Finance Committee

Virtual

Agenda — 35 items

1. 1 (Posted online: 3/7/25 at 11:30 AM)
2. 2 Pursuant to Chapter 2 of the Acts of 2023, this meeting of a City Council Committee will be conducted via remote participation. We will post an audio recording, audio-video recording, transcript, or other comprehensive record of these proceedings as soon as possible after the meeting on the City of Somerville website and local cable access government channels. Copy & paste the following link into your internet browser to view this meeting live: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_NxrVhWBgR1mqq7ygk3qIgQ Individuals with disabilities who need auxiliary aids and services for effective communication (i.e. CART, ASL), written materials in alternative formats, or reasonable modifications in policies and procedures, in order to access the programs and activities of the City of Somerville or to attend meetings, should contact Adrienne Pomeroy in advance, at 617-625-6600 x2059 or ada@somervillema.gov.
3. 4 This meeting was held via Zoom and was called to order by Chair Wilson at 6:00pm and adjourned at 10:14pm on a roll call vote of 5 in favor (Councilors Mbah, Burnley, Clingan, Scott, and Wilson), 0 opposed, and 0 absent. Councilor Scott joined the meeting at 6:14pm. The committee went into recess at 8:17pm and returned to regular session at 8:24pm with a roll call vote of 4 in favor (Councilors Mbah, Clingan, Scott, and Wilson), 0 opposed and 1 absent (Councilor Burnley). Councilor Burnley joined the meeting at 8:27pm. Others present: Dave Goodridge - Director of Information Technology, Neha Singh - Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, Ed Bean - Director of Finance, Michael Mastrobuoni - Budget Director, Emily Wisdom - Finance Manager for Police, Michael Richards - Director of Finance for DPW Infrastructure and Asset Management, Lammis Vargas - Chief Administrator Officer, Shumeane Benford - Chief of Police, Kellie Hebert - Director of Finance and Administration DPW Water, Nick Salerno - Elections Commissioner, Jay Piques - Assistant City Solicitor, Cindy Amara - City Solicitor, Anne Gill - Director of Human Resources, Ellen Schneider Collins - Deputy Director of Human Resources, Cathy Lester Salchert - Special Counsel, Madalyn Letellier - Legislative Services Manager.
4. 5 Roll Call
5. 1. Approval of the Minutes of the Finance Committee Meeting of February 25, 2025. 25-0373 Accepted Pass
6. 8 Appropriations
7. 2. Requesting the appropriation of $137,288 from the Unreserved Fund Balance ("Free Cash") to the Information Technology (IT) Department Professional & Technical Account for an independent assessment of security and network infrastructure and an organizational review of all IT groups within the city. 25-0274 Recommended to be approved Pass
8. 10 Bonding
9. 3. Requesting authorization to borrow $7,600,000 in a bond, and to appropriate the same amount for the FY 2025 Water Main Rehabilitation program as part of the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority's Local Water System Assistance Program. 25-0279 Recommended to be approved Pass
10. 12 Grant and Gift Acceptances
11. 4. Requesting approval to accept and expend a $100,000 grant with no new match required, from the City of Boston Office of Emergency Management to the Elections Department for security of elections vault. 25-0299 Recommended to be approved Pass
12. 5. Requesting approval to accept and expend a $335,635 grant with no new match required, from the Department of Mental Health to the Police Department for the Crisis Intervention Training and Technical Assistance Center. 25-0281 Recommended to be approved Pass
13. 6. Requesting approval to accept and expend a $15,000 grant with no new match required, as a sub-award through the Fenway Community Health Center to the Police Department for the Post-Overdose Support Team (POST). 25-0282 Recommended to be approved Pass
14. 7. Requesting approval to accept and expend a $23,105 grant that requires a match, from the Metropolitan Area Planning Council to the Police Department for the Metro Mayors Community Safety Initiative. 25-0283 Recommended to be approved Pass
15. 8. Requesting approval to accept and expend an $87,450 grant with no new match required, from the Executive Office of Public Safety & Security to the Police Department for staffing. 25-0284 Recommended to be approved Pass
16. 18 Prior Year Invoices
17. 9. Requesting approval to pay prior year invoices totaling $93.61 using available funds in the Police Department Out-of-State Travel account for food expenses during an investigation. 25-0333 Recommended to be approved Pass
18. 10. Requesting approval to pay prior year invoices totaling $32.06 to Market Basket/Demoulas using available funds in the Parks & Recreation Food Supplies & Refreshments and Office Supplies accounts. 25-0268 Recommended to be approved Pass
19. 21 Personnel Requests
20. 11. Requesting the use of available funds in the Water Enterprise Fund Wages account in the amount of $14,798.95 to fund a Utility Billing Manager position. 25-0258 Recommended to be not approved Fail
21. 12. Requesting the use of available funds in the Water Enterprise Fund Wages account in the amount of $13,928.44 to fund a new Service Operations Manager position. 25-0260 Recommended to be not approved Fail
22. 13. Requesting the use of available funds in the Water Enterprise Fund Wages account in the amount of $1,569.10 to fund a Billing Analyst position. 25-0262 Recommended to be not approved Fail
23. 25 Contracts and Easements
24. 14. Requesting approval of easements from JMC/STM/TGCI Union Square, LLC for 346 Somerville Avenue. 25-0349 Recommended to be approved Pass
25. 15. Requesting approval of a contract extension for two years until 2/28/2026 for TSA Consulting Group, Inc., for the administration of 457(b) plans. 25-0334 Recommended to be approved Pass
26. 28 Ordinances
27. 16. Amending the Code of Ordinances by adding Section 2-325 to Chapter 2, Article VI, Division 3 related to compensation for elected officials. 25-0375 Kept in committee
28. 17. Requesting ordainment of an amendment to Sections 2-322 and 2-323 of the Code of Ordinances, to update categories and associated salaries for non-union positions. 25-0370 Kept in committee
29. 32 Communications and Discussions
30. 18. Conveying an update on the next steps for recommendations on compensation for Elected Officials. 25-0369 Recommended to be marked work completed
31. 19. Conveying a forthcoming appropriation request from the Salary Contingency account to various city departments to fund an update to the non-union salary ordinance. 25-0368 Recommended to be marked work completed
32. 20. Finance Director conveying FY 2025 Mid-Year Financial Report in accordance with Section 2-48 of the Code of Ordinances. 25-0371 Recommended to be marked work completed
33. 35 Referenced Documents: • Finance - 2025-03-11 Memo Parks and Rec PYI (with 25-0268) • Finance - 2025-03-11 NU Appropriation Memo March 2025 (with 25-0368) • Finance - 2025-03-11 FinCom Memo - Human Resources (with 25-0370) • Finance - 2025-03-11 Work Better Task Force Report 09-29-2022 (with 25-0370) • Finance - 2025-03-11 Proposed Characteristic Chart for Non Union Classification Plan 2025 (with 25-0370) • Finance - 2025-03-11 Water & Sewer-NU10-Billing Analyst (with 25-0262) • Finance - 2025-03-11 Water and Sewer-NU07-Utility Billing Manager (with 25-0258) • Finance - 2025-03-11 Water and Sewer-NU08-Service Operations Manager (with 25-0260) • Finance - 2025-03-11 FY25 Mid-Year Presentation (with 25-0371)
34. 36 Orders and Resolutions
35. 21. That the Director of Racial and Social Justice provide an update on the citywide disparity study, including when the report will be made available to the public. 25-0251 Kept in committee