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tetris
Moderator
2040 Posts |
Posted - 09/18/2008 : 12:12:20 PM
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| For those keeping score, my assumption on item 16 was wrong; it was actually referred to traffic. |
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Tails
Administrator
2682 Posts |
 Posted - 10/03/2008 : 09:41:54 AM
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AGENDA AGENDA AGENDA AGENDA AGENDA AGENDA
________________________________________
REGULAR MEETING OF THE COMMON COUNCIL, MONDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2008, 7:00 PM, CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, 3RD FL., EVERETT, MASS
COMMUNICATIONS FROM HIS HONOR THE MAYOR
1. C0209-08 Resolution/s/Councilor Lorrie Bruno, as President
"Communication and Proclamation from His Honor the Mayor, designating October 2008 "Italian American Heritage Month. Everett has benefited as a city and as a community from the contributions of our residents of Italian descent. This proclamation recognizes and celebrates these members of our community."
2. C0210-08 Order/s/Councilor Lorrie Bruno, as President
That the sum of $135,000.00 be appropriated from the Fiscal Year 2009 Budgetary Fund Balance ("Free Cash") to the Employee Leave Buyback Continuing Appropriation/Special Appropriation Account.
3. C0211-08 Order/s/Councilor Lorrie Bruno, as President
That the sum of $130,000.00 be appropriated from the Fiscal Year 2009 Budgetary Fund Balance ("Free Cash") to the Fiscal Year 2009 Stabilization Trust Fund Account. This would replenish to the Stabilization Fund the money transferred out of it from the following orders C0183-08 $15,000.00, A0273-08 $25,000.00 and A0274-08 $90,000.00.
PAPERS FROM THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN
4. A0279-08 Order/s/Alderman Robert J. Van Campen, as President
To transfer the amount of $1,322,500.00 from the Undesignated Fund Balance-Sale of Real Estate Account 15-3590-RD to the City Services Capital Outlay Equipment Vehicles Account 01-490-5580 for the purpose of funding the 2008 City Services Capital Improvement Plan that includes the following purchases, acquisitions and expenditures: One sewer and catch basin VAC truck $300,000.00, One front end loader $125,000.00, One caterpillar back hoe $75,000.00, One Elgin sweeper $145,000.00, One 10-wheel dump truck with plow and sander $165,000.00, One 6-wheel dump truck with plow and sander $145,000.00, Two F-450 dump trucks with sander and plow $45,000.00 each, totaling $90,000.00, Seven F-350 Pick-Ups with plow $35,000.00 each, totaling $245,000.00, One Water Dept Air Compressor $7,500.00, and One Department Utility Vehicle $25,000.00. Total $1,322,500.00. (Passed sent down for concurrence.)
5. A0266-08 Ordinance/s/Alderman Sal Sachetta
Amending 16-55(a) to include the removal of recycling bins from sidewalks after pickup. (Ordained sent down for ordainment.)
6. C0175-08 Ordinance/s/Councilor Anthony F. Ranieri
To place stop sign on Norman Street, at the intersection of Williams Street, to curtain speeding and improve safety, at request of Traffic Commission. (Enrolled in concurrence, sent down for ordainment.)
COMMUNICATIONS
7. C0174-08
Traffic Commission Report on Ordinance/s/Councilor Anthony F. Ranieri-To place a stop sign to improve safety and curtail speeding motorists on Beacon Street, at the intersection of Main Street; WITH A FAVORABLE RECOMMENDATION.
8. C0190-08
Traffic Commission Report on Ordinance/s/Councilor Anthony F. Ranieri-To make Kelvin Street a one-way street from Tileston Street to Wellington Ave, in a southerly direction; WITH A RECOMMENDATION TO REFER BACK TO SPONSOR.
9. C0191-08
Traffic Commission Report on Ordinance/s/Councilor Anthony F. Ranieri-To make May Street a 1-way street from Tileston Street all the way through Bizzarro Lane; WITH A RECOMMENDATION TO REFER BACK TO SPONSOR.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
10. C0141-08 Committee Report
Finance Committee Report on Order to appropriate the amount of $60,000.00 from the Budgetary Fund Balance to the Personnel Department-Summer Jobs Program Account; WITH A RECOMMENDATION TO PLACE ON FILE.
