and its Mayor Domenic Sarno for another term.  Sarno will be serving the city's first four year term following enactment of a ballot question in 2009 that extended the mayor's term.  The School Committee is on a different election calendar and therefore members of that body neither faced the voters last November nor needed to be sworn in.

Typically, the city's inaugurations are held in Symphony Hall, however the city still put on a show which included typical guests like Cong. Richard Neal and speakers on behalf of the Massachusetts Senate and House.  State Senator James Welch and Representative Angelo Puppolo spoke on behalf of their respective bodies.

Also in attendance were Sheriff Michael Ashe and District Attorney Mark Mastroianni.

The invocation was provided by Our Lady of Mount Carmel's pastor, Robert White while City Clerk Wayman Lee administered the oath of office to the council.

Cong. Neal in December, 2011 (WMassP&I)

Congressman Richard Neal offered words of support on behalf of the United States House of Representatives.  He waxed somewhat nostalgic about his own service as mayor of the city and as a councilor remarking that he had taken office in that same chamber some thirty-four years ago.  Neal also emphasized the continuity between the council and the public service careers that began as members of that body.

Welch, in his first speech before Springfield's organizational meeting as one of the city's state senators, offered an anecdote about how his mother told him to say "hi" to mayor Sarno as evidence of the mayor's personable demeanor and its benefit to the city.  He also insisted the area have no more storms.  The legendary weather events that plagued the Springfield area played a prominent role throughout the ceremony.

Puppolo, by contrast, offered more direct praise to Sarno, a former colleague of his.  When Puppolo resigned from the council in 2007, Sarno was still a councilor.  Puppolo conveyed his sense that Sarno had the respect and confidence of both governor Deval Patrick and House Speaker Robert DeLeo following the June tornado and October blizzard.

Sarno w/ Judge Mary Hurley (WMassP&I)

Former Mayor and current Chicopee District Court judge Mary Hurley administered the oath of office to Mayor Domenic Sarno along with City Clerk Lee.

In his remarks before the audience, Sarno struck a notably humble tone, noting that the decision by residents to enact a four year term for the mayor was made for a reason.  Specifically, he said that residents were likely looking for more vision and a capacity to limit the short-term impact of politics upon the mayor's office.  

The Year in Springfield, 2011...

(WMassP&I)

With another year under Springfield’s belt comes another edition of the Year in Springfield.  In its 375th year of existence the City of Homes suffered through one of the most erratic year of weather on record which brought a range of immense destruction and gross inconvenience.  Politically, it was also a tumultuous time from Springfield City Hall to Beacon Hill to the steps of Harvard University.

The year 2011 opened in Springfield with an eye, as in other places, to Washington, where a cadre of increasingly nihilistic “citizens” took their place in Congress and in state capitals across the nation.  While the boat rocked in Massachusetts with a shrunken, but still massive Democratic edge in the State House, Governor Deval Patrick took the oath of office once more. 

However, America was rocked only eight days into January when Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head, by quite literally a madman.  Early accusations pointed to tea party extremism, but ultimately mental disease and not right-wing anarchy drove the young man to shoot Giffords and twelve others while murdering six.  Gifford suffered a traumatic shot to the head, be saved by the quick thinking of her intern of five days.

Cong. Gifford w/ her Mother weeks

after the shooting (PK Weis via Facebook)

President Barack Obama, given his first significant opportunity to play the healer-in-chief gave a stirring speech at a memorial service attended by Arizona’s Senators, its governor with Obama has frequently clashed, Giffords’ husband, Mark Kelly and Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, who oversees the Ninth Circuit within which the slain judge, John Roll, served.

The event took on somewhat of a local relevance when Congressman Richard Neal held a press conference after the shooting noting that he had known Giffords and had raised money for her ahead of what had been a difficult reelection in 2010.  However, he also urged that parties take down a notch the vitriol and anger that had become pervasive in politics whether Loughner was driven by politics or not.

Also in January Amaad Rivera took office as the Ward 6 Councilor following the resignation of Keith Wright.  He took office because the city’s succession law is only written with only at-large councilors in mind and fills vacancies with runners-up.  Technically, Rivera was a runner-up even though he lost the 2009 election.  The chorus of dissent included this blog and came to a head on a vote for eminent domain as part of Forest Park Middle School renovations.  Rivera invoked Rule 20, the council’s parliamentary motion to delay the project to the shock of other councilors.  While we would settle our differences with Rivera, many remained incensed over the use of Rule 20, ironically including some who would encounter similar anger over its usage.

Councilor Amaad Rivera (WMassP&I)

However, the focus on Rivera would lessen as he became one of a super-majority of councilors that opposed a wood-burning biomass plant.  The special permit had been granted in 2008 by the last council on a 7-2 vote.  All ward councilors and two at-large councilors, including Jose Tosado who voted for the permit in 2008.  The Callahan Family, owners of Palmer Renewable Energy and like-named paving company poured money into experts who dismissed, often condescendingly, the health concerns raised by opponents.  Against the din of protests and threats of legal action the council revoked PRE’s permit on a 10-2 vote.

