HomeMy Public PortalAbout02-26-2013 RFI - Kounelis_201303041100279222ELECTED OFFICIALS:
Mark S. Sideris,
Council President
Stephen P. Corbett,
Vice President
John A. Donohue,
Councilor At Large
Susan G. Falkoff,
Councilor At Large
Anthony Palomba,
Councilor At Large
Angeline B. Kounelis,
District A Councilor
Cecilia Lenk,
District B Councilor
Vincent J. Piccirilli, Jr.,
District C Councilor
Kenneth M. Woodland
District D Councilor
Watertown Town Council
Administration Building
149 Main Street
Watertown, MA 02472
Phone: 617-972-6470
MEMORANDUM
TO: Honorable Town Council
FROM: Angeline B. Kounelis, District "A" Councilor
RE: Town Council Meeting - 01/08/13
Item 9b, Committee on Rules and Ordinances Report
DATE: February 26, 2013
You may recall at the aforenoted meeting, it was my opinion that the
Committee on Rules and Ordinances Report for the 12/19/12 meeting was
inaccurate. The Town Council voted 8-1 in the affirmative to accept the
report as factual.
Attached please find an e-mail from Thomas Tracy, Town Auditor dated
12/10/12. Based on the contents of the document, the administrative
hourly rate is roughly $27.00/hr. for actual pay. Not $40.00/hr. as
presented in the committees' report.
In my eight years as Town Councilor, it has not been the norm for a
Watertown Police Sergeant or Lieutenant to actively deliver Town Council
material. A Watertown Patrol Officer with an hourly pay range between
$31.00 - $43.00 may be more apt to deliver documents. The stated amount
of $70.00/hr. far exceeds the rate for the highest paid lieutenant.
There are many variables associated with the estimated 20% adjustment to
actual pay to arrive at the "cost of each employee to the Town of
Watertown", as noted in Mr. Tracy's e-mail. Even after the 20% is
factored into the actual pay, the amounts do not correspond. These
figures can be fully discussed during the upcoming annual budget process
and union negotiations.
All the information is readily available in the Fiscal Year 2013
Watertown Annual Budget. The same budget the Town Council reviewed and
voted to accept on 06/12/12.
Please review and advise. Thank you.
cc: Michael J. Driscoll, Town Manager
Thomas Tracy, Town Auditor
John E. Flynn, Town Clerk
Mark R. Reich, Esq., Kopelman and Paige, P.C.
Page 1 of 1
Tracy, Thomas
From: Tracy, Thomas
Sent: Monday, December 10, 2012 3:31 PM
To: 'Cecilia Lenk'
Cc: Lenk, Cecilia
Subject: RE: Research
Cecilia,
Val, Marsha and Joanna's average hourly rate is roughly $27. It varies between the three of them
because of longevity pay and date of last raise.
Police Sergeant's and Lieutenant's pay is more complicated to average out because of shift pay,
education attainment which impacts holiday pay.
Annual Salary for Lieutenant's has a range of $111,967 to $120,244. Hourly (divide by 52.14 weeks and
38.45 hours) equals a range of $55.85 to $59.98
Annual Salary for Sergeant's has a range of $85,559 to $103,040. Hourly equals a range of $42.68 to
$51.40
All of the above is based upon on all types of actual pay the employees are entitled. What is not included
is Town's cost of Retirement, Medicare Tax, Life and Health Insurance. A conservative estimate for these
items would be 20% of pay.
Hope this helps!!
Call if you have any questions.
Thanks
Tom
From: Cecilia Lenk [mailto:Ienk.ce@gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, December 06, 2012 4:19 PM
To: Tracy, Thomas
Cc: Lenk, Cecilia
Subject: Research
Tom, hope you are feeling better. I am researching the costs involved in our current process for
delivering documents to councilors. To that end I need average annual salaries, inc. fringe and
benefts, or hourly rates, for a police sargeant and lieutenant. In addition, the average salaries of
the administrators involved e.g. Val and JoAnna. I probably could look this up but want to be as
accurata as possible.
Thanks so much. It would be helpful to have this on Monday.
Cecilia
Cecilia Lenk
m: 617.905.5646
lenk.ce@gmail.com
2/25/2013
Committee on Rules and Ordinances
Meeting Minutes
December 19, 2012
The Committee on Rules and Ordinances met on Wednesday , December 19, 2012
at 11:00 AM in the Council Office. Present were Councilors John Donohue, Chair,
Vincent Piccirilli, Vice Chair, and Stephen Corbett, Secretary.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the electronic delivery of written
materials to the Council.
At present, the majority of the Council receives all written materials
electronically.
Councilor Donohue informed the Committee that Atty. Reich had noted that
access to the internet is not a protected class under ADA. The Town is in full
compliance with ADA and the Council may decide the method with which written
materials are provided to its members.
The Committee recognized that there are inherent problems in not having a
uniform system of delivery of materials to its members. Electronic delivery is
more timely and has a more uniform level of quality. It was also noted that
documents emailed to Councilors directly from members of the public are
frequently not available to Councilors not using electronic delivery. It was also
noted that preferential treatment should not be provided to some, as this
becomes a burden to many.
