The Holyoke CPA committee on Tuesday discussed restructuring its administrative support after the previous administrator left, and reviewed options for staffing fiscal (Munis) responsibilities and meeting/ applicant coordination ahead of votes on FY26 projects.

The chair told the committee Rebecca had moved on and Naomi had stepped in to fill the gap, and proposed splitting the role into two part‑time functions: a financial/Munis tracking position and an administrative/meeting facilitation position. The chair said personnel director Kelly Curran suggested adding five hours to a current Holyoke employee’s schedule so the employee would not trigger overtime.

Committee members raised pros and cons. Helene and others said flexibility matters because workload varies by week; Helene asked whether a five‑hour cap would be too restrictive. Michael recommended seeking a retired candidate with Munis experience to avoid union and overtime complications. “I would rather stay…a retired person with a person that knows how to balance the books and use the computer system,” Michael said.

Naomi, who is currently filling in, reminded the group the work can be done remotely and that an external pool of Munis‑experienced admins exists. Sarah encouraged a broader posting to see who applies, and the chair said she would consult the personnel director about the recommended process and report back by the next meeting.

On projects, the chair said the FY26 full application deadline passed on Nov. 7 and nine applications were filed. One applicant — a community garden — requested funding to pay staff. Members debated whether CPA funds should cover salaries for non‑city projects. Michael warned of precedent problems if one project pays a salary and others then request the same; he said the committee’s reduced budget argues against recurring salary commitments. Sarah said she sympathized with small organizations and would be open to discussing need but wanted to exclude overhead categories she found problematic.

Naomi said she is preparing a spreadsheet with links and contact information for each applicant and will circulate it in the coming days to aid committee review. The chair urged members to review applications and contact applicants to clarify budgets before final votes.

Next steps: the chair will consult with the personnel director about process options and report to the committee before the next meeting; Naomi will distribute the applicant spreadsheet.