CINDY HARRIS
WESTFIELD – The City Council approved a motion last night 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.
MARY L. O’CONNELL
Ward 4 Councilor Mary O’Connell, who brought the ordinance requirement to the attention of the Council when it was considering the appointment of Muneeb Mahmood of 54 Union Street to fill the seat formerly held by George Martin, raised concerns about the motion to seek a Law Department opinion.
Harris said that if the Law Department determines that the ordinance is in violation of state and federal law it would be referred to the council’s Legislative & Ordinance Committee for amendment, but if the opinion is that the ordinance is legal no changes would be required.
The council voted last night to accept the request of Mahmood to withdraw his nomination for appointment to the Conservation Commission. Mahmood was initially nominated by Mayor Daniel M. Knapik for the Conservation Commission post.
Knapik later nominated Cheryl Koval of 171 Wildflower Circle to serve on the Conservation Commission for a term to expire on the first Monday of February, 2017 after the ordinance requirement that one member of the commission be female.
The PAC has yet to interview Koval and requested that her nomination remain in committee until an interview is conducted.
DAVID BILLIPS
The PAC also requested the City Council to “reaffirm” the vote of the Board of Public Works to appoint Water Resource Superintendent Dave Billips as the acting Public Works superintendent for a term of six months.
That request was issued by the Law Department which determined that while the BPW is the sole appointing authority for the Public Works Department, the reconfirmation vote was needed because of ambiguity between state law and city ordinances pertaining to temporary appointments.
“We are not the appointing authority,” PAC Chairman Ralph Figy said. “We are being asked by the Law Department to reconfirm the BPW’s vote.
Ward 1 Councilor Christopher Keefe said that Billips has enough responsibility managing the Water Resource Department, which includes both the city’s drinking water and wastewater treatment plant.
“Billips has a full-time job and shouldn’t be asked to do another full-time job. It’s too much for one person,” Keefe, who along with At-large Councilor David A Flaherty voted against the “reconfirmation” motion, said.
“ I don’t believe that we have to get involved,” Flaherty said. “They made their vote. I don’t think we have the authority to confirm it.”
At-large Councilor James R. Adams said that the DPW appointment “is a temporary thing, someone has to be authorized to sign payrolls and bills.”
O’Connell said that while she would vote to support the PAC motion, she “does have problem with going against City Charter (giving appointing authority to the BPW). I don’t know why we’re being asked to confirm a BPW vote.”
