DAN ALLIE
WESTFIELD –A resolution opposing the TCI Gas Tax and Transportation and Climate Initiative was voted down April 2.
The vote was taken during the remote Westfield City Council meeting, which was audio broadcast on Channel 15.
The resolution, originally proposed by At-large Councilor Dan Allie, has been discussed several times in committee and on the City Council floor, and Ward 6 Counilor William Onyski, chair of the Legislative and Ordinance Committee, said Thursday it was time for a vote.
The resolution was originally supported by nine counselors but only received three yes votes Thursday, failing to pass.
During the discussion, Allie thanked Onyski for the subcommittee’s work on the resolution. He did ask why Onyski chose to eliminate the paragraph stating that the price of gas could rise by as much as 17 cents, which Allie said came from the text of the TCI proposal as the maximum price point the state was trying to hit.
Onyski said the Committee wasn’t certain about the number.
“My feeling is we vote on it as is or table it and send it back to committee,” said At-large Councilor Dave Flaherty.
Ward 4 Councilor Mike Burns agreed on tabling the resolution. “I don’t see a purpose of sending this to the governor. [state Rep. John C.] Velis was before us last meeting and said it wasn’t going anywhere,” Burns said, adding now is not the time to antagonize anybody.
Ward 1 Councilor Nicholas J. Morganelli Jr. said the title, Opposing the TCI Gas Tax, is self-explanatory.
“I think it’s fine the way it is. As far as sending it to the governor, I think that’s our duty to the people of Westfield,” countered Morganelli.
Onyski said he was opposed to sending it back to committee. “It’s been back three times. I would vote yes on this just like it is,” he said.
Allie agreed, saying it hasn’t been an easy process moving the resolution forward. “I can live with what we have right now. Agawam actually just passed it last week in their city council; we’re the second community that I know of that’s passed this. I would be in favor of moving this forward,” he said.
“I just don’t’ know that this is where our attention needs to be right now. I understand the idea, and I don’t want anybody’s taxes going up. I am concerned that this is just putting effort where we don’t need it to be,” said At-large Councilor Kristen Mello.
Ward 3 Councilor Bridget Matthews-Kane, who previously had been one of the few opposing votes on the resolution, asked whether now would be the time to speak.
“I’ll be voting against this TCI resolution. I question the wisdom of dealing with this now. I feel like there’s parts of the resolution that in my opinion are still not accurate,” Matthews-Kane said. She said while it is true that all taxes must originate in the State House, one of the reasons some councilors and Velis had opposed the initiative; she said in 2008 the legislature passed the Global Warming Solution Act, which she felt applied. She said the initiative has also been backed by many business groups.
“This resolution focuses on the costs of passing TCI but neglects the cost of doing nothing,” Matthews-Kane said, adding the costs of extreme weather combined with pollution are very expensive. “When I decided to run for City Council, for me, I decided my model would be Barbara Swords. That’s my goal. (She) always stood up as a defender of the environment. She also stood up and urged Westfield to protect its aquifer,” Matthews-Kane added.
A couple of other councilors also raised the name of former Councilor Barbara Swords, who was considered vigilant on protecting the environment in Westfield.
“I would like to absolutely second everything the Ward 3 Councilor just said. Barbara would absolutely be voting against this,” said At-large Councilor Rick Sullivan. “The reality is this is probably ultimately going nowhere. Almost all of the other states have voted that they will not be voting for it,” he added.
Sullivan also questioned the political motive of the resolution. “I suspect that we’re going to see this issue in a campaign. Having the floor of the council as a place of politics… is a tough road to go down. On the merits I am absolutely opposed,” he said.
Morganelli on the other hand questioned whether Swords would have opposed the resolution.
“When Barbara Swords retired, that opened up a city councilor spot and that was the seat I ran for. I spoke with her quite a few times. I’m not sure how she would vote on this. It depends on whether she would think carbon dioxide is a problem. Pollution is a problem. Being a meteorologist and looking at climate information…we will be looking at a cooling trend for the next thousand years. There is no correlation of carbon dioxide to heating. That’s why I’m voting in favor of this resolution. Pollution is the thing we need to focus on,” Morganelli said.
In the end, Allie, Morganelli and Onyski were the only votes in favor of the resolution. The nine other councilors were opposed, with At-large Councilor James R. Adams not on the call.
“By joining the multi-state TCI compact, Massachusetts would be ceding its taxing sovereignty to an out-of-state, unelected, non-governmental agency, which would be granted the power to further increase the price of fuel in our state without any approval by our own duly elected officials, or subject to any voters. The state needs to put more resources toward roads and infrastructure, but this is not the way to go. The additional tax on gas and diesel fuel could cost the City of Westfield as much as 30,000 dollars a year. It is unfortunate and somewhat baffling, how a resolution initially with nine councilors as co-sponsors and a mayor ready to sign it, can fail in the Council,” Allie said after the meeting.
