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 Insight: An Eye To-Ward Greater Representation...

Councilor Edwards (Facebook)

Every individual who runs for office must have some ego.  While Ward 3 City Councilor Melvin Edwards is no different, it is quite obvious after only a few minutes with him that he keeps humility in a sizable reserve.  If that’s a strength, he is going to need all he can get and more as he takes on Senator James T. Welch in what may be the most highest profile primary race for state office in the area this year.

Edwards, a sophomore member of the Springfield City Council, and among the first batch of ward-elected councilors for the city in over fifty years, is not the council’s loudest or highest-profile member.  However, when he does speak, it easy to identify him as among those who may be the body’s conscience, never rushing to a decision and often excoriating councilors, the mayor and others for forcing the body to rush things needlessly.

Whether soft-spoken or eloquently speaking more forcefully at a council meeting or other public venue, it is clear that Edwards possesses a true and real love for Springfield.  That passion for the city is not just boilerplate polito-speak.  Rather it is the conviction of his tone coupled with factoids about Springfield‘s prouder aspects.  (like how Springfield’s Forest Park and Central Park share a connection through fabled parks designer Frederick Law Olmstead).   “My passion is for Springfield,” he said during an interview with Western Mass Politics & Insight.

It is no surprise that Edwards's tone moves between a soft conversational and ministerial, but never sanctimonious.  His mother was a Pentecostal minister, just one piece of the mosaic that forms his background, which includes roots in Pakistan, the West Indies and Native American tribes.  A resident of Springfield for virtually his whole life, Edwards raised his family here with his wife Suzanne.

Councilor Edwards at his desk (WMassP&I)

Edwards won reelection unopposed, like seven out of eight of the city’s ward councilors last year.  However, his initial victory in 2009 was made possible by the circumstances of the city’s changing municipal government.  The race was the inevitable next step for someone who had gone from sprucing up the Maple Heights/Six Corners neighborhood where he lives to becoming President of the neighborhood civic association.  Additional honors of late have included introducing Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren at a fundraiser for her in Springfield last year.

In an interview with WMassP&I, Edwards described his transition from citizen to public servant.  Well before ward representation was a reality, Edwards and his wife, tired of the condition of their neighborhood, among the city’s poorest, took to picking up garbage on the side of the road.  Their work quickly gained the accolades of other fed up residents and would become the genesis for Keep Springfield Beautiful.  It would be that early activism that led others to encourage Edwards to attend and participate in Maple High/Six Corners Neighborhood Council.

At the neighborhood council, Edwards ascended to president, a position he holds to this day.  However, even the president of the neighborhood council would find it difficult to get adequate responses from city departments.  The police often asked if a gun was involved before sending help on the way, a questionEdwards says is not posed to all neighborhoods calling the cops.  Facing these harsh realities where even the head of a neighborhood council could not get the answers he wanted from City Hall, Edwards and Ward 3 would find an opportunity in ward representation.  Edwards said that in the run up to the 2009 election, many in the neighborhood came up to him and urged him to take up the challenge and represent their ward at 36 Court Street.

Another Battle for the Senate...& Iowa...

We have some pretty big Massachusetts political news bubbling up from the streets of Springfield, but first a quick word on Iowa.  Willard Mitt Romney should have stayed away.  Yes, he won by eight votes, but unlike the polls that raised up and slapped down anti-Romneys before, the effective tie Rick Santorum secured means Romney will be spending valuable time and money batting him away for weeks to come.  Santorum has a heavy lift garnering money and supporters, but with Michele Bachmann out and Rick Perry effectively so, Romney will have to slog through a probable South Carolina loss and a possible a Florida defeat, too.  By Michigan, he should be alright, but he will be damaged and he will still not be the best candidate to lead a fractured GOP into the general election.  

Nevertheless, Democrats should remain nimble.  They have spent a great deal of time sharpening their spears for Romney, but they should at least prepare for the unlikely possibility of a Santorum challenge, if for no other reason that he could be a possible Vice-Presidential nominee.

Councilor Melvin Edwards (Facebook)

Now onto the local political fun.  WMassP&I has confirmed that Springfield Ward 3 City Councilor Melvin Edwards will challenge James Welch in September's Democratic Primary.  Sources close to councilor say he will make a formal announcement within a couple of weeks.  Edwards was elected in 2009 in the city's first Ward elections in decades and was unopposed in November's municipal elections.  He was sworn in Monday for another two year term.

