The Mayor’s proposal to create an Operations Booster Stabilization Fund (OSBF) (see Fig City News article) is headed back to the Finance Committee. The Council began its discussion of the OBSF late on September 18, at approximately 10:25 PM — after the Council had received a presentation from the Mayor and Chief Operating Officer on the City’s Capital Improvement Plan for FY2024 – FY2029 (see Fig City News article), and after lengthy debates on the Craft Brewery ordinance and the Plastics Reduction Ordinance amendments and a short discussion about two grants of location to lay fiber optic infrastructure in recently paved Chestnut Street.
Finance Committee Chair Becky Grossman presented the Committee’s September 11 Report stating that the motion to approve had failed and that the Committee requested that the language of the ordinance be tightened up. She added that she asked Chief Financial Officer Maureen Lemieux to be present at the meeting to potentially participate in the discussion of the item. The Council took a voice vote on whether to allow that participation, and there was one loud No from Ward 5 Councilor Bill Humphrey.
Councilor Humphrey placed the item on second call and suggested the item be recommitted to the Finance Committee for additional work. He reported that there was a divided committee discussion on this proposal and said the proposed mechanisms were modified after the meeting. Humphrey said this is a proposal not to generate new revenue but likely to lose revenue. He added there would be automatic reductions in funding to NPS if pensions were to be reduced and would like to “workshop” that language, noting that state law requires a 2/3 vote of the Council to approve the item.
Finance Chair Grossman disagreed with some of the statements made by Councilor Humphrey and explained that was the reason why she requested that CFO Lemieux participate. She said she does not think the plan has changed and does not agree that any mistakes were made. She added that she believes people like the plan and want to see it move forward. She asked, “Do you want this $26 million to be able to be part of a long-term plan to help build up NPS’s future or instead be spent on infrastructure projects?” and said, “I want it to go to kids and teachers and rehire middle school positions that had to be eliminated during the budget.”
Ward 4 At-Large Councilor Lenny Gentile supported the motion to recommit and explained that he was unable to be present for the full discussion because he needed to participate in the Zoning and Planning discussion of Village Center Zoning map changes that he had proposed. Ward 8 At-Large Councilor David Kalis disagreed. He did not understand what the Committee would discuss that would be different.
Ward 7 At-Large Councilor Marc Laredo said that so far, four people on the Finance Committee opposed the item, adding that he did not think the votes were there to approve the item and did not want to be forced to do committee work in the full council.
Councilor Humphrey explained: “The people who are trying to send it back to the Finance Committee to do work are the people who did not vote in favor of this coming out of the committee. So we are trying to give you a lifeline if you are someone who wants this plan to have more opportunities to work on this and discuss and get to consensus. Because this needs a two-thirds vote to pass something the staff didn’t realize until they were live on air during the Finance meeting and I’m telling you if you do the math in this room and online of who is here tonight, this is not going to pass if it comes to a full vote tonight and so me sending it back is giving you a lifeline. If that doesn’t pass, me chartering it is also giving you a lifeline, so take the lifeline and let us go home. “
The Council took Councilor Humphrey’s lifeline and voted to send the item back to Finance (20 – 2 (Grossman and Kalis) and 2 absent (Markiewicz and Norton). Watch the NewTV video beginning at 2:44:55.