City Hall - 455 Main Street Worcester, Massachusetts

Mayor Petty read the item and moved for a roll call vote to adopt the item. Order adopted on a roll call vote of 11 Yeas and 0 Nays

Mayor Petty read the item and recognized the Chief Financial Officer, who provided an overview of the funds provided in the Police Department budget.

Mayor Petty discussed when the next Police Recruit class would be occurring and how large of a class it would be with the Interim Police Chief.

Mayor petty recognized Councilor Toomey, who discussed the benefits of ShotSpotter and Body-Worn Cameras, planning around replenishing and maintaining the department’s vehicle fleet, and overtime spending line items with the Interim Police Chief, Chief Financial Officer, and Worcester Police Department (WPD) Staff Person.

Mayor Petty recognized Councilor Bergman, who discussed overtime expenditures associated with safe waterways with the Interim Police Chief.

Vice Chairman Councilor King recognized Councilor Colorio, who discussed the range ShotSpotter can detect gunshots within with the Interim Police Chief.

Councilor Colorio then moved to, “Request City Manager request Police Chief provide City Council with a report concerning the cost of expanding ShotSpotter to encompass the entire city. (Colorio)”. – Withdrawn.

Vice Chairman Councilor King recognized Councilor Mero-Carlson, who discussed whether the police department would continue foot patrols, the usage of ShotSpotter in neighborhoods throughout the city, ensuring the police officer vacancies within the department are filled, and building maintenance planning at 9-11 Lincoln Square with the Interim Police Chief.

Vice Chairman Councilor King recognized Councilor Ojeda, who discussed training strategies for both new recruits and existing officers, as well as air-conditioning costs at 9-11 Lincoln Square with the Interim Police Chief and Chief Financial Officer.

Vice Chairman Councilor King recognized Councilor Bergman for a second time, who discussed the best practices used in other communities concerning incentivizing police officers to postpone retirement plans until new recruits can be hired with the Interim Police Chief.

Vice Chairman Councilor King recognized Councilor Russell, who discussed resources for waterway safety with the Interim Police Chief.

Vice Chairman Councilor King recognized Councilor Pacillo, who discussed mental wellness planning for police officers with the Chief Financial Officer and Interim Police Chief.

Vice Chairperson Councilor Toomey recognized Councilor King, who discussed the process for ensuring police officers and related staff are provided mental health resources, computer programs available to the department for managing their records, budgetary allocations for diversity, equity, and inclusion work within the department, costs associated with maintaining ShotSpotter/ShotSpotter Connect and Resource Router, evaluating the efficacy of predictive policing, and how unfilled overtime/detail work is accounted for with the Interim Police Chief and City Manager.

Councilor King then moved to, “Request City Manager conduct a survey of the members of the Worcester Police Department to determine ways in which mental health resources can be advanced within the department. (King)”.

Councilor King then moved to, “Request City Manager request Police Chief provide City Council with a report analyzing data compiled by the ACLU Massachusetts Branch concerning the efficacy of ShotSpotter. (King)”.

Councilor King then moved to, “Request City Manager provide City Council with a report concerning how much money the city spends on internal details. Further, request said report include information concerning how many police details are filled against how many details go unfilled. (King)”.

Vice Chairperson Councilor Toomey moved for a roll call vote to approve the budget. Budget approved on a roll call vote of 10 Yeas and 0 Nays (Petty absent)

Request City Manager conduct a survey of the members of the Worcester Police Department to determine ways in which mental health resources can be advanced within the department. (King)

Request City Manager request Police Chief provide City Council with a report analyzing data compiled by the ACLU Massachusetts Branch concerning the efficacy of ShotSpotter. (King)

Request City Manager provide City Council with a report concerning how much money the city spends on internal details. Further, request said report include information concerning how many police details are filled against how many details go unfilled. (King)

Mayor Petty read the item and recognized the Chief Financial Officer, who provided an overview of the funds provided in the Emergency Communications Department budget.

Mayor Petty discussed the number of open positions and the retention rates for employees with the Director of Emergency Communications and Management.

Mayor Petty recognized Councilor Ojeda, who discussed the Table of Organization and general staffing practices of the department with the Director of Emergency Communications and Management and City Manager.


