3 5 2019 City Council Meetings Committee on Finance & Regular Meeting

The Fall River City Council met on March 5, 2019, beginning with a Committee on Finance meeting followed immediately by a Regular Meeting. In the Committee on Finance, the council reviewed a transfer of $51,018.75 from EMS stabilization to EMS capital to equip a new ambulance. The primary focus of the finance session was an extensive, contentious discussion regarding the three-year collective bargaining agreement with AFSCME Council 93. City Administrator Cathy Ann Viveiros and Director of Financial Services Mary Sahady presented financial details, estimating the contract's total cost at $1,023,000 ($374,000 in year one, $405,000 in year two, and $242,000 in year three). Several councilors questioned pay discrepancies across job classes, the elimination of floating personal days for clerks, and the handling of disciplinary records, resulting in a heated exchange between Councilor Shawn Cadime and Administrator Viveiros regarding fiscal oversight.

During the subsequent regular meeting, the council addressed multiple appointments, committee reports, and communications, including referring an inter-municipal agreement for wastewater treatment with the Town of Westport to the Committee on Finance. The council also approved real estate transfers and committee reports regarding police cruiser safety malfunctions. A resolution was adopted directing the administration to investigate funding and installing a 400-amp electrical service upgrade at the Gates of the City to support cultural festivals, estimated at $300,000. Additionally, the council approved resolutions to draft ordinances giving the council oversight over constable appointments and mandating that all proposed union contracts include total cost analyses and the involvement of the Director of Finance.

In final actions, the council lifted the AFSCME Council 93 collective bargaining agreement from the table and voted to approve it, with Councilor Cadime casting the lone dissenting vote. The council also passed emergency ordinances establishing handicapped parking spaces and traffic stop sign regulations before adjourning.

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