City Council — 2020-05-14
Attendance
Christopher Cinella ; Jack Eccles ; Mark Garipay ; Jen Grigoraitis ; Maya Jamaleddine ; Shawn M. MacMaster ; Jeff McNaught ; Leila Migliorelli ; Robb Stewart ; Cory Thomas ; John N. Tramontozzi
Agenda
- Call to Order
- ORDER-2020-87 : Joint Meeting of the City Council and the School Committee to be held at 7:15 p.m. on Thursday, May 14, 2020 on the Financial Condition of the City, revenue and expenditure forecasts, and other relevant information in preparation of the FY2021 Operating Budget
- Remote Meeting Information
- Public Comment
- Adjournment
Minutes
CITY OF MELROSE CITY COUNCIL BULLETIN● MAY 14, 2020 Web-based remote meeting Joint Meeting with the School Committee 7:15 PM , Melrose, MA 02176
ORDER-2020-87 Joint Meeting/School Committee Joint Meeting of the City Council and the School Committee to be held at 7:15 p.m. on Thursday, May 14, 2020 on the Financial Condition of the City, revenue and expenditure forecasts, and other relevant information in preparation of the FY2021 Operating Budget Attendee Name Title Status Arrived Jen Grigoraitis President, ex oficio Present John N. Tramontozzi Ward 1 Present Jeff McNaught Ward 2 Present Robb Stewart Ward 3 Present Mark Garipay Ward 4 Present Shawn M. MacMaster Ward 5 Present Cory Thomas Ward 7 Present Jack Eccles At-Large Present Christopher Cinella At-Large Present Leila Migliorelli At-Large Present Maya Jamaleddine At-Large Present Also in attendence: School Committee Members Mayor Brodeur, Lizbeth DeSelm, Margaret Driscoll, Jennifer McAndrew, Ed O'Connell (Chair), John Obremski, Jennifer Razi-Thomas and School Superintendent Cyndy Taymore. Mayor Brodeur addressed both the school committee and the city council regarding the city's proposed FY21 budget-- noting the immense challenges created by the current pandemic. His written remarks are included with this order. City of Melrose Page 1 5/29/2020 10:42 AM
Transcript
▶ 0:00 Jen Grigoraitis: Good evening. I'm Melrose Council President Grigoraitis. I'm calling to order tonight's special joint meeting of the Melrose City Council and the Melrose School Committee as required by our city charter so that we can hear from his honor, the mayor, regarding the FY21 budget. I will now read the remote meeting information. Pursuant to Governor Baker's March 12, 2020 order suspending certain provisions of the Open Meeting Law and the Governor's March 15, 2020 order imposing strict limitation on the number of people that may gather in one place, this joint meeting of the City Council and the School Committee will be conducted via remote participation to the greatest extent possible. We will post an audio or video recording,
▶ 0:47 transcript or other comprehensive record of these proceedings as soon as possible after the meeting on the city of melrose website and on mmtv3.org and before we get started i would just remind folks to be to mute your mics when you're not speaking madam clark can you please call the role for the city council i can i'm i'm going to move ms radzi thomas up to panelists i saw she just joined one moment um uh councillor sonella councillor eccles councillor Garipay here councillor tamaladeen here councillor mcmaster councillor mcnaught here councillor Migliorelli here councillor stewart here Here. Councilor Thomas? Here. Councilor Tramontozzi? Here. President Grigoraitis? Here. Ten present for the City Council, I'll now move to the School Committee.
