Marlborough committee votes to suspend rules and advertise recreation coordinator job

The Marlborough City Council committee voted 5-0 to suspend rules and authorize advertising for a newly described recreation coordinator position, moving the matter toward full city council consideration.

The position, described by the presenter as a consolidation of a former senior clerk and program manager role, "is covered under the collective bargaining agreement between the city of Marlborough and the Marlborough Municipal Employees Association, MMEA, and has been reviewed and approved by MMEA," the committee was told.

Committee members said the role will help the recreation department prioritize tasks and allocate responsibilities across departments. A committee member said the role must have a skill set "to be able to prioritize and divvy out responsibilities to the managers and to DBW and other departments across the city." The same member noted that approving the position at the proposed level creates a $39,000 shortfall that ‘‘a transfer is gonna be needed.’’

The presenter said the proposed salary ordinance places the new position at the head clerk pay schedule level and emphasized that any modifications to the job description or compensation "would constitute a change to the terms that were negotiated and agreed upon and would therefore require further discussion within the union prior to implementation."

The committee carried the suspension-to-advertise motion 5-0. No mover or seconder was recorded in the transcript. Committee members were advised that final changes or implementation would require city council approval.

The ordinance and job description will be brought to the full Marlborough City Council for final approval; the committee noted a budget transfer will be required to cover the identified shortfall.