On June 20, the Springfield City Council unanimously authorized a $1 million transfer into a reserve account for the city’s beleaguered pension system. The Council’s approval was hardly a surprise. Yet, the mere fact that it happened at all was a welcome development as the
SPRINGFIELD—Amid the City Council’s adoption of Mayor Domenic Sarno’s $616.6 million budget was a short, typical, but potentially significant regular meeting earlier Monday night. Financial measures awaiting approval for weeks passed as did legal changes that could impact direct democracy in the city. The Council
UPDATED 6/2/16 9:32AM: For grammar and clarity. Two emotions have generally defined the five year anniversary of the tornado that touched down in Western Massachusetts. There is somber reflection, whether for the dead or in the form of thanks for surviving. In the alternative there
Less than twelve hours before it was scheduled to take up Mayor Domenic Sarno fiscal year 2017, the Springfield City Council cancelled its budget meeting scheduled for Tuesday night. The cancellation, while last-minute, was not unexpected. Several councilors had expressed concerns about where resources had
SPRINGFIELD—In a somewhat wonky meeting on a dreary May Monday, the City Council considered a host of financial measures from grants to appropriations to bonding. While most sailed through the body, there were speed bumps, which may presage a rockier path for Mayor Domenic Sarno’s
SPRINGFIELD—With MGM off its docket after weeks of reviews and hearings, the City Council returned its focus to its normal duties. Greeted with a lengthy and technical agenda on bond authorizations and contract approvals, the meeting opened with a push from the community for the
UPDATED 12:28PM: To reflect a correction. Albano was elected to the Governor’s Council in 2012, not 2010. It finally happened. Michael Albano, ex-Springfield mayor and current 8th District Governor’s Councilor, after resting on the pot for some time, announced on Rep. Ben Swan’s radio show
SPRINGFIELD—Determining the tax rate for commercial and residential properties is within the ambit of the City Council, but this year it became a rare display of municipal harmony. In a unanimous vote Monday night, the Council adopted rates recommended by the mayor, a special Council
WEST SPRINGFIELD—When William Reichelt, the town attorney, placed first in the mayoral preliminary two months ago that eliminated former mayor Gregory Neffinger and left State Representative Michael Finn in second, he had turned the election narrative here on its head. Facing Finn one-on-one, however, Reichelt
UPDATED 9/22/15 6:06PM: To reflect a correction. A previous version of this post misspelled the police grants officer’s name. It is Sgt. Brian Elliot, not Eliot. SPRINGFIELD—Monday night saw the revival of the infamous Rule 20, the filibuster-esque parliamentary rule that halt debates in the