Although Edwards's ward in 2009 featured meek turnout, he won with 62% of the vote.  Since joining the council Edwards has usually been among the more fiscally vigilant bloc of the council.  His ward, which includes the South End and Six Corners sustained heavy damage from the June tornado.  Indeed, Edwards himself recounted his own harrowing experience during the twister at a council meeting following the storm.  Edwards was among the early supporters of at-large Councilor Jimmy Ferrera's bid for council president which many saw as an attempt to smooth over their otherwise less than ducky relationship.  Edwards has on more than one occasion sparred with Ferrera often to the latter's embarrassment.

The opportunity for Edwards to challenge Welch came about from redistricting.  Seeking to avoid the embarrassing violations of the Voting Rights Act during redistricting after the 2000 census, Beacon Hill's redistricting committee significantly rebuilt Welch's district to make it minority-majority.  Agawam was dropped from the district, while several minority portions of Springfield extending as far as Indian Orchard were brought in.  Minority communities in Chicopee were also drawn into the district.  Whiter parts of Springfield, particularly in Forest Park were deposited into Gale Candaras' District as well.

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.

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.

Moving on Up...

Councilor Rivera (WMassP&I)

The numbers out of the Election Commission indicate plenty of interest in the citywide races slated for this November.  At last count thirteen interested candidates have qualified to compete for the city's five at-large seats and three candidates have qualified for mayor.  As a result there will be a primary in September for both of those offices.  However, the relatively high interest in the city's elected offices at-large were only matched by a near-indifference on the ward level.  The only contested ward race will be in Ward 8 where Orlando Ramos will seek a rematch with current Ward 8 rep John Lysak.  Even ward 6, one of the city's most politically active wards is facing a one man race with Ken Shea seemingly destined to take that seat in January.  

The current occupant of that seat, Amaad Rivera, however, kicked off his campaign for election to one of the city's at-large seats.  At a somewhat humble, but intimate gathering of core supporters, Rivera formally launched his candidacy.  The event was held in the Hall of Local 108 of the Carpenters Union and attended by twenty-five to thirty people, many of them crucial backers of his  2009 run for the Ward 6 seat.

Several long-time supporters of Rivera spoke.  First up was Katie Stebbins a member of the Springfield planning board and wife to former city councilor Bruce Stebbins.  Stebbins, who described both herself and her husband as big supporters of Rivera, recalled several late-night conversations in her kitchen with Rivera regarding issues affecting the city.  Although her husband is a Republican and not necessarily in perfect political sync with Rivera's progressive values, she, her husabnd and Rivera are united in fighting for a stronger Springfield and good government.

Michaelann Bewsee (WMassP&I)

Michaelann Bewsee, the head of Arise for Social Justice, a Springfield advocacy group scolded Amaad for not running Ward 6 because there would be no race there after all (she made a point of noting no disrespect for Shea).  The faux criticism aside, Bewsee extolled Rivera's virtues calling him a "champion for progressive causes" on the City Council.

Arlene Rodriguez, a dean at Springfield Technical Community College called Rivera one of the most "honest, charismatic speakers" that she knows.  She also praised his "passion for people."  Dominic Basile who has known Rivera for years called him an "intensely loyal friend."

Rivera, trying not to play the politician with assurances of a short speech, spoke next.  He led off thanking his family which he described as a group of people where, "It was okay to express what you felt."  He also described how throughout his life in Springfield he felt there existed this (false) notion that there was something wrong with Springfield.  Instead he argued, "We can make a better, stronger Springfield.  

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.

Take My Council, Please: Storm Stories...and Nullification at 36 Court?...

 **UPDATED** The following post has been updated as of 6/9/11.  Data on the slots votes has been corrected.

The Springfield City Council held their first meeting since last week's tornado sliced through the heart of Springfield and neighboring towns.  The council had a great deal of regular business to attend to, but there was also time to bat stories from the disaster back and forth among the councils.  Unfortunately, even a somber a subject as the tornado was unable to escape some political rancor.  The only item that dredged up as much emotion as the tornado, was oddly, the Slot Parlor/Internet Cafe on Cooley Street in the city's Five Town Plaza.

First the boilerplate.  More money was accepted by the Health Department from grants and other sources.  The police department had an order to transfer funds from its salaries account to its equipment account to purchase new vests for police officers.  However, left unclear was why this money was being appropriated now as opposed to in the original budget approved last year.  Motions were made to refer the matter to committee, but between the police sergeant holding a vest in the audience and the admonitions of at-large councilors Tim Rooke and Kateri Walsh about police safety, the motion could not find a second.  The money did not come from reserves, but still a better explanation is merited.

