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Finance committee approves forestry overtime and engineering transfers, tables $45,525 contracted tree services pending more information
Summary
The committee approved transfers to cover forestry overtime and outside engineering services but tabled a $45,525.58 transfer from the Tree Climber salary line to contracted forestry services until staff provides a prioritized list of hazardous trees and clarifies truck use and contracting strategy.
The Holyoke Finance Committee on May 12 approved two transfers for DPW work related to trees and engineering but tabled a larger transfer intended to fund contracted forestry services.
Approved transfers: $3,066.54 was moved from the Tree Climber salary line to Forestry Overtime to cover overtime forestry work, and $20,000 was moved from the senior civil engineer salary line to professional engineering services to continue contracted engineering while the senior civil engineer position remains vacant. These two items were approved by the committee.
Item 11, a proposed transfer of $45,525.58 from the Tree Climber salary line to contracted forestry services to allow additional contracted tree work, was tabled after several councilors asked for more detail. Councilor Sullivan moved to table the $45,525.58 transfer and said the committee should wait for an update on proposed ARPA funding and for a list of the top hazardous trees before approving the transfer. Multiple councilors asked for a prioritized inventory of the "top 100" most dangerous trees and asked why the city had not provided a clear plan for tree removals and tree-truck staffing.
Councilors and the mayor discussed a long-running staffing and structural issue: the city owns a specialized tree-truck purchased several years ago but has struggled to staff the tree-climber positions needed to operate it. Mayor Joshua Garcia said the administration is considering organizational changes, union contract negotiations and other structural shifts to make the positions competitive; until those changes are made the city has relied more on contracted services. Councilor Bacon and others suggested selling the underused truck as an option, while councilors including Jourdain and Graney noted worker safety, pension and liability concerns that can make in-house tree-climber staffing costly.
Council members asked DPW and engineering staff to provide (1) a list of the highest-priority hazardous trees that need removal or treatment, (2) an accounting of how the tree-climber truck has been used, and (3) clarity on whether contractors are currently blocked from performing work because funds were not available. The committee voted to table the $45,525.58 transfer and asked staff to supply information before the next council meeting. The smaller transfers (items 10 and 12) were approved.
