CITY OF WORCESTER | Municipal and Legislative Operations Committee Meeting | Wednesday, June 22, 2022 | Levi Lincoln (North) Chamber | Convened: 6:03 P.M. | Adjourned: 7:23 P.M. |
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Mayor
Joseph M. Petty | 
www.worcesterma.gov |
Clerk of the City Council
Nikolin Vangjeli | Committee Members | | Chairperson Khrystian E King | | Vice Chairperson George J Russell | | Councilor Sean M Rose |
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City Hall - 455 Main Street Worcester, Massachusetts | |
| Present Were: | Chairperson Councilor Khrystian E King
Vice Chairperson Councilor George J Russell, who participated remotely | | | | | Also: | Chief Financial Officer Tim McGourthy
Chief Development Officer Peter Dunn
Deputy Chief of Public Facilities Russell Adams
Assistant City Clerk Clare Robbins, clerk
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| 1. | Virtual Attendee Call-In Information | |
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| | | 1a. | Pursuant to Chapter 20 of the Acts of 2021 and in order to ensure active, public engagement, the City of Worcester currently allows for both in-person and remote participation at all City Council and Standing Committee meetings. To partake in the meeting, you may attend the meeting in-person within the meeting location, follow the below link to join via Zoom or dial the direct line as indicated.
Municipal and Legislative Operations Committee Zoom Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/99524470181
Municipal and Legislative Operations Committee Zoom Phone Number: (929) 205 6099
Municipal and Legislative Operations Committee Zoom Access Code: 995 2447 0181 | Attachments |
| 2. | Approval of the Minutes | |
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| | | 2a. | Order - That the City Council Standing Committee of Municipal and Legislative Operations hereby approves the minutes of the Municipal and Legislative Operations Committee meeting of May 25, 2022. | View Agenda | | | | | | | Chairperson Councilor King read the item and moved for a roll call vote to adopt the order. Order adopted on a roll call vote of 2 Yeas and 0 Nays (Rose absent) | |
| 3. | Communications of the City Manager | |
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| | | 3a. | Transmitting informational communication relative to an amendment to City's ARPA Budget.
# 8.41B CM May 24, 2022 | Attachments | | | | | | | Chairperson Councilor King read the item and provided an overview of the amendment to the City’s ARPA Budget, including funding allocation to Worcester Public Schools (WPS) for ADA-compliant improvements and plans to redirect excess funds to Doherty Memorial High School project.
Chairperson Councilor King recognized the Deputy Chief of Public Facilities, who discussed the process and the responsibilities of WPS and the city relative to the MSBA program for school improvement projects, details concerning construction design relative to ADA-compliant improvements for WPS, process for the estimation for the costs of the projects, and whether the new schools are being built to full ADA-accommodation.
Chairperson Councilor King brought forth the following two (2) Chairman’s Orders: 1) Request City Manager provide City Council with a report concerning the individual ARPA funding needs for Columbus Park Preparatory Academy, Gerald Creamer Center, Lincoln Street School, Thorndyke Road School and Challenge/Reach Academy relative to ADA-compliant improvements; and 2) Request City Manager request Chief of Public Facilities provide City Council with a report concerning barriers for accessibility at Columbus Park Preparatory Academy, Gerald Creamer Center, Lincoln Street School, Thorndyke Road School, and Challenge/Reach Academy.
Chairperson Councilor King recognized Councilor Russell, who discussed redirecting excess funding to East Middle School for windows repair project.
Chairperson Councilor King recognized the Chief Financial Officer, who discussed using ARPA funding to support MSBA projects and targeting hardest hit areas with the funding with Councilor Russell.
Chairperson Councilor King recognized the Deputy Chief of Public Facilities, who discussed the cost estimation for East Middle School windows repair project and the feasibility of carrying out the project in phases with Councilor Russell.
Chairperson Councilor King brought forth the following two (2) Chairman’s Orders: 1) Request City Manager provide City Council with a report concerning the feasibility of phasing in window repairs at Worcester East Middle School using ARPA funding; and 2) Request City Manager consider redirecting excess ARPA funding to Worcester East Middle School for window repairs.
Chairperson Councilor King moved for a roll call vote to recommend the item be filed.