Take My Council, Please: Good Night & Good Luck...

(WMassP&I)

The Springfield City Council closed out the year on a high and uncharacteristically brief note.  Most of the measures were largely uncontroversial approvals of grant money and donations.  An informal caucus was held at the end to select the Council’s officers for next year.

Budget officials announced that the city finances were officially in balance after the council approved reserve funds to fill the budget hole.  Funds were accepted to repave a portion of Sumner Avenue after gas main work, renovate Hubbard Park as part of the UniFirst land swap, and fund health and library programs.

Ward 1 Councilor Zaida Luna unexpectedly withdrew her motion for reconsideration of tax incremental financing for the F.W. Webb project slated for a parcel of the city’s Memorial Industrial Park off of Roosevelt Avenue.  The project has been criticized for creating painfully few jobs while costing the city hundreds of thousands in potential tax revenue over ten years.  With Luna’s withdrawal, the prior acceptance of the financing stands.

The council also gave final approval to an ordinance establishing site assignment fees.  The fees would be used for projects such as the biomass plant, but would have applications beyond the legally uncertain power plant.  Councilors also offered a resolve to encourage the state to push up MCAS testing by several weeks to compensate for lost class time due to the October snowstorm and subsequent eight days without school in Springfield.

Council President Jose Tosado (WMassP&I)

Finally at the end of the meeting, councilors recognized Council President Jose Tosado who, having declined to seek reelection to pursue a mayoral bid, will be leaving the council in January.  Councilors offered a proclamation and a plaque recognizing him for his ten years of service to the council, numerous assignments to council committees and service on the School Committee. 

At an informal caucus after the meeting, councilors made official what had been declared weeks ago.  At-large Councilor James Ferrera was voted Council President.  Ferrera’s acceptance of the presidency and recognition of Tosado and at-large Councilor Kateri Walsh's vice-presidency were executed without any blatant gaffes on his part.  Ward 8 Councilor John Lysak was elected vice-president.  Ferrera’s election was unanimous and included Ward 6 Councilor-elect Ken Shea and once and future at-large councilor Bud Williams.  The unanimity had been a surprise as several councilors were thought to object to Ferrera’s nomination.  Ferrera has been known for his often gratuitous motions, insipid questions and pained understanding of basic council procedure and city business.

(WMassP&I)

Speaking to WMassP&I after the meeting, Tosado said it “feels pretty good,” becoming a civilian again.  For now he intends to focus on his family and full time job at the Department of Mental Health, but will remain involved in the community.  As for any future political activity, Tosado only offered a “Stay tuned.”

For our part, we have in the past been suspicious of Tosado, but in the nearly year and a half since we started “Take My Council, Please,” we have found him to be an imperfect, but diligent member of the council.  It will be strange to cover the council without his fairly effective administration of meetings.  However, as he heads back into civilian the life, we at WMassP&I wish him the best.

Take My Council, Please: Who Gives a TIF?...

(WMassP&I)

The gang at 36 Court Street got together once again, but for the most part without the trademark mischief.  The Springfield City Council met again for only the first of two times this week to consider a roster of formal acceptances of grants, approve tax incremental financing approve a permit it lacks the power to approve.

The grants to animal control and the Department of Health and Human Services were accepted late in the meeting, but with nary a word of explanation, an oddity for the council.  The grants to HHS were in excess of $1.2 million in total.  The council also approved the emergency appropriation for the October snowstorm, although Ward 2 Councilor Mike Fenton warned the city may need to issue a type of short-term bond to pay for the disaster pending disaster relief funding from FEMA.

Ward 4 Councilor E. Henry Twiggs spoke about a couple of item that concerned him although no official action was taken at that meeting.  Early on in the meeting he asked that the council investigate or rather asking Code Enforcement to investigate a halfway house going into his neighborhood.  Twiggs’s objection appeared to not be the fact of the halfway house, but rather the fact that it had been established as something other than what it ostensibly was.  The second measure, sponsored with Ward 1 Councilor Zaida Luna, called for assistance to Community Block Development Grand and HOME projects that affected by the June tornado.

The tax incremental financing projects were by far the most contentious items of the evening—or at least one of them was.  The first was an agreement for a TIF to Custom Carbide, which is currently at the corner of Tapley and St. James Avenue.  The company is seeking a TIF, apparently only to finance the move to Dwight Street in a tax-exempt formal postal building.  According to Ward 7 Councilor Tim Allen, the company could move elsewhere as its clients are as diverse and far-flung as Boeing, but wanted to stay in Springfield.  The TIF passed without dissent.

