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, 4/26/2023 Attendees: Finance Committee Members: Councilor Dan Rist, Chair Councilor Tom Peake, Clerk Councilor Koni Denham Other Attendees: City Treasurer Jessica Hebert City Auditor Hetal Patel Mayor Nicole LaChapelle Council President Homar Gomez HR Director Emily Russo Police Chief Bob Alberti (remote) Parks and Recreation Director John Mason (remote) Fire Chief Chris Norris Superintendent Allison LeClair (remote) EPS Director of Business Services Nicholas Bernier (remote) Meeting was called to order at 6:00 PM. 1) Approval of Minutes: On motion made by Councilor Rist and seconded by Councilor Denham, it was unanimously voted to approve the minutes of April 22 as amended. 2) Mayor’s Communication: None 3) Public Speak: None 4) New Business a) $30,000 for design work needed to repair the “Town Clock” on the E’ton Cong. Church: For “design funding to estimate the final cost for work to repair the “Town Clock” owned by the city  and located on the Easthampton Congregational Church. A design is required under MGL prior to seeking CPA funding for the $200,000 to $250,000 repair project.” The CPA Committee asked the City Attorney to determine who owned the clock, and he concluded that the City does own the clock, which has been stuck for years. Councilor Rist stated that it had become “a bit of an obsession” of his. Councilor Denham asked whether the steeple structure was intact, given that the clock face was in such poor shape. There was some deliberation about the appropriateness of spending a large amount of money on a historical clock. The objection, from Councilors Peak and Denham, had less to do with the design, and more to do with the price of the final project. Motion made by Councilor Rist and seconded by Councilor Denham. Motion passed 2-1. b) $38,000 for environmental review/soil sampling – Ferry St. parcel & Millside Park: For “Professional Services for Environmental Review and Soil sampling for Ferry Street Parcel an d2 samples at Millside Park. This testing will determine if the site is feasible for Park Space and amenities. Proposal of services is attached.” Councilor Rist noted that there had been some discourse about what these parcels could be used for, including a dog park, a skate park, or some other use. Both areas had coal ash going back to the 1980s. Parks and Recreation Director John Mason stated that he believed the city needed to determine whether these parcels were usable or not. He also stated that these parcels were close to development occurring on Ferry Street, as well as the New City property. Councilor Denham asked how long the sampling would take, and Mr. Mason stated it would take approximately six weeks to complete. President Gomez asked how quickly these parcels could be used if it was determined whether the parcels were usable, and listed projects that has been proposed on those properties before, but which were not able to go forward. In the case that the land was contaminated, Mayor LaChapelle stated that there were other uses that could be considered on the capped land. She also stated that there may be an attempt to seek cleanup funds. Almost all of the costs are related to the Ferry Street parcel, with only a few extra associated with the Millside Park property. Motion made by Councilor Denham and seconded by Councilor Peake. Motion passed 3-0. c) $6,000 to cover anticipated payroll processing shortfall for FY ’23: To “cover the shortfall anticipated for this Fiscal year’s budget in payroll processing.” City Treasurer Jessica Hebert stated that the payroll processing firm increased their fees. She stated that she planned to bring payroll processing back in house soon. Motion made by Councilor Denham and seconded by Councilor Peake. Motion passed 3-0. d) $49,000 to cover shortfall in Medicare matching share paid by the city: To “cover the Medicare matching share paid by the City to the IRS for employees for the rest of the Fiscal Year. There will be not enough in the budget currently to cover it. Motion made by Councilor Denham and seconded by Councilor Peake. Motion passed 3-0. e) $180,000 to cover Fire Dept. regular and overtime pay for FY ’23: For “Fulltime Regular- Fund contractual requirements for salaries. Overtime Pay- Fund difference in shift overtime for fiscal year.” Last year’s budget was developed with a wage adjustment which was lower than what was negotiated after the budget was settled. The overtime budget is shift coverage for the fire department, not the EMS department. Chief Norris noted that family leave, military deployment, and time spent at the fire academy. There is a requirement that a minimum of five people are in the building. Chief Norris also stated that the department has submitted a staffing grant which could bring staffing levels up in the future. Councilor Denham asked how overtime  compensation is calculated. Chief Norris stated that it is based strictly off of their base pay. Motion made by Councilor Peake and seconded by Councilor Denham. Motion passed 3-0. f) $98,400 to cover Police Dept. overtime, Incentive and Police EMT Incentive: “To cover a shortfall of FY23 Overtime due to a lack of Special Police Officers available for shift coverage, unanticipated OT costs related to the 3/14/34 homicide, and Firearms/CPR Training OT costs in April and May 2023.” In addition to “additional Educational Incentive Pay and additional EMT Incentive costs for remainder of FY23.” Police reform has meant that the City cannot hire special police officers because they do not have not completed the full academy. Those officers were paid $17/hour, while overtime for a full-time officer is much higher. Chief Alberti expanded on hiring issues that the lack of special police officers have created. Councilor Denham asked how overtime is calculated. Chief Alberti stated that overtime is calculated per the collective bargaining agreement with the police union. Motion made by Councilor Peake and seconded by Councilor Denham. Motion passed 3-0. 5) Old Business 6) Continuing Business a) Quarterly fiscal reports from the City Auditor: This was not discussed tonight. b) Quarterly Report on Covid-19 grant funding and spending: This was not discussed tonight. By motion made by Councilor Denham and seconded by Councilor Peake, the meeting was adjourned at 6:16 PM Next meeting: 5/10/23