WESTFIELD – The members of the City Council’s Legislative & Ordinance Committee voted to recommend opening a dialogue with the Board of Health to discuss the $10 transfer station access fee adopted last year.
The Board of Health approved a sticker program to identify city residents and prevent the use of the transfer station by nonresidents. Purchase of the access sticker requires applicants to provide proof that they are city residents. The City Council raised that issue because of concern that many non-residents, who do not pay city taxes, were using the facility and increasing the cost of rubbish disposal from the Twiss Street Transfer Station facility.
The issue before the Legislative & Ordinance Committee is the result of a constituent request submitted by James Parker of Honey Pot Road to his ward councilor, Mary O’Connell.
The motion to adopt Massachusetts General Law , Chapter 40, Section 22-F, describing the powers and duties of cities and towns, was presented by Ward 4 Councilor Mary O’Connell on behalf of Parker at the March 7 council session.
Parker, who attended the L&O session Monday night, said that the City Council, as the city’s legislative branch, should be required to review and approve all fees set by various departments. Parker argued that the U.S. Constitution gives only the legislative branch of government that ability to set taxes and fees, but that many of the current city fees are set through executive branch entities, such as the Health Director and Board of Health.
Parker said that all fees from executive branch department should be submitted to the City Council for review and approval.
“We’re paying all of these fees and we don’t know where the money is going, or what is the value of the service being provided through the fees,” Parker said. “The City Council, as the city’s legislative branch, is the only body I can vote for, or against, too ensure that taxes and fees are used for the stated purposes. I can’t vote for department heads or boards and commissions.”
A major factor in the discussion last night is the fact that the city’s Law Department has issued an opinion that the Health Board has the authority to set reasonable fees under existing state law and that even if the City Council adopted the state option, it would not include fees set by the Health Board.
“Even if we adopt this local option, Massachusetts General Law still gives the Health Board the authority to set fees,” L&O Chairman Christopher Keefe said. “The local option opens the door for us to review all of the other fees, but do we want to do so? The Law Department would have to establish a matrix of state law, municipal department authority and City Council authority.
“I can see a motion to request that the Health Board make it a one time fee,” Keefe said.
“I know where you’re coming from, but I’m not sure it is a battle we can win,” Keefe said to Parker.
O’Connell made the motion to request the Health Board to consider modifying its transfer station access fee.
“We need to state a conversation between the (City) Council and Board of Health,” O’Connell said.
