North Adams Committee Reviewing Online Information Access

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Public Services Committee is considering how to better provide access to city information.

The committee has taken up the issue after inquiries several months ago about the possibility of instituting an "open checkbook" system, technically an accessible online city accounts payable system.

The administration has said the cost to update the city's accounting software and link into the online system could be prohibitive at this point without significant grant funding.

Committee member Eric Buddington told the half-dozen or so attendees on Monday that the initial goal would be to review what is being done now.

"I wanted to expand this topic to records availability generally," he said. "My goal for the evening is to flesh out what records are easily available and have some discussion about what records could be more accessible without much difficulty."

Resident Aaron Crandall said his concern was the accessibility of meeting minutes, where they were stored and the timely manner in which they were turned into the city clerk.  

"You shouldn't go there to get minutes and you only get two out of six," he said.

Administrative Officer Michael Canales, who attended the meeting with City Auditor David Fierro Jr. in case there were questions, said, "the clerk is the keeper of the records for all records turned over to her."

The city clerk keeps the minutes of the City Council, its committees (which may be taken by a member but are submitted to the full council), vital statistics, elections results and certain other records. The clerk also stores any minutes submitted for storage, but other boards may keep their own records.

Several of those attending thought the clerk should be made keeper of all documents, though Canales pointed out the council has no control over other elected or independent boards.

Buddington had a summary of what could and could not be found on the city website, asking for input on anything he might of have missed.

Over the last few years, meeting agendas, ordinances, the charter, budgets, classification and compensation plans, application forms and assessment data have been regularly posted online. Meeting minutes have not been, for the most part, although City Council minutes to be approved are often uploaded with the agenda.

Not on the site are contracts, requests for proposals, bids, salaries, other expenses and Board of Health bylaws.

Canales said the Board of Health primarily operates according to state regulations but may pass ordinances "over and above" what the state requires. He said the mayor's office is looking for a technical grant to get those online because there is no general book of regulations and the board has to look up if anything had been instituted in the past. In the case of the building inspector, state building code is followed so there are no separate regulations.


RFPs and bid contracts are kept by the procurement office, but RFPs could be found on CommBuys (not easily) by looking up the city's listings (the number is 1371).

While the classification and compensation plans are available, salaries are not online.

"The state gives a detailed list with names and number of years on the job," said resident Wayne Goodell. "There are cities and towns also that do that same thing."

Resident Roger Eurbin thought the city should provide more information on revenue streams. Several said the city should offer employment opportunities on the website, not aware those links have been posted for some years now.

Clicking under the "Employment Opportunities" tab on the city website takes you several direct links to job postings on the school district website, Berkshire Works, BerkshireJobs.com, and others.

"It's very early on in this so we want to get the input," said Buddington. "I think this is a very long-term issue ... the city has been doing paper for a very long time. I'm also very excited if we can get a grant to digitize these records."

He cautioned, however, that there was "no pool of labor to post all this stuff."

Eurbin was concerned that the the elderly and others would be left out if everything was online only.

"It they didn't have computers, they wouldn't know," he said. "Putting everything on a computer is not the answer."

Committee Chairman Joshua Moran said it was more about expanding access.  

"It's a big transformation. We've seen information technology jump in the last 10 years," he said. "Things that aren't online may take a little more legwork. I'd say the transparency is met but we need to nudge it along.  

"It's there but it may not be right at your fingertips. We still function in a world that takes a little time."

Goodell and Crandall both pointed to the city of Chicopee, which recently joined the state's open check book system. Chicopee with Chelsea, Revere, Brookline and Woburn, as the lead, received nearly $300,000 in Community Innovation Challenge Grants over two years to upgrade and institute open checkbook.

"We need to look to Chicopee as a model to where we want to be," said Crandall.


Tags: Internet,   open checkbook,   website,   

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Clarksburg Sees Race for Select Board Seat

CLARKSBURG, Mass. — The town will see a three-way race for a seat on the Select Board in May. 
 
Colton Andrews, Seth Alexander and Bryana Malloy returned papers by Wednesday's deadline to run for the three-year term vacated by Jeffrey Levanos. 
 
Andrews ran unsuccessfully for School Committee and is former chairman of the North Adams Housing Authority, on which he was a union representative. He is also president of the Pioneer Valley Building Trades Council.
 
Malloy and Alexander are both newcomers to campaigning. Malloy is manager of industrial relations for the Berkshire Workforce Board and Alexander is a resident of Gates Avenue. 
 
Alexander also returned papers for several other offices, including School Committee, moderator, library trustee and the five-year seat on the Planning Board. He took out papers for War Memorial trustee and tree warden but did not return them and withdrew a run for Board of Health. 
 
He will face off in the three-year School Committee seat against incumbent Cynthia Brule, who is running for her third term, and fellow newcomer Bonnie Cunningham for library trustee. 
 
Incumbent Ronald Boucher took out papers for a one-year term as moderator but did not return them. He was appointed by affirmation in 2021 when no won ran and accepted the post again last year as a write-in.
 
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