Council comments on transfer

O'Brien, thanks the Mayor, the Manager, Councilor Eddy "real support for public education"
First time "in four years, it may be five"
"important moment for me as we're making a real strong commitment to public education"
this is operational but "important investments in technology and school facilities, in partnership with our friends in state government...very important investments"

Eddy, echo O'Brien "this doesn't happen...happy to make this motion..working together with the superintendent"
"certainly not where we want to end"
talking to people "on the west side and on the southwest side of the city...safety, service, and schools"
middle class

Economou thanks Mayor, Manager
"the number one thing I hear going door to door"
strong education base "everything else will follow"
look forward to working further in the years to come

Rushton "this is the starting point to increase the funding of our schools"
national award winning schools
"over 500 new children came in...people are opting in not opting out of our school system"

Palmieri: "echoing my colleagues is one thing; the results are another"
"what a great education means to each  child...not only for better students, but...prime mover for economic development"
continue to help and assist schools, school department, teachers, and students
"can't think of a better place to invest at this time"

Lukes: "wonder what kind of a message we are sending...only so many dollars to go around...are we robbing Peter to pay Paul?"
free cash "very low this year"
runs numbers which appear to miss that Chapter 70 funds come through the city from the state...
"how much had you originally set aside in your plan to pay for these fixed costs?"
CM O'Brien "I'm not sure I understand the question..."thanks Mayor and Superintendent
NSS "a goal, symbolic"
move money from the contingency "one time money" to school salaries to lower class sizes
$40,000 delta that we had to achieve to get to net school spending
"stuck to that commitment to get to $172,000 'though the need was $40,000"
"we are going to have to begin to make some difficult decisions"
lists schools then public safety, parks
"a step, a symbolic step...we've got work ahead"
"I'm not being optimistic"
"had planned to put $5 million aside for OPEB..and we didn't get to a conclusion on the schools contribution and if it would count towards net school spending"
"defying the statistics across the country"
"long term strategic move now instead of in ten years"
deposits into OPEB
Lukes "likely that we're going in the same direction as other cities and not funding our OPEB and our pension liabilities, then?"
O'Brien: "just the opposite"
Lukes "when we keep taking money out and there's only so much money to go around"

Toomey "incredibly important in a community like ours to fund education"
"came from the bright side over there, in the Worcester Public Schools"
leadership, careful accounting
"incredibly important that folks don't look at this in a negative way, but as an economic vehicle"

O'Brien (for a second time): "it's a good thing (not a bad thing) that we've worked together to close that deficit"
"making smart investments in school infrastructure"

Petty: report on for Thursday night for exactly how the money is being expended

Roll call: unanimously passes

Councilor Eddy: questions

Eddy: are we achieving the goals that we want to?
"are we making progress?...moving forward, making progress"
Boone: "making progress primarily due to the way that we approach the budget"
"finding ourselves getting close to the end of being able to reprogram the same dollars"
Eddy: "continue to make progress"
Gates Lane School: "had come up here repeatedly"
parking impact on the neighborhood Note that we are paying $14,000 for 14 parking spaces across the street. 
Boone: schools built without parking areas; issues that we face in most of those schools
planning and design for other schools: too difficult to do it later
nearly impossible to address after the fact
"very large school on a very large footprint"
adequate parking was not planned
other schools: what are creative ways for parking? ...no property around schools to create parking
work with neighborhoods for least disruption
don't have a solution
Eddy: will school budget include funding for Gates Lane parking in the fall
Boone: working to carry forward

Informational on net school spending: here's the discussion

Here's the discussion on the recommended allocation of the $500,000 transfer
O'Brien: leadership working with the manager and the school department, to address the capital needs of our schools
Thanks the Manager "to leverage out a few more dollars"
Councilors, textbooks and instructional materials,
"making progress towards that gap...a little behind but we're catching up"
"continue to work towards...an operational plan that we all can get behind"
Economou: echo same sentiments, Say thank you
"step in the right direction"
Eddy: "indeed a step in the right direction"
Manager "has worked tirelessly with the superintendent"
parking lot lease in Webster Square (murmurs from Lukes)
Long been aware of the issue on Holland Road, Monticello, Wentworth, "held hostage in their homes"
"at some point...thank Tom Zidelis...far too many man hours working with Brian Allen in the school department for a solution on this...expensive bandaid...speaks to...public schools have to take... responsibilities of the public schools fall beyond the walls of the schools...being a good neighbor...cannot build schools that do not have parking"
(I should perhaps point out that the City, not the schools, build schools)
Urges Mayor to bring back to schools...going on far too long
look at field behind school (which is a park)
held it waiting for a permanent solution
motion to no parking on Holland Road during school days: need to have a public hearing, says mayor
O'Brien thinks there has been a hearing
Eddy pulls motion, sends to committee
Toomey: look back at orders not completed on this, all addressed at same time
Russell: question to administration
annual salary or half the year?
The answer is half the year, but no one knows. 

