North Adams Council Taking Up Mayoral Authority Over Appointments
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The City Council on Tuesday night will take up two ordinance updates proposed by Vice President Ashley Shade to bring appointments to boards in line with current state laws.
The amendments would state that the mayor must have City Council approval on certain appointments two weeks after Mayor Jennifer Macksey had used her authority in the city charter to withdraw a nomination to the Airport Commission — cutting off a heated debate — and to simply appoint the person.
"Over the past few months there has been much controversy surrounding the Airport Commission and the process of appointing new members," writes Shade in a communique to the council. "To remedy this situation I am proposing to update the ordinance to require that the City Council approve all mayor appointments to the Airport Commission as
is required by MGL."
The beleagured Airport Commission has been in a contention over leasing the newly renovated hangar which has resulted in the regination of two commissioners, one of whom claimed he'd been pressured over a vote.
The commission had initially approved the lease to a current airport user, ignoring recommendations from a subcommittee; this had prompted a letter from the mayor requesting reconsideration over procedural issues. The commission then rescinded the lease authorization, which lead to claims conflicts of interest and mayoral tampering by the spurned lessee, Michael Milazzo, and his attorney during the City Council meeting.
There were also calls from some councilors for an investigation, to clarify if state law superseded the mayor's appointing authority in the charter, as well as questions over the nominee's possible conflicts as a member of the Mohawk Soaring Club.
Shade's proposed amendment prohibit anyone who individually or who represents an organization that has a contract with airport from serving on the commission, nor allow anyone on the commission to enter into contracts.
"This proposal is an important addition to ensure the faith of our community in the airport commission's ability to serve impartially and fairly," she wrote.
Shade is also proposing the Zoning Board of Appeals ordinance be amended similarly to require council approval of appointments. The current version states the mayor "shall appoint" five members and two associate members. It would also require the ZBA to adopt rules, including the identity of a zoning administrator, if appointed, and make those rules available with the city clerk, according to state law.
Finally, she is requesting review of the city parking ban and setting it to begin with the first snow emergency and end by April 1. It currently runs from Nov. 1 to April 15, although mayors have ended it earlier based on weather predictions. Last year, the city parking ban was lifted on April 6 and on April 1 the year before.
"Ideally, I believe that a ban should only be in effect when a weather emergency has been declared, however, I am proposing that a ban not be enforced by arbitrary dates when the streets are still perfectly safe for people to park on," she wrote. "The proposal above would allow people to continue to use street parking until the first snow emergency of the season is declared by the mayor and stay in effect until April 1."
The parking ban prohibits parking on streets between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m. Adams' parking ban runs from Dec. 1 to March 31 and Dalton from Nov. 15 to April 15; Pittsfield does not have a parking ban but rather uses snow emergencies as they occur.
It's likely that the ordinance changes will be referred to General Government for review.
Also on the agenda are a couple appointments, public hearings on poll locations and a resolution submitted by Shade and Councilor Andrew Fitch reaffirming state laws that prohibit "discrimination against residents on the basis of gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, intersex status, or HIV status; long-term care facilities; notice; care for transgender residents; LGBTQI inclusion in programming; rules and regulations; training."
This is in response to a presidential executive order claiming to defend women from "gender ideology extremism."
Councilors will also take their new seats on Tuesday and committee assignments for the coming year; liaison assignments will not change.
- Community Development: Fitch, chair, Lisa Blackmer and Keith Bona
- General Government: Peter Oleskiewiezc, chair, Shade and Wayne Wilkinson
- Finance: Shade, chair, Blackmer and Fitch
- Public Safety: Bryan Sapienza, chair, Deanna Morrow and Breen
- Public Services: Bona, chair, Oleskiewicz and Morrow
Tags: appointments,
