The Programs & Services Committee voted to approve the following (see report and watch the meeting video):
- Appointment of Gregory Ansaldi as Chief Information Officer (8–0). Mr. Ansaldi, a 27-year veteran of Newton’s IT Department, was praised for his leadership and outlined goals related to cybersecurity, open data, and digital infrastructure.
- Authorization to transfer and expend $76,975 for temporary school nursing staff (8–0). The funds support agency nurses filling critical vacancies in the school system.
The Programs & Services Committee voted to hold:
- Appropriation of $75,000 for Community Health Assessment and Community Health Improvement Plan (6-0-2, Councilors Baker and Humphrey abstaining) “to collect and analyze community level data to identify key health related needs, strengths, and resources. Following the Assessment, the Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) is a long-term strategy to address the public health issues that were identified in the community health assessment and identifies priority issues as well as develops and implements strategies to address those issues. Additionally, it will establish mechanisms for measuring improvements.” The CDC recommends updating Community Health Plans every 3 to 5 years, Newton’s was last updated over 9 years ago. Plan will be partially paid for with opioid settlement funds. Some Councilors were concerned about the ambiguity of the project’s scope, methodologies, and goals.
Present: Councilors Krintzman (Chair), Humphrey, Farrell, Oliver, Lobovits, Micley, Malakie, and Baker
City Staff: Chief Information Officer Joe Mulvey, Information Technology Deputy Director Greg Ansaldi, Senior Network Administrator Rachel Sherman, Chief Operating Officer Jonathan Yeo, Chief Financial Officer Maureen Lemieux, Financial Planning & Analysis Manager Perry Rosenfield, Financial Analyst Trevor Goehring, Acting City Clerk Cassidy Flynn, City Solicitor Alissa Giuliani, Veterans’ Services Officer Seth Bai, Commissioner of Health & Human Services Shin-Yi Lao, Director of Older Adult Services Mignonne Murray, Deputy Director of Older Adult Services Ashley Shaheen, and Senior Financial Analyst Endrit Poreci