▶ 2:01 Mayor Broder? Here. Ms. DeSelm? Here. Ms. Driscoll? Here. Ms. McAndrew? Here. Mr. Obremski? Here. Ms. Rodsey-Thomas? Here. Ms. Rossi? Ms. Rossi-Thomas? Here. Chairman O'Connell? Here. Chairman O'Connell, was there anything you wanted to add? Thank you, Madam President, and good evening. As noted by the call to roll, a quorum of the school committee is present, as is the superintendent of schools, Cindy Taymor. Furthermore, pursuant to the city charter, the school committee has approved its budget for a fiscal year 2021 and has submitted same to his honor the mayor accordingly the school committee is ready to proceed thank you thank you mr chair uh mayor broder the floor is yours all right thank you uh madam superintendent honorable members of the city council
▶ 3:14 fellow members of the school committee and residents of melrose watching from home As the President said, our City Charter requires me as your Mayor to address you ahead of our deliberations on next year's budget so that I may share with you the financial conditions of the City, revenue and expenditure forecast. But before I do that, I must first take a moment to acknowledge the hard work, dedication and sacrifice of all our frontline workers here in Melville. From our firefighters and police officers, to our DPW staff in the health department, and all our city employees, the medical personnel throughout the city, our grocery workers and so many others, I as mayor, on behalf of the city, extend my sincere thanks and gratitude
▶ 3:59 for all that you have done for our community. Like so many other things, COVID-19 has made drafting our budget incredibly challenging. Already, the city has incurred significant COVID-19 related expenses, which currently total around a quarter of a million dollars. So far, we have received $100,000 from the state to offset that figure and anticipate receiving a 75% reimbursement of the remaining costs from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Assuming no further relief from the Commonwealth or any other source, the city currently has roughly $37,000 in costs to cover. While we obviously will keep an eye on these expenses, rest assured that the city will continue to do everything in our power to keep you all safe.
▶ 4:46 These financial figures do not begin to tell the story of the human toll of this crisis. The myriad future scenarios, the evolving nature of the pandemic, and the variety of approaches available to combat it have introduced significant uncertainty into not only our traditional budgeting models, but to each and every one of our homes in Melrose. One thing I am certain about is the demonstrable compassion, dedication, and resolve Melrose residents and our city employees have demonstrated over the last several months. Departments have transitioned overnight from operating in City Hall to operating remotely, and we have adapted to new and different modes of communication, and employees have reinvented
▶ 5:31 their roles with the city in order to adapt to what our residents need. Many members of my team have worked around the clock, bringing in the best information available from a variety of sources, using the experience of other municipalities and other states to design our procedures, and without exception, every single City of Melrose employee has gone above and beyond during this period. It remains a privilege to lead this city, and the dedication and hard work of our employees is something that every Melrose resident can rely on during this uncertain time. Now, as I've worked on preparing this year's budget, I began with compiling the best information available regarding the financial outlook
▶ 6:13 for our country, region, and state. While the revenue forecast from experts differ in the details, they all unanimously point towards an immediate and significant economic downturn. The closure of businesses and the growth in unemployment have had staggering effects on workers and merchants across the country and right here at home. And even if our recovery is historically and unanticipatedly rapid, the financial impact of this crisis promise to affect not only next year's budget, but the year after that as well. The budget I am presenting to you is mindful of the long-term challenge we face. Let's take a look at how COVID-19 might affect our city's finances. The City of Melrose's annual operating budget is funded through three primary sources, local
▶ 7:04 property taxes, state aid, and other local receipts, such as excise tax on vehicles of the meal staff. Last fiscal year, local property taxes accounted for 73.1% of our revenue, 16.7 came from the state, 3.7 from local receipts, and a small amount from other funding sources, such as the federal government. Let's take the property tax first. As we all remember, Melrose's tax base is 95% residential. By and large, the relative position of strength we are in today can be attributed to the willingness of the voters to pass last year's override. While the increased revenue produced by the override has resulted in needed and important investments in our school system, including a renegotiated teacher contract and the creation of 28.5 new positions throughout the district
▶ 7:57 Little of this funding is available for use on the city side for non-school-related programs and departments. That said, the override has allowed the city to avoid the need to use one-time funds such as free cash to fund ongoing operating expenses. any financially sound household would not count on an unexpectedly high tax return or an unanticipated holiday bonus to pay an ongoing regular anticipated expense such as a mortgage i am proud to say that the budget i am submitting funds recurring expenses only by using recurring revenue secondly our budget on both the school and city side receives considerable funding from the from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Predominantly, this funding comes in two forms,
▶ 8:46 educational funding known as Chapter 78 and local aid known as unrestricted government aid. While serving as your state representative, I was proud to work with my colleagues to pass historic education funding reform known as the Student Opportunity Act. Moved through the Senate by our own Senator Jason Lewis, this new funding formula promised significant increases in funding for many school districts, including Melrose. Early projections pegged an increase of over $1 million in our chapter 70 funding when you include the SOA money. And the initial budget contemplated by the school committee relied on this increase. As the pandemic continues to impact the US economy, as households may experience a decline in earnings,
▶ 9:32 unemployment, investment losses, and other expenses and hardships. Economists advising the Massachusetts House Senate budget authors have pointed to unemployment numbers statewide, which could far exceed the 2009 Great Recession and even rival figures from the Great Depression. In my conversations with analysts, legislators, and others, I've become increasingly concerned that the Commonwealth will not be able to fund the Student Opportunity Act in its current form. And along with my colleagues on the school committee have concluded that our safest assumption is that we will receive Chapter 70 funding equivalent to last year's appropriation. This represents a 12.3% decline from what we were initially counting on.
