Councilors Andrew Surprise, Dan Allie, and Matt Emmershy approved all but one item on the Finance Committee’s Tuesday night agenda, which was tabled for later discussion. (Photo by Peter Currier)
WESTFIELD- The Westfield City Council Finance Sub-Committee met Tuesday evening to discuss and vote on a range of topics including appropriating funds to the police and the submitting of DPW bills.
The meeting began with a measure that would give the police department an additional $100,000 to their overtime budget to compensate for their recent staffing struggles. City Councilors Dan Allie, Andrew Surprise, and Matt Emmershy unanimously voted in favor of the measure.
The department has been hit with a string of injuries and absences that has left them pulling officers from other assignments to fill regular shifts. The low staffing has caused working officers to have to work more hours and dip into the overtime budget.
“We’re taking measures to hopefully get through the rest of the fiscal year,” said Chief John Camerota.
Camerota said that there are 17 officers out for various reasons. A full shift is typically 15 officers. In January, Camerota is going to request that the police commission appoint five provisional officers. Camerota said last week that he is planning to get a waiver from the Massachusetts Police Training Council that would allow new recruits to begin working before they attend the Police Academy in June.
“I have never had this issue before,” said Chief Camerota, who has been on the police force for more than 40 years, “we have had to pull officers from special units to run regular shifts.”
The other major agenda item was a six-part submission of prior year bills for the Department of Public Works with an additional motion from Councilors Bob Paul and Michael Burns. Paul and Burns were not present at the meeting. DPW Director David Billips was present with the councilors to go through each item.
The six items included two bills from the water division Purchase of Service account for $1,210.80 and $468.00. Both invoices were accidentally sent to an employee who no longer works for the DPW and therefore not paid.
The third bill was just $7.06 from the water division supplies account. Billips said that the small invoice was just a case of a slip being misplaced before it was paid.
“I was on vacation when this came through,” said Billips, “I wish I would have got to you. I would have paid it myself.”
The fourth bill was a $1,830.72 invoice for the highway division supplies account that was sent to a DPW employee who went on medical leave and did not return. It was unknown to the DPW that there even was a bill until it was brought to their attention.
“We should catch these things,” said Billips.
The sewer division purchase of services account also had two bills accounted for. One was for $8,479.88 and the other was for $90.00. The $8,479.88 invoice was a result of a contractor breaking a sewer line in the city. The invoice had accidentally been sent to the school department. The $90 invoice was the bill from a notice placed in The Westfield News by the DPW to inform residents of Western Circle of upcoming stormwater work. The employee who had set up the notice did not inform the rest of the DPW and never opened a purchase order.
All six bills were approved unanimously by the committee.
The committee agreed to meet later next week to go over the final item on the agenda. It was a motion from Councilors Paul and Burns that an analysis of the current storm water fee from the DPW Director to identify the FEE gap and work be compliant with the State and Federal EPA.