Councilor Donohue stated that on average each Councilor receives 15,000 pages
of information yearly. For hard copies, this represents 3 toner cartridges per
Councilor per year, in addition to having a secretary print, collate, and package all
the materials at approximately $40/hr. Also, delivery of hard copies are made by
the Police Department at a cost of approximately $70/hr.
It was noted that under the Open Meeting and Public Records Laws, hard copies
will be available to the public through the Town Clerk's Office, upon request.
After extensive discussion, the Committee voted unanimously to recommend that
the Council adopt a policy stating that the delivery system of written materials to
all Councilors will be electronic. A draft resolution to this affect is attached.
Respectfully Submitted,
Stephen Corbett
IOWA/ Cv'NCt- 0//o %/?
It was noted that the survey will be conducted by a visual inspection of recycling
barrels on pickup day.
The motion as amended was adopted by unanimous voice vote with Councilor
John A. Donohue, Susan G. Falkoff, Anthony Palomba, Angeline B. Kounelis,
Cecilia Lenk, Vincent J. Piccirilli, Jr., Kenneth M. Woodland, Vice President
Stephen P. Corbett, and Council President Mark S. Sideris voting in the
affirmative.
The Manager indicated that the timeline for road projects would not be enforced
for the summer of 2013 as there are projects left over from 2012 as well as the
issue with non -conforming driveways.
Councilor Lenk stated that this was discussed in committee and that it was felt
that things needed to move faster; the schedule was presented by Mr. Mee and
discussion was that by all staff involved, it was achievable. She noted that she
shares the concern but conceptually this is the direction the committee wants to go
in.
Councilor Piccirilli stated that they recognize the first year will be painful but that
it has to start somewhere; noting the steps have been identified and it is a good
first step and half the battle.
Councilor Palomba asked if the dates can be adjusted.
The Manager stated that he concurs with the timeframe laid out in the last page
with more dialogue needed with attachment A.
The Chair indicated that it is the intent of the committee to get away from starting
these projects in September or October and to keep the timeline aggressive; and
do projects early rather than later.
Councilor Lenk stated that this lays out a framework with all the different steps to
take and urged everyone involved to try and expedite what needs to be done.
The Chair called for a two minute recess.
b). Committee on Rules and Ordinances report and action on a resolution
regarding electronic distribution of documents — John A. Donohue, Chair.
Councilor Donohue read the committee report. Councilor Woodland moved to
accept the report, seconded by Councilor Lenk.
Councilor Kounelis stated that based on the information supplied in the report, she
cannot accept it because, in her opinion, it is not factual; in particular the cost to
having her documents in paper form and the cost of delivering her packets by the
police to her home. She stated that people seeking office will be handicapped by
the electronic distribution of documents outlined in the resolution.
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The Chair asked Councilor Donohue how he arrived at the approximated dollar
figures. Councilor Donohue stated that support staff approximated the number of
paper copies provided and the Town Auditor provided the staffing salary figures.
The motion was adopted by voice vote with Councilor John A. Donohue, Susan
G. Falkoff, Anthony Palomba, Cecilia Lenk, Vincent J. Piccirilli, Jr., Kenneth M.
Woodland, Vice President Stephen P. Corbett, and Council President Mark S.
Sideris voting in the affirmative and Councilor Kounelis voting against.
Councilor Donohue read the resolution. Councilor Piccirilli moved the resolution,
seconded by Councilor Lenk.
Councilor Kounelis read a July 7, 2006 speak out from the Watertown Tab and
Press. Councilor Kounelis read her June 5, 2007 memo regarding the
compensation of the Council Clerk.
Councilor Kounelis stated that she is all for technological improvements but does
not want it forced on her or anyone else who wants to serve. She asked where her
technical support will come from.
Councilor Palomba asked Attorney Reich how this will effect outside entities in
their presentations to the Council.
Attorney Reich stated that this will not affect outside entities and how they present
materials or presentations.
Councilor Palomba asked how reimbursement will be made for printing expenses.
Councilor Donohue stated that each Councilor has an expense account of $300.00
per year.
Councilor Palomba asked how the public access to information will change.
Attorney Reich stated that it is covered under the public records request by a
councilor or member of the public through the Town Clerk's office and there is a
printer in the outer office for councilor's use and that this does not change the
public's access to documents.
Councilor Palomba asked if an agenda will be provided to the public upon
request. Attorney Reich indicate that it was previously stated that there will be an
effort to honor requests for an agenda but there is nothing in the law that says that
a stack of agendas have to be available for the public in print at the time of the
meeting.
Councilor Piccirilli stated that he worked with Councilors Donohue and Corbett
to develop the resolution and noted that some of the items being formalized in the
resolution came from the adopted Charter changes. He indicated that a lot of data
is necessary in running a 103 million dollar town budget and this resolution just
formalizes the practices we have been doing over the last few years. One of the
budget priority guidelines is to improve the use of the web site by making it more
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