Transfer to DPW-Facilities (#402) in the amount of $130,000 from various DPW accounts for June utilities.
Agenda original PDF
Minutes original PDF
B. (ID # 2026-1294): Transfer to DPW-Facilities (#402) in the amount of $130,000 from various DPW accounts for June utilities. Motion to Recommend made by Councilor Karamcheti Seconded by Councilor Williams All were in favor and motion passed 3 Councilors Finocchiaro and Obremski were absent for this vote Jim Troup, from DPW, explained an interdepartmental transfer of $130,000 from various DPW accounts to cover utility costs for FY26, with him explaining the increase was due to higher electricity rates and unanticipated usage during cold weather. There are no overages in the budget as a whole that would cause a deficit. RESULTS: ACCEPTED [UNANIMOUS] TO: City Council AYES: Jason Chen, Bradley Freeman, Maya Jamaleddine, Manjula Karamcheti, Elizabeth Kowal, Christopher Park, Devin Romanul, Kim Vandiver, Ryan Williams NAYS: None ABSENT: Cal Finocchiaro, John Obremski V. DEPARTMENT BUDGET PRESENTATIONS A. Department Presenter Police Chief Kevin Faller 211 Police 2665 False Alarm Revolving Account Fire Chief John White 221 Fire Emergency Chief John White Management 291 Emergency Management Department 211 Police Chief Kevin Faller presented the police department's budget, which increased by 5.9% primarily due to salary and wage increases (including reinserting 2 patrol officer positions), and discussed challenges with recruitment and staffing levels. It typically takes 12–14 months to fill a position due to strenuous testing and training that is required for the job. It has been very difficult in Melrose and across the state to find recruits that want to do this job. Chief asks 3 things of an officer when they get hired: show up to work, give a reasonable amount of quality and quantity of work, treat people with respect. Councilor Chen gave Chief Faller a chance to respond to any public comments from earlier, and Chief commented on the request for more enforcement of ordinances in the Franklin 4 Street area. He apologized for not responding to the last few recent emails from Marta Lee- Periard. He plans to talk with Al Talarico, Building Inspector, to possibly cite the contractor monetarily for the noise ordinance violations. Councilor Karamcheti thanked the police department for their prompt response to a safety situation in Ward 1 involving violent threats and mental health issues. Some discussion focused on police staffing challenges, particularly regarding responses to Melrose-Wakefield Hospital, where Chief Faller noted that while the relationship with hospital security has improved, it still requires considerable manpower. The conversation also addressed enforcement limitations, especially regarding speeding, traffic and parking violations, on Franklin Street due to staffing constraints. They discussed the need for increased police services in Ward 1 due to growing density and development, particularly regarding pedestrian safety and rising demand for various emergency services. He addressed questions about parking enforcement, noting that while 4,000 parking tickets were issued with over $100,000 in fines, staffing constraints may limit enforcement capabilities. The Chief explained that having even three additional patrol officers would significantly benefit enforcement capabilities and officer morale. Councilor Jamaleddine inquired about a shared social worker position that is currently vacant and was funded through a grant. Chief Faller would welcome a full-time social worker in his building to accompany officers on calls and for proactive responses, but it would be difficult to fully fund it through his budget. Councilor Williams commented on the 40% decrease in the overtime pay budget item. Chief was able to achieve this through strategic planning and forecasting, a positive culture, young leadership and people wanting to come to work. The number had been inflated due to 911 grants not being reimbursed on a timely basis, and that has been fixed. Motion to Move the Bottom Line made by Councilor Karamcheti Seconded by Councilor Finocchiaro All were in favor and motion passed RESULT: ACCEPTED [UNANIMOUS] AYES: Jason Chen, Cal Finocchiaro, Bradley Freeman, Maya Jamaleddine, Manjula Karamcheti, Elizabeth Kowal, John Obremski, Christopher Park, Devin Romanul, Kim Vandiver, Ryan Williams NAYS: None Department 2665 False Alarm Revolving Account Chief Faller explained that they do not charge for the first and second false alarm calls. A $50 fee for the third false alarm and $100 for the fourth are cited. Most of these occurrences are by businesses and Chief explained that he personally contacts businesses to help them fix their alarms before billing them. Motion to Approve made by Councilor Finocchiaro Seconded by Councilor Karamcheti All were in favor and motion passed RESULTS: ACCEPTED [UNANIMOUS] TO: City Council AYES: Jason Chen, Cal