Committee Report - Finance - 6-26-19 — File 208500

Finance Committee Page 1 of 10 Printed 6/27/2019 June 26, 2019 REPORT OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING AS A COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE Attendee Name Title Status Arrived William A. White Jr. Chair Present Mary Jo Rossetti Vice Chair Present Matthew McLaughlin Ward One City Councilor Present Ben Ewen-Campen Ward Three City Councilor Present Katjana Ballantyne Ward Seven City Councilor Present Jefferson Thomas ("J.T.") Scott Ward Two City Councilor Present Jesse Clingan Ward Four City Councilor Present Mark Niedergang Ward Five City Councilor Present Lance L. Davis Ward Six City Councilor Present Stephanie Hirsch City Councilor At Large Present Wilfred N. Mbah City Councilor at Large Present Others present: Mike Mastrobuoni - SomerStat, Ed Bean - Finance, Candace Cooper - Personnel, Chief David Fallon - SPD, Chief Charles Breen - SFD, Suzanne Rinfret - Parking, Doug Kress - HHS, Bryan Bishop - Veterans Services, Cindy Hickey - Council on Aging, Anna Fox Doherty - SomerPromise, Cathy Piantigini - Libraries, Stan Koty - DPW, Steve McEachern - DPW, Christine Morin - DPW, Jill Lathan - Parks & Recreation, Alan Inacio - OSPCD, Kristen Steljes - CPA, Annie Connor - Legislative Liaison, Peter Forcellese - Legislative Clerk. The meeting took place in the Council Chamber and was called to order at 6:08 PM by Chairman White and adjourned at 10:50 PM. FY-20 Budget cuts and vote The committee continued deliberations on the FY-20 budget. Parking Ms. Rinfret was questioned about the funds carried forward from the department's FY-19 budget. HHS Mr. Kress was asked about the Professional and Services account in this department. HHS - Council on Aging Ms. Hickey

Finance Committee Page 2 of 10 Printed 6/27/2019 HHS - SomerPromise Ms. Fox Doherty HHS - Veterans Services Mr. Bishop Libraries Ms. Piantigini Parks & Recreation/Dilboy Field/Kennedy School Pool/P&R Field Maintenance Ms. Lathan told members that due to some cancellations at Dilboy, the P&T line, 530000 can be cut by $35,115. DPW - Admin Mr. Koty and Ms. Morin Councilor Scot made a motion to cut $100,000 from Ordinanry Maintenance (charging it against line 529007), since this is one of the department's larger budget lines. Mr. Koty explained that the DPW is called upon to react and the costs for those reactions aren't always included in the budget. He added that cuts will reduce the DPW's ability to react to situations. Councilor Rossetti commented that the DPW responses to her questions were not posted online until yesterday, therefore she hasn't had ample time to review them. Councilor McLaughlin asked if this line has ever been dangerously low. Mr Koty replied that he could get by with a $50,000 cut to this line. Mr. Mastrobuoni cautioned the committee against using FY-18 spending rates. Councilor Scott explained that he will be proposing $670,000 in cuts across the DPW based on past historical data. The total FY-18 to FY-19 carryover amount is $1.65 million across all DPW departments, according to Mr. Mastrobuoni. The motion failed on a Roll Call vote of 3 in favor (Councilors Scott, Niedergang, Rossetti) to 8 against (Councilors Clingan, Ballantyne, Ewen- Campen, Davis, Mbah, Hirsch, McLaughlin, White). Couincilor Mbah made a motion to cut $50,000 from Ordinary Maintenance (charging it against line 529007). The motion passed on a voice vote. Buildings & Grounds Mr. Koty stated that the encumbered amount is backed up by purchase orders and are in the process of being purchased. Chairman White asked Mr. Mastrobuoni if purchase orders were liquidated in the past. Mr. Bean said that would be a normal situation and it does happen. Mr. Koty assured the committee that he has looked over and verified all purchases in the DPW. Councilor Scott said that there is an $800,000 difference between the amount encumbered and the sum of purchase orders. Ms. Morin said that the provided report of purchase orders includes only the lines that DPW was asked to report on. Councilor Rossetti made a motion to cut $150,000 from line 524010. This is representative of multiple cuts. Mr. Koty said he could get by with a $50,000 cut to that line. The motion was

