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Council probes facilities reorganization, project pay practices and long‑standing electrician vacancy
Summary
Councilors questioned a $13,000 out‑of‑rank stipend paid to a facilities clerk who processes capital project change orders, raised concerns about persistent electrician and plumber vacancies that push work to contractors, and sought documentation of a reorganization that shifts duties and pay.
City operations and facilities staff briefed the Finance Committee on June 1 about capital projects, ARPA-funded work and an organizational reorganization that will shift operations responsibilities among facilities, parks and the Department of Community Maintenance. Al Olivera, director of city operations, and interim city administrator Anne O'Neil Souza described multi‑phase capital work (DCM phases, a salt shed and vehicle purchases) and said project timelines remain on target.
Several councilors pressed administration about personnel and pay practices in facilities. Councilors questioned a $13,000 "service out of rank" stipend that appears in the facilities budget for an administrative employee who processes invoices, change orders and project paperwork. Staff described the role as acting like a project manager for capital work—processing vendor requests and change orders—and said a side‑letter agreement with the bargaining unit authorized the stipend. Multiple councilors asked HR and the administration to provide the side‑letter and to consider formal reclassification where duties have permanently changed.
Council members also raised the long‑running issue of unfilled electrician and plumber positions; facilities leaders said wage rates in current job classifications are below market and the city regularly outsources electrical and plumbing work (charged to supplies and services). Interim director Chris Hathaway and staff said they will meet with HR to seek bargaining‑unit adjustments but noted the mechanics of securing a pay change require union negotiation and that some work remains more cost‑effective to bid to contractors in the short term.
The committee also discussed the DCM incinerator project (about $16.2M authorized, roughly half spent) and asked for written environmental/safety confirmation from DEP before the city commits further funds. Councilors asked that the forthcoming reorganization include a transparent mapping of which positions and budgets will move between departments and to show offsets for salary changes.
What’s next: administration agreed to provide the side‑letter or HR documentation that authorized the $13,000 stipend, job descriptions for the affected administrative positions, and an updated capital project status and vendor-payment schedule. Councilors signaled willingness to consider reclassification requests if supported by HR and union processes.