▶ 10:19 This is one of the most challenging decisions I've faced in building this budget. So many of you have worked so diligently for years to ensure that we would be able to make needed investments in our schools in order to provide the best education possible for all our children and this year promised like the last one to represent a tremendous opportunity to make additional investments in our students but this is simply not the position we find ourselves in just like so many other cities and towns as a result of the pandemic that said while we reduce the original proposal in light of this new fiscal reality our school budget is remarkable and that it still adds 4.3 positions to address growing enrollment
▶ 11:05 increases our capacity in the area of social and emotional development, and fully funds our contractual obligations to our educators. We will continue to make important progress that will benefit our kids. Melrose, after all, has a strong and proud history of supporting public education. Many graduates of Melrose High School, including myself, returned to Melrose as adults to raise our children here and send them to our excellent schools. Let me say a few words about our educators and our students. In the midst of a pandemic, our teachers quickly shifted their educational expertise to a fully remote environment in a matter of days. In the intervening weeks, they have further refined and expanded their own skills
▶ 11:53 to offer content and connection to our kids done so with the guidance and support of our superintendent who is ending her remarkable career in a way that even she could not have imagined and our leadership team who have not only offered resources and support but along the city support Chromebooks free lunches and breakfast supplies learning kits and on and on it goes the district has quickly pivoted and is offering a robust series of free online professional development opportunities this spring and summer for our professional. They have done this without fanfare and behind the scene. And likewise, most importantly, our students have persevered. It's so easy to see the anguish and the heartbreak,
▶ 12:41 but let's also see the way they have bravely pushed on. From our littlest pre-K students, those who are ready to graduate, We are proud of your hard work in the face of this uncertainty. And to our seniors, to the Melrose High Class of 2020, there's nothing like this that our city has ever experienced. And we miss you. We are sad for the experiences that you are missing, but we love each and every one of you, and we have tremendous faith in you that you are going to be the leaders that move our society forward so stay strong and know that we're with you nothing will ever experience nothing excuse me nothing we can do will ever replace or replicate the learning experience of the classroom the connection to a trusted friend the sound of a full orchestra room
▶ 13:37 the sun hitting your face when you run out to recess or a high five for your favorite teacher but I do know this everyone is doing their best students teachers and administrators we see you and we thank you as I mentioned the other major source of state funding is known as unrestricted government aid it is apportioned according to a formula and is giving given to municipalities to use as they see fit essentially but no strings attached in reviewing state funding patterns through previous downturns and current projections of the decline in state revenue estimated right now to be somewhere between four and six billion dollars we are anticipating a 12.5 percent decrease in the amount of unrestricted local aid we will receive in fy21
▶ 14:28 making these assumptions is especially challenging however as the state budget is very unlikely to be finalized prior to the end of this fiscal year. The timing of this year's state budget promises another unknown which we must simply account for as best we can. Now third, the City of Melrose receives revenue through local receipts which includes vehicle excise taxes, meals taxes, a small amount of room occupancy tax, and some other revenue. Last year auto excise tax made up 42% of this particular category so far this year 79% of vehicle excise tax bills have been paid despite the fact that we delayed the deadline and concerned however that residents will be more cautious over the next year and making
▶ 15:18 new vehicle purchases and that this may impact the revenue we received through the excise tax as I mentioned before COVID-19 has had a devastating effect on so many of our local businesses and restaurants in particular. Even as we adjust to the new normal, as we begin to reopen when it is safe, it is highly unlikely that we will be able to collect the same levels of meals tax and are assuming that we would see a reduction in this area as well. Overall, in the category of local receipts, we are anticipating a 25% percent reduction in revenue. And lastly, as many of you know, there is an ongoing debate in Congress regarding federal aid to states, cities, and towns. This is vitally, a vitally important resource for communities across the country to
