Marianne LaBarge City Councilor | Ward 6 | Northampton, MA

WARD 6

         CITY COUNCILOR

MARIANNE LABARGE
Text Box: APRIL 2025 UPDATE ON ITEMS BEFORE NORTHAMPTON CITY COUNCIL This is an update on some of the items before City Council. You can attend regular City Council meetings using zoom, or in person at City Council Chambers, located at 212 Main Street, Northampton. July and August meetings are on Zoom only. Meetings are usually the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of each month. All meetings start at 6:30 pm, with public comment at the beginning. Agenda and Zoom access information is available here: (https://www.northamptonma.gov/AgendaCenter ) School Committee  At its February 13th meeting The School Committee directed Superintendent Portia Bonner to request a $600,000 appropriation to hire/restore staff, to address student needs. Mayor Sciarra voted against the motion as a School Committee member; she did bring this as a financial order to the Council “without recommendation”. At our March 6th meeting, City Council approved $294,883 of these funds, with a recommendation to roll in $50,000 of it for next year's budget as a permanent increase (that translates to $200,000 next year since we are three-quarters of the way through this year). It is the responsibility of City Council to consider the long term financial condition of the City and balance the needs of the schools with the needs of the other departments. As a City Councilor, I listened to public comment at recent School Committee and City Council meetings, met with teachers and parents, and received many emails and phone calls regarding many concerns. I believe that this additional school funding will be well used. The School Committee’s request was for money for this year; however, they did not say that the request was temporary. City Council heard a description from Superintendent Bonner at our February 20th meeting that short term funding would be limited in its impact, hiring staff that would only be present for the last 9 weeks of school. Teachers state that funding tutors and interventionists for math and reading, even for just the next few months, would have a positive impact on helping students improve, possibly reducing future special education costs for these students. There are three main ways to accomplish more funding for schools in the future: Raising more revenue.  The primary way to accomplish this is through property tax increases. A Proposition 2 ½ override vote allows us to raise our taxes by more than 2.5% (on average) in a given year. Raising more revenue is part of our Fiscal Stability Plan. The Fiscal Stability Plan counts on planned regular override votes every 4 to 7 years to allow for budget increases greater than the 2.5% limit imposed by Proposition 2½. 2.5% is less than the average rate of inflation. When you add in costs outside of our control, such as health insurance, the gap is even greater. Without periodic overrides or other sources of revenue, we would have to cut services. Most of the override money goes to school funding, but other departments are supported as well. Estimate revenues higher. Estimating revenues higher allows us to create a balanced budget with more spending, creating fewer surpluses at the end of the year. End of year surplus is used to fund most of Northampton’s capital projects, and to set aside money in our emergency fund, capital fund, climate fund, and to extend our fiscal stability plan. The State recommends setting revenue expectations so that we create a 5 to 7% surplus, on average. Beginning with Fiscal Year 2026 the Mayor and Finance Director are aiming for generating a 3 to 5% surplus. The difference with higher revenue estimates will provide more money to our schools, the Dept. of Public Works, and the Fire/Rescue Department, but at the expense of our future capital spending and reserve balances. Cut operating budgets of other departments. In Fiscal Year 2025, many expense lines were cut for the purpose of adding additional school funding. Every budget is an expression of the priorities of the City. The question is what tradeoffs should be made. Tradeoffs have consequences; there is no surplus money that doesn't get used for an important purpose. Preliminary Northampton Public Schools Budget Review. Superintendent Portia Bonner presented her preliminary budget review at the March 13th School Committee meeting. The School Committee expects to vote on the final budget it will present to the Mayor by its April 10th meeting. The Mayor will then present the entire budget to the City Council on May 15th, and City Council will hold budget hearings near the end of May. Water & Sewer Rates Hearing This Thursday, March 20th, at 6:40 pm the City Council held a public hearing during its regular meeting on the proposed water & sewer rates for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1st. There is no change proposed in either the rates or the base charges.  Our Water and Sewer Enterprise Funds operate separately from our General Fund. They are closed systems, relying entirely on usage fees and a small amount of other income. In 2023 we raised the base charges for water and sewer to compensate for the departure of Coca-Cola. Other than the 2023 change, there has been no increase in rates for many years, while costs have continued to go up. As of January 1st, halfway through the fiscal year, we had received 56% of the expected revenue for the year. Snow & Ice Storm Response & Sidewalk Ordinance The storm of February 15th - 17th, 2025 was a significant regional event. It is very hard to fully clear heavy mixed precipitation from the roads. The Department of Public Works worked around the clock and used hundreds of tons of chemical to de-ice and clear 160 miles of roadway. The 30 plus hour duration of the storm, flooding, heavy snowfall and ice accumulation made for challenging conditions. Their priorities in an event like this are the clearing of all roads in the city for passage. DPW is facing an ongoing staffing shortage of approximately 20 workers. The City cannot be competitive with private companies or the State, so it’s difficult to attract and retain workers. A funding increase and a change to the pay scale is needed to address this problem. The Mayor is looking to help address this problem in the upcoming Fiscal Year 2026 budget. Winter Storm Events: If you have a concern about road conditions, please email or call the Dept. of Public Works (dpwinfo@northamptonma.gov, 413-587-1570). After hours, call the non-emergency dispatch line (413-587-1100). Sidewalk clearing is required by the adjacent property owner 24 hours after a storm ends. If the snow/ice can’t be removed, then it must be treated with sand or similar material to prevent slipping. Violations should be reported to the non-emergency dispatch number (413-587-1100). Our City Services Committee will be meeting Monday, March 24, at 4:30 pm in City Council chambers and on Zoom (agendas).  Police Chief John Cartledge will answer questions about the enforcement of the sidewalk clearing ordinance and Public Works Director Donna LaScaleia will attend to answer questions about snow and ice removal. Censure of Councilor Rothenberg. At a special meeting on March 12th, City Council passed a resolution censuring Councilor Rothenberg for conduct during a call to Northampton Public Safety Dispatch on February 18th (call audio https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-cZ2sf-y13ToxT1yq-O7oRGRsFdEvc0k/view?pli=1 ). That vote passed with 7 votes in favor, Councilor Dubs opposed, and Councilor Rothenberg recused. A censure is an expression of disapproval by the council - it does not change the Councilor’s rights in any way. During the call, the councilor misrepresented the role of the City Council, used her position in an attempt to get dispatchers to break their protocols, and repeated a false rumor that the Public Works director had resigned. As a City Councilor, I believe that the actions described in the resolution were violations of our charter, possible ethics violations, and had a negative impact on the Dept. of Public Works. I understand that Councilor Rothenberg was advocating for her constituents and that there were dangerous conditions in the ward. As individual councilors, one of our roles is to advocate and convey information. It would have been appropriate to call public safety dispatch and relay information from constituents to them, and to advise constituents to call the non-emergency number (or emergency one if warranted), so that personnel can take action. Healthy Incentives Program (HIP) Resolution.  We unanimously approved a resolution supporting the HIP program which provides limited reimbursement to households that receive SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits, for locally grown fruits and vegetables. The program has been reduced by the State, impacting families and local farmers. Northampton's water system

Northampton’s Water System

 

Click on Map or go to:

https://www.northamptonma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/14484/Northampton-Water-System-Map?bidId=

 
Healthy Incentives Program logo