Finance Committee Page 3 of 10 Printed 6/27/2019 approved on a Roll Call vote of 7 in favor (Councilors Clingan, Ballantyne, Ewen-Campen, Scott, Niedergang, Rossetti, McLaughlin) to 3 against (Councilors Davis, Hirsch, White) and 1 absent (Mbah). . DPW - School Custodians DPW - Highway Councilor Scott made a motion to cut $40,000 from line 529003. The motion was approved on a Roll Call vote of 7 in favor (Councilors Clingan, Ballantyne, Ewen-Campen, Scott, Niedergang, Rossetti, McLaughlin) to 3 against (Councilors Davis, Hirsch, White) and 1 absent (Mbah). DPW - Lights & Lines Mr. McEachern DPW - Fleet Management Snow Removal Pensions Mr. Bean told the members that an actuarial is performed every 3 years. Chairman White inquired about OPEB and Mr. Bean stated that a fund had been created and to date, about $6 million has been put into that fund. The city's liability is approximately $275 million. Revolving Funds Chairman White's motion to approve the revolving funds as listed on page 250 of the FY-20 budget book, wa approved. The complete list of budget cuts, to date, is attached. ORDERS & RESOLUTIONS Resolution by Councilor Hirsch and the Entire Council That the City allocate funding for staff or consultant time to develop a roadmap for Somerville to achieve 30 percent affordable housing by 2030. Resolution by Councilor Hirsch That the City allocate funding for an additional project manager staff person working within the Out-of-School Time division to accelerate taking steps towards coordination and consistency across City and District out-of-school time programming, and to support accelerated coordination and capacity building among non-profit providers. Resolution by Councilor Hirsch That the City allocate funding for an Aquatics Director for the Recreation Department. Resolution by Councilor Hirsch That the City allocate funding for a part-time staffed or contracted performance-based waste reduction effort.

Finance Committee Page 4 of 10 Printed 6/27/2019 Resolution by Councilor Hirsch That the City allocate funding for a software engineer for the IT Department, potentially for a partial year after the CIO has been hired. Resolution by Councilors Niedergang and Hirsch That the Mayor and the Executive Director of OSPCD add two new, additional staff positions in the new Mobility Department in the FY 2020 budget as supplemental budget requests to work on the many resident requests regarding traffic calming and pedestrian safety on Somerville's streets. Resolution by Councilor Niedergang and the Entire Council That the Administration create and fund a full-time Tree Warden position, instead of the current .2 FTE in the Public Works Department and inform this Council whether the Tree Warden position should continue to be located in the Department of Public Works or in the new OSPCD: Public Space and Urban Forestry Department. Resolution by Councilor Niedergang and Hirsch and the Entire Council That the Administration work to rectify the disparity in pay scale between the all-male Fire Alarm call takers (10 of 10 men) and the E·911 call takers, (80% of whom, 11 of 14 are women), as the Fire Alarm call takers receive an average of about$25,000 a year more that1 the E-911 call takers, while work conditions and responsibilities are similar. Order by Councilor Niedergang and the Entire Council That the Commissioner of Public Works, once the current contract expires in June 2020, not contract out for school custodian services to clean Somerville High School and the Winter Hill Community Innovation School but bring this work back in house by hiring additional school custodian City workers to clean those schools. Order by Councilor Niedergang That the Fire Department deploy rescue squads for health-related emergencies (a type of response unit utilized in Cambridge and many other cities) that according to the recommendation in the April 2016 Carlson Group report, Fire Department Strategic Plan, are." ... more agile, are able to get through traffic more quickly, are easier to find locations to park ... and can be sent to a wide range of calls that have traditionally been assigned to engine companies," and would also pollute less, emit less carbon, use less gasoline, and tear up the streets less than larger fire trucks. Order by Councilor Rossetti That the Director of Personnel provide the City Council with a monthly vacancy report. Order by Councilor Rossetti That the City Treasurer update the Finance Committee regarding Land Court tax title takings. Resolution by Councilor Ewen-Campen That the Administration move as quickly as possible to renegotiate our Recycling Contract so that it is subject to the Living Wage Ordinance, in light of the recent decision by the City of