▶ 16:10 maintain services and protect jobs. While our congressional delegation, including Congressman Clark, are fighting hard to secure those additional dollars this budget does not rely on additional additional federal assistance related to the covet 19 pandemic this is all to say that the budget i am submitting tonight does rely on the full two and a half percent tax levy increase and three hundred thousand dollars in new growth even as it accounts for significant reductions in state funding it is my fervent hope that these assumptions are found to be too conservative in hindsight, but like many of you, I would rather be surprised by a positive outcome than have to make painful cuts in the event of a negative one. Now having
▶ 16:57 discussed the sources of our revenue and the impacts of COVID-19 upon it, I would like to turn to my administration's priorities on the spending side. Overall, the budget I am submitting to you tonight represents the lowest percentage increase in an operating budget for this city in a decade now as you will hear over the course of the coming days our city departments are staffed by dedicated and capable professionals who will work diligently to make melrose the best place it can be use utilizing limited resources unfortunately as i said the fiscal picture for the city is very challenging i cannot justify making any significant new investments in our operations for the coming year and have, for the time being, had to forestall considering
▶ 17:45 positions, projects, and investments I was intending to make, or at least propose, upon taking office. Now, you may be wondering why, given the challenging financial times, that any particular item in this budget would increase at all. For the most part, any significant increase you will find in a particular line item in this budget is the result of fixed costs such as insurance or other contractual obligations. What I want each of you and the residents of the city to focus on is that my administration is proposing significant and unprecedented appropriations into each and every city stabilization account. Given the profound fiscal uncertainty we face, the most prudent course of action is to invest
▶ 18:31 in our future by strengthening our reserve accounts while still providing a high level of city services to our residents. I propose for this council's consideration allocating roughly one half of all of this year's free cash to these reserve accounts. This fiscally prudent investment will provide a hedge against the fiscal uncertainty of the next fiscal year and beyond, where other municipalities, particularly those more aligned on state funding must consider significant reductions in services they are offering to residents and taxpayers, I have made it a point to adapt and adjust in order to continue to provide these important services our residents rely on. Growing these accounts will protect our ability to do that in the future.
▶ 19:22 Pandemic or no pandemic, municipal construction and other capital needs only increase year over year. As we have discussed at length in prior meetings, key parts of our infrastructure and buildings have deteriorated. I am pleased to be able, with your support, the support of the Council, to invest in projects and priorities identified in our capital improvement plan, including multiple pieces of fire apparatus, building improvements at Memorial Hall, school security, a generator, needed repairs to our firehouse floor street drainage and more these are appropriate uses of both our non-recurring resources like free cash and our bonding capacity and represent prudent investments to meet our needs while trite it is often true that a budget is a reflection of a community's values i believe
▶ 20:19 to the extent this budget is such a reflection it demonstrates we have struck a balance between conservative protections and modeling maintaining quality city services making critical one-time capital investments in our infrastructure while holding significant resources in reserve to provide a safeguard against future fiscal challenges that may arise as a result of the pandemic this is not a budget i anticipated writing and i can't imagine it's the budget you or our residents will look forward we're looking forward to receiving it is however a thoughtful strategic approach which empowers us to readjust and reap the benefits of a more rapid recovery but which also protects us from dire outcomes we may need to face
▶ 21:10 keeping the residents of this city safe and our community stable is my primary obligation to you as mayor and this budget allows us to do that Now, admittedly, most of what I have shared with you has been concerning and reflects the challenging situation we find ourselves in, but I want each and every resident of our city to know that while we as a city may be facing uncertainty and limitations because of the pandemic, there is nothing that will stop us from improving our services and improving our community. We will continue to make strides in protecting our environment. In fact, next week we will be launching our Heat Smart campaign to help residents select greener options for a home heating and air conditioning system.
