The Public Safety & Transportation Committee met on Wednesday, June 17. See the report and meeting video.
Approved
- FY27 police wage increases — 6-0-1, Councilor Wright not voting. The transfer of $1,175,000 from FY27 Reserve funds to FY27 Patrol Services – Full-Time Salaries to fund contractual FY27 wage increases under the Newton Police Association’s FY24-FY27 agreement. (Discussed jointly with the item below.)
- Retroactive wage adjustments — 6-0-1, Councilor Wright not voting. The transfer of $710,000 covers retroactive payments for the Newton Police Association, DPW engineers, parking control officers, and crossing guards under recently signed collective bargaining agreements — the City’s first settlement with the NPA in five years.
Held
- Overnight parking ban — 7-0. The Overnight Parking Ban Working Group presented a status update on its review of potential trial waivers and exemptions from the ban, including disability and hardship accommodations; the group aims to complete its recommendation report by July 8. “There are approximately 33,000 households with approximately 58,000 vehicles. Many residents live approximately a 15-20 minute walk from municipal lots, where they can potentially park overnight. In the winter of 2024-2025, approximately 3,000 tickets and in the winter of 2023-2024, approximately 1,500 tickets were issued for violating the overnight winter parking ban.” Councilors were mixed in support of a trial of winter parking ban exemptions. The Working Group is considering a permit-based trial, based on proximity to municipal parking lots and medical conditions. They do not have a number for residents without off-street parking, because the Assessor’s Database does not include driveways. The YES group supporting lifting the winter parking ban has good data on which streets cars park on during the non-winter ban months.
Present: Councilors Lucas (Chair), Wright, Block, Irish, Roche, Golden and Silber.
Absent: Councilor Greenberg.
Also present: Chris Markiewicz, Chair, and members Jini Fairley, Mitch Fischman, Michael Halle, Richard Heald, Peter Klapes, and Howard Rosenof of the City’s Overnight Parking Ban Working Group.
City staff: Chief Timothy Cohoon, Newton Police Department; Maureen Lemieux, Chief Financial Officer.