A slew of grant approvals, changes to the city’s residency requirement and a resolution concerning Liberia went before Springfield’s city council Monday.
The regular meeting at city hall featured a packed agenda – about 35 items with several million dollars’ worth of grants and bond authorizations among them.
Kicking things off, the council added a new member to the five-member Springfield Redevelopment Authority Board – which oversees purchases and sales of properties in the city, acquirements through eminent domain and other projects.
Approved without objection was Michael Langone, a lifelong Springfield resident and business manager of Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 104. After that, the council also greenlit the reappointment of Yong No as the city’s director of internal audit.
Following several minor items, the council approved a slate of small grants. Among them was a roughly $22,000 "High Visibility Enforcement Pilot Program" grant - an item that caught Council Vice President Tracye Whitfield's eye.
Asking for more detail, Springfield Police Lieutenant Derek Cook stepped up and explained a new campaign to crack down on drivers who don't stop for school buses with stop lights and signs activated.
“During peak periods, which is the mornings and before school, and then at the end [of the day], at the let out of school, we're going to have officers who are … going to be going to various locations throughout the city, where we have the highest amount of complaints for non-compliance with motors stopping for the school busses, and what we're going to do is we're going to be issuing citations,” he explained. “Just so everyone is aware, it's a $250 citation. It's a moving citation, so that actually increases your insurance rates."
Cook says the actions are long overdue.
Speaking of overdue, one of the most expensive items on the agenda received unanimous approval from the council - a spending package to finance new body-worn cameras for Springfield police.
Police Superintendent Larry Akers detailed how a $2.5 million bond authorization and $1.5 million cash transfer would help the department upgrade not just its body cameras, but also its Taser arsenal and department software.
“What I'm looking to do is to bring our department into the 21st century,” he told councilors, describing how the department relies on a patchwork of siloed-off pieces of software and equipment at times, and that opting to go with one vendor to service them, Axon, could save the city “a couple million.”
“I just want to tie up all of the loose ends that we have, so we can function as a better department,” Akers said.
He added the overhaul will likely cost $7.2 million, spread out over the span of five years – similar to the department’s original $5 million five-year contract with Getac, which covered department’s 510 body-worn cameras and additional services. That contract expires in April.
Also approved - a $4.1 million "Community Project Funding Grant" for the city's Parks Department, awarded by way of HUD. According to DPW Director Chris Cignoli, the money’s intended for streetscape “regreening” upgrades for Springfield Union Station announced last year by Mayor Domenic Sarno and Massachusetts Congressman Richard Neal.
Other big ticket items on the agenda included the city council finalizing an ordinance change for Springfield's residency requirement.
For the past few months, the council's debated how to alter rules dictating new city employees have a year to move into Springfield if they’re not already residents - a stipulation some officials say makes hiring difficult.
During a meeting in December, Councilor Maria Perez said data indicates since 2019, at least 46 resignations and one termination could be attributed to the requirement.
A first-step vote at the same meeting saw an amendment extending the window to 24 months, albeit temporarily, as put forward by Councilor-at-Large Jose Delgado and others advocating for a sunset clause – allowing the city to study the change’s effects without signing on to a permanent change.
The amendment was passed Monday, though the sunset language ended up being stripped.
Citing conversations made in committee involving department heads, Councilor-at-Large Kateri Walsh indicated the clause presented its own issues that could affect hiring.
“The consensus of the meeting, from the committee members and all the department heads who were present, was that the sunset clause complicates things and would make it more difficult in the hiring process,” Walsh said. “So, I make the motion to remove that … to remove the sunset clause: I am in favor of removing it from the amendment.”
Rounding out the night was an approval of a Labor Relations Director report regarding the ratification of the collective bargaining agreement between the city and the United Public Service Employees Union - Local 424.
The council also approved a resolution put forward by Delgado supporting “An Act concerning the safety of school children embarking and disembarking school buses,” and another by Ward 4 Councilor Malo Brown, calling for support for the full inclusion of all Liberians living in the United States as beneficiaries of the Liberian Refugee Fairness Act – “ensuring they receive the equal protection and rights guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution.”