Recommend File on a roll call vote of 2 Yeas and 0 Nays | | | | | | | | Chairman's Orders | | | | Request City Manager provide City Council with a report concerning the individual ARPA funding needs for Columbus Park Preparatory Academy, Gerald Creamer Center, Lincoln Street School, Thorndyke Road School and Challenge/Reach Academy relative to ADA-compliant improvements. | | | | Request City Manager request Chief of Public Facilities provide City Council with a report concerning barriers for accessibility at Columbus Park Preparatory Academy, Gerald Creamer Center, Lincoln Street School, Thorndyke Road School, and Challenge/Reach Academy. | | | | Request City Manager provide City Council with a report concerning the feasibility of phasing in window repairs at Worcester East Middle School using ARPA funding. | | | | Request City Manager consider redirecting excess ARPA funding to Worcester East Middle School for window repairs. | |
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| | | 3b. | Transmitting informational communication relative to the Fiscal Year 2022 financial update, as of April 30, 2022.
# 8.30A CM May 24, 2022 | Attachments | | | | | | | Chairperson Councilor King read the item and take the item up collectively with Item #3g.
Chairperson Councilor King recognized the Chief Financial Officer, who discussed the financial standings of the City in comparison to the previous fiscal year, the amount of free cash for the city in the previous fiscal year and whether remote working has realized savings for the city.
Chairperson Councilor King recognized Councilor Russell, who discussed the impact of increased property values on city revenue with the Chief Financial Officer.
Chairperson Councilor King moved for a roll call vote to recommend the item be filed.
Recommend File on a roll call vote of 2 Yeas and 0 Nays (Rose absent) | |
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| | | 3c. | Transmitting informational communication relative to an update on the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Premium Pay expenditure called for by this City Council.
# 8.41A CM May 24, 2022 | Attachments | | | | | | | Chairperson Councilor King read the item and recognized the Chief Financial Officer, who discussed the tiering process, related stipends, and how much money is anticipated for the ARPA Premium Pay expenditure, eligibility and number of eligible city employees for Premium Pay.
Chairperson Councilor King recognized Councilor Russell, who discussed the Premium Pay distribution date with the Chief Financial Officer.
Chairperson Councilor King brought forth the following two (2) Chairman’s Orders: 1) Request City Manager provide City Council with a report concerning city employees who were employed during the period of March 2020 and June 2021 who are no longer employed by the city; and 2) Request City Manager provide City Council with a report concerning the breakdown of the number of employees eligible for Premium Pay in each of the four tiers.
Chairperson Councilor King moved for a roll call vote to recommend the item be filed.
Recommend File on a roll call vote of 2 Yeas and 0 Nays | | | | | | | | Chairman's Orders | | | | Request City Manager provide City Council with a report concerning city employees who were employed during the period of March 2020 and June 2021 who are no longer employed by the city. | | | | Request City Manager provide City Council with a report concerning the breakdown of the number of employees eligible for Premium Pay in each of the four tiers. | |
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| | | 3d. | Transmitting informational communication relative to ad hoc committees for the community allocation of ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funding.
# 8.41A CM January 25, 2022 | Attachments | | | | | | | Chairperson Councilor King read the item and recognized the Chief Development Officer, who provided an overview of the recruitment process for the ad hoc committees, details concerning the orientation for the committee members, current plans for the committees, the number of unique visits for the ARPA spending tracker website, and timeframe and key priority areas for ARPA spending
Chairperson Councilor King brought forth the following Chairman’s Order: Request City Manager provide City Council with a report concerning the number of unique visits for the ARPA spending tracker website.
Chairperson Councilor King moved for a roll call vote to recommend the item be filed.
Recommend File on a roll call vote of 2 Yeas and 0 Nays | | | | | | | | Chairman's Orders | | | | Request City Manager provide City Council with a report concerning the number of unique visits for the ARPA spending tracker website. | |
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| | | 3e. | Transmitting informational communication relative to a Diversity Recruitment Initiative – Circa/DiversityJobs.com.
# 8.3A CM January 25, 2022 | Attachments | | | | | | | Chairperson Councilor King read the item and provided an overview for the Diversity Recruitment Initiative.
