CITY OF WORCESTER | Finance Committee Meeting | Tuesday, June 7, 2016 | Esther Howland (South) Chamber | Convened: 4:36 P.M. | Recessed: 6:19 P.M.
Reconvened: 7:22 P.M.
Adjourned: 7:48 P.M. |
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Mayor
Joseph M. Petty | 
www.worcesterma.gov |
Clerk of the City Council
Susan M. Ledoux | Committee Members | | Chairperson Joseph M Petty | | Councilor Morris A Bergman | | Councilor Tony Economou |
| | Councilor Michael T Gaffney | | Councilor Khrystian E King | | Councilor Konstantina B Lukes | | Councilor Candy Mero-Carlson | | Councilor Sarai Rivera | | Councilor Gary Rosen | | Councilor George J Russell | | Councilor Kathleen M Toomey |
City Hall - 455 Main Street Worcester, Massachusetts | |
| Present Were: | All members were present with Mayor in the Chair except for Councilor Toomey, who arrived at 4:42 P.M.
City Manager Edward M. Augustus, Jr.
Chief Financial Officer Thomas F. Zidelis
Director of Budget Jarrett B. Conner
City Auditor Robert V. Stearns
City Clerk Susan M. Ledoux, clerk | | | | | Also: | Assistant City Manager for Operations and Director of Human Resources Kathleen G. Johnson | | | |
| 1. | FY 2017 Budget Recessed Hearings | |
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| | | 1a. | City Council - III-1, pg. 31
In Committee May 17, 2016 - Held
In Committee May 24, 2016 - Held
In Committee May 31, 2016 - Held
| View Budget | | | | | | | Budget Approved | |
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| | | 1b. | Mayor's Office - III-2, pg. 35
In Committee May 17, 2016 - Held
In Committee May 24, 2016 - Held
In Committee May 31, 2016 - Held
| View Budget | | | | | | | Motion Gaffney @1b – That $58,249 be cut from the Assistant Secretary’s salary in the Mayor's Office budget.
Motion denied on a roll call vote of 1 Yea (Gaffney) and 9 Nays (Bergman, Economou, King, Lukes, Mero-Carlson, Rivera, Rosen, Russell, Petty) (Toomey absent)
Budget approved | |
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| | | 1c. | City Clerk - III-3, pg. 37
In Committee May 17, 2016 - Held
In Committee May 24, 2016 - Held
In Committee May 31, 2016 - Held
| View Budget | | | | | | | Budget Approved | |
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| | | 1d. | Human Resources - VII-1, pg. 117
In Committee May 31, 2016 - Held
| View Budget | | | | | | | Budget Approved | |
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| | | 1e. | Debt Service Principal & Interest - XV-5, pg. 271
In Committee May 31, 2016 - Held
| View Budget | | | | | | | Budget Approved | | | | | | | | Chairman's Orders | | | | Request City Manager provide City Council with a report regarding what the interest payment is for the North High School Construction Fund, as well as how the $3,047,000.00 appropriation to the account was selected. (Gaffney) | |
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| | | 1f. | Five Point Plan Funds - XVI-1, pg. 289
In Committee May 31, 2016 - Held
| View Budget | | | | | | | Motion Lukes @1f – That $3,047,000.00 be cut from the North High School Construction Fund section of the Five Point Plan funds allocated for the North High School stabilization fund.
Councilor Lukes' motion approved on a roll call vote of 7 Yeas (Bergman, Gaffney, King, Lukes, Mero-Carlson, Rosen, Russell) and 4 Nays (Economou, Rivera, Toomey, Petty)
Motion Gaffney @1f – That $500,000.00 be cut from the OPEB Reserve Fund section of the Five Point Plan funds allocated for the OPEB Trust Fund. – Withdrawn
Budget approved as amended | | | | | | | | Chairman's Orders | | | | Request City Manager provide City Council with a report concerning how often the City has gone above or below budgeting for each department’s vacancy factor over the last five years. (Gaffney) | | | | Request City Manager provide City Council with the schedule of payments the City is obligated to make to OPEB. (Lukes) | |
| 2. | Motions Held in Committee | |
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| | | 2a. | Motion of Councilor Konstantina B. Lukes – That $8,611 of salary increases be cut from the City Council Budget.
In Committee May 17, 2016 - Held
In Committee May 24, 2016 - Held
In Committee May 31, 2016 - Held
| View Budget | | | | | | | Motion denied on a roll call vote of 2 Yeas (Gaffney, Lukes) and 8 Nays (Bergman, Economou, King, Mero-Carlson, Rivera, Rosen, Russell, Petty) (Toomey absent) | |
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| | | 2b. | Motion of Councilor Konstantina B. Lukes – That a cut be made to level fund the Mayor's Office Budget.
In Committee May 17, 2016 - Held
In Committee May 24, 2016 - Held
In Committee May 31, 2016 - Held
| View Budget | | | | | | | Motion denied on a roll call vote of 2 Yeas (Gaffney, Lukes) and 8 Nays (Bergman, Economou, King, Mero-Carlson, Rivera, Rosen, Russell, Petty) (Toomey absent) | |
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| | | 2c. | Motion of Councilor Konstantina B. Lukes – That City Council cut $42,000 from the recommended City Clerk budget.