Finocchiaro, Bradley Freeman, Maya Jamaleddine, Manjula Karamcheti, Elizabeth Kowal, John Obremski, Christopher Park, Devin Romanul, Kim Vandiver, Ryan Williams 5 NAYS: None Department 221 Fire Chief John White presented the fire department's budget request, explaining that salary and wages represent 93% of their budget and overtime is necessary due to minimum staffing levels. He noted that with about 46 firefighters to cover positions and only 10 staff needed on duty at all times, the department operates with minimal bench capacity, requiring overtime to cover vacations, injuries, and sick time. He indicated they are currently hiring two new firefighters to address staffing gaps and explained that overtime costs have decreased since outsourcing the ambulance service, with overtime now representing about 10% of payroll compared to 35-45% previously. They are currently dealing with 2 long-term injuries. He discussed the successful transition of ambulance services to Armstrong Ambulance, which has better resources and understanding of medical aid calls in the area. He noted that this change has reduced overtime burden on firefighters and improved response capabilities. The department is working to manage their overtime budget, which decreased from $1.6 million to around $500,000, though challenges remain due to staffing shortages and FMLA leave requirements. He also addressed the transition of Engine 2 members to headquarters following the closure of the Tremont Street fire station, implementing strategies to maintain coverage in the affected area. Chief discussed the challenges of fire truck operations in the city, particularly regarding response times and the need for larger vehicles due to building sizes and water supply requirements. He explained that while smaller footprint vehicles might be desirable for tight spacing, the current larger trucks with 750-gallon tanks are necessary for effective fire operations, including the ability to work off booster tanks and maintain continuous water supply. Regarding staffing, he would like to have four firefighters per apparatus, not the current three, as a strategy to build a bench system to reduce overtime, though no specific implementation plan exists currently to hire more personnel. He emphasized that maintaining minimum staffing levels is crucial for safety and mutual aid requirements, noting that the department had previously operated at risky levels during budget constraints. They discussed the $400,000 overtime appropriation in the budget. The Chief explained how he modified the Engine 2 station design with architects, saving approximately $5 million on the project. When asked about using smaller vehicles for medical calls, the Chief explained the current practice of sending both fire trucks and ambulances together, noting that having two vehicles increases response success and helps with patient care. Councilor Williams clarified that he was referring to smaller fire apparatus rather than SUVs, specifically mentioning NFPA Type 4 vehicles. Chief mentioned a class action lawsuit filed by Massachusetts fire chiefs regarding monopolistic tendencies in fire truck manufacturing, after Chair Romanul also shared information from his Mayor's conference regarding these monopolistic tendencies. Motion to Move the Bottom Line made by Councilor Chen Seconded by Councilor Williams All were in favor and motion passed RESULTS: ACCEPTED [UNANIMOUS] AYES: Jason Chen, Cal Finocchiaro, Bradley Freeman, Maya Jamaleddine, Manjula Karamcheti, Elizabeth Kowal, John Obremski, Christopher Park, Devin Romanul, Kim Vandiver, Ryan Williams NAYS: None Department 291 Emergency Management 6 Chief John White presented the budget, explaining it includes his salary of $7,500 and $2,500 for a financial administrator, with an additional $5,800 Emergency Management Preparation Grant pending. Councilor Finocchiaro questioned the lack of training funds in the budget, while Councilor Jamaleddine commented about the budget decrease from the previous year which was under a different departmental structure, where the former director retired and Chief took over the position himself. Motion to Move the Bottom Line made by Councilor Finocchiaro Seconded by Councilor Karamcheti All were in favor and motion passed RESULTS: ACCEPTED [UNANIMOUS] AYES: Jason Chen, Cal Finocchiaro, Bradley Freeman, Maya Jamaleddine, Manjula Karamcheti, Elizabeth Kowal, John Obremski, Christopher Park, Devin Romanul, Kim Vandiver, Ryan Williams NAYS: None VI. APPROPRIATIONS FOR FY27
Transcript
▶ 5:19 Devin Romanul: Madam Clerk? Oh, all those in favor? Aye. All those opposed? All right, the ayes have it. We will consider that item at the end of the agenda. Next up, ID number 2026-1294, transfer to DPW facilities 402 in the amount of $130,000 from various DPW accounts for June utilities. Good evening, Mr. Troupe.
▶ 5:40 Speaker 3: Good evening.
▶ 5:42 Speaker 1: Thank you for joining us.
