WESTFIELD – The City Council narrowly approved an appropriation to fund the city’s share of a noise mitigation grant program for residents living close to Barnes Regional Airport last night after a heated debate.
The debate was sparked by how the city’s matching share, $69,346, of a state and federal grant was being funded. Mayor Daniel M. Knapik submitted a request to appropriate that amount from the city’s stabilization account, which requires nine affirmative votes of the City Council.
The Finance Committee submitted a recommendation to deny the appropriation request to the full city council, arguing that this has been, and will continue to be for another 15 years, an on-going project and should be funded through the annual budget process, not from the stabilization account which is the city’s “rainy-day” emergency fund.
Finance Chairman Richard E. Onofrey, the Ward 5 councilor, argued that the appropriation should be returned to Knapik and that he resubmit the funding request to the City Council at its Oct. 17 session. Onofrey suggested that Knapik find the $70,000 within the current city budget.
“This is not a surprise,” Onofrey said. “The administration knew about it because this program has been going on for years. It was omitted because of a clerical error that was brought to the mayor’s attention during the budget process last spring and should have been addressed then.”
“I have a problem with taking stabilization money to pay for something that should have been budgeted,” Onofrey said. “I’m opposed to raiding the stabilization account. It’s for emergencies, not for things that should be in the annual budget.”
Onofrey also voiced concern that the administration knew of the error and could have submitted a funding request in July or August, but waited until the 11th hour to submit the appropriation.
City Purchaser Tammy Tefft said the city has a 30-day clock to fund its portion of the noise mitigation grant after the City Council votes to accept the federal and state portions, which it did at its Sept. 5 meeting, meaning that the clock expires this Saturday.
Tefft said the 30-day clock pertains to the bids submitted by the project contractors and that after the 30 days they could increase their bid numbers, adding to the cost of the work. The federal and state grants would not cover any cost increase which would have to be paid by the city.
At-large Councilor John J. Beltrandi III, a member of the Finance Committee, said that when he voted to reject the appropriation request in committee, he was not aware of the 30-day clock, thinking the city had 100 days to appropriate its share.
“We’re at risk of having this whole thing blow up in our faces,” Beltrandi said. “We could lose the federal grants. That’s not fair to residents (abutting the airport).”
Ward 4 Councilor Mary O’Connell “applauded the Finance Committee’s courage” in bring a recommendation to deny the appropriation from stabilization.
“We’re all sick of raiding stabilization,” O’Connell said.
At-large Councilor David A. Flaherty held a similar position.
“I’m tired of having to act quickly,” Flaherty said. “It’s happened over and over. It’s not our problem that we have to turn this around quickly.
“This was known months in advance,” Flaherty said. “Bring it back in two weeks with other funding. The feds are shut down. Send the FAA a letter. It may not even be opened in two weeks.”
Ward 6 Councilor Christopher Crean, who seldom shows emotion during council debates, made an impassioned argument to his fellow councilors not send a message to the administration on the backs of Ward 1 and Ward 6 residents waiting for the noise mitigation improvements to their homes.
Crean, who is running unopposed for reelection, was so persuasive that Onofrey promised he would not be the fifth vote to deny the appropriation.
“I respect the position of the Finance Committee,” Crean said. “I understand that it should have been in the budget.”
“I will not draw a line in the sand on the backs of real people in Wards 1 and 6,” Crean said. “I do not want to be part of a lesson (to Knapik). I hear it every day from those residents, know their names and faces. I cannot take this risk, we need to pass this.”
At-large Councilor Brent B. Bean II said the residents will suffer if the funding was denied, not the administration.
“Those people can’t put money into their houses. They can’t sell them, so it is personal,” Bean said. “We have to move forward. Take the vote and let the people who vote ‘no’ deal with the circumstances.”
At-large Councilor James R. Adams said that the debate was smoke and mirrors because the source of all of the city’s funding is the taxpayers.
“I’m with the Finance Committee that this (appropriation request) should have come in earlier,” Adams said. “But it’s all taxpayer money. This money has to come from somewhere, but it’s all from the same pot. It has to get done.”
Typically ward councilors support each other on ward-specific issues because what goes around comes around and it may be their ward issue the next time. This issue divided the ward councilors three to three and it was the At-large council members who pushed the appropriation through.
Voting “yes” were Adams, Bean, Beltrandi, Ward 3 Councilor Ann Callahan, Crean, At-large Councilor Kevin Harraghy, Ward 1 Councilor Christopher Keefe, At-large Councilor Agma Sweeney and Council President Brian Sullivan.
Voting against the appropriation were Councilors Flaherty, O’Connell, Ward 2 Councilor Brian Winters and Onofrey, who was the last councilor to vote and counted to ensure that there were nine “yes” votes before voting “no” on the issue.