In Committee May 17, 2016 - Held
In Committee May 24, 2016 - Held
In Committee May 31, 2016 - Held
| View Budget | | | | | | | Motion denied on a roll call vote of 2 Yeas (Gaffney, Lukes) and 9 Nays (Bergman, Economou, King, Mero-Carlson, Rivera, Rosen, Russell, Toomey, Petty) | |
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| | | 2d. | Motion of Councilor Michael T. Gaffney – That $75,000 be cut from the Human Resources Department budget.
In Committee May 31, 2016 - Held
| View Budget | | | | | | | Motion denied on a roll call vote of 3 Yeas (Gaffney, Lukes, Russell) and 8 Nays (Bergman, Economou, King, Mero-Carlson, Rivera, Rosen, Toomey, Petty) | | | | | | | | Chairman's Orders | | | | Request City Manager provide City Council with information concerning how much money is being spent on outside legal counsel and how much money would need to be budgeted to perform the same tasks in-house. (Economou) | |
| 3. | FY 2017 Budget Hearings Held | |
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| | | 3a. | Line Item Budget - XVII-1, pg. 293
In Committee May 31, 2016 - Held
| View Budget | | | | | | | Budget Approved | |
| 4. | Fiscal Year 2017 Budget | |
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| | | 4a. | Communication of the City Manager transmitting informational communication relative to the Fiscal Year 2017 Budget proposal.
# 8.36A CM May 10, 2016
In Committee May 17, 2016 - Held
In Committee May 24, 2016 - Held
In Committee May 31, 2016 - Held
| Attachments | | | | | | | Budget approved as amended on a roll call vote of 10 Yeas and 1 Nay (Lukes) | |
| 5. | Communications of the City Manager | |
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| | | 5a. | Transmitting informational communication relative to an estimated assessor's tax recap using the proposed FY16 tax levy with current real estate assessed values and actual FY15 assessed values.
# 8.23A CM June 09, 2015
In Committee May 17, 2016 - Held
In Committee May 24, 2016 - Held
In Committee May 31, 2016 - Held
| Attachments | | | | | | | Recommend File | |
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| | | 5b. | Transmitting informational communication relative to the Bond Anticipation Notes (BAN) rating.
# 8.28A CM June 09, 2015
In Committee May 17, 2016 - Held
In Committee May 24, 2016 - Held
In Committee May 31, 2016 - Held
| Attachments | | | | | | | Recommend File | |
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| | | 5c. | Transmitting informational communication relative to the FY16 Capital Improvement Plan.
# 9.24A CM June 23, 2015
In Committee May 17, 2016 - Held
In Committee May 24, 2016 - Held
In Committee May 31, 2016 - Held
| Attachments | | | | | | | Recommend File | |
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| | | 5d. | Transmitting informational communication relative to the number of new and vacant positions.
# 9.36D CM May 24, 2016
In Committee May 31, 2016 - Held
| Attachments | | | | | | | Recommend File | |
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| | | 5e. | Transmitting informational communication relative to a summary of Certified Free Cash for the last ten (10) years.
# 12a CC May 31, 2016 | Attachments | | | | | | | Recommend File | |
| 6. | Communications of the City Auditor | |
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| | | 6a. | Transmitting unaudited financial reports on the budgetary basis for results of operations in Fiscal Year 2015 for the General and Enterprise Funds (Schedules A through B-3). Also attached are summaries of the activities in the Special Revenue, Capital Project, Debt Service and Trust Funds (Schedules C-1 through C-5).
# 11a CC November 10, 2015
In Committee May 17, 2016 - Held
In Committee May 24, 2016 - Held
In Committee May 31, 2016 - Held
| Attachments | | | | | | | Recommend File | |
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| | | 6b. | Transmitting the Monthly Report on the Status of the City Budget.
# 10a CC May 10, 2016
In Committee May 17, 2016 - Held
In Committee May 24, 2016 - Held
In Committee May 31, 2016 - Held
| Attachments | | | | | | | Recommend File | |
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| | | 6c. | Transmitting report concerning recommendations as to where cuts may be made in the City's budget.
# 10b CC May 10, 2016
In Committee May 17, 2016 - Held
In Committee May 24, 2016 - Held
In Committee May 31, 2016 - Held
| Attachments | | | | | | | Recommend File | |
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| | | 6d. | Transmitting a corrected copy of the Monthly Report on the Status of the City Budget.
# 10d CC May 10, 2016
In Committee May 17, 2016 - Held
In Committee May 24, 2016 - Held
In Committee May 31, 2016 - Held
| Attachments | | | | | | | Recommend File | |
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| | | 6e. | Transmitting Actuarial Valuation and Review of the Worcester Retirement System (WRS) as of January 1, 2016.
# 10a CC May 24, 2016
In Committee May 31, 2016 - Held
| Attachments | | | | | | | Recommend File | |
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| | | 6f. | Transmitting the monthly report on the status of the City budget.
# 10b CC May 24, 2016
In Committee May 31, 2016 - Held
| Attachments | | | | | | | Recommend File | |
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