▶ 5:42 Speaker 3: Thank you. Thank you very much, Council. Tonight we appreciate the consideration for an interdepartment transfer from various line items throughout our already appropriated operating budget for fiscal year '26 to cover utility costs. In front of you is a memo that outlines the strategy, the accounts that we've identifiedTo move from and then to move to. The two challenges that we have this year are obviously an increased rate of $1.75 per kilowatt hour over last year. That's an actual increase of 13% versus what we projected conservatively at 4%. We also had that stretch, if you all recall, between December and the end of February, where we had extended cold, and the amount of electricity and usage in our utility accounts was high, so that we could keep our buildings warm and operational rather than take advantage of the energy efficient controls that are in the building. So in front of you, to me, is a housekeeping matter to make sure that we cover our utility costs for fiscal '26, and it is something that we monitor over the course of the entire fiscal year just to make sure at the end of the year, we're not asking for an additional appropriation. It's not why we're here tonight. We're asking for a transfer of monies that were already appropriated to us to cover these costs. Thank you.
▶ 7:04 Devin Romanul: Thank you very much. Any questions from my colleagues?
▶ 7:08 Speaker 1: Councilor Chen.
▶ 7:09 Jason Chen: Thanks for being here. Thank you. Are there any overages? Are the overages from the other line items that you're taking the $130,000 for- Yeah, that's- ... are the lesser services that are...
▶ 7:18 Speaker 3: Yeah, that's a good question. One of the things we have to look at is we look at the budget as a whole. And when you look at different, they call them roll-up codes- Mm ... we are taking the bottom line and making sure that we do not have anything that finishes in deficit. So any surplus that we have from those other roll-up codes, that's what we're targeting to move into the utility accounts to cover those costs.
▶ 7:39 Speaker 1: Councilor Williams.
▶ 7:41 Ryan Williams: Thank you. Can you characterize what split is between the increased sort of the fundamental increase in cost of utilities versus the unanticipated increased cost from increased usage from the cold?
▶ 7:53 Speaker 3: Yeah. It's hard to say because we really didn't have an idea as to what the library, the effect that the library was going to have on us. That's a significant increase now that that's a fully electric building, so we're still adjusting to that. We have the luxury in the DPW in this section of accounts that we can really manage those accounts over the course of the year and just continue to monitor it. We'll continue to work with the CFO to make sure that-
▶ 8:21 Ryan Williams: Yeah, I suppose you could think of it in the context of the schools being 95,000 or, excuse me, 100,000 of this transfer that a lot of that is electricity. So it feels to me like most of this is driven by the rates- Correct ... since we don't have electric heat in our schools. Yep. The extra cost for school gas and oil heat. Do we have oil heat in any of the schools? We do. Which ones?
▶ 8:50 Speaker 3: No. Actually, I'm sorry. Yeah. We don't. The only oil heat we have is down at the Wyoming Cemetery.
▶ 8:54 Ryan Williams: That's right. Okay. So yeah. Do you think when you're talking about electricity costs in FY27 that we've been a little less conservative to account for any unexpected spikes?
▶ 9:06 Speaker 3: Yes and no, because there's such a variable based on usage, right? We have the luxury that we have an agreement with power options. They negotiate the supply side for us. So that's going to be a fixed cost for us based on the kilowatt hours. It's not going to fluctuate. Where the fluctuation comes is from national grid, when they're, the demand side, and that's strictly usage. Mm. So that's something that, again, we want to monitor over the course of the year. And when you have a particularly cold winter or you have a particularly warm summer that now we're going to be using the AC, it's a 12-month look ahead. We want to make sure that by the end of the year, we're going to be able to cover our costs. So...
▶ 9:44 Speaker 4: Okay. Thank you.
▶ 9:47 Speaker 1: Any other councilors have questions?
▶ 9:51 Speaker 5: Motion to recommend? Sure. I'll move to the bottom line. Nope. Nope. You were the first- Recommend.
▶ 9:55 Ryan Williams: Second. I'll second the motion to recommend.
▶ 9:58 Devin Romanul: Motion to recommend made by Councilor Karamcheti, seconded by Councilor Williams. On discussion.
▶ 10:04 Speaker 1: See Councilor Chen.
▶ 10:07 Jason Chen: To clarify, this isn't just for June utilities, this is for the entire year, but you need to true it- Correct ... up in June.
▶ 10:11 Speaker 3: Yes. Yeah. We want to look at things basically 12 years, where we're already looking at next June once we get into July, so we're continuing to monitor. Yes, sir.
▶ 10:22 Devin Romanul: All right. Seeing no other questions, Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll?
▶ 10:25 Speaker 2: Councilor Vandiver? Yes. Councilor Chen? Yes. Councilor Jamaleddine? Yes. Councilor Karamcheti? Yes. Councilor Cal? Yes. Councilor Park? Yes. Councilor Williams? Yes. President Freeman? Yes. Chair Romanul? Yes.
▶ 10:39 Devin Romanul: Motion passes. Motion passes. Thank you very much, Mr. Troop. We will consider that at our next full city council meeting. All right, moving on to the department budget presentation portion of our programming. First up, the police department, department 211.