sorry, no idea what Palmieri said
CM O'Brien: amazing learning environment
buffered against our fiscal condition
that's why the move was conservative to put those dollars into contingency
Mayor has a style that I respect greatly
how we can structure these dollars
wasn't a week that went by when it wasn't an agenda item

Lukes: going back to parking lot lease
and then to initial reference to the item
"if parking lots qualify for net school spending, I'd be shocked"
how many schools are going to want the same?
footprint larger for same number of students, losing parking as a result
"this issue is one that's going to plague us with any new school"
people in that neighborhood want the school built in the same location
"for that half hour at each end of the day, it's like the end of the world"
"I would suggest that we find other solutions to this problem"

O'Brien: sure that this does not set a precedent, as there are others

Economou: in light of tonight's discussion: February 25 at 5 pm, Holland Road before Traffic and Parking

Petty: no real short term solution to parking problem
thanks Allen and Zidelis for working to fix the problem

More on schools

I left at this point, but there were more remarks made by Council on schools. (start at 8:28)

This has nothing to do with education

...but I don't see another laptop in the chamber.
Germaine is holding the charter change item, on what happens if a district councilor leaves midway through a term, under personal privilege.
Eddy is speaking on the item, anyway, but it's officially off the table until next week.
He points out that running for at-large and school committee is significantly different than running for district councilor.

It will be the first item next week.

Comments from the members: Eddy

longstanding repercussions in our neighborhood
free advice from Eddy: revenue, reductions, reform...as we head toward spring, don't catch people by surprise
let Councilors know what you're thinking ahead of time

Comments from the members: Rushton

Rushton, asking the Manager: how close are we to settling with the WPD (re: Quinn Bill)? "I'm an eternal optimist" is the short answer. He hopes we can get to that $2.2 million gap through contract negotiations and departmental restructuring.
Warned by the Mayor that they have an executive session coming, Rushton calls his question "lame" and then tries to ask about departmental restructuring, which the Mayor attempts to rule out of order, which he persists in asking, which the Manager more or less answers the way that he already has (fully vetted plan, adjustments...)
Hopes that they can resolve the Quinn bill deficit

grant fee of 3% only applies to non-stimulus money for this year; stays at 1% for the stimulus funding...FY10 budget assumes no increase in the grant fee, Boone says.

Much close questioning on the projected 10% health increase...
Eddy interrupts to ask if we are operating under the 5 minute rule of Council meetings, as the Council meeting starts in about 15 minutes. Or doesn't, if they keep going.

"Only one more comment" from Rushton..."good fruitful discussion"

Summer meeting: subcommittee and the WOO card

Councilor Eddy is not here tonight; we've got a two person subcommittee for the meeting (Toomey and Smith).
They're doing WOO card (item B) while the people are there.
(Councilor Toomey just literally introduced everyone in the room, including my children and Dawn Johnson, here for the CPPAC.)

"Everything is WOO-hoo here in Worcester!" is the quote of the report. There have been 12,000 Woo cards distributed in the past 12 months. They are now on Twitter (anyone have a link?) and on Facebook (where Councilor Toomey has just said that she will friend them).

Late for the budget

Sorry for the late start on blogging here at the School budget. There were four speakers from the public, the budget passed without comment, and now we're getting a series of comments and questions from Councilors.
I came in just in time to hear Councilor Eddy say that "if this keeps up, we're going to have to start having a conversation around sustainable revenue"

For what we've missed here, you'll have to check Daily Worcesteria.

Yes, we're still here...

and the same refrain keeps coming back:

1. There are more cuts coming
2. We don't have a done budget yet.
   

On a day in which the lead headline in the local paper reported a $1 billion shortfall, no one thinks that we've got a finished budget here. The state has to figure out what it's going to do with $1 billion less, then let the city know what that will mean for us, and then the Council can decide what they're doing.

Councilor Petty, echoed by Councilor Eddy, commented that we don't have final numbers yet.

Eddy concerned about tone

what government has to do, must do, should do...
Stimulus money meant to revitalize economy.
(and we're back to police officers again...)

Talking here about what people look for in a city. "When I hear...someone say the word boondoggle...that we're somehow trying to take some money and it's us and them...be careful with the term boondoggle...what are the best of the bad situation. Worldwide global recession. Repectfully, I urge you rethink that word."

Mullaney withdraws the word. She also points out that schools have declined over the past six or seven years..."we've been at a bad level, and we're going to stay at a bad level."

Eddy asks a leading question

Up until now, has this been an agreement between city and school sides?
"There were recommendations to increase it" under Hoover, Zidelis says."The City's plan justified it, even back then." Plan hasn't been reviewed since, as far as he knows.
Eddy asks how much.
Over a million, Zidelis says, not including the stimulus money.
Including stimulus? Another $600,000.

