Pittsfield Council Makes Move to Hire Building Commissioner
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The City Council removed residency requirements for Pittsfield's building commissioner during its regular meeting on Tuesday.
Mayor Peter Marchetti reported there is a candidate for the position that does not live within a ten-mile radius, as required by the city code.
"I understand why the police chief, fire chief, and DPW commissioner need to live within a 10-mile radius. I don't necessarily see the same from the building commissioner," he said.
"So, in order to be able to move forward, we have offered the position to a candidate, and that candidate has accepted. So, I'm looking to streamline this process. The candidate won't give notice to their current employer until they know that we've made it through the hurdles of being able to hire someone that is outside of the code, so that's the purpose of tonight's request."
Councilors approved an amendment to Chapter 16, section 23.1 (F), deleting "The Building Commissioner must establish a residence within 10 miles of the perimeter of the City within 90 days of appointment."
Rule 34 was waived so that it didn't have to go before the Ordinances and Rules Subcommittee before ordainment.
The mayor said he can come forward with a name at the July meeting if this requirement is deleted.
"When I saw this, I did not see why this position should have to be within 10 miles of the city," Councilor at Large Kathy Amuso said.
Ward 1 Councilor Kenneth Warren voted against the ordinance, as he wanted to enact a waiver rather than delete the requirement for an unknown candidate.
"I think the City Council is a deliberative body. We're not supposed to be a reactive body. We're supposed to legislate, think about things, and so I would suggest an easier, better long-term way would be a waiver," he said.
"Blowing up an ordinance for a one-time occurrence, I think, is counterproductive. It's like cutting down a tree because a branch is overhanging a sidewalk. We don't need to do the drastic action."
He moved to instead add into the ordinance: The building commissioner must establish a residence within 10 miles of the perimeter of the city within 90 days of appointment. Provided upon request of the mayor, the city council, by majority vote, may eliminate this residency requirement.
Warren clarified that he plans on supporting the candidate.
"I'm willing to put the name out as soon as the candidate's willing to accept it, and currently everything is accepted under the condition that the residence requirement isn't there," Marchetti said.
Warren withdrew his amendment and then proposed waiving the requirement for 45 days, but withdrew that as well. He opted to resume the conversation at O&R after the current situation is resolved, as he doesn't want to handcuff the mayor's hiring process.
The council also accepted $237,459 from the state's Executive Office for Administration and Finance through the Community Compact Municipal Fiber Grant program to cover costs associated with expanding existing municipal fiber-optic infrastructure.
Chief Information Officer Kevin Zawistowski explained that this had no commercial or residential applicability, as it connects city buildings and infrastructure to the fiber network.
Most of Pittsfield's buildings are connected to municipally owned fiber, aside from the schools, which have their own fiber connections. This will connect the airport maintenance building.
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