JIM MULVENNA
WESTFIELD – The Board of Public Works cancelled a posted executive session prior to the 7 p.m. meeting last night.
The posted purposed of that executive session was to conduct a “discussion regarding complaints or charges brought against a department employee. Intent to return to open session in order to vote on any, all or none of the above.”
The City Council’s Finance Committee Monday evening reviewed the Department of Public Works 2015 fiscal year budget as proposed by Mayor Daniel M. Knapik, a difficult process because that budget is spread across a half dozen, or more, line items.
The review process was further complicated by the absence of DPW Superintendent Jim Mulvenna who has prepared that budget for the past decade.
MARY L. O’CONNELL
Finance Chairman Christopher Keefe’s first question to the officials presenting the budget, Deputy Superintendent Casey Berube, Community Development Director Peter J. Miller Jr., and City Engineer Mark Cressotti, was why was Mulvenna not present to present those details.
Miller responded that Mulvenna has been on administrative leave since Friday, May 30th. Ironically that absence occurred the day after Mulvenna appeared before the Finance Committee. Mulvenna attended the Thursday, May 29 finance session to discuss funding relative to single-stream recycling.
Mulvenna’s administrative leave, according to a source who declined to speak for attribution, is the result of a confrontation with other DPW personnel at the South Broad Street DPW facility. Another source reported that Mulvenna has retained an attorney to represent his interests in the incident.
CHRISTOPHER KEEFE
The Board of Public Works opened its meeting last night in regular session. The agenda of the regular meeting was an item to allow members of the City Council to address the BPW directly about issues, typically paving and drainage com-plaints, they want addressed.
Last night Ward 4 Councilor Mary O’Connell took advantage of that agenda to urge the BPW to act within the legal parameters of state and city law in resolving the Mulvenna situation.
O’Connell said any action taken is not under her purview as a City Council member.
“I don’t know the details, but my concern is that it is this board that hires and fires,” O’Connell said. “Any action should come from this board.
“We’ve had a number of civil suits. I don’t want another lawsuit if procedures are not properly followed,” O’Connell said.
Berube, who is now trying to navigate the department through the critical budget season, was initially hired as the stromwater manager, was also put into the departmental structure as deputy superintendent, but has never performed those administrative duties department wide.
Berube and four DPW employees are carried in the stormwater budget, a revenue account funded through commercial and residential stormwater fees.
That salary structure is another sore spot for several City Council members, and was raised Monday night during the Finance Committee’s budget review, who note that between November and March those employees are involved in the department’s snow and ice removal operations and that the stormwater account should not be financing their salaries for that period of time.
Keefe’s questions at the DPW finance review may also be an indication of City Council support for Mulvenna because it forced those officials to go on record about Mulvenna’s status.
Mulvenna was placed on administrative leave, which banishes him from all city facilities, by Assistant Personnel Director Karin Decker according to Westfield Police Department records. Decker requested two detectives to accompany her to the DPW garage to notify Mulvenna of his status.
