RALPH FIGY
WESTFIELD – The Legislative & Ordinance Committee of the City Council will consider changes to the city ordinance pertaining to composition of the Conservation Commission tonight after receiving an opinion from the Law Department stating that the current ordinance language is unlawful.
The City Council approved a motion at its Jan. 5, 2015 meeting to seek an opinion from the Law Department pertaining to requirements of an ordinance pertaining to appointments to the Conservation Commission.
The motion to refer the issue to the Law Department was made by members of the council’s Personnel Action Committee which interviews candidates for municipal appointments and makes recommendations on those nominations to the full City Council.
The PAC members requested the Law Department to review the ordinance and to determine if it is in conflict with state and federal Equal Opportunity laws.
The ordinance states:
Sec. 13-153. – Composition; appointment.
The conservation commission shall consist of seven members appointed by the mayor, subject to confirmation by the city council. The commission shall include at least one woman, and should also include in its membership, if possible, an engineer, a lawyer and a banker.
At-large Councilor Cindy Harris, a PAC member, said the city’s ordinance “appears to be illegal” because of the ordinance requirement that a female be appointed to the board.
Cindy Harris, the current chairwoman of the PAC, stated in a letter to the Westfield News that the Law Department did review the existing language requiring that at least one member of the commission be female “and made a decision that it is illegal.
“In addition the (legal opinion) states that the City Council should take steps to remedy this situation by changing the ordinance,” Harris stated.
The L&O is slated to discuss amending that language tonight. Ironically Ralph Figy, the current L&O chairman, was chairman of the PAC when Harris cited the conflict between the city ordinance and state and federal Equal Opportunity Laws.
“We’re going to change it so that it falls within the parameters of the (state and federal) laws,” Figy said this morning.
The L&O will also discuss a number of other significant issues including the definition of a “family” as it pertains to zoning; term limits for the mayor and City Council; amendments to the Aquifer Protection Ordinance; and reorganization of the city’s public works departments.
“I anticipate an interesting meeting,” Figy said, “hopefully it will also be productive. These types of discussions should be done in committee, not on the City Council floor.”
The advantage of discussing issues in committee is that the chairman can conduct a much more informal meeting and invited citizens, department heads and other council members to participate in the decision-making process.
