The Legislative & Ordinance Committee will discuss creation of two revolving accounts proposed by Mayor Daniel M. Knapik tonight at a 6:30 p.m. meeting at City Hall. Knapik has proposed to set up a revolving account for the Fire Department alarm division and an account for the Westfield Vocational Technical High School.
The Fire Department revolving account would be funded through fees collected for inspections performed by the alarm division. Massachusetts General Law Chapter 44, Section 53-E allows for creation of accounts as follows:
>Section 53E. Notwithstanding the provisions of section fifty-three, a city or town which accepts the provisions of this section may specify when making an appropriation for the annual ordinary operating costs of any agency, board, department or office of said city or town that such costs may be offset, in part or in the aggregate, by the estimated receipts from the fees charged to users of the services provided by such agency, board, department or office.
The use of such fees shall be limited to an amount not to exceed the actual amounts received during the previous fiscal year or such other estimated amount as may be approved, in advance of appropriation, by the commissioner of revenue or his designee, and which is based upon adequate documented material supporting such estimated amounts.
Receipts so allocated shall be deposited in a special account by the city or town treasurer or otherwise specifically identified and may be expended for the purpose allocated without further appropriation. Any balance in such accounts at the end of the fiscal year shall be deposited into the general treasury of the city or town.
Fire Chief Mary Regan requested the account to eliminate the need to seek transfers from the city to the department to replenish funds expended to keep fire alarm systems operational in homes and businesses.
Currently fees are collected in the city’s general fund, depleting the Fire Department’s line item accounts.
“Currently the Fire Department makes purchases from the supply line item for batteries and circuit boards to replace failing equipment in buildings throughout the city,” Regan said in her request to Knapik. “The equipment is the (building) owners’ property and not the Fire Department’s. The department will then bill the owner for the cost of the equipment and currently these fees would go into the general fund, depleting the Fire Department budget.”
“The fees for inspection (collected in the revolving account) would be used to pay for training, updating (fire) prevention equipment and fire safety programs in the public,” Regan said. “I would like the prevention officer to get trained and certified in prevention and arson investigation. These funds would allow him to take very important classes and to stay up to date on code enforcement and investigation.”
Ward 2 Councilor James E. Brown Jr., chairman of the L&O said this morning that he anticipates, if the proposal is approved by the City Council, that the revolving account will go into effect on July 1, 2012, the beginning of the 2013 fiscal year.
The L&O will also discuss the creation of a special account funded through out-of-district tuition at the Westfield Vocational Technical High School.
Currently, the tuition from out-of-district students goes into the city’s general fund, unlike School Choice funding, which goes into a revolving account administered by the School Committee.
School Choice is funded through the state Chapter 70 funding. About $5,000 per student of Chapter 70 funds are withheld from the home district of a student electing to participate in the program and added to the Chapter 70 funding of the hosting district. Vocational schools are not eligible for School Choice programs or Chapter 70 funding.
Knapik said recently that the Voc-Tech tuition generates about $800,000 a year for the city, based upon an out-of-district charge of just under $14,000 per students. Districts sending students who require a special educational plan are assessed an additional fee of $4,500 per student.
Brown said this morning that the communication submitted by Knapik, limiting the account to $10,000, contained a typographical error and should have set a limit of $100,000.
“We’ll change that in committee,” Brown said. “We may talk about a higher number, but $100,000 is a good place to start.”
WVTHS Director James Laverty spoke during the public participation segment of the City Council meeting Thursday, asking the council to consider a higher ceiling for the revolving account.
“I can’t tell you how happy I am to see that the mayor is requesting creation of this account,” Laverty said. “We are still badly in need of better equipment. I’d like to replace our second class equipment with new machines. We need wood products, metal products, copper wire…”
“This is a revenue source that could add funding for the vocation programs,” Laverty said.
“The mayor also brought it up as something we should review,” Brown said last week prior to the council session. “It’s no secret that I’m a big supporter of Voc-Tech, so anything we can do, we will do it if benefits the students. This will go to committee where we’ll be able to take a hard look at it.”
“What we will be able to determine is where will this money go. Is it going to benefit the kids? Is it going to update equipment and software?” Brown said. “I want to make sure that the kids are learning today on the equipment that they will be using in the workplace tomorrow.”