Chairperson Councilor King brought forth the following two (2) Chairman’s Orders: 1) Request City Manager provide City Council with an update concerning the city's use of a Diversity Recruitment Initiative – Circa/DiversityJobs.com, in regards to talent acquisition; and 2) Request City Manager provide City Council with the monthly report cards from Circa/DiversityJobs.com
Chairperson Councilor King recognized Councilor Russell, who discussed the website that is being used for the Diversity Recruitment Initiative.
Chairperson Councilor King brought forth the following Chairman’s Order: Request City Manager provide City Council with report concerning the spending budget for the Diversity Recruitment Initiative.
Chairperson Councilor King moved to recommend the item be held.
Recommend Hold | | | | | | | | Chairman's Orders | | | | Request City Manager provide City Council with an update concerning the city's use of a Diversity Recruitment Initiative – Circa/DiversityJobs.com, in regards to talent acquisition. | | | | Request City Manager provide City Council with the monthly report cards from Circa/DiversityJobs.com. | | | | Request City Manager provide City Council with report concerning the spending budget for the Diversity Recruitment Initiative. | |
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| | | 3f. | Transmitting informational communication relative to clarification as to whether or not there would be an effect on organizations that are not religious or educational, should the City file legislation similar to Chapter 565, Acts of 1979.
# 9.13A CM May 26, 2015 | Attachments | | | | | | | Chairperson Councilor King read the item and moved to recommend the item be held.
Recommend Hold | |
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| | | 3g. | Transmitting informational communication relative to the Fiscal Year 2022 financial update, as of May 31, 2022.
# 8.30B CM June 14, 2022 | Attachments | | | | | | | Recommend File on a roll call vote of 2 Yeas and 0 Nays (Rose absent) (See Item #3b) | |
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| | | 4a. | Order of Mayor Joseph M. Petty - Request City Council proceed forthwith with the selection of a permanent City Manager by initiating and completing a process for said selection to include the appointment of an Ad Hoc Committee, as outlined in Rule 50 of the Rules of City Council regarding Ad Hoc Committees, including the Mayor selecting the composition of said Ad Hoc Committee; the purpose of the committee being to determine the following:
1) The Ad Hoc Committee will exist until such a time that a permanent City Manager is appointed.
2) The inclusion of the following procedures:
A. Review of the prior processes used in the selection of a City Manager in 1993, 2004 and 2013-2014 and report to City Council regarding a timetable for the following steps:
i. Provide for an opportunity for community input relative to the search process for a permanent City Manager.
ii. Placement of an Request for Proposals (RFP) for a search firm to aid in the search process;
iii. Ad Hoc Committee to review of responses for said RFP; selection of a search firm and entering into a contract with said search firm.
iv. Ad Hoc Committee to provide the selected search firm with a copy of specifications and a job description for the permanent City Manager, including best practices used in other search processes;
v. Ad Hoc Committee to review the list of potential candidates for the permanent City Manager position, provided by the search firm in Executive Session, for interviewing said potential candidates in said Executive Session.
vi. Final referral of a recommendation of finalists to be interviewed in Open Session by the entire City Council, followed by a vote to determine the selection for the position of a permanent City Manager.
# 11a CC April 12, 2022
In Committee April 27, 2022 - Held
In Committee May 4, 2022 - Held
In Committee May 25, 2022 - Held
| Attachments | | | | | | | Chairperson Councilor King read the item and recognized the Assistant City Clerk, who discussed the timeline of the RFP process.
Chairperson Councilor King recognized Councilor Russell, who discussed concerns relative to the ad hoc committees.
Chairperson Councilor King brought forth the following Chairman’s Order: Request City Clerk provide City Council with an update concerning the RFP process of identifying the executive search firm for the City Manager.
Chairperson Councilor King moved to recommend the item be held.
Recommend Hold | | | | | | | | Chairman's Orders | | | | Request City Clerk provide City Council with an update concerning the RFP process of identifying the executive search firm for the City Manager. | |
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| | | 4b. | Order of Councilor Khrystian E. King - Request Standing Committee on Municipal and Legislative Operations Committee hold a discussion regarding pending state legislation, including home rule petitions, impacting the city.
# 10c CC March 29, 2022 | Attachments | | | | | | | Chairperson Councilor King read the item and provided an overview of the timeline concerning the home rule petition H.4326.
Chairperson Councilor King moved to recommend the item be held.
Recommend Hold | |
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