Councilor Allen (Facebook)

The second TIF was less fortunate, indeed its fate remains uncertain.  F.W. Webb, a plumbing supply company wanted to purchase the last bit of the former Smith & Wesson Industrial Park land off of I-291.  Although there is some confusion as to the dollar amount, the TIF called for a 50% break on the taxes on the building for 10 years.  The promised jobs were minimal and total employment at the site was guaranteed to under 20 jobs with the potential for a few more.  Including a sale price of about $1 million and un-exempted tax revenue, the city stands to gain about $6-7 million over ten years from the project.  The project had been in the works for about two years and had surfaced earlier this year, but languished in committee for several months.  Allen, the chair of the council’s economic development committee, presented the project and recommended.

However, Fenton said he could not support the project because the property should be used for a project that will attract more jobs.  By comparison, the Performance Food Group facility nearby has hundreds of employees.  Fenton also noted that there are no assurances for more jobs or assurances that union labor will be preferred during construction.  Ward 6 Councilor Amaad Rivera noted that a similar project with the same company included considerably more concessions from F.W. Webbs, but no TIF was provided.

Take My Council, Please: The Walsh Filibuster...

**UPDATED 12/3/11** Following a report by Maureen Turner posted to her Valley Advocate blog "On Springfield" on biomass & campaign contributions, the Republican today singled out Kateri Walsh's hundreds in campaign contributions from the Callahan family and their lawyer Frank Fitzgerald.  The same report notes that City Comptroller Pat Burns found ZERO financial implications to the city if the council appeals PRE's permits to the Board of Appeals.

(WMassP&I)

When Steven Desilets approved a building permit for Palmer Renewable Energy’s biomass plant off Page Boulevard, he had to know it would provoke a rebuke from the City Council.  Five months before he approved that permit, the council voted 10-2 to revoke PRE’s permit on the grounds that the project had changed considerably from its previous incarnation and would pose a threat to human health.  Desilets would approve the permit on the advice of the Law Department, which argued that PRE did not even need a special permit under the revised proposal.

On Monday the Council gathered for a special meeting to formally appeal the building permit.  Because the council is an integral part of the planning and zoning process of the city, it has standing under the umbrella state zoning law to appeal the decision.  It can appeal to both the city’s Board of Zoning Appeals and, if still unsatisfied, to court as well.  Indeed, it seemed as if the council would do exactly that last night…until one councilor made Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell proud and filibustered.

Councilor Fenton (Facebook)

Before the meeting began it was well-known where everybody stood.  Ward 2 Council Mike Fenton wisely requested a recorded vote on last week’s non-binding resolves and it revealed that at-large Councilors James Ferrera, Tim Rooke and Kateri Walsh were opposed to any further council action to oppose the biomass plant.  All ward councilors and at-large councilors Thomas Ashe and Jose Tosado were in favor of further action just as they were in favor revoking the permit.

Nevertheless, the opponents tried their best to derail the process.  Ferrera started first by trying to sow the seeds of confusion among the councilors with an assist from City Solicitor Ed Pikula.  Ferrera inquired into who would represent the council if it voted to appeal and Pikula argued that the Law Department may need to recuse itself because it would be obligated to defend the building commissioner.  Ferrera also asked about PRE’s existing suit against the city over the council’s permit revocation.  However, that remains, as Pikula described, a placeholder suit if a court or other board rules the special permit is indeed needed.

Ward 8 Councilor John Lysak took on Pikula’s position directly asking how the Law Department could be defending the city against PRE’s lawsuit on the revocation while maintaining the position that a special permit is not necessary.  Pikula argued that the two issues were parallel, but did not have conflict within each case individually.

At the same time, however, Pikula noted that the council cannot appropriate money on its own for a lawyer.  Though true, Pikula could also not deny that the council could finance counsel out of its own pockets, receive pro bono representation, or even go to court pro se.

However, Fenton noted that the council needed no lawyers to appeal to the Board of Appeals.  The board is an administrative body just like the City Council and like the City Council, appellants to the board appear without any council constantly.  Certainly a lawyer can represent an appellant before the board, but there are no legal documents to serve or actions taken that require a law license to be properly executed.  Thus, before the Board of Appeals, the council needs no lawyer and does not even need to contemplate the need to find money for one until and unless the Board rules against the council.

Contributions May Connect Councilor to Probation Scandal...

Councilor Ferrera (Urban Compass)

Not quite five years ago, with then Council-President Kateri Walsh looking on, Judge William Boyle swore in at-large councilor James Ferrera, III as the city’s newest councilor.  His effective predecessor, Angelo Puppolo, had resigned his seat in order to join the Massachusetts House of Representatives.  Ferrera got the gig by being only a few votes short of securing a seat in the 2005 election.  On that day, however, there was somebody other than family and friends haunting 36 Court Street who may have been among Ferrera’s most important political allies: Senator Stephen Buoniconti.