Eddy talks about police officers and firefighters, not sweeping streets..."felt deeply" is his refrain. "look at future years as things change on both sides"

Liveblogging City Council: FY10 budget goes on the road?

And we're off on budget hearings and transparency...

9a.Request the City Council, in conjunction with the City Administration, consider establishing a series of three public hearings across the City relating to the Fiscal Year 2010 budget to provide maximum budget-related data to the general public and to receive maximum public input all modeled after the successful protocols implemented in the City of Portland, Oregon. Also, request that there be a comment section created on the City’s web site to allow immediate remote commentary as a result of these community hearings.

Councilor Toomey has proposed the motion, in the name of transparency.

Councilor Clancy says Council "unlike School Committee through the years" has met a number of times in an open, televised process..."I really think we do have an open transparent process." He comments that he likes the process as it is.

Clancy asks if we have a schedule for the budget hearings. The Manager answers that the budget is still waiting for final information on the application of federal stimulus money; he intended to have it ready this Friday...but now it's looking like it's going to be Tuesday instead. It will be presented with a budget summary this year, rather than a budget message as per usual.

Toomey says she's not asking to change the budget process, but to add meetings, hearings..."it doesn't have to be our budget session" She insists that the public be recognized, as not everyone can make the regular Council sessions.

Councilor Rosen notes that it's a suggestion.

Councilor Rushton calls the budget process "stale and unengaging...it may be tough at this point" He says we can engage the public...notes the governor goes online to engage the public..."it's here..." He speaks of the smart phones offered to the Councilors: "We've had a largely unengaged citizenry while the budget hearings are happening"

Councilor Eddy rises to "amend" after a reminder from the mayor that they may only rise for a limited number of reasons...he doesn't think the budget process is stale. He would like the subcommittees go out to hear public commentary on the budget.

Councilor Clancy suggests flip-flopping the budget hearings and the regular Council meeting: the meetings at 4, the hearings at 7.

Toomey says that it's a "hearing about the budget" not "a budget hearing," "away from City Hall." The various items pass for at least consideration.

Councilor Eddy on the tax rate

Makes some opening remarks about this being his first year doing this...running for office last year was an education...we have wonderful neighborhoods. "I would say those those that say 'no one wants to be here' that they have no idea what they are talking about"...care about the amentitites offered by the city.

"School system has seen an increase in funding"

"a city on the move, because we are a city of neighborhoods"

People are concerned about where their tax dollars go and if the city is being efficient...(so) he can't say other than the lowest tax rate possible

There are a lot of factors that determine where a business goes other than the tax rate.

"I have no problem with this vote, no problem whatsoever"

Question 1 and the City Council

This past Tuesday's meeting led the Daily Worcesteria to believe that Councilor Eddy would be bringing up Question 1 (that's the state income tax rollback) at this coming Tuesday's Council meeting. It's not up on the agenda, but that doesn't bar him (or anyone) for bringing it up under suspension. I'll check in and see if we can find out.

UPDATE: The City Council doesn't meet this week (primary election is 9/16). Councilor Eddy assures me that it is up for next week's agenda.

Eddy

"city of neighborhoods"
"not the be all, fix all"
"may not be all that advocates asked"

"a positive step to doing well for families in our community"

Questions from City Council: class sizes

Councilor Eddy: average class size in elementary school?

Brian Allen answers: 22 to 1

Next year?

again, on average 22 to 1, but 29 classes with 27 or more students.

More than this year?

Not an increase...fairly consistent

Do we have a goal on class size?

22 to 1 is the foundation budget number

Are we meeting our goal?

Yes, Brian Allen says, because it's a priority of the school committee. We'd like to have NO classrooms with over 22.

What would it cost?

Require 13 to 19 more teachers: $750,000 to $1 million dollars. Some of that money is in the budget (13 of them) due to the money allocated by the city manager in this year's budget. We still have 16 classrooms that'll be over 27 students.

(Eddy's not following this.)

"If we aren't going to get to where the advocates want us to be, and we aren't at where the administration would like us to be, do we have a plan to get us up there from year to year?"

What's up next

As Tuesday night's City Council forwarded this discussion to the Education Subcommittee, and they, at Thursday afternoon's meeting, decided to jointly chair a meeting with the School Committee's business sub-committee about the budget (did you follow all of that?), they are the first people to speak with on this. The Education Subcommittee are Councilors Toomey (chair), Smith, and Eddy.
It's a bit unclear what happens with the request that the School Committee passed on Thursday night. As the City Council had jumped the gun and already sent the request to the subcommittee before the School Committee had passed that request, it's unlikely that they will take it up again. Under Chairman's Orders, however, they are able to comment on such subjects as the budget even if they don't make the agenda. It's worth keeping an eye on.

UPDATE: The Council agenda for March 4 is up and there's no mention of this.