Finance Committee Page 5 of 10 Printed 6/27/2019 Boston to do so. Resolution by Councilor Ballantyne That the Administration appropriate an additional $150,000 for the FY-20 tree planting budget. Resolution by Councilor Clingan That the Administration increase funding for the road paving program such that at least 10 percent of road surfaces may be repaved per season. 208323: Requesting approval of a transfer of $4,000 in the Police Animal Control Division, from the Professional & Technical Services Account to the Overtime Account, to cover projected overtime FY19 costs. RESULT: NOT APPROVED 208336: Requesting an appropriation of $238,234,626 to fund the General Fund Operating Budget for FY2020. RESULT: APPROVED AS AMENDED 208337: Requesting to appropriate or reserve $2,220,788 in estimated FY20 CPA revenue for CPA projects and expenses. RESULT: APPROVED 208338: Requesting an appropriation of $1,100,000 from Unreserved Fund Balance ("Free Cash") to reduce the FY2020 Tax Levy. RESULT: APPROVED 208339: Requesting acceptance of the provisions of MGL c44, s53F1/2 establishing an Enterprise Fund for the Kennedy School Pool. RESULT: APPROVED 208340: Requesting the appropriation of $795,675 in order to fund the FY2020 Kennedy School Pool Enterprise Fund Budget. RESULT: APPROVED 208341: Requesting an appropriation of $928,436 to fund the FY2020 Veterans Memorial & Founders Ice Rink Enterprise Fund Budget. RESULT: APPROVED AS AMENDED

Finance Committee Page 6 of 10 Printed 6/27/2019 208342: Requesting an appropriation of $35,115 from the Veterans Memorial Ice Rink Retained Earnings Account to subsidize the FY2020 Veterans Memorial Ice Rink Enterprise Fund Budget. RESULT: WITHDRAWN 208343: Requesting the appropriation of $225,739 to fund the FY2020 Dilboy Enterprise Fund Budget. RESULT: APPROVED 208344: Requesting the appropriation of $55,739 from the Dilboy Enterprise Fund Retained Earnings Account to subsidize the FY2020 Dilboy Enterprise Fund Budget. RESULT: APPROVED 208345: Requesting the appropriation of $375,705 for the FY2020 Cable Television PEG Access Fund Budget. Councilor Rossetti was recused from all discussion and votes regarding this item. RESULT: APPROVED 208346: Requesting the approval of FY2020 expenditure limitations for departmental Revolving Funds. RESULT: APPROVED 208348: That the City Council be provided with the employees’ names for each position listed in the FY20 Municipal Budget book, prior to the start of the June 6 Finance Committee meeting. RESULT: WORK COMPLETED 208397: Requesting approval to amend Ordinances 2-322 and 2-323 re: municipal salary ranges. Councilor Rossetti was recused from all discussion and votes regarding this item. Councilor Niedergang asked for the titles and/or changes involved and where/what these titles were before the changes were made. Ms. Cooper reviewed the titles and explained the reasons for the changes. Most of the changes involved an increase in salary. RESULT: APPROVED 208398: Requesting an appropriation of $27,702,978 to fund the FY20 Sewer Enterprise Fund Budget.

Finance Committee Page 7 of 10 Printed 6/27/2019 RESULT: APPROVED 208399: Requesting the appropriation of $2,187,778 from the Sewer Enterprise Fund Retained Earnings Account to subsidize the FY20 Sewer Enterprise Fund Budget. RESULT: APPROVED 208400: Requesting an appropriation of $15,536,453 to fund the FY20 Water Enterprise Fund Budget. RESULT: APPROVED 208401: Requesting the appropriation of $1,391,805 from the Water Enterprise Fund Retained Earnings Account to subsidize the FY20 Water Enterprise Fund Budget. RESULT: APPROVED 208402: Requesting the appropriation of $1,800,000 from the Unreserved Fund Balance ("Free Cash") to the Salary and Wage Stabilization Fund. RESULT: APPROVED 208403: Requesting an appropriation of $1,573,539 from Unreserved Fund Balance ("Free Cash") to the Capital Projects Stabilization Fund. RESULT: APPROVED 208404: Requesting the appropriation of $1,000,000 from Unreserved Fund Balance ("Free Cash") to the Green Line Extension Stabilization Fund. RESULT: APPROVED 208405: Requesting the appropriation of $300,000 from the CPA FY20 Fund to the Somerville Museum for construction of an elevator. Chairman White was recused from all discussion and votes regarding this item. RESULT: APPROVED 208406: Requesting the appropriation of $122,000 from the CPA FY20 Fund open space/recreational land reserve budget and the budgeted reserve to Marka for the creation of a public park on the former Powderhouse School site. RESULT: APPROVED 208407: Requesting a transfer of $1,138,103 from the Salary Contingency Salaries Account