Mayor Petty moved for a roll call vote to approve the budget. Budget approved on a roll call vote of 10 Yeas and 0 Nays (Mero-Carlson absent)

Mayor Petty read the item and moved to take items #5a through #5c collectively.

Mayor Petty recognized Councilor Russell, who discussed salary allocations for management-level positions, as well as ensuring public relations staff do not influence public opinion with the City Manager.

Mayor Petty recognized Councilor Bergman, who discussed the feasibility of providing deference to providing raises to individuals who live in the city.

Mayor Petty recognized Councilor Mero-Carlson, who discussed salary increases for management level positions as they compare to union-member positions.

Mayor Petty recognized Councilor Haxhiaj, who discussed the data the City Manager used to determine appropriate salaries of management level positions.

Mayor Petty recognized Councilor King, who discussed the City Clerk’s salary in comparison to members of the City Manager’s cabinet and other City Clerks in the State.

Mayor Petty moved for a roll call vote to approve the budgets associated with items #5a through #5c. Budget approved on a roll call vote of 11 Yeas and 0 Nays

Budget approved on a roll call vote of 11 Yeas and 0 Nays

Budget approved on a roll call vote of 11 Yeas and 0 Nays

Mayor Petty read the item and moved to take items #6a through #6d collectively.

Mayor Petty moved for a roll call vote to approve the budgets associated with items #6a through #6d. Budget approved on a roll call vote of 11 Yeas and 0 Nays

Budget approved on a roll call vote of 11 Yeas and 0 Nays (See Item #6a)

Budget approved on a roll call vote of 11 Yeas and 0 Nays (See Item #6a)

Budget approved on a roll call vote of 11 Yeas and 0 Nays (See Item #6a)

Mayor Petty read the item and moved to take items #7a and #8a collectively.

Mayor Petty read the item and recognized the Chief Financial Officer, who provided an overview of the funds provided in the City Auditor and Retirement budgets.

Mayor Petty moved for a roll call vote to approve the budgets associated with items #7a and #8a. Budget approved on a roll call vote of 11 Yeas and 0 Nays

Budget approved on a roll call vote of 11 Yeas and 0 Nays (See Item #7a)

Mayor Petty read the item and recognized the Chief Financial Officer, who provided an overview of the funds provided in the Executive Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion budget.

Mayor Petty moved for a roll call vote to approve the budget. Budget approved on a roll call vote of 10 Yeas and 0 Nays (Colorio absent)

Mayor Petty read the item and moved to take the item up collectively with item #10b and #10c.

Mayor Petty recognized the Chief Financial Officer, who provided an overview of the funds provided in the Law Department budget.

Mayor Petty recognized Councilor King, who discussed vacancy factors created due to unfilled positions within the department, as well as whether any departmental or citywide salary analyses have taken place with the City Solicitor, Chief Financial Officer, and City Manager.

Councilor King then moved, “That the City Council of the City of Worcester does hereby support the completion of both a staffing analysis and pay equity analysis for the Law Department. (King)”.

Mayor Petty recognized Councilor Bergman, who moved to, “Request City Manager review the number of employees Law Departments of similar sized cities have against the city’s to determine whether additional staffing is needed. (Bergman)”.

Mayor Petty moved for a roll call vote to approve the budgets associated with #10a through #10c. Budget approved on a roll call vote of 10 Yeas and 0 Nays (Mero-Carlson absent)

Request City Manager review the number of employees Law Departments of similar sized cities have against the city’s to determine whether additional staffing is needed. (Bergman)

That the City Council of the City of Worcester does hereby support the completion of both a staffing analysis and pay equity analysis for the Law Department. (King)

Budget approved on a roll call vote of 10 Yeas and 0 Nays (Mero-Carlson absent) (See Item #10a)

Budget approved on a roll call vote of 10 Yeas and 0 Nays (Mero-Carlson absent) (See Item #10a)

Mayor Petty read the item and moved to take the item up collectively with item #11b.

Mayor Petty recognized the Chief Financial Officer, who provided an overview of the funds provided in the Public Facilities Department budget.

Mayor Petty recognized Councilor Russell, who discussed safety measures in place within City Hall and other city buildings, as well as the process in place relative to, “Community,” and “Revenue” days at Polar Park with the City Manager, Chief Financial Officer and Interim Chief of Public Facilities.

