The Finance Committee met on January 12and took the following actions (see the report and watch the meeting video):
Approved
- Authorization to transfer $300,000 to fund two new critical management positions in the Mayor’s Office: Chief of Community Services and Chief of Staff, as well as temporary funding for an overlap period to search and train a new Chief Financial Officer (8-0). Funds transferred from City Clerk Election budget savings ($100,000), Human Resources vacancies ($100,000), and unfilled Public Works laborer positions ($100,000). The new positions will “ensure there is adequate support for department heads, the City Council, and the community, and will allow city leadership to spend more time out of City Hall engaging with residents, businesses, and frontline staff.” A Councilor asked that a list of reduced or eliminated positions be prepared for comparison with the previous budget. They expressed concern that Newton was not paying its employees adequately, leading to vacancies and retention issues. Another Councilor expressed concern about the schools’ funding and the “ongoing notion that no additional money was available to fund them.”
Present: Councilors Grossman (Chair), Bixby, Charm, Greenberg, Krintzman, Malakie, Micley, and Silber.
City staff: Chief Financial Officer Maureen Lemieux, Chief Operating Officer Josh Morse, Comptroller Steve Curley, Director of Cultural Development Paula Gannon.
