North Adams Council Accepts Bullett Resignation, Mulls Replacement
The City Council approved a classification plan and declaring an abandoned home a public nuisance.
"No," said Councilor Keith Bona.
No, as in don't go. But Bullett said it was time — she was moving on July 1.
After the meeting, Bullett said she felt strongly that her seat should be filled now, and not wait until the November election.
"The council should not be at eight members," she said. "I'm resigning now so someone who wants to be there can take my place."
The City Council is expected to take up the issue at its next meeting to fulfill her wish.
Bona has been soliciting input from citizens on Facebook after learning of Bullett's decision.
"It's not always the 10th [election candidate] ... ," he said. "The charter does require that the seat be filled and if you look at Rule 25, it does explain the process of what we need to do to fill that seat."
The city charter says "Vacancies in the city council shall be filled by the remaining members thereof for the remainder of the unexpired term."
The council's Rule 25 sets out a process for filling mid-term vacancies. Candidates can submit letters of interest and qualifications and are given a chance to speak before the council for three minutes. Members may ask questions of the candidates and then take nominations and vote.
That's not always been followed in the past and, in several instances, the 10th candidate has been chosen by the council. However, Mayor Richard Alcombright was selected to join the council upon the death of his father, longtime City Councilor Daniel Alcombright. And Councilor Clark Billing's seat was not filled because he resigned in late August, just two months before the biannual election.
But there was a sense that nothing immediately be done because Bullett still has the month of June to serve. Her colleagues wished her well after accepting her resignation letter.
Councilor Eric Buddington liked "the fact that we could disagree and still be friendly" and hoped that would continue with the next council.
"You've done a great job and you'll be missed," said Councilor Robert M. Moulton Jr.
Bullett said serving had been a great opportunity.
"I have a high regard for this council and what we do, the work that everybody puts into it," she said, and thanked past members who had helped her along. "I'm certainly in a different place to where I was."
Council President Benjamin Lamb said the outpouring he'd seen on social media on learning of her departure "speaks to the level of energy and passion you put in this role but also the level of passion and energy you put into all of your involvment in the city."
In other business, the council passed to a second reading and to be published a compensation and classification plan for fiscal 2018.
The plan includes a raise of 1.25 percent for police and non-union employees, with retroactive pay to July 1, 2016. The Department of Public Works employees have been reclassified to better reflect their current levels of licensure but are not getting a percentage increase.
"We are fighting with other communities for employee retention and finding new hires, and our salaries across the board are low," Alcombright said. "We need to start to address that."
The changes amount to about $90,000; $37,500 for DPW, $31,000 for non-union and $21,500 for police. The mayor reiterated that police wages are not keeping pace with those of other communities, making it more difficult to recruit and retain police officers.
Buddington asked if there was a way to make the presentation "simpler and easier to read." The mayor said he would speak with Administrative Officer Michael Canales. Councilor Lisa Blackmer noted there had been some minor changes, such as putting inactive classifications in italics, that had helped.
• The council also declared the structure at 45 Edgewood Ave. owned by Anna Trottier and Leona Millard a nuisance to the neighborhood after a brief public hearing that elicited no comments. The Historic Commission approved demolition of the house in 2014; the mayor said funds will have to be appropriated to tear the building down.
• The mayor read a proclamation declaring June as LGBTQ Pride Month in North Adams
• Robert Cardimino addressed the council on the subject of water quality, saying he was not convinced that the school system had completely eliminated problems with copper and lead leaching found last year through testing of fixtures. He also accused the administration of being in violation of a consent decree that required it to test and notify the Department of Environmental Protection if the city had to use its well, which occurred recently.
The mayor said he was confident that the schools had mitigated the problems found through the voluntary state testing and that he was unaware of the reporting issues Cardimino brought up. He offered to bring in the school superintendent and commissioner of public services at the next meeting to answer any questions the council had.
Cardimino said he'd spoken with someone at DEP and Superintendent Barbara Malkas but didn't feel his questions were adequately answered.
"I feel as though I'm getting the runaround," he said.
Tags: blight, compensation & classification, drinking water, fiscal 2018, North Adams City Council,
