Everett council confirms appointments, accepts grants and transfers in broad session
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Summary
The Everett City Council approved five appointments, multiple grants and an interdepartmental transfer in a meeting that also advanced several items for further review. Key votes included confirmations of five appointees and acceptance of grants for fire radios and school projects.
The Everett City Council endorsed a slate of appointments and approved multiple grants and budget transfers in a single meeting that combined routine confirmations with higher-profile funding moves.
Council President Stephanie Smith and colleagues approved five appointments taken collectively — to the planning board, housing authority, human resources, city solicitor and executive director of city services — after the committee recommended favorable action. The council voted to confirm Tawana Posoa to the Planning Board, David Hila and Myra Liba to the Everett Housing Authority Board, Ellen Collins as director of human resources and Jacqueline Munson as city solicitor; roll call recorded 8 yeas and 1 nay for the group.
The council also accepted a $50,000 FY2026 radio grant from the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services to upgrade the fire department's communications equipment. The vote on that item was unanimous, 9-0. Separately, the council accepted a $50,000 EMPOWER grant from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center to support preliminary design work for the Connolly Center reconstruction project; that grant also passed 9-0.
On budgetary moves, the council approved an interdepartmental transfer of $5,085,000 to the public health department's salaries account to cover overtime through the fiscal year. Committee materials said the health department now has 21 full-time nurses and will use the transfer to reduce reliance on contract nurses; the transfer passed unanimously (9-0).
The council approved an amendment to its rules clarifying member seniority by roll call (9-0) and moved several administrative- and appointment-related items to later meetings for additional procedural steps, including public hearings or concurrent consideration with other administrative code changes.
What happens next: Appointees will take their posts per the terms read on the record; grant acceptance moves forward to implementation by the named departments. Several postponed items — including administrative-code amendments and certain appointments — were set for consideration at future meetings.