Finance Committee Page 8 of 10 Printed 6/27/2019 to the Salary & Wage Stabilization Fund. RESULT: APPROVED 208408: Requesting a transfer of $285,202 from the Health Insurance Fund to the DPW Snow Removal Account to mitigate the snow removal deficit. RESULT: APPROVED 208409: Requesting a transfer of $100,000 from the Health and Life Insurance Personal Services Account to the CPA Fund. RESULT: APPROVED 208410: Requesting approval of a transfer of $67,811 from the DPW Highway Ordinary Maintenance Account to the DPW Snow Removal Account to mitigate the Snow Removal Deficit. RESULT: APPROVED 208411: Requesting a transfer of $49,200 from the Transportation and Infrastructure Personal Services Account ($19,200) and Planning and Zoning Personal Services Account ($30,000) to the Transportation and Infrastructure Professional and Technical maintenance Account for year end engineering cleanup work at Conway Park. RESULT: APPROVED 208412: Requesting approval of a transfer of $43,000 from the DPW Fleet Division to the DPW Snow Removal Account to mitigate the snow removal deficit. RESULT: APPROVED 208413: Requesting a transfer of $40,000 from the Unemployment Compensation Insurance Account to the DPW Snow Removal Account to mitigate the Snow Removal Deficit. RESULT: APPROVED 208414: Requesting a transfer of $29,890.97 from the Office of Housing Stability Personal Services Account to the EPA Brownfields Program Income Account for Payment 2 of the Conway Rink Loan. Mr. Inacio spoke on the item and said that this is the city's second payment. RESULT: APPROVED

Finance Committee Page 9 of 10 Printed 6/27/2019 208415: Requesting a transfer of $24,480 from the Capital Projects Personal Services Account to the Personnel Professional and Technical Services Account to hire a recruiter to find candidates for the Director of Capital Projects position. RESULT: WITHDRAWN 208416: Requesting approval of a transfer of $17,500 within Worker's Compensation, from the Re-Employment Account to the Medical & Dental Services Account, to cover anticipated medical and dental expenses through the end of the fiscal year. RESULT: APPROVED 208417: Requesting a transfer of $13,549.50 from the Office of Housing Stability Personal Services Account to the SPCD Finance and Admin Personal Services Account to cover year end deficits related to mid-year staff transitions. RESULT: APPROVED 208418: Requesting approval of a transfer of $10,000 in the Office of Veterans' Services, from the Professional and Technical Services Account to the Salaries Account, to correct a salary deficit created by the retirement of staff and the payout of accrued time. RESULT: APPROVED 208419: Requesting a transfer of $3,846 from the Executive Administration Official Celebrations Account to the Fire Department Overtime Account to pay overtime related to the Memorial Day Celebrations. RESULT: APPROVED 208420: Requesting approval to pay a prior year invoice totaling $1,148.75 using available funds in the Planning and Zoning Ordinary Maintenance Account for the High School Parking Study. RESULT: APPROVED 208421: Requesting acceptance of a $95,000 grant with no new match required, from the MA Department of Health to the Health & Human Services Department for a Comprehensive School Health Grant, an annual award for 4 years. RESULT: APPROVED 208422: Requesting acceptance of a $34,240 grant with no new match required, from the Metro North Work Place Board to the Health and Human Services Department for summer youth employment.

Finance Committee Page 10 of 10 Printed 6/27/2019 RESULT: APPROVED 208423: Requesting acceptance of a $5,000 donation from Somerville Roadrunners to the Veterans' Services Department for the 2019 Somerville Memorial Day Fireworks. RESULT: APPROVED 208424: Requesting approval to create the Memorial Bench Consolidated Gift fund and accept a payment to the Fund of $4,800 from the Somerville Garden Club. RESULT: APPROVED 208425: Requesting acceptance of a $1,232.56 grant with no new match required, from the Urban Areas Security Initiative to the Fire Department for overtime reimbursement for Operation Vigilant Guard. RESULT: APPROVED 208426: Requesting authorization to apply for the FY20 PARC Grant program for the Central Hill Playground. RESULT: APPROVED 208447: 9 residents submitting comments re: protected bike lanes. RESULT: PLACED ON FILE 208458: Requesting the approval of the conservation restriction for the 5 Palmer parcel as required by the Community Preservation Act. Ms. Steljes spoke on this item and said that it will serve as a model for other communities. Councilor Ballantyne asked that Ms. Steljes speak to Ms. McGettigan in the Law Department about this item. RESULT: APPROVED 208459: Requesting an appropriation of $660,847 from Water Retained Earnings to the Water/Sewer Stabilization Fund to fund needed capital projects. RESULT: APPROVED 208460: Conveying the June 2019 General Fund Capital Investment Plan. RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE Attachment: FY-20 Budget Cuts through 6-26-19