City Council — 2015-06-25

City Council Special Meeting

Attendance

Jaclyn L. Bird absent · Alderman at Large; Robert A. Boisselle present · Ward 4 Alderman; Donald L. Conn Jr. present · President, Alderman at Large; Scott M. Forbes present · Ward 7 Alderman; Gail Infurna present · Ward 5 Alderman; Jennifer L. Lemmerman present · Ward 2 Alderman; Mary Beth McAteer-Margolis present · Alderman at Large; Monica C. Medeiros present · Alderman at Large; Peter D. Mortimer present · Ward 6 Alderman; John N. Tramontozzi present · Ward 1 Alderman; Francis X. Wright Jr. absent · Ward 3 Alderman

Agenda

Minutes

CITY OF MELROSE BOARD OF ALDERMEN BULLETIN● JUNE 25, 2015 Aldermanic Chamber Special Meeting 7:45 PM

ORDER-2015-201 Special Meeting Special Meeting of the Board of Aldermen, to be held on Thursday, June 25, 2015, at 7:45 p.m. in the Aldermanic Chamber, City Hall, to act upon the orders set forth herein Attendee Name Title Status Arrived Jaclyn L. Bird Alderman at Large Absent Robert A. Boisselle Ward 4 Alderman Present Scott M. Forbes Ward 7 Alderman Present Gail M. Infurna Ward 5 Alderman Present Jennifer L. Lemmerman Ward 2 Alderman Present Mary Beth McAteer-Margolis Alderman at Large Present Monica C. Medeiros Alderman at Large Present Peter D. Mortimer Ward 6 Alderman Present John N. Tramontozzi Ward 1 Alderman Present Francis X. Wright Jr. Ward 3 Alderman Absent Donald L. Conn Jr. President, Alderman at Large Present City of Melrose Page 1 8/26/2015 4:26 PM Minutes Board of Aldermen June 25, 2015

ORDER-2015-165 Revolving Fund/Reauthorization Reauthorization of Inspection Services Revolving Account #2658 for FY2016 Passed

ORDER-2015-167 Transfer Transfer $13,000 from Inspection Services - Salary & Wages A/C# 012411- 511000 to Equipment Permitting Software A/C# 019303-551059 Passed

ORDER-2015-169 Transfer Transfer of $17,876.00 from Workers' Compensation Accounts to various accounts as set forth within Passed as Amended

ORDER-2015-157 Ballot/Overide Order Order to Place General Override Question on the November 3, 2015 Biennial Election Ballot Passed

ORDER-2015-168 Amending Revised Ordinances Amending Melrose Revised Ordinances, Chapter 198: Solid Waste, Sec. 198-3 Ashes and rubbish; yard waste; metal goods; collection fees as set forth herein. Passed

ORDER-2015-175 Accepting Act of Legislature/Local Option Clause 41C Senior Real Estate Exemption Local Options Passed

ORDER-2015-174 Accepting Act of Legislature/Local Option Senior Work Off Abatement Local Option Passed

ORDER-2015-187 Transfer Transfer of $27,225.34 From Accounts: 019122-543102, Workers Compensation Benefits - $7,225.34 and $20,000 A/C # 017522-549100, Projected Debt Interest - $20,000 To: A/C # 011552-522000, IT Telephones. Passed

ORDER-2015-198 Transfer City of Melrose Page 2 8/26/2015 4:26 PM Minutes Board of Aldermen June 25, 2015 Transfer of $11,470.00 from Account # 019122-543100, Workers Comp Medical, and $6,000 from Account # 019111-511010, Retirees Salary Contributory Retirement, to Account # 014021-511000, Public Works, City Hall Salary to cover unexpected retirement, as set forth herein Passed

ORDER-2015-197 Contract Agreement between the Town of Reading and the City of Melrose for the provision of services by the Melrose Senior Health Inspector Passed

ORDER-2015-202 Bond Authorizing a Bond in the Amount of $400,000 for the Purchase of Real Property Assigned to Committee Appropriations Committee

ORDER-2015-154 Operating Budgets (City, School, Regional School) City of Melrose Operating Budget for Fiscal Year 2016 in the amount of $72,885,826.66 (Seventy Two Million, Eight Hundred Eighty Five Thousand, Eight Hundred Twenty Six Dollars and Sixty Six Cents) Passed as Amended City of Melrose Page 3 8/26/2015 4:26 PM

Transcript

▶ 0:00 That's the amendment, correct? Mm-hmm. Okay, good evening, everyone. My name is Donald Kahn. This is a special meeting of the Melrose Board of Aldermen. Today is June 25th, 2016. I'm getting ahead of myself. Could you call the roll, please? Alderman Bird. Alderman Boyd-Zal. Here. Here. Alderman Forbes. Here. Here. Alderman Inverna. Here. Here. Alderman Lemmerman. Here. Here. Alderman McAteer-Margolis. Here. Here. Alderman Medeiros. Here. Here. Alderman Mortimer. Here. Here. Alderman Tramontozzi. Here. Alderman Wright and President Kahn. Here. Okay, we have a quorum. If everybody could please stand and join me in saluting the flag. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

▶ 1:24 Our meeting this evening, as with all of our meetings, is being recorded pursuant to Chapter 30A, the Massachusetts Open Meeting Law, and will be rebroadcast on local Melrose cable television. Motion to open the floor for public participation, Mr. President. Second. Alderman Mortimer moves that we open the floor for public participation. The motion is seconded by Alderman Boisselle. On the motion, all those in favor? Aye. Anyone opposed? Motion passes. This is the portion of our meeting where any member of the public who wishes to speak can come forward to the table in the center of the room sign their name and address and they can discuss any item that is on our agenda this evening good evening my

▶ 2:16 Jennifer McAndrew: name is Jen McAndrew I live at 12 Sears Ave and I'm here in strong support of order 2015 dash 157 the override order my husband and I have lived in Melrose for nine years and we have three children in the public schools first I want to thank you for you your unanimous vote at last week's Appropriations committee hearing I agree with you that the residents of Melrose deserve the right to vote on this important issue I personally support this override because I believe the Melrose public schools need the proposed positions to continue to move forward this year at the request of the school committee superintendent tamer laid out a growth budget that described a clear vision for continuous improvement supported by important positions including a director of

▶ 2:59 Jennifer McAndrew: instructional technology more classroom positions enhanced instructional coaching and essential increases for curriculum materials and professional development but current resources did not allow for the full funding of that vision and so the school committee voted to endorse the educational value of these positions while also acknowledging that it could not fully fund them this year simply put adding these needed positions will require new funding that can only be achieved with a budget override I also support the override because it will fill the current gap in school spending what's referred to as the structural deficit several members of this board have advocating putting an end to this fiscal practice and I agree operationally the school should not have

▶ 3:41 Jennifer McAndrew: to depend on a supplemental budget each year to meet the needs of students and educators eliminating that practice is the responsible thing to do and it allow Melrose the flexibility we need to plan invest and grow responsibly and that's not just for the schools but for other city departments as well finally let me add that I do not believe that passing a budget override will solve every challenge our city will face it does not preclude the school committee and this board from making spending decisions as circumstances demand nor does it lessen the responsibility for continued thoughtful fiscal oversight by this board and all elected and appointed officials and it certainly will not eliminate every hard choice in the future but neither should this proposal

▶ 4:22 Jennifer McAndrew: be dismissed as frivolous excess we can't predict the future but we do know this before us we have an important reasonable and well-developed proposal one that is informed by a public process of elected officials that makes investments that we all know are needed now it will benefit our kids our community and our home values and so I ask not only for your support to move the question to the ballot but also encourage you to personally advocate this much-needed investment in the city we all love thank you thank you is there anybody else who wishes to speak this evening hi I'm Sarah Desmond of 68 Walton Park I am here on behalf of my family and strong support of order 2015 dash 157 I have two girls in the Melrose public school system one at Roosevelt

▶ 5:28 one at the ECC my husband and I moved to Melrose nine years ago before we had children because it offered us a vibrant community and abundance of recreation and great access to Boston where both my husband and I work I'm a public I'm a I am a public school educator with over 15 years of experience teaching English language arts. I am currently an instructional coach in Cambridge and Somerville and work with new and developing teachers on curriculum design and instruction, classroom management, and the day-to-day implementation of lesson plans. As such, I have a unique perspective on what it means to serve our children well in the academic and social emotional arenas. The school in which I teach is considered a leader in its field for innovation and education.