▶ 21:58 We will continue to invest in the arts by moving forward with things like our Wayfinding and Creative Placemaking project and bringing public art to our community. We will work with our business community to identify the supports and resources they need to make reopening as successful and safe and sustainable as possible. And we will be innovative when it comes to traffic and transportation, and we'll support common sense and cost-effective interventions to make our roads safer and public transportation easier to access. This crisis may make us short on cash, but we continue to have an abundance of creativity, intellectual capital, and residents dedicated to a city that we all call home. This crisis is an opportunity for all of us
▶ 22:49 to take stock of what is important, where we are now and where we wanna be in the future. We must not and will not shrink from this opportunity or wait for the crisis to pass. This city will continue to make meaningful progress. It will look different than we thought, but it will happen. and we will come out the other side of this stronger than ever. I invite each of you to continue to work with me, use this period as a time to improve our city so that when it's safe to gather again, we can do so in a more vibrant, thriving, welcoming city open to all. I look forward to working with each and every one of you and thank you for your partnership and your consideration. Thank you, Mayor Broder.
▶ 23:42 At this time, I'll entertain a motion for public comment. open public comment second second we have a motion to open public comment by councillor eccles seconded by councillor sanella madam clerk can you please call the roll snella yes eccles Garipay yes jamaladeen yes mcmaster yes mcnaught yes Migliorelli yes stewart yes thomas yes chairman tozy yes rigoritis yes and i guess i'll continue to the school committee um mayor broder Yes. Ms. DeSelm? Yes. Ms. Driscoll? Yes. Ms. McAndrew? Yes. Mr. Obremski? Yes. Ms. Rotzi-Thomas? Yes. Chairman O'Connell? Yes. It's unanimous. Thank you. Do we have any members of the public wishing to comment at this time? I believe there's a digital raise hand feature if you wish to speak.
▶ 25:12 Madam President, I do not see anyone raising their hand in the attendees. I take a motion to close public comment. I believe we had a motion to pose public comment by Councillor Stewart. Do we have a second? Second. Thank you. Seconded by Councillor Thomas. Madam Clerk, can you please call the roll? Sinella? Yes. Eccles? Yes. Garrapay? Yes. Jamaluddin? Yes. McMaster? Yes. McNaught? Yes. Yes. McGiarelli. Yes. Stewart. Yes. Thomas. Yes. Tremontosi. Yes. Grigoraitis. Yes. Mayor Bruder. Yes. Ms. DeSelm. Yes. Ms. Driscoll. Yes. Ms. McAndrew. Yes. Mr. Obronski. Yes. Ms. Rotzi-Thomas. Yes. Chairman O'Connell. Yes. Unanimous. thank you at this time public comment is closed I'd like to thank mayor Broder
▶ 26:17 for joining us tonight chairman O'Connell superintendent Taymor the members of the school committee and of course my fellow counselors at this time I would entertain a motion to adjourn motion to adjourn motion to adjourn by councillor McNaught seconded by councillor Sonnella Adam clerk one more time may you please call the roll Sonnella yes Eccles yes Garrapay yes Jamaluddin yes McMaster yes McNaught yes Migliorelli yes Stewart yes Thomas yes Chairman Tozzi yes President Grigoraitis yes Mayor broder yes ms de selm yes ms driscoll yes ms mcandrew yes mr obronski yes ms rotzi thomas yes chairman o'connell yes unanimous thank you at this time this meeting is adjourned thank you all very much thank you mr mayor thank you everyone will the council members stay on for