Over the years, Ferrera would receive only $100 from Buoniconti or his campaign directly even as Ferrera and members of his family would contribute thousands to Buoniconti’s campaign and other influential Beacon Hill politicians.  During this time, Ferrera would begin to work at the Probation Department, which runs under the auspices of  the commonwealth’s trial courts.  This employment began and continues when, in the word of counsel investigating the department, “[hiring] and promotion processes have been fraudulently orchestrated from beginning to end in favor of connected candidates.”

Until around the time Ferrera was sworn-in, he worked as a finance officer at Marcotte Ford in Holyoke.  Some time after that, however, Ferrera began working as an Assistant Court Services Coordinator at the Department of Probation’s Office of Community Corrections.  The exact date of that employment is not fully clear, but it does appear to correspond with the approximate time that Ferrera joined the council.  According to campaign finance records, Ferrera and his mother would donate nearly $3,000 between 2006 and 2010, the year Buoniconti ceased to be an elected official after losing last year’s district attorney race.  However, the year Ferrera joined the council he or his committee gave an annual donation of $100 dollars to State Representative Thomas Petrolati of Ludlow whom the Boston Globe called the “King of Patronage.”  The donations seemingly ended when Petrolati narrowly avoided scandal when Sal DiMasi resigned from the House amid separate accusations.

Ferrera is not the only member of the family to work in Probation while contributing generously to Buoniconti.  His cousin, Jill Cocchi works as a Probation Officer and between her and her family members, has contributed nearly $1000 to Buoniconti, including a $500 contribution in 2007, the year Ferrera joined the council.  Cocchi’s own employment started no earlier than 2005, but that could stretch back to earlier employment elsewhere with the commonwealth.  Between both families, Buoniconti received nearly $4,000 dollars.  According to the Globe's analysis of campaign records and probation documents, Buoniconti had received the most money from Probation employees after Petrolati and current House Speaker Robert DeLeo.

At the time of posting, Ferrera had not responded to a request for comment from WMassP&I on this story and his relationship  with Buoniconti.

Cocchi, whose name appears on the Globe’s 2010 list of possibly-connected employees, was linked to Ferrera after a Republican story highlighted an overpayment Ferrera’s campaign committee made to the candidate.  That story noted that Ferrera had overpaid a loan he made to his campaign by almost $4000.  The Republican reported on a letter from the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance to his grandmother and campaign treasurer, Catherine Cocchi.  A search of public records and newspaper clippings linked Ferrera and Cocchi as cousins.

That Ferrera and his cousin would hold public employment is not itself surprising.  His maternal grandmother and grandfather were a firefighter and teacher respectively and   Cocchi’s father, Mark is a Springfield Police Officer.

Fmr. Sen. Stephen Buoniconti (Valley Advocate)

At no time, did either Buoniconti or Petrolati represent Ferrera in the legislature.  Furthermore, no other elected official representing Springfield or anywhere else in Massachusetts got the same amount of contributions from Ferrera as Buoniconti including Brian Lees, Gale Candaras and Puppolo who have represented Ferrera’s Palmyra street residence over the years.  With the exception of Puppolo, records confirm, none received contributions from either Ferrera or his mother Joanne after Ferrera joined the council despite the fact that Lees is now Clerk of Courts and Candaras a state senator.

Politicians giving to one another, whether one represents the other or not, is common.  However, it is not so for Springfield City Council candidates especially in the amounts Ferrera and his family have given.  Former councilor and present council candidate Bud Williams has given $450 to Petrolati over the years.  Candidate Charles Rucks gave $100 once to Buoniconti.  Of incumbent at-large councilors only Tim Rooke has ever given to Buoniconti or  Petrolati, although in the case of the latter as recently as this year.  Nevertheless Ferrera’s overall contributions to Beacon Hill politicians outstrip anything contributed by other sitting councilors and council candidates.

Take My Council, Please: Anatomy of a Feud...

Sorry for the delayed post of this week's Take My Council, Please.  If it make you feel any better, part of the reason was due to the relatively minor items that were before the council.

(WMassP&I)

The Springfield City Council pulled out a quick meeting despite some divisiveness on non-binding issues and ordinance revisions  The meeting took place following a rally of Occupy Springfield and Take Back Springfield, two separate groups arguably focused on the same issues.  Many from those protests, who were on hand to support a resolve against Bank of America and technical changes to the city's foreclosure ordinance, filled the council chamber and milled around city hall.  Although the chamber and the hall were much fuller during the Biomass debates, police were deployed throughout the building.  Ultimately, the proposal fueling much of the crowd's interest was sent to committee deflating the crowd and causing them to release their anger in not-so-veiled, but somewhat overstated political complaints to the council generally.