▶ 6:12 It focuses on student-centered and constructivist pedagogy, which aims for students to create meaning through things like project-based learning and accountable talk. It focuses on building relationships among teachers and peers in order to create a sense of sustained community. I believe deeply in these principles. And as an instructional coach, I am committed to building teachers' strategies and skills so that they can live out these principles in the classroom. But that's not the challenge. The challenge is this. In order to live out any vision, those involved in the vision must first be committed to the foundation and resources that support it. I believe the citizens of Melrose are committed to their public schools and some version of

▶ 6:53 a vision that allows every student to fully realize his or her potential. As such, we have a responsibility to support and override that would allow Melrose to respond to the student influx, to increase the number of teachers and paraprofessionals that keep student to teacher ratios low and allow for the co-teaching and facilitation that is necessary for differentiation in the classroom. We need to meet the needs and leverage our increasingly savvy and tech engaged students through additional media technology and STEM funding while understanding the tremendous importance and power of the arts. Finally and perhaps most importantly without investing in our teachers we cannot bring to life any component of the vision for it is our teachers who bring

▶ 7:36 this vision to life the research shows that above all other school factors teacher effectiveness has the single greatest impact on individual student achievement great teachers want to teach in our district we need to provide them with the opportunity to grow and develop their practice because every child deserves a highly effective teacher the addition of an instructional coach will allow teachers to do just that it is imperative that we continue to grow the Melrose public school system by making it both an attractive place for highly qualified teachers to work and for families to send their children by voting yes to support order 2015 157 you will be taking the first step in investing long term in the sustainability of our public school

▶ 8:18 system I have tremendous faith in the Melrose community and its aldermen that they understand just how critical it is to invest in the public schools that continue to make this city one of the most attractive in the metro area given my line of work I can be a tough critic about the education of my children my two girls are enjoying a fabulous public school education I am proud to be a Melrose school public school family please vote yes to endorse the override order thank you thank you does anyone else wish to speak motion to close public this gentleman's coming forward I will draw the motion for now my name is Richard Chase I've been a resident in Melrose for 21 years my feeling is that we have a bunch of bumper stickers on cars and signs that

▶ 9:28 say Melrose is open to all and that's a good idea when we moved here this was a community of lower middle-class people wealthy people working-class people and poor people it is ceasing to be that and if you vote for this override you will will encourage this town to become more like Dover or Newton or Brookline where it is not welcome to all where it's just for the wealthy so if you're going to vote for this override change the signs and change the bumper stickers because it will become a town only for the rich now a lot of things are being said about about the school system, which has gotten better over the years. But I'm paying 80% more taxes this year than when I moved here. And that's way above the rate of inflation.

▶ 10:32 Also we've been told that all these projects in town, which increased the population, Stone Fidelity, Tremont Street, the Deering Lumber Company should help, but it's at this time when all of these are being built or completed that you're asking for more taxes. And make no mistake, this will not be a one-year tax increase. It'll be a continual increase every year that a budget comes up. Now I've been paying increased taxes every year, so what we're really talking about here is not an increase but an increase of the increase now I have I walk around town I see every day or every week another truck or vehicle or car that says city of Melrose on it with a city employee driving it and I asked myself why are

▶ 11:28 there so many more now than there used to be I would like it if the mayor and the alderman could tell us how many more vehicles and employees the city has since the Dolan administration took power and you can set aside the recycling in the garbage because that's all been farmed out but it does seem to me that when the tax bill comes and there's that pie and what the city spends it on 25% of it goes to employee benefits or some very large amount I'm not surprised if in fact we are employing more people and more vehicles and more this and that I think that if this thing were to go through there would be no limit on what taxes can go up to and it will be a disincentive to people trying to move into town who are not wealthy and it will drive certain

▶ 12:24 people out of this town and I use the word town instead of city because it still feels to me a bit like a town maybe a big town but I've liked Melrose but I think it's also going in a wrong direction sometimes we have a mayor who has just gotten a very hefty salary and if he wants to switch jobs with me I'll do it for half the price and that will save you a bit of money and we have police who are getting a hundred and thirty thousand dollars a year and I'm being asked and other people are being asked all over the city to pay their salary and make donations to them and a lot of people in this city are making fifteen thousand dollars a year a lot of people so that seems wrong to me if this country is heading towards a big divide between the wealthy and the rest of

▶ 13:23 everybody else does Melrose have to jump on that bandwagon this has worked for all the time it's been implemented it is a way to keep costs in line and if the mayor is concerned that he doesn't have enough police or he's paying too much police overtime then why when the road construction was done on Main Street Franklin Street and Lebanon Street why did it take six or seven months to do that with the police being paid for six or seven months for overtime for construction duty if that project had been completed in half the time you'd have half the police cost too it seems to me that contractors should be required to end their project at a certain time and I don't want to hear about the snow we have snow every year