Thomas Belton, right (Masslive)

On a far more positive note, the City Council approved the nomination of Thomas Belton to be director of Veterans Services.  Belton, a former marine and Vietnam Veteran, received hefty praise from Clodo Concepcion, Jose Tosado and Kateri Walsh, whose husband abruptly resigned earlier this year.  After the vote, Belton briefly thanked the council in remarks from which long winded Oscar winners could learn a thing about brevity.

Then the council started veering into some very strange territory.  WMassP&I has not confirmed the original date of the first vote, but the council took up reconsideration of a vote for a special permit for the 777 Internet Cafe on Cooley Street in Springfield.  These Internet Cafes have gained attention as violating the state's laws against gambling.  Essentially, via an elaborate system using tokens and whatnot, proprietors have been able to shirk these laws.  The Attorney General shut down many of them, but others have sought to reopen under narrow exceptions.  Those exceptions require a permit from the city.

777 Internet Cafe on Cooley St (WMassP&I)

The original vote failed by an 8-4 vote (special permits require 9 votes, notwithstanding absences).  A motion had been made for reconsideration, for whatever reason. Apparently there is considerable support for the parlor on Cooley Street, which is very popular and by all accounts far better run than some of the others shut down.  However, per Massachusetts General Law 40A Sec. 16, the matter could not be brought up again for two years after a final decision had been rendered.  The 8-4, according to the City Solicitor, was that final decision, not subject to reconsideration.  

Reconsideration is a parliamentary tactic the council has written into its own rules.  It cannot and does not override the state law, which does not allow for any the do-overs.  The reason is because, as with biomass votes last month, the council was sitting as a regulatory body governed by very specific and complex land use statutes set by the commonwealth.  The elected council just happens to be the body empowered to execute that state statute in the city.  

(WMassP&I)

When the council, as the municipal legislature, votes on an ordinance or monetary transfer, for example, it is acting on general powers granted by the mosaic of special acts, the general laws and the city charter that govern the City of Springfield.  Therefore, it can set its own rules on when issues can be brought up again. Typically under council rules, if an item is not reconsidered immediately after a vote, it cannot be brought up again until the next council is seated.  Still, that rule exists at the council's direction.

Take My Council, Please: We Want More...

(WMassP&I)

Monday was a night of stunning defeats and equally stunning chutzpah.  A dozen or so cops filled the council chamber ostensibly as a show of solidarity ahead of the civilian review vote.  Other measures up included the trash fee, a petition to extend council terms and other measures that were liberated from committee.

Lee Erdmann, the city’s Chief Administrative and Financial Officer briefed the council on finances first.  Essentially, the city projects, based on revenue estimates and expected state aid to have a $40 million deficit.  Erdmann told the council that he and others in the mayor’s administration had pared that down to about $16 million.  That reduction came through department reduction and changes to health and pensions.  It also assumed that there would be additional revenue from the trash fee.

As it stands now, the mayor’s office expects to request that roughly $13 million be used from stabilization funds to cover most of that gap.  Additional reductions and consolidations, thus far undetermined, unused overlay account money and would a 2% increase on the hotel tax would cover the rest.  The increase would put Springfield at the same rate as Cambridge and Worcester, but still under Boston’s rate.

Councilor Ferrera (Urban Compass)

Erdmann also indicated that the city would seek concessions from labor, but would do so primarily to avoid layoffs, which may become necessary absent concessions.  During the debate at-large councilor Jimmy Ferrera pressed Erdmann for the source of his projections.  Erdmann, apparently used to Ferrera’s theatrics, waved off his question, assuring him that he was using the best estimates available given the political and financial situation.

Erdmann also briefly discussed the city’s capital budget, which included replacing 20% of trash bins.  Ferrera also pressed the city on why it was spending money to buy new trash bins.  Allen Chwalek, the city’s Public Works head, anecdotally mentioned that his own trash bin wore out as all of them eventually will.  Chwalek also reminded Ferrera that the current bins were rolled out 12-13 years ago and have an expected life of about ten years.


Rendering of Holiday Inn as a La Quinta (WMassP&I)

From there the discussion switched to less controversial items.  Boilerplate votes were called on accepting grants for the library, fire, emergency management and elderly affairs departments.  A resolve was also passed to support more money from Beacon Hill for Shannon Grants and approval granted to other Shannon Grants, Ward 1 Councilor Zaida Luna sent to committee last time.  A report on the Biomass plant was also accepted by the council.  Blessings were also granted to a 5 year contract for school food service (after details as to the need were presented to a subcommittee) and to Community Block Development Grant loan guarantee for the renovation of the former Holiday Inn.