Disposing of the minutiae, non-controversial ordinance revisions of the city's vicious dog and criminal disposition ordinances passed second steps.  Fire, Library, Health & Human Services and the Health departments all got approval to receive grants.  Director of the Health and Human Services Department Helen Caulton-Harris once again showed off her departments grant-writing prowess with a $100,000+ haul.  The council received reports from Ward 1 Councilor Zaida Luna on a literacy program and Ward 2 Councilor Mike Fenton on prior year bills.  Payment of the bills was approved without objection.  A permit and some zoning changes were approved and deed delivered to the developer of a tax-foreclosed property.

Councilor Rivera (Facebook)

Toward the end of the debate the council considered two resolves.  Once sponsored by Ward 6 Councilor Amaad Rivera called for the city remove its remaining funds from Bank of America and another calling for greater enforcement of the city's residency ordinance.  The residency ordinance encouraged the mayor to negotiate in residency to the upcoming employee contracts while working to see the spirit if not the letter of the residency ordinance is applied to non-bargained employees.  The city ordinance is rarely enforced and Mayor Domenic Sarno has not appointed the enforcement commission as required by law.  More to the point, he frequently uses its exemption provisions.  Councilors ultimately sent the resolve to committee to discuss broader options to enforce residency.  At-large councilor Jimmy Ferrera called for a home rule petition, but such a petition would require the mayor's signature and would almost certainly die in the legislature.  This was a point noted by at-large Councilor Tim Rooke, but he also pointed out the politics behind legislators avoidance of the issue.  However, neither point suggested a way to actually enforce residency broadly nor a recognition that legislating away residency as a negotiable item is political impossible in this political environment.

On the Bank of America resolve, Ward 7 Councilor Tim Allen rose to ask the city's Treasurer-Collector how much money the city really had in the Bank of America account.  The treasurer said that the money is there because one payee to the city continues to wire the money into that account, despite continued protests to the contrary.  The treasurer went on to say that the only reason the city left the bank anyway was because they got a better RFP from Citizens Bank, a Scottish-owned firm.  Allen was uncomfortable singling out Bank of America, however much the institution deserved it, especially in light of the city's broader efforts of the city to  rein in renegade financial institutions.  Rivera, who sponsored the resolve disagreed and voted against an effort to send the resolve to committee, where it went.  The crowd overheated from the earlier rally attempted to call out "shame" for each councilor that sent the measure to committee, but Council President Jose Tosado squelched that.  The crowd exited chanting, "We'll be back!" as if the measure had died, which it did not.  Rivera said afterward that the dialogue of sending the measure to committee was a positive thing, although he would not have done so.

Take My Council, Please: Fear & Loathing in Springfield...

(WMassP&I)

The Springfield City Council meant to bring some measure of finality to the budget process and a provide a measure closure to the acrimony that has bedeviled the City Council and the Mayor’s office.  Between a canny move by at-large Councilor Jimmy Ferrera and a procedural gaffe, that effort fell apart descending into more acrimony and less fiscal responsibility.

Among the boilerplate disposed of by the council was the formal receipt of grants for the redevelopment of Union Station and the adjacent Hotel Charles site.  Allegedly, the project is moving forward.  An ordinance on livery vehicles was referred to committee and a first step was made for an ordinance that provided clarifying language to the city’s vicious dog ordinance.  Various property transactions were also approved and an authorization to pay bills from previous years was sent to committee.

The council received a report from finance officials that said the city was on track in its budget spending.  Planning and Economic Development Chair Ward 7 Councilor Tim Allen also announced that the city will likely expend more than $106 million in tornado rebuilding and recovery costs.

Councilor Fenton (Facebook)

However, by far the most interesting part of the meeting came from an item that was not even on the agenda.  Ward 2 Councilor Mike Fenton, the Finance Committee chair, brought an item out of the committee to fund tiered furloughs, terrace mowing and an extra position at the animal control center.  However, the actual measure was one sent up by the mayor at the last meeting which would do all those things, but add $100,000 to the police department budget above the mayor FY2012 budget and provide money for bulk pickup.  It is unclear what the bulk-pickup referred to as there has been no apparent cessation of bulk pickup in the city.

The finance committee had been wrangling with the mayor for weeks to get the tiered furloughs without being forced to accept essentially rescinding the more than $2 million in cuts the city had ordered for FY2012.  Administration officials had essentially been claiming that the council had cut terracing mowing and police overtime.  While the former was caused by an indiscriminate 5% cut from other-than-personnel-services accounts led to the reduction of some services like terrace mowing and animal control, police overtime was never at issue.

Fenton, after he offered his changes to the mayor’s appropriation, called on the mayor to “be genuine to the principles of government.”  City Council President Jose Tosado, a challenger to the mayor this November, also chastised the mayor for playing games with the council.  Finance Director T.J. Plante snapped at the council for not alerting him or the administration about the finance committee meeting that preceded the council meeting.  However, the meeting was properly and publicly posted and Fenton reminded Plante that he had apologized for not extending a personal invitation, an apology impliedly had been accepted.  Throughout the back and forth between the council and Plante, the finance director remained evasive and indignant at the council’s deliberations.