Councilor Russell then moved to, “Request City Manager provide City Council with a report concerning plans the city has relative to ensuring usage of “Community Days,” at Polar Park. (Russell)”.

Mayor Petty recognized Councilor King, who discussed how the city assesses the feasibility of evaluating the uses within underutilized city buildings, deferred maintenance on the city’s Police Department Headquarters and various fire departments, the leasing arrangement between the city and Madison Properties for the parking garage in the vicinity of Polar Park with the City Manager and Chief Financial Officer.

Councilor King then moved to, “Request City Manager provide City Council with a report detailing the parameters of the agreement between the city and Madison Properties, as it relates to the parking lot in the vicinity of Polar Park. Said report should include information concerning how many parking spaces are dedicated to Madison Properties and how many spaces are dedicated to public use. (King)”.

Mayor Petty recognized Councilor Russell for a second time, who discussed the feasibility of using revenues gained from the DCU Center to pay for the budget allocations for Discover Central Massachusetts with the Chief Financial Officer.

Mayor Petty recognized Councilor Toomey, who discussed whether the department could apply for grants to renovate historic buildings with the Chief Financial Officer.

Mayor Petty recognized Councilor King, who discussed the feasibility of assessing the conditions of the DCU Center and Polar Park, including the potential need for a new fire alarm system, with the City Manager, Chief Financial Officer, and Interim Chief of Public Facilities.

Councilor King then moved to, “Request City Manager provide City Council with a report assessing the condition of both the DCU Center and Polar Park. (King)”.

Councilor King then moved to, “Request City Manager provide City Council with a report determining whether the proposed improvements to the fire alarm system at the DCU Center are necessary. Said report should include how the potential need for such a system was brought to the city’s attention and any actions taken by the Civic Center Commission in its regard. (King)”.

Mayor Petty recognized Councilor Russell for a third time, who discussed the City Manager’s position relative to shifting funds within the department’s budget to instead provide monies to Recreation Worcester with the City Manager.

Mayor Petty recognized Councilor Bergman, who discussed the potential for increasing safety within City Hall.

Mayor Petty recognized Councilor King for a third time, who discussed whether any unions have raised issue around building safety during their negotiations with the City Manager.

Mayor Petty moved for a roll call vote to approve the budgets associated with items #11a and #11b. Budget approved on a roll call vote of 11 Yeas and 0 Nays

Request City Manager provide City Council with a report concerning plans the city has relative to ensuring usage of “Community Days,” at Polar Park. (Russell)

Request City Manager provide City Council with a report detailing the parameters of the agreement between the city and Madison Properties, as it relates to the parking lot in the vicinity of Polar Park. Said report should include information concerning how many parking spaces are dedicated to Madison Properties and how many spaces are dedicated to public use. (King)

Request City Manager provide City Council with a report assessing the condition of both the DCU Center and Polar Park. (King)

Request City Manager provide City Council with a report determining whether the proposed improvements to the fire alarm system at the DCU Center are necessary. Said report should include how the potential need for such a system was brought to the city’s attention and any actions taken by the Civic Center Commission in its regard. (King)

Budget approved on a roll call vote of 11 Yeas and 0 Nays (See Item #11a)

Mayor Petty read the item and recognized the Chief Financial Officer, who provided an overview of the funds provided in the Worcester Public Library budget.

Mayor Petty moved for a roll call vote to approve the budget. Budget approved on a roll call vote of 9 Yeas and 0 Nays (Colorio, Mero-Carlson absent)

Mayor Petty read the item and moved to take items #13a through #13f collectively.

Mayor Petty recognized the Chief Financial Officer, who provided an overview of the funds provided in the Administration and Finance budget.

Mayor Petty recognized Councilor Russell, who discussed budget allocations and access to programming around Nearmap with the Chief Financial Officer and City Manager

Councilor Russell then moved to, “Request City Manager provide City Council with a report detailing the program Nearmap, including costs associated with maintaining the program, which department(s) have access to the technology and whether the data collected from the program, including contact information for property owners, is subject to public records requests. (Russell)”.

