Subcommittee advances Springfield skills-based hiring ordinance, sends measure to full council

The General Government Subcommittee of Springfield City voted to advance an ordinance that would promote skills-based hiring practices for city jobs and sent the measure to the full City Council for final passage, the committee announced at a meeting that convened at 5:09 p.m. and adjourned at 5:35 p.m.

The ordinance, described during the meeting as an amendment to chapters 7 and 3 of the revised ordinances of Springfield and modeled after a state executive order, would direct the city’s Personnel and Labor Relations office to review job classifications and recruitment language to allow relevant experience, certifications or training to substitute for degree requirements when appropriate. “Let’s not automatically cut somebody out, of a potential interview because . . . they’re missing the degree,” Councilor Lugano, the ordinance sponsor, said, arguing the change would widen the applicant pool for nontechnical roles.

Supporters said the change responds to local workforce realities. Bill Mahoney, the city’s human resources director, told the committee the city employs about 1,550 people across roughly 573 job classifications; about 237 classifications — roughly 41% — currently include a degree requirement, while about 59% do not. Mahoney also said about 24% of positions that list a degree already include “or experience” language (for example, bachelor’s degree or five years’ experience). “We already have some of that,” Mahoney said, explaining the ordinance would not trigger an immediate wholesale rewrite of every job description but would be applied when classifications are created or updated.

Some committee members pressed for procedural safeguards. Councilor Tracy Whitfield said she supported the concept but wanted clarity on implementation and cautioned against making changes effective immediately without a clear process. “I’m more about process than just passing something just to pass it,” Whitfield said. Mahoney replied that the ordinance’s effect is to authorize personnel to review descriptions and that bargaining-unit rules would apply when job descriptions affect union positions: changes would be negotiated with the bargaining agent as required.

A business and regional workforce representative also spoke in favor. Shivaya Maravando Latto, vice president and chief of staff at the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council, said adopting skills-based hiring aligns with regional economic-development goals and widens the “net of talent” for industries that rely on certifications or associate-level training.

Committee members corrected a drafting error and approved two procedural actions. By voice vote the committee agreed to remove an extraneous word in section A on page 2 of the draft ordinance, a technical edit identified in the meeting. The committee then voted to send the ordinance to the City Council for final passage; the committee announced the council will consider the measure on Monday the 9th at 7:00 p.m. The committee recorded the recommendation to the full City Council by voice vote.

Members and staff emphasized limits on immediate change and the role of collective bargaining. Mahoney reiterated that many existing positions already permit hiring without degrees and that job-specific promotional and civil-service exams (for example, in police and fire) would remain in place. He also noted existing education-incentive programs for certain employees and a historical education benefit referenced as the “Quinn bill” for police and similar incentives in fire — a point raised to explain how education and promotion incentives historically operate in the city workforce.

Next steps: the subcommittee’s referral sends the ordinance to the full City Council for final reading and vote on the date announced in committee. If adopted, the personnel office will begin applying the ordinance’s review standard to new and revised job classifications, with bargaining-unit negotiations where applicable.