Councilor Ferrera (Urban Compass)

Nevertheless nobody saw Ferrera’s move to amend Fenton’s order to include the police overtime and bulk pickup funds anyway.  Confusion ensued as Fenton tried to withdraw his motion to stop the process.  However, the clerk announced that Ferrera could just as easily pull the item back from committee.  City Clerk Wayman Lee said the vote for Ferrera’s motion could proceed because the item had been in the committee for long enough.  However, the clerk miscalculated the days.  Thirty days must pass before “any” councilor can pull an item from committee.  Not nearly as much time had passed since the measure was sent to committee initially.

Members of the council, fearful of appearing to oppose a measure that would ostensibly benefit the police department, fell into line and voted for the measure by a wide margin.  Fenton permitted his original motion for the tiered furlough, mowing and animal control to pass as well, which was approved overwhelmingly.

(WMassP&I)

The entire show was a sad display of the fear, incompetence and opportunism that still, apparently runs wild through the city council.  The council did not cut the police overtime budget.  In fact, the mayor offered a smaller number in this fiscal year than last and now wanted the council to add more to the budget.  Additionally troubling is that police overtime will do nothing to correct the city’s crime problem.  The problem is not enough cops on the beat, but a broader more systemic social problem that no amount of policing can correct by itself.  Problems like poverty, poor education and a lack of jobs play a far bigger role than policing alone.  Sadly, addressing those problems thoughtfully and intelligently because impossible without the wise fiscal stewardship the city requires.

Intersection of Andrew & Wilmont...

City Council Chamber before meeting (WMassP&I)

Days after at-large Councilor Jimmy Ferrera offered his cynically and politically worded resolve before the Springfield City Council and Ward 3 Council Melvin Edwards slapped him down with a rhetorical stroke that summoned a cheer from the audience, irony struck.  In the period of less than a week, the city clocked in two homicides in as many days bringing a deadly total for the summer and pushing the city perilous close to a recent high in annual homicides.  Troubling still is that both victims, appear, according to press accounts, to be innocent bystanders.

Jonathon Tallaj was killed on Wilmont Street in the city's Forest Park neighborhood, a street that has had a particularly troubled history over the years.  Meanwhile not far away Kevin Gomez was murdered at a party on the one year anniversary of the murder of Cathedral student Conor Reynolds.  Another youth died from a gunshot wound on Washington Street this summer.  The murders frame, to some extent the roughest parts of Forest Park, vaguely defined by Belmont and Dickinson to the West, White Street to the East, Orange Street to the North and either Washington or Fountain Street to the South.

The city's other recent homicide victim, Carmen Melendez, 16, was killed on Andrew and State street seemingly the victim of a stray bullet.  She died near where the all too ironically named Sheldon Innocent was murdered by an escaped convict whose rampage included other victims, including cops, that survived their injuries.  All but three of the fifteen victims this year, have been under 40 and most were under 30.

Councilor Ferrera (Urban Compass)

It would seem that after the most recent barrage of gunfire that Ferrera was right and that more overtime and more money is automatically the answer.  The police need to get tougher and offer a display of force, some may say.  Such decisions can certainly be made after the council returns from its huddle with the mayor and police commissioner, the only tangible demand left credible from Ferrera's resolve after Edwards slapped his colleague down.

If the council, the mayor and Commission William Fitchet divine any insight from such a meeting, if it ever happens, we should hope knee-jerk reactions or the throwing money is not the result.  The answer to the city's crime problem will not, in itself, be more cops on the street or more overtime available to the police department.  It will not be more gunshot detection technology or cameras downtown alone.  The problems are simply to complicated to be solved with such glib answers.

As Edwards somewhat wryly put it last week, he could kill his wife in the privacy of his own home regardless of the number of cops on the street.  Likewise, is there anything that more police would have done to prevent the most recent back to back killings?  It is possible that were more police on the street or riding in a patrol car, their mere presence might have stopped the perpetrators from pulling the trigger.  However, that may have only delayed the bullets by minutes and different victims may or may not have been come to be.  As for the victims with known histories of drugs or violence, if their killers were determined not even the best policing the world could stop them.

Take My Council Please: Grocery Ills...

The Springfield City Council held the equivalent of a double feature Monday night.  A regularly scheduled Hearings meeting, during which the council approves or denies permits, followed a special meeting where numerous items were debated.  City Council President Jose Tosado had scheduled the meeting to complete the final steps to pass ordinances related to foreclosures.  However, like any meeting, councilors could and did tack on whatever they wanted.  As momentous as the foreclosure ordinances were, it did not provoke the same level of back and forth, among the councilors at least, as other items.

