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.
Topics discussed
- 5:05 · FY21 Revenue and Stabilization Adjustments
CFO Mary Sahadi reviewed budget revisions, including reducing the stabilization transfer to $2 million, trimming $1.5 million from health insurance, and slightly increasing motor vehicle excise projections to $8.1 million. - 7:14 · Structural Deficit Concerns
Councilors debated the risks of relying on one-time CARES Act funding and stabilization reserves to balance operating costs, warning of severe shortfalls in FY22. - 12:54 · Retirement System Amortization Schedule
Consideration of extending the PERAC pension liability amortization schedule to 2040 to reduce annual municipal normal/unfunded cost burdens. - 14:06 · Billboard Permitting and Potential Revenue
Discussion of a state-approved billboard permit near Market and South Main Streets and whether billboard advertising could generate municipal revenue. - 33:10 · Traffic Department Operations and Parking Meter Rates
Director Laura Ferreira discussed department staffing, parking garage revenues, and the potential to generate $300,000 by increasing meter rates to 50 cents and installing modern kiosks. - 1:07:58 · Assessing Department Staffing and Revaluation Services
Discussion with Assessing Administrator Nelia Raposo regarding the Assistant Assessor 2 vacancy, outside consulting support, and property valuation operations. - 1:21:56 · Law Department Staffing and Municipal Legal Costs
Corporation Counsel Alan Rumsey presented comparative data showing Fall River’s legal department is understaffed compared to New Bedford and Brockton, advocating for an additional assistant city solicitor. - 1:43:24 · Code Enforcement and Inspectional Services
Director Glenn Hathaway addressed building permit delays, COVID-19 inspection overtime, vacant property fees, and demolition accounts. - 2:08:41 · School Department Fourth Quarter and Operational Expenses
School administrators explained fourth-quarter budget variances, including AED replacements and staffing adjustments for paraprofessionals and guidance counselors. - 2:12:20 · Health Insurance Funding and Actuarial Projections
Gallagher representatives Diana Laflash and Chris Nunnally reviewed active employee and MedEx retiree rate projections, stop-loss coverage, and whether the proposed $39 million city transfer is sufficient. - 3:19:12 · Fire Department Staffing and Safer Grant
Chief John Lynch confirmed plans to hire nine firefighters (net increase of seven) and utilize $125,773 in overtime to maintain apparatus shift strength and protect SAFER grant requirements. - 3:47:53 · Police Department Staffing, Cruisers, and Overtime
Chief Jeffrey Cardoza discussed hiring plans to bring sworn personnel to 234, cruiser vehicle needs, de-escalation training funds, and overtime costs required to maintain a 12-car patrol minimum. - 4:32:43 · Department of Community Maintenance and Waste Disposal
Director John Perry outlined road paving lists, bulk item disposal costs, enforcement of the EZ Disposal contract, and options to achieve over $500,000 in savings by restricting commercial trash collection. - 5:21:20 · Motion to refer the FY21 Municipal Budget to the full City Council for action — passed
- 5:21:43 · Motion to adopt the order establishing spending limits for FY2021 revolving funds — passed
- 5:22:00 · Motion to refer the order establishing spending limits on FY21 revolving funds to full Council — passed
- 5:22:09 · Motion to table the order rescinding July and August continuing appropriations — tabled
- 5:23:12 · September 2020 1/12th Continuing Appropriation — passed
Following the defeat of the full annual budget, the Council took up and approved a continuing appropriation of $40,441,630 to keep municipal and school operations funded through September. - 5:23:18 · Motion to refer the order rescinding the July and August continuing appropriations to full Council — passed
- 5:25:13 · Motion to adopt the FY2021 Annual Municipal Budget appropriation order of $312,689,650 — failed
- 6:50:10 · Motion to adopt a 1/12th continuing budget for the month of September 2020 at level services — passed