A report from the finance committee on the trash was given somewhat before the actual debate on the item itself.  Ward 2 City Councilor Mike Fenton, chairman of the finance committee explained how his amended ordinance would increase the discount for seniors, veterans and indigent homeowners to 33% from 25% (the base fee would remain $75).  Fenton noted that leaving an additional $3 million gap in the budget was unacceptable.

Preview: Take My Council Please Apr 4, 2011...

Councilor Walsh (Facebook)

Tonight's City Council Meeting will feature a renewed effort by at-large Councilor Kateri Walsh and Ward 4 Councilor E. Henry Twiggs to extend the term of City Councilors to four years, coterminous with the mayor's 4 year term.  Walsh and Twiggs are joined by councilors Melvin Edwards, Clodo Concepcion and Zaida Luna An informal survey of the state's largest cities, Boston, Cambridge, Lowell and Worcester has found that all have two year terms for their councils.  Walsh's proposal (we vaguely remember her trying to attach a similar clause on the petition to lengthen the mayor's term) would give the City Council, essentially a legislative body, a term longer than any elected official in the Massachusetts Legislature or the United States House of Representatives.  Below the jump is the full text of Walsh's petition.

Take My Council, Please: Committee Can-Do!...

(WMassP&I)

As Western Mass Politics & Insight arrogantly takes credit for starting the cascade of news stories about Scott Brown’s sudden love for family planning and women’s health, the Springfield City Council got short shrift again.  Monday’s meeting emphasized the importance of committee.  Much of the important business before the council ended up going to committee.  In some cases, the reason was good and in others it was just odd.

Councilor Amaad Rivera was absent due to a car accident.  City Council President Jose Tosado announced his absence at the beginning of the meeting and other city hall sources confirmed that an email had been sent by Rivera to that effect.

As always, let us begin with the easy stuff.  The City Council accepted money for the city’s Housing department to fight blight and foreclosure aftermath.  The police department accepted grants to fight underage drinking and to purchase a special camera that would read license plates to the rear of a police cruiser.  Two ordinances, one changing fire department fees and another regarding junk shops advanced to the mayor.

(WMassP&I)

However, three other items mostly routine caught the eye of some councilors who wanted the items moved to committee.  Moving a bill the appropriate committee of the City Council is a delaying tactic.  However, those delays can either be positive or negative.  Sometimes they are simply redundant.  Take last meeting’s committee referral of the civilian review board.  Because the board was a ordinance change, initial approval would have sent the ordinance to committee anyway before it would be enacted.  Still, the council found it fit to send it to committee before it would go to there anyway.

The first item that went to committee was a net positive.  The issue before the council was an authorization to the school committee to seek a five year contract for food service in schools.  Although the School Committee is largely a law onto itself, it is technically little more than a department of the city, albeit one with an elected body.  As such, it often needs Council approval just like the police or park departments would.  To award a contract for more than three years under M.G.L 30B §12 they would need council approval.

However, several councilors, including at-large councilors Kateri Walsh and Tom Ashe, and Ward 4 councilor E. Henry Twiggs, wanted to vote to give the school committee approval now.  Walsh and Ashe, however, mischaracterized the intent of the measure and the law.   Both, but particularly Walsh, pushed for a vote now, claiming that if they did not vote for this the school committee could not even ask for a five year proposal.

Councilor Walsh (Facebook)

Ward 2 Councilor Mike Fenton and Ward 7 Councilor Tim Allen both protested noting that we had no idea what the council was voting for by giving this authorization.  To make matters worse, nobody from the finance, law or school departments were on hand to fully explain the legalities.  It was up to City Clerk Wayman Lee, who succinctly explained the truth.  Nothing in the law says the school committee cannot issue a request for proposals for five years, it just cannot award the contract until the council approves.  In fact, many times it is the bidders responding to an RFP who suggest a longer contract length.  Authorization absent a bid would give the school committee carte blanche to sign whatever it wanted for five years.

In any case, many councilors simply wanted to better understand for what they were voting.  Walsh’s complaint that is was not the City Council’s place to negotiate school contracts were misleading.  The council does not negotiate contracts but it does have an obligation to see to it that authority it grants another city entity uses it responsibly.  Sending the matter to committee will have no impact on the school department’s ability to seek the contract it wants.  The measure went to committee on a tight 7-5 vote.