First the easy stuff.  The Council formally accepted the withdrawal of a petition for an electronic sign on Dorset Street for the Martin Luther King, Jr Charter School.  Reports came from the General Government and Audit Committee over progress at the Putnam High Construction site, specifically possible violations of the city's Responsible Employer Ordinance.  Also discussed, but ultimately referred back to committee was the agreement to a Tax Incremental Financing for a new warehouse for F.W. Webb, a plumbing supply company.  The TIF is a condition for the city to sell some of the remaining land on the city's Smith & Wesson industrial park.  There is a great deal of controversy over the shockingly low number of jobs the project will create and concerns that the developers will make little or no effort to employ city residents.

(WMassP&I)

The council also undertook the second and third steps necessary to approve two ordinances related to foreclosures.  The first ordinance requires the banks that own foreclosed homes to post a $10,000 bond that can be used by the city to maintain the property.  Presently, the city must cover the cost of maintenance necessary to keep the foreclosed properties from blighting the neighborhood.  This ordinance would transfer that cost, if any, to the banks.  They would recover the bond fully upon sale of the property.  The other ordinance mandates mediation between the bank and homeowner when foreclosure become likely.  Banks would be fined for refusing to attempt mediation consistent with the ordinance.  After the second step passed, many of the people in the council chamber in support of the bill erupted in cheers.  Little did they realize that the ordinance had not yet become law.  As they marched out of the chamber and onto the steps of City Hall the council debated several resolves before finally passing both ordinances with a pair of 13-0 votes.

The foreclosure legislation is believed to be a model in the commonwealth if not the nation as a whole.  There are some rumors that congressional Democrats have contacted City Hall for more information about the ordinance.

Some of the biggest fireworks, however, occurred over a resolve, sponsored by at-large Councilors Jimmy Ferrera and Tim Rooke.  The resolve, whose campy language could appeal to anybody favoring style over substance, called on the mayor, police commissioner and Chief Administrative and Financial Officer to meet with the council to find money to add to the police overtime budget to combat the rise in crime.  In short, the resolve wanted more police overtime money because that would reduce the city's crime rate.  Ferrera suggested that the city should raid its cash reserves and other backups immediately to fight crime, even though the city's overtime budget was left completely intact in the 2012 budget.



Councilor Edwards (Facebook)

Ward 3 Councilor Melvin Edwards, however, was not amused or impressed.  In an impassioned, biting and articulate speech, Edwards slapped Ferrera down for advocating pouring money down a very specific hole to solve a problem as complex as the city's crime problem.  He asserted that he fully supported the police department and whatever it needed to keep the city safe.  However, Edwards rejected the notion that throwing money at the problem (or put another way, playing stat games) was the solution.  "If I choose to strangle my wife in the privacy of my own home," Edwards said, "it would not matter if there were a thousand cops on the street."  Even though Ward 5 Councilor Clodo Concepcion stood up in support of the resolve saying "We're scared,"  it was clear that Edwards speech had a deep and instantaneous impact.

Councilor Rooke, a sponsor of the resolve, quickly pivoted saying the call for a meeting with councilors should and must "look more broadly."  Other councilors also stood in support of the resolve, but with the intention of looking more broadly as Rooke suggested, mindful of their sense that the mayor does not include the council often enough in policy discussions.  When Ferrera spoke again on the resolve, it was clear he was on the defensive.  He hastily pointed out that his resolve called for a meeting and that increasing overtime for the police department was merely an idea.  He even pointed out that the city clerk and not he had put titled the resolve as one advocating more overtime.  Tosado acknowledged Ferrera's concerns and City Clerk Wayman Lee promised that the record would reflect it.  The resolve passed in a brilliant display of political theater.

Take My Council, Please: No One Leaves...Not Like That...

(WMassP&I)

In a rare display of expediency (or small agendas) the Springfield City Council breezed through its appointed task Monday night and in the process actually did a few useful things other than the typical housekeeping.  Items on the agenda included resolves opposed to the Federal Government's Secure Communities initiative and home foreclosure ordinances.  Because of those two items in particular the un-air conditioned council chamber was packed with supporters, further exacerbating the room's stuffiness.

Many of the agenda's items consisted of acceptance of funds for various departments within the city including the Library, Elder Affairs and Health and Human Services.  Much of the money accepted Monday for HHS was actually directed at the Thomas J. O'Connor Animal Control and Adoption Center.  Other moneys included an anticipated grant from the Springfield Library Foundation for the Mason Square Branch Library.

The council also granted the mayor authority to sell the School Department Building to a developer for the sale price of one dollar.  The nominal sale price was intended to be the only subsidy to the redevelopment of the school department building, which will otherwise be renovated using private money.  The plan is market rate condos that should yield the city thousands of dollars in tax revenue.  The vote was 10-1, with Ward 5 Councilor Clodo Concepcion as the lone no vote.  He told the Republican that the city should have waited for a better price.  At-large councilors Kater Walsh and Tim Rooke were not present.  The latter has made the cost of the school department's lease at the former federal building a crusade of sorts.  His absence kept the temperature on the issue fairly cool.

