FY12 budget hearing: publishing as I go

sorry, we had a squirrelly wifi connection there
Keep hitting "refresh" as I'll post these as we go

we've received a letter from the state ethics commission that WPS should stop all fundraising activities (due to WEDF fundraising activities), pending legal advice...posted around athletics fundraising

considering community schools on an annual basis and evaluating placement and funding on an annual basis

Custodians: Biancheria wants a list of schools/per custodian
Foley: importance of a second shift supervisor
Motion to approve

Custodial overtime: going up due to contract
approved

School plant:
(Note that this includes the reduction of six painters, three data/security people, and one mason. The painting and the mason to be outsourced)
Monfredo: objects to outsourcing all painters and the mason, wants to keep one mason
Biancheria asking for an update on outsourcing costs
Foley agrees with Biancheria's motion
Monfredo asks if we can hold the item to later in the evening, as he has been told that more information will be coming later in the evening: Mullaney asks what information
O'Brien: some information around displaced workers
Mullaney agrees in principle with this

Utilities: $7.1 million
electricity at South and Sullivan is half a million dollars a year (they heat with electricity): Novick asks if we're doing anything to try to do something about this; Allen says there's been some conversion
possible solar panels? O'Brien to check on Honeywell
Energy Management: remotely turning on our systems, saves us money. Monfredo asks for a report
Telephone and data: areas are separate (Biancheria, question)
Connect-ED costs us $3 a pupil
gas contract extended...goes out to bid after this fiscal year; O'Connell--projecting gas prices
"blend and extend" contract
O'Connell basically is reviewing when all the contracts expire and what fiscal year they're going to need renewing in
O'Brien: midyear report on where we're at, rate changes and control devices due to ESCO
Motion to approve


School plant OM
Novick: trash is down $100,000


Personal services:
(this is a grab-bag of services)
graduations are in here: Novick asks about police staffing at them. Who decides what we need?
security guards out to bid
O'Connell proposes cutting legal consultation by $50,000 (it's up 48% in line with actual expenditures)
wants to rely on the law office of the city (which does provide some staffing)
Allen: the account is taking the cut; settlement agreement is what the increase is
Foley points out that if we incur the costs, we incur the costs
concedes that we're not getting the support we did from the city
recommends looking at this nine months in, if we're getting city support
O'Connell asks for a report in three months, also use of law department
Foley asks if we'll know in three months? Allen says we can provide Finance and Operations with updates quarterly
Novick asks the we go back to City Manager about the update we'd asked for on legal

O'Brien: School-aged Mothers
Burncoat and South students get picked up by a school bus
Creamer Center students have to take a city bus from downtown (no place to buckle in babies)
asks if we could fund that and how much it would cost
Allen: 22 students would be; would need three buses
would have to contract out (integrated child seats)
would cost $83,000 per bus
are we using our special ed buses for Burncoat and South? Yes, we are
Allen: yes, there is a different treatment for Creamer than for Burncoat and South
O'Brien says there is a big bus that has child seats that Durham owns
Boone: students being picked up at the school in the summer
Hennessey: big school buses are not required to have seat belts or car seats; special ed buses have integrated car seats
note that this is all actually about transportation, which we already passed, but is a sort of random addition 
O'Brien says this is a City Hall run to Creamer: short, not much time or length

Back to school plant
Monfredo makes a motion to keep one painter
Mullaney wants to know what has happened in the last 20 minutes
O'Brien trying to find out what happens after 25 years in the system
offered alternative employment as junior custodians
would leave one person
Mullaney points out that it's helpful if everyone knows the same thing
O'Brien was hoping that there might be a position for that person
Foley supports notion of trying to find places for people as positions are cut; supports admin recommendation
asks that the admin speak to day-to-day painting tasks
Allen: changes without impacting "core delivery services to our students"
"painting is important..but not a critical path for the schools...can be done during summer vacation periods...during..vacations...strategic way to get painting done..more results"
painting was rated least efficient 13%
mason had least amount of work orders submitted
day-to-day: will have staff that "can address immediate emergencies"
Foley: to review on a six month basis
Mullaney: lack of efficiency in this area, "how could we tell them at this point to abandon that track?"
O'Connell: have some experience with this, convinced Worcester is going down the wrong track on this, "what you lose is the opportunity to hire top-quality people who are responsive to you"
Biancheria (who I think might be the swing vote on this one): dollar amount on one painter?
Allen: $47,000
Biancheria: first year in outsourcing?
Allen: outsource lots of other sources, but first for painters (30 work orders per person last year on average)
Boone: some work outsourced already
O'Brien: if we bid these out, how big are these packages going to be? Responsible Employer Ordinance that the city follows; would ask for analysis in six months

hopes we can find some middle ground
Monfredo: concerned about productivity being down...administration should get someone who can do the job, but doesn't think we should eliminate the painters entirely
Foley: concerns from principals about painting: $150,000 plus benefits saved
data shows we aren't getting that impact; those are dollars that will not be used for savings
Mullaney: agree with Foley, no reason not to give this a try
O'Connell reviews the motion to restore $47,000 to this account by Monfredo
O'Brien asks about the programs in place in other communities to use local painters: report
motion fails (O'Connell, Biancheria, Monfredo in favor)

Special ed tuition passes
admin clerical passes
support overtime passes
school clerical
O'Connell notes that we're getting actual coverage before and after school is in session for the year
Allen: five days before the school opens and additional hours in regular days
Monfredo: hasn't that always been the case?
that doesn't explain the increase
passes

Nurses:
10 schools have a half time nurse
would need five more: $300,000 more
O'Brien asks what the range would be, ballpark sense
is there a natural point?
also includes services needed by students at each school,
Novick asks for a report on the schools on the triage lists of schools: what's next down?
what happens when there isn't a nurse in the building? report
passes

Non-instructional report:
Mullaney: why is school volunteer up 5%? step increase
motion: to move $111,600 here for the parent liaisons
Biancheria: asks about the two in the book: they're at the Parent Information Center
the four parent liaisons are school based
Foley supports both motions, bringing back : do any of those schools that are innovation schools want something else? mentions Woodland
O'Brien wants a recommendation from administration on where those people should go
Mullaney: notes that the full amount of two liaisons aren't in the book
Mulqueen pumping large amounts of wraparound services at those schools
where are the current parent liaisons?
Roosevelt, Chandler Elementary, Chandler Magnet, Lincoln Street
O'Brien pushing for a report in July on where the positions
O'Connell: positions where they are now in place
Monfredo: supports keeping them where they are. "Done right, parent liaison will complete role of wraparound person..."
Biancheria: dismayed that the conversation carries over to master's level positions
"there are schools that need a great deal of services; parent liaison at Burncoat and Lincoln has to stay"
O'Brien: authorize budget line, discretion of positioning lies with administration
 Boone: not introducing new positions, not saying positions restored would have to have new qualifications
O'Brien: looking for a game plan on where they'd like those positions
Motion to move the money passes
Request to keep then where they are
Request for a report

Nutrition passes
Grants pass

INTO EXEC