Minutes of Council Budget Workshop on May 20, 2019
WORKSHOP MEETING OF THE AGAWAM CITY COUNCIL
The following are the minutes from the:
Agawam City Council Workshop Meeting
FY20 Budget Presentation #1
Monday, May 20, 2019
Agawam
Junior High School Auditorium
1305 Springfield Street, Feeding Hills, MA. 01030
The meeting was attended by eight City Councilors with Councilors Cavallo, Letellier and Mineo absent.
Mayor Sapelli, Laurel Placzek and Cheryl St. John were also in attendance along with the respective Department Heads.
The meeting was called to order at 8:11pm immediately following
the close of the regularly scheduled City Council meeting.
Each department budget was presented by Mayor Sapelli with questions asked accordingly. Mayor Sapelli thanked all his Department
Heads who didn’t just rubber stamp their individual budgets. They looked at goals and objectives and I appreciate their hard work. He also thanked Laurel Placzek for her hard work
crunching numbers along with Cheryl St. John and everyone’s hard work putting the papers together.
Senior Center/COA
Mayor Sapelli stated that not much changed with the Senior Center
with the only difference being in the salaries which are still in negotiations. He noted that the budget showed some steps but no cost of living increases.
Assessor
Councilor Sandlin inquired about the increase in Professional Services. The Assessor stated that it included work for cyclical inspections. There is a five year reinspection
of personal property which includes mapping, GIS, software, etc.
IT Department
Council President Johnson confirmed that the new position that was created and recently approved didn’t
show under this because it was funded by the Cable Account funds.
Veterans Office
Mayor Sapelli discussed any changes.
Building Maintenance
Mayor Sapelli discussed any changes.
Councilor Mercadante asked about the overtime increase of $5,000.00 and changing over from part time to full time. Laurel stated that there was an in house transfer to cover the shortfall
in overtime account. Councilor Suffriti asked about any call back coverage and Laurel stated that didn’t pan out this year – it was difficult to get employees to come back in.
Municipal Golf Course
Mayor Sapelli stated there was an increased need for staffing and supplies now that the weather was nicer. Advertising was not funded last year and it
was reinstituted this year. They changed to wholesale water rates which provided a reduction in the water purchased. Laurel reminded everyone that these numbers were based on projected
revenues. If the projected revenue was not met, then they would have to come back to the Council.
Parks and Recreation
Mayor Sapelli discussed any changes.
Engineering
Mayor
Sapelli discussed any changes.
Treasurer/Collector
Mayor Sapelli discussed any changes. Councilor Suffriti asked about the “.1 employee” which was the elimination of the assistant treasurer. The .1 is what Laurel
pays the Assistant Collector to assume the responsibilities of the Assistant Treasurer.
Auditor
Mayor Sapelli discussed any changes.
DPW
Mayor Sapelli discussed any changes.
Highway and Grounds
Mayor Sapelli discussed any changes. Council President Johnson stated that the prior administration hired four people for sidewalks. Were these employees redeployed
elsewhere? Mayor stated that in some cases, yes they were but they are still out there doing repairs like concrete work, etc. Council President Johnson also asked about the reduction
of one laborer. Laurel stated that they didn’t fund the position but left the position in the budget.
Motor Vehicle Maintenance
Mayor Sapelli discussed any changes.
Water
Mayor
Sapelli discussed any changes. Council President Johnson asked if these were based on current rates – Chris Golba confirmed yes they were.
Wastewater
Mayor Sapelli discussed any changes.
Mayor’s Office and Personnel Office
Mayor Sapelli discussed any changes. There was a question regarding step raises. He
stated that overall you will notice there were no salary increases and/or many slightly increased or decreased. This year’s budget is under three percent in total increase including
salaries. It has not been under four percent in a long time.
Law Department
Mayor Sapelli discussed any changes.
Administrative Building
Mayor Sapelli discussed any changes.
Line Items
Mayor Sapelli discussed any changes.
City Council
Mayor Sapelli discussed any changes including
moving the MMA dues to a line item.
Council President Johnson thanked the Mayor for his presentation and asked if anyone had any further questions.
The workshop was adjourned at 8:45pm
Respectfully submitted,
Christopher
C. Johnson, President
Agawam City Council
cc: Full Council, Mayor, Solicitor