City Council - Finance Committee

CITY OF EASTHAMPTON OFFICE OF THE CITY COUNCIL Easthampton Municipal Building 50 Payson Ave., Ste. 100 Easthampton, Massachusetts 01027-2260 Telephone #: (413) 529-1460 Fax #: (413) 529-1417 Minutes City Council Finance Committee Meeting, 2/10/2022 Attendees: Finance Committee Members: Councilor Dan Rist, Chair Councilor Tom Peake, Clerk Councilor Koni Denham Other Attendees: City Council President Homar Gomez Mayor Nicole LaChapelle Personnel Director Emily Russo Fire Chief Christopher Norris City Treasurer Jennifer Gallant IT Director Karin Camihort Meeting was called to order at 5:00 PM. The meeting was held remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was videotaped 1. Approval of Minutes: 1/26/22. Motion made by Councilor Denham and seconded by Councilor Peake. Motion passed 3-0. 2. Mayor’s Communication: None. 3. Public Speak: None. 4. New Business a) $325,200.00 to supplement the FY ’22 Fire Department budget: The Fire Department backed several items out which could be reimbursed with FEMA money. Chief Norris noted that coverage was affected by staffing issues at hospitals, which required EMS to wait for extended periods of time for space to free up. As a response, EMS workers were called back whenever an ambulance went to several facilities. The Chief also backed out shift overtime for when people were out due to COVID. Shift overtime is being tracked on a weekly basis, and is $28,500 less than last fiscal year, even with COVID. Backing these funds out reduced  the appropriation by $42k. Part of that is due to full staffing, as well as shifts in operational procedures. Prior to Chief Norris, people were being sent to the Fire Academy during the summer, which is also the peak overtime period due to vacations. There is also a training officer captain who can cover shifts and avoid overtime. Motion made by Councilor Peake and seconded by Councilor Denham. Motion passed 3-0. b) $2,000.00 to supplement the City Council legal ad budget for FY ’22: The council has exceeded its advertising budget due to the number of public hearings. Motion made by Councilor Denham and seconded by Councilor Peake. Motion passed 3-0. c) $20,000.00 to supplement the Legal Services budget due to Union St. legal expenses: this is specific to the legal services related to this particular project, which has exceeded its legal budget. It is the first TIP project and there were costs that had not been budgeted when the project was planned years ago. Motion made by Councilor Peake and seconded by Councilor Denham. Motion passed 3-0. d) $32,254.21 to supplement the FY ’22 IT budget: the budget of the IT Department for this year was identical to the budget for last year, but a number of new things had come up. There were new expenses related to cloud-based backups, encryption software for the Health and HR, and Police Departments, fees related to modules in the public safety software, a new copy machine was purchased, and there were expenses related to the internet project. After these appropriations, the city has just over $1.4 million in free cash. Motion made by Councilor Denham and seconded by Councilor Peake. Motion passed 3-0. 5. Old Business a) Review of council clerk stipend (City Ordinances, Chapter 2, Sec. 7-5): this item was not discussed tonight. b) Review of Exhibit B Pay Plan Pay scale, including grades of City Council appointees: There was some discussion about the pay grades of employees. City Clerk Barbara LaBombard argued that the position of the City Clerk should be moved to a higher grade. Mayor Nicole LaChapelle argued for keeping the current grades. HR Director Emily Russo came back with a few examples for amended pay plans, as requested in the last meeting, including one with twenty steps and another with fifteen steps. City Treasurer Jen Gallant estimated that the three percent raise would cost approximately $80,000 a year. She also cautioned that it might not combat the inequities in the same way, because in order to be competitive, personnel are not always hired at Step 1. It would give three more years of step increases to the people who are currently maxed out. HR Director Emily Russo concurred that could just expand the current situation, and agreed with the Mayor’s recommendation of a three percent raise with the same twelve steps. The committee ultimately decided to move on the twelve step, three percent schedule. Councilor Denham did state her preference for a fifteen step schedule. The mayor also noted that many cities are discarding the step system entirely for department heads in favor of personal contracts. Motion made by Councilor Peake and seconded by Councilor Denham. Motion passed 3-0. c) Review of Salary and Stipends for Elected Officials: this item was not discussed tonight. 6. Continuing Business • Review of QUARTERLY fiscal reports from the City Auditor: no report for this meeting. • QUARTERLY Report on Covid-19 grant funding and Spending: no report for this meeting. By motion made by Councilor Peake and seconded by Councilor Denham, the meeting was adjourned at 6:00 PM Next meeting: 2/23/22