Ordinance committee debates nonunion pay rules, approves $48,812 transfer for fire leadership and removes economic development slot from ordinance

The Woburn City Council’s Ordinance, Charter & Rules committee reviewed proposed amendments to the municipal code that would codify base salaries for nonunion employees and department heads and approved a $48,812.85 transfer to cover salary changes for the fire chief and deputy.

The measure to move $48,812.85 from the salary-adjustment account to cover two fire-department salaries passed on a committee voice vote after staff explained the chief is on a personal contract while the deputy’s pay follows the fire union formula.

Committee members engaged in lengthier debate over a companion order that would amend section 2-1-80 of the municipal code to list base salaries for a broader set of nonunion city positions. That discussion focused on how the proposed ordinance interacts with section 2-1-84(c) and (d) — the code provisions that the administration said tie nonunion salary increases to collective bargaining outcomes and place department-head rate decisions before the council in March.

Mayor (unnamed) and city staff said the draft ordinance was meant to make the code’s existing practice explicit and to reflect recent settlements. Shauna (HR director) and Auditor Daugherty answered councillors’ questions on funding sources, explaining that two of the positions under discussion are grant- or offset-funded (including one from opioid-settlement money) and that funding for the economic development manager expires mid‑fiscal 2026 unless reauthorized.

Councilors pressed staff for multi‑year cost projections before the body would accept the ordinance language. A motion to request estimated FY26–FY28 costs for the package of salary changes passed and staff agreed to supply the figures.

On a separate committee motion, members voted 4–1 to remove the economic development manager position from the ordinance before it moves to the full council. The motion to drop that single position was adopted with the mayor opposed. Committee members said the removal reflected concerns that including a grant‑funded or time‑limited position in the code would effectively signal long‑term city funding without the full budget process.

A later motion to remove an assistant-to-the-mayor/chief‑of‑staff slot from the ordinance failed.

The committee left a requested transfer of $129,190.23 — described by staff as the companion transfer that would fund many of the nonunion adjustments for the current fiscal year — in committee so members could review the requested multi‑year cost estimates before voting. Staff said the requested transfers would come from the salary-adjustment account already appropriated in the current budget and that any subsequent vote to alter the transfer would be reflected by amendment.

Why this matters: the ordinance would codify base pay levels for many nonunion employees and department heads and thereby affect payroll calculations, overtime baselines and future budgets. Committee members repeatedly returned to three points: (1) the need for line‑item cost projections over multiple fiscal years; (2) the legal distinction between nonunion employees whose increases are tied to collective bargaining settlements and nonunion department heads whose increases the council sets; and (3) whether temporary or grant‑funded positions should be listed in the municipal code.

Outlook: Staff committed to delivering FY26–FY28 cost projections and to refining which positions remain in the ordinance. The committee held the larger ordinance package pending that data and moved the fire pay transfer for immediate action.

Votes at a glance: $48,812.85 transfer for fire chief/deputy — approved (committee voice vote). Motion to remove economic development manager from the ordinance — passed, 4–1. Motion to remove assistant-to-the-mayor/chief‑of‑staff — failed. $129,190.23 transfer for nonunion salaries — left in committee pending more data.