Public Comment

Transcript (~8 min @ 0:25)

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▶ 0:07 Jen Grigoraitis: 7:02 pm and this is a meeting of the Appropriations and oversight committee. I am counselor grigoritis the chair and joining me tonight are Vice chair Migliorelli and counselors McMaster Echols Garipay jamala, Deen Stuart Williams and president sonella ex-officio. Please note that this serves. As a notice of the Quorum for the record tonight's meeting in accordance with the open meeting law will be captured by our friends at mmtv, and we'll be available for viewing on their website at a later date. At this time without objection. I will open up public comment. This is the portion of our meeting where any member of the public can speak to any item on tonight's agenda and we'll start with anyone for public comment Who's here with us tonight. Good evening.

▶ 0:55 Speaker 1: Good evening. My name is Matt Hartman. I live on Allen Place and I'm here to speak a little bit about a couple of the orders in front of you regarding some of the use of the contract and salary adjustment fund or stabilization fund rather. I actually really appreciate that. This process has started for increasing some of the salaries of City Hall. I think we all know that they're underpaid and certainly underappreciated for the work that they do but I also really urge a thorough examination of these orders and in particular the funding sources of these salary increases our budget most especially our school budget is really in trouble. What we've learned recently is that essentially our increased costs for special education and transportation have outpaced our ability to create Revenue to pay for them for the past two years. We are out of federal school resources and our teachers are looking for a settled contract that doesn't seem to have a whole lot of room in it right now. They deserve more. We need to settle that contract as soon as possible and start rebuilding the trust our Educators have clearly lost in Melrose. Without that trust. We will continue to see talented people leave and continue to hear about how we can't find people to fill job openings. But our crushing special education costs the schools are out of money. tonight's requests and the documents included show that we have 1.2 million dollars available in a contract stabilization fund. And have never used them to pay for teachers. We have other stabilization funds on the docket that are not on the docket tonight. Stabilization funds are for times of Crisis. And when we know things are likely to fluctuate the truth is that both of those conditions apply right now with the teacher contract in flux and a special education crisis. We need to look at these funds and start planning to stabilize our school budget. The first step being to find the resources to settle the contract with our educators. It might be easy to say that maybe we should explore all the cuts we can before we can explore other options. but we should not be balancing our budget by cutting services, especially mid-year when we know families rely on those services to get through every week of school and When we already have the lowest spending, we're the lowest spending City in nearly every category. It isn't sustainable and it isn't good for anybody in Melrose. It is important to have this discussion at the council and in this committee. Council voted not only on the schools as a line item but a set of services that would be provided. A promise that could be relied on. I hope we can all start finding a way together to look toward our needs for fy23 and fy24. It's time to start finding those Solutions and putting some of those into place. I hope tonight's discussion. On these funds and these orders can start that that path. Thank you for the time. Thank you. Is there

▶ 3:50 Jen Grigoraitis: anyone else wishing to speak in person tonight?

▶ 3:56 Speaker 2: Is there anyone online Easter Clerk?

▶ 4:01 Jen Grigoraitis: Thank you if you can do that now.

▶ 4:06 Speaker 3: first of these is from Mr. Pellerine good morning. All what a beautiful day. I'm not sure if I can attend tonight on these orders 2023-29 funding for HRS compensation study. I thought that's that this study was completed already. Why is a total of 7,534 Coming Out of Water and Sewer retained earnings to pay for this? 2023-30 funding for the clerical Union contractual this time Water and Sewer retained earnings is being tapped for 8,792. Why wouldn't this line be covered entirely by the contract stabilization account? 2023-31 funding for the Libra leavers Union contract this time the water and sewer retained earning is being tapped for 18,294 dollars again. Why is it why isn't this contract sleepilization account covering all of this? Total 34,620 is a lot of money. How did the city come to these percentage totals for each of these items it would seem to me that when the budget was approved each of these line line were accounted for and funded and how many how many how much more money needs to be allocated? With all water bills through the ceiling. How is that there is 34,620 and these retained earning accounts. Are we being charged much for water and sewer? What are retained earning accounts? Thanks for all you do for the city of Melrose Joe.

▶ 5:45 Speaker 3: The second is from Eugenia Gibbons. years teamed members of the Melrose City Council I was hoping to attend this evening's Appropriations Committee meeting. But work obligations prevent me from doing so. And so I'm sharing with the full committee concerns about tonight's agenda items that I have already expressed to my ward counselor Ryan Williams. Of particular concern are requested approvals for salary and study and pay raises for certain City personnel funded from a contract stabilization account. Even if this is a standard practice or pre-functuary in nature, it is a perplexing why such a request would be made at a time when the district has yet to resolve contract negotiations with teachers Paris. and the fy23 school budget Department budget is being reconstructed and questions remain about the extent to which the city will need to modify its anticipated contribution to make the current and potentially FY 2024 budget hole. Given the school budget is a significant portion of the city budget. It stands to reason that the city budget including a 1 million plus Reserve sitting in the contract stability. You should stabilization fund is also need of thorough review. without question staff deserves raises and any suggestions to any suggestion to hold this question until further review is not commentary on the merits of well-deserved Saturday increases for essential City personnel. rather it is a request that such allocations are accurately accounted for in the budget alongside and not in the not at the expense of Other City District obligations like teachers student resources or other unforeseen expenditures. Short-sighted measure Maneuvers like this contribute to the structural issues that have been in sharp focus in recent weeks. Assuming these items are taken up this evening. It would be prudent for the requests to be held in committee until the city and the district are able to provide Clarity and further insight into the status of the fy23 budget and a timeline for when the contract with teachers will be resolved. actions that will also help restore public Trust I strongly urge you to consider this and hold these items until resolution has been met on a track on a contract and the budget. Thank you for your service and for your time and consideration sincerella, sincerely Eugenia Gibbons or seven residents.

▶ 8:03 Jen Grigoraitis: Thank you. And at this time I will motion by unanimous consent to close public comment. Seeing no objection public comment is now closed. We have five orders and one Grant before us tonight and just for some housekeeping in advance. We do have to gavel into health education and Welfare at 8:15 this evening. So first up we have ordered 2023-27 authorization of a bond in the amount of 1 million 460,177 to pay for costs of replacing the roof at the Horace Mann Elementary School fun number 3392 offered by mayor Broder and I believe we have Do these gaffy and some guests here? So while you're getting set up I'll entertain a motion to suspend the rules so we can hear from the administration so move.