City Council - Finance Committee

CITY OF EASTHAMPTON OFFICE OF THE CITY COUNCIL Minutes Easthampton Municipal Building 50 Payson Ave., Ste. 100 City Council Easthampton, Massachusetts 01027-2260 Finance Telephone #: (413) 529-1460 Committee Fax #: (413) 529-1417 Meeting, 4/13/2022 Attendees: Finance Committee Members: Councilor Dan Rist, Chair Councilor Tom Peake, Clerk Councilor Koni Denham Other Attendees: City Council President Homar Gomez City Councilor Owen Zaret City Councilor JP Kwiecinski Police Chief Robert Alberti City Auditor Hetal Patel 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: 3/23/22. 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 Interdepartmental Transfers: a) $15,250.00 Police Department Funding: From the packet: “The amount requested will be used for the following purpose: a. To provide the funding for Police Academ tuition, uniforms, supplies, and gear for Officer Abigail Lukasik who will attend in June 2022. B. Funds to cover the cost of public safety supplies and ammunition.” Chief Alberti stated that these funds were originally budgeted as a contribution for the regional lockup facility. This appropriation would move those funds to these other expenses. The ammunition is required for the officers to qualify in the state-mandated firearms proficiency qualification. Officer Lukasik was a partial special police officer. Changes with the POST Commission may make her one of the last special police officers hired by the City. Auditor Hetal Patel clarified that while this might seem like an intra-departmental transfer, the lockup is technically a separate  department, which is why we need this. Motion made by Councilor Peake and seconded by Councilor Denham. Motion passed 3-0. 5. Continuing Business  Quarterly fiscal reports from the City Auditor: This was not discussed tonight.  Quarterly Report on Covid-19 grant funding and spending: This was not discussed.  Review of elected officials/board & committee stipends. The committee discussed city council and school committee salaries. Councilor Rist spoke in favor of increasing the school committee salaries to the $4,000 currently payed to Councilors. Councilor Zaret spoke in favor of a $10,000 stipend for the Council. Council President Gomez spoke in favor of an increase, and stated that it would allow a more diverse group of people to run for office. Councilor Peake said he found those arguments convincing, but also believed that pay parity with the School Committee was his priority. Multiple councilors noted that these changes would not take place until next term, so any sitting councilor would have to win reelection to see this incrase. Councilor Kwiecinski spoke in favor of an increase. He also noted that some cities with lower stipends also provided health insurance plans for councilors. Councilor Peake pointed out that while other cities with higher salaries might have larger populations, that does not necessarily mean that those councilors work harder, and in fact those councilors might have some additional support. He also said that he would reach out to the Massachusetts Municipal Association to see if they had any details on compensation and benefits. Councilor Denham also stated that if the pay was over $5,000 a year, that would count towards a year of government service in terms of establishing benefits. Councilor Rist acknowledged the points that were made, but voiced some concerns about the political optics. Councilor Denham stressed the importance of being sensitive of the current economic times. Councilor Rist also noted that everything said could also be said of members of regulatory boards. This topic was continued pending more data. By motion made by Councilor Denham and seconded by Councilor Paeke, the meeting was adjourned at 5:41 PM Next meeting: 4/27/22