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Brockton council refers proposed deputy public works post and pay increase back to ordinance committee
Summary
Councilors raised concerns about creating a deputy commissioner role with a roughly $50,000 higher minimum salary and referred the ordinance amending the pay plan back to the ordinance committee for further review.
The Brockton City Council on Sept. 8 voted to refer an ordinance that would add a deputy commissioner of public works and set a new pay scale back to the ordinance committee for further discussion. The referral followed sustained criticism from at least one councilor about the job's title, pay range and timing.
Councilor Farwell said the pay-plan change would raise the minimum for what had been a water-systems manager posting from about $87,105 to a minimum of $137,000 and questioned whether the city had adequately considered alternatives. "I am still unconvinced that we should change the structure of the DPW, have a deputy commissioner spend this extra money, and not go back and try to work out some type of a contractual agreement with Veolia to serve as our water maintenance, division, supervisor while we train someone on staff or we re advertise the position," Councilor Farwell said.
The ordinance under consideration would amend the pay plan to create the position and set the new wage scale. Council materials included a human-resources summary showing prior postings for the water-systems manager position and applicant counts; Farwell said those materials raised questions about recruitment and whether the city had cross-trained internal staff before the prior incumbent retired.
Councilor Rodriguez moved to refer the ordinance back to the ordinance committee "for further discussion," citing his absence from the earlier committee deliberations when the change first passed. "I'd like to make a motion that we refer this back to ordinance for further discussion," Rodriguez said. Another councilor seconded the motion. The council approved the referral by voice vote; the president declared the matter referred back to the ordinance committee.
The discussion included concerns about comparability across city positions and the optics of creating higher-paid positions while other union members face limited raises and increased health-care costs, remarks Farwell made during the debate. No final change to the pay plan was adopted at the Sept. 8 meeting; the ordinance will return to the ordinance committee for additional consideration.
The council's referral preserves further committee review and any opportunity for amendments before a future council vote.
