8.31.2020 Fall River City Council

The Fall River City Council met on August 31, 2020, to conduct detailed hearings and consider adoption of the revised Fiscal Year 2021 municipal budget. Under review was a revised appropriation totaling $312,689,650, which had been adjusted following the Council's previous rejection to restore funding for public safety. CFO Mary Sahadi outlined key modifications, including utilizing $1 million in CARES Act funds shifted from the school department to fund nine firefighters and eleven police patrolmen, trimming $1.5 million from the health insurance appropriation, and scaling back the planned stabilization fund transfer to $2 million. Over several hours of hearings, the Council questioned department heads, including Traffic Director Laura Ferreira, Assessing Administrator Nelia Raposo, Corporation Council Alan Rumsey, Code Enforcement Director Glenn Hathaway, school officials, healthcare consultants from Gallagher Benefit Services, Fire Chief John Lynch, Police Chief Jeffrey Cardoza, and Director of Community Maintenance John Perry.

Central to the debate were deep concerns regarding a persistent structural deficit and reliance on one-time revenues to balance the operating budget. Councilors Shawn Cadime and Michelle Dion vehemently opposed adopting a budget dependent on stabilization reserves and one-time CARES funds, cautioning that it would trigger an even larger fiscal crisis and potential layoffs in FY2022. Questions surrounding health insurance solvency were explored at length with Gallagher representatives, examining stopped-loss reimbursements and retiree rate adjustments. Discussion also covered capital needs, staffing vacancies, trash collection enforcement, and possible municipal revenue options such as parking kiosk rate increases or trash collection fees.

When the full Council convened to vote on the annual appropriation order of $312,689,650, several members expressed apprehension about approving a structural deficit and feeling rushed without sufficient vetting. The motion to adopt the FY2021 budget failed on a 4-5 roll call vote, with Councilors Cadime, Dion, Laliberte-Lebeau, Lee, and President Ponte voting in the negative. Following a recess to prevent a shutdown at midnight, CFO Sahadi prepared an emergency 1/12th continuing appropriation order for the month of September in the amount of $40,441,630, which included $13.3 million for school payroll. The Council adopted the September 1/12th budget on a 6-3 vote, approved spending limits on revolving funds, and tabled the order to rescind prior monthly appropriations before adjourning.

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