Mayor Petty recognized Councilor King, who moved to, “Request City Manager provide City Council with a staffing analysis of the Assessing and Purchasing Divisions of the city. (King)”.

Mayor Petty recognized Councilor Bergman, who discussed the processing of data associated with the new Accessory Dwelling Unit zoning requirements with the Chief Financial Officer.

Mayor Petty recognized Councilor Pacillo, who discussed the timeline associated with ensuring online payments are taken for the Community Preservation Act (CPA) surcharge with the Chief Financial Officer and City Manager.

Mayor Petty moved for a roll call vote to approve the budgets associated with items #13a through #13f. Budget approved on a roll call vote of 11 Yeas and 0 Nays

Request City Manager provide City Council with a report detailing the program Nearmap, including costs associated with maintaining the program, which department(s) have access to the technology and whether the data collected from the program, including contact information for property owners, is subject to public records requests. (Russell)

Request City Manager provide City Council with a staffing analysis of the Assessing and Purchasing Divisions of the city. (King)

Budget approved on a roll call vote of 11 Yeas and 0 Nays (See Item #13a)

Budget approved on a roll call vote of 11 Yeas and 0 Nays (See Item #13a)

Budget approved on a roll call vote of 11 Yeas and 0 Nays (See Item #13a)

Budget approved on a roll call vote of 11 Yeas and 0 Nays (See Item #13a)

Budget approved on a roll call vote of 11 Yeas and 0 Nays (See Item #13a)

Mayor Petty read the item and recognized Councilor Ojeda, who moved to recuse himself from the item and left the room.

Mayor Petty moved to take items #14a and #14b collectively.

Mayor Petty recognized the Chief Financial Officer, who provided an overview of the funds provided in the Financial Integrity Plan budget.

Mayor Petty recognized Councilor King, who discussed the rationale behind the City Manager’s proposed amendments to the Financial Integrity Plan, as well as whether adopting said proposed amendments would impact the City Council’s discretion on discussing how to use free cash with the Chief Financial Officer and City Manager.

Mayor Petty discussed how the Financial Integrity Plan impacts the city’s bond rating with the Chief Financial Officer.

Mayor Petty recognized Councilor Russell, who discussed whether amendments to the Financial Integrity Plan would impact the budget allocation for free cash in Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) with the Chief Financial Officer.

Mayor Petty recognized Councilor Bergman, who discussed whether new growth over budget can be entirely allocated to tax relief, as well as how best to prepare for funding a new Burncoat High School while maintaining a high bond rating with the Chief Financial Officer and City Manager.

Mayor Petty recognized Councilor Russell for a second time, who discussed revenues received from Polar Park, including rental monies received from the Worcester Red Sox from their usage of the park, as well as parking fees, with the Chief Financial Officer.

Mayor Petty recognized Councilor King for a second time, who discussed receiving positive payments as they relate to Polar Park with the Chief Financial Officer.

Mayor Petty moved for a roll call vote to approve the budgets associated with items #14a and #14b. Budget approved on a roll call vote of 10 Yeas and 0 Nays (Ojeda recused)

Budget approved on a roll call vote of 10 Yeas and 0 Nays (Ojeda recused) (See Item #14a)

Mayor Petty read the item and moved to take the item up collectively with items #16a and #16b.

Mayor Petty moved for a roll call vote to approve the budget associated with item #15a and recommend approval of items #16a and #16b. Budget approved on a roll call vote of 10 Yeas and 0 Nays (King abstained)

Recommend Approval on a roll call vote of 10 Yeas and 0 Nays (King abstained) (See Item #15a)

Recommend Approval on a roll call vote of 10 Yeas and 0 Nays (King abstained) (See Item #15a)

Mayor Petty read the item and recognized Councilor Russell, who moved to recommend the item be placed on file.

Mayor Petty recognized Councilor Bergman, who discussed the ramifications of recommending the item to be placed on file.

Mayor Petty recognized Councilor King, who discussed procedural motions associated with approving the Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) Budget with the City Solicitor.

Mayor Petty recognized Councilor Russell, who discussed the process for recommending an item for filing.

Mayor Petty moved for a roll call vote to recommend the item be placed on file.

Recommend File on a roll call vote of 11 Yeas and 0 Nays