Another property on Tyler Street was also sold.  The present structure will be demolished and a new one built.

However, all this dry stuff came after the votes on the resolves against Secure Communities and the foreclosure ordinances.  The local branch of the Service Employees International Union had organized a large crowd, likely with the help of the local group "No One Leaves" that assists those facing foreclosure.  Both groups were likely there to support the ordinance, while SEIU, which represents many Hispanic workers, probably was there for the resolve, too.

ICE Badge (Wikipedia)

Secure Communities is an effort by the federal government to detect illegal immigrants, particularly those with a violent history.  This is undertaken by deputizing local law enforcement agencies to enforce federal immigration law to the extent that they can ascertain detained individuals legal status.  However, the program has come under fire for encouraging racial profiling and deporting largely non-violent illegal immigrants.  The second point notwithstanding, the initiative has been a band-aid on the broken leg of the nation's immigration laws and a poor substitute for true comprehensive immigration reform.  Moreover, it may have a negative impact on law enforcement.

Take My Council, Please: Fiscal Discilpline, 30 Years Overdue and Still Fresh...

(WMassP&I)

Tonight a somewhat strange thing happened at 36 Court Street.  The City Council fulfilled one of its legal obligations and actually did so by substantial majorities.  Through relatively few votes, the Springfield City Council cut more than $2.8 million dollars from the budget the mayor filed with the city last month.  Among the council's chief concerns, articulated by City Council President Jose Tosado and Ward 2 Councilor and Finance Committee Chair Mike Fenton, were the significant use of stabilization funds to plug the city's yawning budget gap.  That chasm was created through rising personnel costs, weak tax revenue and yet another cut to local aid from Beacon Hill.

Even with the cuts, the city will ultimately rely on roughly $7.5 million in stabilization reserves and another $5 million from an overlay account administered by the Assessors' Department.  Additionally, the city risks losing additional property tax revenue from damaged homes and businesses caught in the June 1st tornado.  Still, with next year's budget looking even more gruesome than this year's (and it will be paired with union negotiations with virtually all city bargaining units), keeping stabilization revenue intact is essential.

Tosado made some comments early on encouraging fiscal discipline only a year after he had refused to lift a finger to support cuts last year.  Still, the council president, perhaps knowing his mayoral aspirations remain dimmed by the tornado no doubt used the opportunity to jab the mayor, yet still doing what was right.

Councilor Tosado (Facebook)

Councilors kicked off the budget session with a vote to eliminate funding for vacant positions within the budget.  Although the mayor protested and even trotted out Police Commissioner Bill Fitchet to support funding for heretofore unfilled dispatch positions, the council rejected the entreaties and eliminated the positions.  Ward 5 Councilor Clodo Concepcion, who would become among the most reliable votes for the mayor's budget as is, attempted to play to councilors' political fear of cutting from public safety.  However, the council eliminated the unfilled positions.  At large councilors Jimmy Ferrera and Tom Ashe joined Concepcion in opposing the cuts.

Next the council proposed a broad cut of 5% to "other than personnel services" across city departments.  These items could be anything from support services to office supplies, basically anything that is not on payroll.  This cut elicited some minor protest for the mayor, but, representing more than a million and a half dollars all by itself, it passed the council easily 11-2. It made up the lion's share of other the budget reductions.  Ferrera and Concepcion dissented.

Ward 6 Councilor Amaad Rivera made an appeal to cut overtime budgets (which would largely come from police, fire and DPW) to save the jobs of eleven or so employees in the budget.  However, the political sensitivities could not be extended that far.  That cut failed 2-11, Rivera and Ward 3 Councilor Melvin Edwards casting the two yes votes.

Councilor Fenton (Facebook)

Whole swaths of the budget were cycled through without so much as a peep from councilors.  Ultimately proposals for cuts of $100,000 were proposed for Information Technology and Finance each, which will likely result in a handful of job losses.  Concepcion, Ashe and Ferrera were the three noes on the finance cuts.  Cuts to IT were much closer on a 7-6 vote.  Tosado, Fenton, and Ashe joined Ward 8 Councilor John Lysak, Ward 7 Councilor Tim Allen, Ward 1 Councilor Zaida Luna and Ward 4 Councilor E. Henry Twiggs to make those cuts.

Later on, Citistat, an office intended to find efficiencies in city government was all, but gutted by the council.  Although Citistat has made considerable progress for the city, it has been accused of hyping minor fiscal victories for the political benefit of city officials.  It died an ignominious death on a 10-3 vote, Rivera, Concepcion and Ferrera casting the votes to spare the office.