Committee Report - Leg Matters - 5-19-16 — File 201516

Legislative Matters Committee Page 1 of 3 Printed 5/24/2016 May 19, 2016 REPORT OF THE LEGISLATIVE MATTERS COMMITTEE Attendee Name Title Status Arrived Mary Jo Rossetti Chair Present Mark Niedergang Vice Chair Present Katjana Ballantyne Ward Seven Alderman Absent John M. Connolly Alderman At Large Absent William A. White Jr. Alderman At Large Present Matthew McLaughlin Ward One Alderman Present Maryann M. Heuston Ward Two Alderman Absent Robert J. McWatters Ward Three Alderman Absent Tony Lafuente Ward Four Alderman Present Lance L. Davis Ward Six Alderman Present Dennis M. Sullivan Alderman At Large Absent Others present: David Shapiro - Law, Frank Wright - Law, Nick Salerno - Elections, Tim Snyder - Mayor's Office, Rositha Durham - Clerk of Committees The meeting took place in the Committee Room and was called to order at 7:00 PM by Alderman Rossetti and adjourned at 8:45 PM. Document List: • Som. Code Sec 9-56 (with 199919) • Early Voting Draft Regs (with 200523) • Voting Info (with 200523) • Project Examples (with 201168) • Pay to Play (with 201168) • Recent Approvals (with 201168) Approval of the April 21, 2016 Minutes RESULT: ACCEPTED 199919: That the Supervisor of Inspectional Services report to this Board on the ticketing of homeowners for overhanging tree branches per Ordinance 12-14, and that this Board

Legislative Matters Committee Page 2 of 3 Printed 5/24/2016 consider amending that Ordinance to clarify its intent. Mr. Shapiro communicated with the city’s Hearing Officer and the Supervisor of Inspectional Services on this matter to clarify a misunderstanding of how and when the ordinance is used. The applicable portion of the code should have been Sec 9-56. Alderman Lafuente asked if this law is carried out in Somerville and how many fines have been issued. Alderman White’s motion that Section 1-11 of the Code of Ordinances be amended to provide the issuance of a warning for the first offense, as it relates to Sec 9-56, before issuing fines, was approved. RESULT: WORK COMPLETED 200523: That the Election Commissioner report to this Board on implementing the new state early voting law, and respond to the recommendations of the MA Election Modernization Coalition Early Voting Challenge. Mr. Salerno stated that there still is no clear direction on this matter, since there has been no change from the state since last month. The committee asked Mr. Salerno to contact the state, once again, for direction. There will be a major annual conference coming up in mid-June and that's when the Secretary of the Commonwealth will provide details of the early voting law. Mr. Salerno distributed a copy of the early voting draft regulations and said that he will incorporate the Board’s recommendation into the early voting schedule. Voting by mail is allowed, however, only for people who are overseas. Alderman Lafuente asked how many voters are deleted from the voting list in a given year and Mr. Salerno replied that the Elections Department has to purge the list every year once they get a mandate from the state census bureau. He will provide the committee with a report on the numbers and list the number of new voters. After the last Presidential race, the city hit 49,000 voters. After attrition, that number was reduced to 42,000. RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE 201168: Requesting, with the President of this Board, consideration of a new draft of the Pay to Play Ordinance. Mr. Shapiro distributed the revised draft of the Pay to Play ordinance. Alderman White suggested that the term “sole source”, in Sec 1 (a), be defined. Mr. Snyder distributed a sample listing of recent commercial projects approved in Somerville, as well as a document of large residential mixed use properties. Alderman White’s motion to approve all changes made in red on the document, with the exception of two changes in red that are for Mr. Shapiro to change, was approved. RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE 201275: Requesting approval of an Administrative Order relative to the organization of

Legislative Matters Committee Page 3 of 3 Printed 5/24/2016 administrative offices. Mr. Snyder discussed the committee’s request to reduce the request into four separate pieces. The Administration is hoping this request will be considered as part of the budget process. The committee had also requested information on the financial impact of the following four changes: • moving Water & Sewer out of DPW and making it a stand-alone department, • reassigning Engineering under Capital Projects, • removing some field maintenance from DPW and putting under the Recreation Department and • consolidating all fleet services under DPW. RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE