WESTFIELD – The City Council authorized Mayor Daniel M. Knapik to transfer funds during the month of June to balance the city’s books for the conclusion of fiscal year 2014.
Knapik submitted the request for authorization to transfer funds between and within departments to address deficits within the current budget and eliminate the need to carry any red ink into the 2015 fiscal year budget which begins July 1, 2014.
The council is required by City Charter to approve those transfers, in particular those between departments, but typically authorizes the mayor to transfer up to $10,000 to deal with budgetary matters for the last month of the year to avoid carrying deficits over.
The state Department of Revenue allows for deficit spending in certain cases, such as the snow and ice removal accounts because of the unpredictable character of New England winters, but also requires that the deficit be retired within that fiscal year or rolled over into the tax base of the next fiscal year.
Bond rating companies view the carryover of deficits as poor fiscal management and tend to reflect that concern when issuing a municipality’s bond rating.
The snow and ice deficit, which historically in recent years has approached a million dollars, is projected at between $1.3 and $1.4 million this year. Public Superintendent Jim Mulvenna recently informed the Board of Public Works in April that his department is receiving invoices for material and contractors hired during the winter.
Ward 1 Councilor Christopher Keefe made a motion for immediate consideration to allow Knapik to “sweep” the budget to pay for departmental deficits. Keefe also made the motion to amend Knapik’s authorization request by setting a cap of $10,000 per line item.
“The (City) Council approves this every year to expedite things. It cleans up some things such as the snow and ice deficit, something that the City Auditor does,” Keefe said. “The $10,000 cap still preserves our oversight of the budget process.”
At-large Councilor David A. Flaherty also offered an amendment that would have prevented Knapik from transferring funds to or within the Law Department, an amendment rejected by a 2-9 vote of the council, with At-large Councilor Dan Allie joining Flaherty in the minority.
Flaherty made the motion because of his concern that the Law Department supervisor Susan Phillips has said that Knapik is indemnified under a recent U.S. District court finding that while he violated the civil rights of Flaherty and another candidate by removing signs it was not an intentional act and that the Law Department will pay the legal fees ordered by the judge.
Flaherty said Thursday that an unintentional violation is another form of a civil rights violation and that the judge was not excusing Knapik from paying the court fees. Flaherty has requested the state’s Inspector General to prevent Phillips from paying the legal costs of the civil right trial.
At-large Councilor James R. Adams chided Flaherty from making any motion relative to the case or the legal fees since he is a party to the case as a plaintiff.
“You have a conflict of interest,” Adams said. “You shouldn’t be making any motions related to this.”
Flaherty responded that the case is over, so he no longer has that conflict.
“It’s not over,” Adams responded.