11. C0169-08 Committee Report
Finance Committee Report on Order-That the sum of $15,000.00 be appropriated from the FY 2008 Budgetary Fund Balance to be applied to the School Department Bleacher Rental Account; WITH A RECOMMENDATION TO PLACE ON FILE.
12. C0095-08 Committee Report
Rules & Ordinances Committee Report on Resolution offered by Councilor Peter A. Napolitano-That the City of Everett adopt an ordinance requiring businesses, such as major retail stores and places that serve alcohol that have been experiencing excess responses by the Everett Police Department, to have a police detail; WITH A RECOMMENDATION TO REFER BACK TO SPONSOR.
NEW BUSINESS
13. C0204-08 Order/s/Councilor William L. Cardello
That the corner of Morgan Street and Cleveland Ave be dedicated and named "The Tullio William Lombardi Square", who served in the Armed Forces of the United States during World War II.
14. C0205-08 Resolution/s/Councilor Catherine Tomassi Hicks
To consider the feasibility of placing a mast street light on Main Street, at the intersection of Bellingham Street.
15. C0206-08 Resolution/s/Councilor Stephen Simonelli
To have the Mayor (second request) appear at this meeting to confirm a date for a public hearing on all Wood Waste concerns from area residents, as was passed by the Common Council over a month ago.
16. C0207-08 Resolution/s/Councilor Stephen Simonelli
That the Board of Aldermen be made aware of the fact that the Quealy Towing Company is parking their flatbed tow truck overnight and on weekends at the Cherry Street Keverian Parking Lot with cars attached to the back of tow truck. Constituents are complaining to Police Department, but they are not doing anything about it, and it is never tagged. Residents concerned about all the possible safety hazards.
17. C0208-08 Ordinance/s/Councilor John Leo McKinnon
To amend Chapter 14 "Police Department" of the Revised Ordinances of the City of Everett by adding new "Section 14-36. Public and Private Roadway Project Details. That the Mayor and/or his/her designee shall have the authority to establish rules and regulations in regards to details assigned to public and private roadway projects. This authority shall include the determination as to whether a police officer is required for a public or private roadway project. This is a result of Commonwealth of Massachusetts Regulations 7.00. All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict with the foregoing are hereby repealed."
18. C0212-08 Resolution/s/Councilor Catherine Tomassi Hicks
That the Police monitor and enforce increased vehicular speeding violations on Santilli Highway; and the Police Chief, if need be, request State Police visibility and monitoring, if applicable.
19. C0213-08 Common Council Worksheet
Pursuant to Rule 17 of the Common Council, all resolutions requesting the repair, replacement or maintenance of pavement, sidewalks, traffic signals, signage, playground equipment, or other similar requests, shall be placed on a separate worksheet and voted on collectively at the next formal session, and, if passed, referred to the respective departments for their response back to sponsors.
1.Sponsor: Councilor William L. Cardello-Engineering Department replaces the sign “NO LEFT TURN” on 44 Cleveland Ave, at Warren Street. When the street was done over, the sign was never replaced. Referred to: Engineering Department and City Services Sign Division.
2. Sponsor: Councilor William L. Cardello-That the Mayor and City Engineer consider the feasibility of florescent colored vertical street signs, in addition to a stop sign or do not enter sign, for the City of Everett. Referred to: Mayor and City Engineer.
3. Sponsor: Councilor Eloy Lou Sierra-That the City Services Department cement the sidewalk in front of 60 Pleasant View Ave. Referred to: Executive Director of City Services, with a request for response back on completion timeframe.
4. Sponsor: Councilor Eloy Lou Sierra-That the City Services Department removes diseased trees at 130, 152 and 125 Chestnut Street. Referred to: Executive Director of City Services, with a request for response back on completion timeframe.
5. Sponsor: Councilor Eloy Lou Sierra-That the City Services Department cut and clear brush and leaves around the perimeter of the Horace Mann Parking Lot. Referred to: Executive Director of City Services. With a request for a response back on completion timeframe.