▶ 14:19 so I'm not used to public speaking that much but I would say this that it's the job of the alderman to say no sometimes for every new project or every new idea that somebody comes up with our school system is good and I think it will continue to become good but also cost containment is of issue and good teaching can be done without a bigger salary so I would ask you to vote against this because there are too many reasons why this has worked well for all the time that's been implemented and thank you thank you sir anyone else who would like to speak now I will make that motion to close public participation mr. president I've been Mortimer moves to conclude public participation the motion is seconded by Alderman Inferno on the motion all those in favor anyone

▶ 15:26 opposed public participation is concluded for this evening order 2015 dash 165 reauthorization of inspection services revolving account number 2658 for fiscal year 2016 this is an order that was recommended in the Appropriations Committee for passage motion for passage mr. president second alderman Mortimer moves the passage of 2015 165 the motion is seconded by Alderman Boyce L is there any discussion relative to the motion could you call the roll please yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes 9 in favor, 2 nay. That order passes. Order 2015-167, transfer of $13,000 from inspection services, salary and wages, account number 012411-51100 to equipment permitting software, account number 019303-551059.

▶ 16:48 That order was recommended in the Finance Committee. Motion passes, Mr. President. Second. alderman forbes moves for passage of the order the motion is seconded by alderman Boisselle is there discussion relative to order two uh 2015-167 could you call the roll yes yes alderman forbes yes yes alderman ferner yes yes alderman lemmerman yes yes alderman mcateen margotis yes yes yes yes yes yes president khan yes the order passes voted 2015-169 transfer of seventeen thousand eight hundred seventy six dollars from workers compensation accounts to various accounts is set forth within uh finance committee also voted to recommend this order for passage motion for passage mr president second alderman forbes moves for passage the motion is seconded

▶ 17:51 Gail Infurna: by alderman mortimer is there any discussion i think there was an amendment to that order in the committee and are you making a motion to amend alderman motion to amend to delete line uh zero one six five two two dash five nine one zero one four uh and amend to zero one nine one two two dash five four three one zero two workman's comp workman's comp benefits to one thousand seven hundred and twelve dollars so that the bottom line of the requested transfer would be ten thousand six hundred and fifty alderman inferno moves that the full board adopt the committee recommendation second the motion to amend alderman mcateer margolis beat you alderman mortimer the motion is seconded by alderman mcateer margolis on the motion to amend all those in favor

▶ 18:39 aye anyone opposed motion passes the order as amended is before you is their discussion motion for passage as amended mr. president second Alderman Mortimer moves to pass order 2015 169 as amended the motion is seconded by Alderman Boisselle could you call the roll please yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes Yes. Alderman Medeiros? Yes. Yes. Alderman Mortimer? Yes. Yes. Alderman Tramontozzi? Yes. Yes. Alderman Brightney? Yes. President Kline? Yes. Nine in favor. That order passes. Order 2015-157, order to place general override question on the November 3rd, 2015 biennial election ballot. And the Appropriations Committee recommended that the override question be placed on the ballot. passage mr. president Alderman Mortimer moves for passage of the order the

▶ 19:45 Monica C. Medeiros: motion is seconded by Alderman Inferna is there discussion Alderman Medeiros thank you thank you mr. president I just wanted to thank the people who have come before us to speak tonight and both in our committee meeting last week on this order it's been a lot of interest from the public and I wanted to point out that we started off the committee meeting last week with some words from our city solicitor Mr. Van Campen who you know strongly showed us that voting on this question is not for us to be voting on the merits of the question itself but whether or not to place this on the ballot so any of our votes today are not necessarily indications that we endorse this proposal or that we oppose this proposal although we may all have personal opinions towards it and I just

▶ 20:42 Monica C. Medeiros: wanted to point that out and of course remind everyone that this is a general fund override which had been discussed in committee as well so the first year the funds must be used for the purposes in the question and then beyond that the money would go into the general fund to be distributed wherever the mayor and the future Board of Aldermen so thank you with all due respect to mr. van Kampen's wonderful legal expertise I understood that this was to put it on the ballot before he he declaimed to us for the for the public's information so any other discussion relative to this order miss Grasco could you call the roll please yes yes yes yes yes yes that order passes for 2015 dash 168 amending Melrose revised ordinances chapter

▶ 21:54 Monica C. Medeiros: 198 solid waste section 198-3 ashes and rubbish yard waste metal goods collection fees as set forth herein the Appropriations Committee recommended that this order pass motion for passage mr. president second Alderman Mortimer moves for passage of the order the motion is seconded by Alderman McAteer Margolis is there discussion relative to this order Alderman Medeiros thank you I I know that during our committee discussion we had moved to accept the memorandum that Mr. De La Russo had put together in regard to the cost and savings associated with the trash program. And I haven't seen that come to us since that meeting. Have you, Mr. President? Not that I recollect. okay uh do you want to suspend the rules to hear from mr del russo yes so moved alderman

