Holyoke Charter & Rules committee narrows Public Service committee role, advances several procedural rule changes

The Holyoke City Charter and Rules Committee on Thursday narrowed the stated duties of the Public Service Committee and forwarded several technical rule changes to the full City Council for consideration.

Chair Meg McGrath Smith said the existing rule text had accumulated a broad set of responsibilities and needed tightening. "Public service and human resources committee shall have jurisdiction over matters related to transportation, the affairs of the parks, recreation, and forestry department, the appointment or election of any city official, matters related to city employees and personnel, permits for home occupation issued by the city council, and matters pertaining to the elderly, the geriatric authority, and the council on aging," she read from the current rules during discussion and urged the committee to pare that list back to reflect how work is actually assigned.

The committee adopted a motion to amend the rule so that the Public Service Committee's jurisdiction is limited to "matters related to the appointment or election of any city official subject to city council appointment or confirmation." The motion to delete the broader list of jurisdictions and to remove duplicative references in other rule subsections was seconded and…