6. Sponsor: Councilor Eloy Lou Sierra-That the City Services Department repair the sidewalk in front of 110 Florence Street where the tree roots are lifting up the cement sidewalk, posing potential public safety hazard. Referred to: Executive Director of City Services, with request for response back on completion timeframe.
Adjourn
Respectfully submitted: Caroline McCorry, Everett City Council Office
council@ci.everett.ma.us
Scheduled, some tentative, meeting dates for your information:
10/14 6pm Committee on Licenses (Confirmed)
10/14 7pm Board of Aldermen meeting (Confirmed)
10/15 6PM Committee on Administrative Affairs (Tentative)
10/15 6pm Committee on Bills & Accounts (Confirmed)
10/20 7pm Next Common Council meeting (Confirmed)
10/27 7pm Board of Aldermen meeting (Confirmed)
All regular meetings run live on ECTV-16, Committee meetings do not run live, unless requested by the City Council, but are open to public viewing in the Council Chambers. All meeting agendas are posted on ECTV-16. All City Council records, for all intended purposes, including attendance, are available in the City Clerk’s Office for public viewing, as they are public records. We have no requirement by law to publish attendance on the Website. Thank you for your inquiries, if we can be of any further assistance; kindly send your inquiries to council@ci.everett.ma.us. Thank you, City Council Office.
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Tails
Administrator
2682 Posts |
Posted - 10/03/2008 : 12:18:43 PM
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I asked this question under the "flag men" thread but thought I should ask here.
Item 17: How you can amend an ordinance to read....... "That the Mayor shall have authority to establish rules and regulations in regards to details assigned to roadway projects"
Since the Governor already signed the bill, can we do this? |
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michael
Senior Member
195 Posts |
Posted - 10/03/2008 : 12:51:03 PM
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| the answer is NO this is the governors baby not the cities and towns, they can try but it will never happen. |
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Tails
Administrator
2682 Posts |
Posted - 10/03/2008 : 2:09:50 PM
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I hope questions get asked about Items 2 and 3. I's not understanding money from free cash to Employee Leave Buyback continuing appropriation. I never heard that before.
I don't understand 130K from "free cash" to to replenish to the "stabilization fund" for a 130K. (I'm assuming the 15K is the bleacher rental) Is free cash certified?
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tetris
Moderator
2040 Posts |
Posted - 10/03/2008 : 4:30:27 PM
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In order to do these transfers "free cash" would have to be certified. Item #3 is to put money back into the stabilization fund for transfers that were made while there was not any "free cash". This was a promise that the mayor made when these transfers were made; he is just living up to his word. There were three transfers made from the stabilization fund, $15,000 for bleachers, $25,000 for traffic signals at Chelsea and Ferry Streets and $90,000 for the library stairs.
Item #2? Not sure about it. Will try to do some research on it but we may have to wait until Monday night to get answers. |
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Tails
Administrator
2682 Posts |
Posted - 10/03/2008 : 5:40:48 PM
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| Do we know how much free cash was certified, or was that not said yet? |
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tetris
Moderator
2040 Posts |
Posted - 10/03/2008 : 7:46:46 PM
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| Not that I have heard. All we have is an estimate from the the mayor of somewhere between $4 and $6 million. |
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tetris
Moderator
2040 Posts |
Posted - 10/04/2008 : 4:15:12 PM
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As promised, I have attempted do some research on Item #2 from the agenda which is requesting that $135,000 be transferred from "Free Cash" to the Employee Leave Buyback Continuing Appropriation/Special Appropriation Account. First off, what is the Employee Leave Buyback program? At a minimum, it includes sick leave buyback which is defined as follows from the municipal finance glossary on the state's website:
Sick Leave Buyback: A community's obligation, under collective bargaining agreements or personnel board policies, to compensate retiring employees for the value of all, or a percentage of, sick time earned, but not used.
Although, I could find no mention of it on the state web site, it might be reasonable to assume that there can also be buybacks for other types of unused leave, i.e., vacation time, but I don't believe that we need to know the exact details of it in order to understand what this is all about.