▶ 22:59 medeiros moves to suspend the rules set to speak with the city uh cfo second motion seconded by alderman Boisselle on the motion to suspend the rules all those in favor aye aye anyone opposed motion passes mr del russo could you come forward please good evening through the chair to uh all of uh medeiros yes we have the memo we're preparing it now to be submitted for file on the that evening i was able to to craft up the cost etc but um again we have we'll have it in the file just that we haven't got to it today but it will absolutely be in the file i got it right here just it's my understanding at the time was that it had been prepared but just not placed in file so absolutely absolutely absolutely thank you mr president thank you anyone else

▶ 23:58 could you call the roll please mr crasco alderman boys out yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes that order Passes. Order 2015-175, Clause 41c, Senior Real Estate Exemption, Local Options. The Appropriations Committee also recommended passage of this order. Motion for passage. Second. Second. Alderman McAteer-Margolis moves for passage. Motion is seconded by Alderman Boyce-Hill. Is there any discussion relative to this order? Alderman McAteer-Margolis. I just want to thank Mr. Wilcox in the assessor's office for helping us understand this and hopefully that information will be getting out to the public so more of our seniors and people on a fixed income can take advantage of this thank you thank you anyone anyone

▶ 25:02 else yes yes yes yes that order passes order 2015 174 senior work off abatement local option appropriations committee also voted to recommend this order for motion for passage mr. president alderman Mortimer moves for passage of the order second second by alderman Boisselle was the discussion relative to this order we have the roll call please yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes that Order passes. Order 2015-187, transfer of $27,225.34 from account 019122-543102, workers' compensation benefits, in the amount of $7,225.34. And $20,000, account number 017522-549100, projected debt interest, $20,000 to account number 011552-522000, IT telephones. Finance Committee recommended this order for passage.

▶ 26:52 Motion for passage, Mr. President. Second. Alderman Forbes moves for passage of the order. The motion is seconded by Alderman Mortimer. Is there discussion? could you call the roll yes yes yes yes the order passes order 2015-198 transfer of eleven thousand Excuse me, $11,470 from account number 019122-543100, workers comp medical, and $6,000 from account 019111-511010, retiree salary contributory retirement, to account number 014-021-511000, public works, city hall salary, to cover unexpected retirement as set forth herein. This order was recommended for passage in the Finance Committee. Motion for passage, Mr. President. Second. Alderman Forbes moves for passage. The motion is seconded by Alderman Mortimer.

▶ 28:06 Is there discussion? Could you call the roll, please? Alderman Berge. Alderman Boisselle. Yes. Yes. Alderman Forbes. Yes. Yes. Alderman Inferno. Yes. Yes. Alderman Lemmerman. Yes. Yes. Alderman McAteer-Margolis. Yes. Yes. Alderman Medeiros. Yes. Yes. yes that order passes as well order 2015-197 agreement between the town of reading and the city of melrose for the provision of services by the melrose senior health inspector this order was recommended for passage in committee motion for passage mr president second when mortimer moves the passage of the order the motion is seconded by alderman forbes is there discussion relative to this order to call the roll yes yes yes yes that order passes order 2015

▶ 29:19 dash 202 authorizing a bond in the amount of $400,000 for the purchase of real property that order will be referred to the committee on appropriations order 2015-154 city of Melrose operating budget for fiscal year 2016 in the amount of seventy two million eight hundred eighty five thousand eight hundred twenty six dollars sixty six cents and the Appropriations Committee recommended this order as amended to reflect the bottom line budget of seventy two million four hundred and eighty five thousand eight hundred and twenty six dollars and sixty six cents motion for passage as amended mr. president Alderman Mortimer moves for passage of the order as amended the motion is seconded by Alderman Inferno is their

▶ 30:04 discussion this is the city budget order for the upcoming fiscal year could you the roll please yes yes yes yes yes that order passes and uh before we adjourn i would like to thank everybody who came down to speak at all of our many budget hearings this season and i'd like to thank alderman mortimer for chairing all budget meetings thank you um and the good news is that none of you will have to listen to me say things that you've heard me say too many times before for two or three weeks now motion to adjourn mr president second alderman waterman moves to adjourn the motion is seconded by alderman forbes on the motion all those in favor aye aye anyone who does not wish to adjourn motion passes thank you thank you very much

City Council — 2015-06-25

Attendance

Agenda

Minutes

Transcript

Original documents