Next, what is a continuing appropriation? There is not a definition of it in the state's municipal finance glossary. So lets first look the state's definition of an appropriation and a definition of a continuing appropriation from BusinessDictionary.com:
Appropriation: An authorization granted by a town meeting, city council or other legislative body to expend money and incur obligations for specific public purposes. An appropriation is usually limited in amount and as to the time period within which it may be expended.
Continuing Appropriation: Funds budgeted for long-term programs or projects, and which remain available until exhausted or until the completion of the programs or projects.
So maybe the easiest way to explain the difference between a regular budget appropriations and continuing appropriations is that a continuing appropriation can be carried from fiscal year to fiscal year without needing to re-appropriate the remaining funds required from year to year. This would be particularly helpful when you have projects than span fiscal years.
The city appears to have a number of continuing appropriations. If you refer to the city's FY09 budget proposal document at the link below and scroll down to the fourth Adobe page, you can review the list of them. This is one of the pages that the former budget director included in the budget document that had no bearing on the FY09 budget appropriation but it is very useful to us now.
You must be logged in to see this link.
From examining the associated line item, it appear that the city has spent somewhere in the range of $25,000 to $50,000 per year, in round numbers, on this program in the last three years. At the end of FY08, there was likely to be somewhere in the neighborhood of only $10,000 left in this appropriation. So it seems right that additional funds will be required to keep this program running.
With all that said, I'm not sure that this program should be funded in this fashion. I couldn't find anything in MGL that stated that it needs to be done this way. That doesn't mean it might not be there, just that I couldn't find it. But I really don't think that it's there. It just doesn't make any sense. First off, both definitions of appropriations reference that an appropriation has a specific time period to it. This is an on-going benefits program that needs to be funded from year to year just like any other benefits program. Therefore, it should be part of the budget and should be funded annually with only the amount anticipated to be necessary to run the program that year. We heard the words "true budget" a lot a couple of years ago. An expense like this needs to be included in the budget so that you can see what it really takes to run the city every year. There may have been a reason why this process was started in this fashion but I can't imagine that it needs to go on that way.
Even if the city chooses to continue funding employee leave buybacks in this manner, serious consideration should be given to decreasing the amount of money that needs to be transferred to fund this program unless there is a major increase in the number of people retiring in this fiscal year or the number of sick days that they are owed. The amount transferred should only be enough to cover the cost of program for the next year. With the current economic uncertainties, it does not make any sense to tie up more free cash than is absolutely necessary at this point in time. |
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Tails
Administrator
2682 Posts |
Posted - 10/04/2008 : 5:11:16 PM
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For me, I will have to watch Monday night to fully understand it. Id like to know if it was included in budgets past.......what has been certified in free cash for FY/09.......and as Tetris already said, with economic uncertainties, lets try and not spend, the second free cash is certified, unless absolutely necessary. There is a good chance Everett will get hit with Governor Patrick's local aid cuts.
Thank you, for this information Tetris.....as always! |
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tetris
Moderator
2040 Posts |
Posted - 10/05/2008 : 09:13:34 AM
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2. See my separate post on the subject of this continuing appropriation.
3. Good to see that the mayor is living up to his promise and is replenishing the money "borrowed" from the stabilization fund. I won't be surprised if a request to tap into the stabilization fund is proposed at some later point in the fiscal year, given current economic conditions.
4. I think that my prior posts about the purchase of all this equipment for city services could be described as lukewarm support. When it was first proposed, I wanted some questions asked. Even though not all of the my questions were answered, I still wasn't against the move. Since then, I have had some second thoughts about it. First off, I think that the city may be treating this as "found" money and, as such, haven't performed all of the steps that would normally be done to justify such a large expenditure. I know that the council members received information that we did not about the purchase. I hope that a cost-benefit analysis was part of that information. Secondly, I think that I would have addressed the needs of the fire department first and filled in around those with city services needs. Third, do we really need to do this equipment all at once? For example, a lot of the press surrounding this upgrade states that it needs to be done to prepare for winter. If that's the case, why do we need a street cleaner right now? Can't that wait until it's nearer to spring? I'm not saying that none of this should be done; absolute essentials need to be addressed. But, everyone is facing challenging economic times ahead. Maybe this all can still be done but doesn't it make some sense to slow down and be sure that the city is not headed into a financially challenging situation first? Call me a "flip-flopper" if you want but let's just pray that we don't regret charging ahead with this in six months.
5. One last time. I think that it's a mistake to pass an ordinance change without the exact wording of the change or directions on exactly how the wording should be modified.
7. It's hard to believe that there are not already stop signs on every side street at intersections with the main roads.
8-9. I'm sure that Councilor Ranieri won't be happy that these pieces got killed. I thought that these changes were a better idea than the illegal signs. Does anyone know if those signs were ever taken down?
10-11. These appear to be housekeeping items to dispose of items that went out to committee and died.
12. We probably won't hear why this is being referred back to sponsor but I hope that we do. I know that Revere is struggling with the issue of why some businesses seem to be required to have police details while others are not.
14. I'm assuming that the change to this light is being proposed as a safety measure for children who have cross Main Street to get back and forth to the Maddie English School. I'm not necessarily against it but I just find it a little ironic that the councilor proposing it is against putting up at least some new traffic/parking enforcement signs because they cost too much.
15. I'm glad to see that Councilor Simonelli is sticking to his guns. The mayor has promised to do this on two prior occasions; if he has no intentions of following thru on it, he should just tell Councilor Simonelli so.
16. This issue came up at the town meeting but without some of the details. The chief and the officers in attendance seemed to be unaware of these activities at that time.
17. I'm not sure how effective this change will be, at least at the present time. I wrote up an analysis of the entire detail/flagman situation and posted it in the flagman thread, if you're interested.
18. I'm not going to say that people aren't speeding on Santilli Highway; but, given the condition of portions of that roadway, I just find it amazing. |
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Tails
Administrator
2682 Posts |
Posted - 10/06/2008 : 09:00:48 AM
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I never noticed the attendance statement at the bottom of the agenda before. Was that always there?
That is a very good idea, to publish attendance for committee/city council meetings. It's not right that the same people show up over and over, and the same people that never show up, only do so to stir the pot.
I understand they are not required by law to publish attendance records but, if people are inquiring, they are for a reason. Maybe they should consider it. Who is actually going to walk in to the city clerks office and ask for an attendance record? That should be posted, and maybe the constant absentees will start showing up. |
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massdee
Moderator
5299 Posts |
Posted - 10/06/2008 : 7:25:48 PM
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| Free Cash has been certified, the city has 5.6 million in that account, unless some has already been spent. I missed the first 25 minutes of the meeting. |
Edited by - massdee on 10/06/2008 7:42:49 PM |
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Tails
Administrator
2682 Posts |
Posted - 10/06/2008 : 7:51:51 PM
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| I believe some of that has been spent. If I remember correctly, there was only sixty thousand left before the summer, and they were borrowing. |
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tetris
Moderator
2040 Posts |
Posted - 10/06/2008 : 8:17:41 PM
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2. What's Mr. Henderson still doing around? I thought he was supposed to be gone by now? Not that I'm not glad to see him but where is the money coming from to pay him since it wasn't budgeted? The amount of this transfer still seems a little high; but, now that it was better explained, it does not seem to be as out of line as it first appeared. I just wished that the question about the amount had been asked. Thank you Councilor DiFlorio for agreeing that this is something that should be budgeted annually. Sounds like our old friend Mr. Carlisle dropped the ball again.
3. Doesn't sound like any cost benefit analysis was done for this acquisition. Oh well.
15. I'm glad that date has finally been set for this meeting. (October 29th with details to follow.)
16. Boy, did this get ugly fast. Why did President Bruno recognize Councillor Simonelli a second time if she wasn't going to let him speak? Councilor Ranieri defending Councilor Peter Napolitano? Is the apocalypse on the way?
17. I guess Councilor McKinnon doesn't believe the mayor hasn't already consulted the city solictor about this. It might just have been a better idea to ask the city solicitor to explain to the community why the city can do nothing about the flag man law.
Don't you love it when Billy Cardello has someplace else that he wants to be?
At least someone remembered that the community might be interested in knowing the amount of the cerified free cash. For anyone that missed it, it was $5.6 million. It might have been better if it had been announced before the two transfers from free cash had been passed. |
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COMMON COUNCIL 2008
