The Springfield City Council advanced major changes to the city’s solid waste policies on October 21. The policies Public Works czar Chris Cignoli presented are fairly comprehensive and run a wide gamut of garbage in the city. However, the changes also include a cost element,
The Springfield City Council gave what appears to be the final greenlight to a major reconstruction of the X intersection in Forest Park at its meeting this past Monday. The approval for takings and underlying funding was not without its fireworks, though. Some councilors objected to the items appearing on the agenda only to have their arms’ twisted to deliver prompt action.
On Monday, Springfield city councilors will consider a negotiated contract with the Springfield Police Supervisors Association (SPSA)—a contrast from the terms a state panel imposed last year. The new pact ostensibly addresses inadequacies both city officials and the supervisors had identified in the arbitration award.
SPRINGFIELD—Returning from its summer slowdown that comes every August, the City Council confronted a phalanx of financial and property orders that made for a hefty agenda. However, a different kind of hefty may have defined the most compelling and complicated issue was before councilors on
From the moment the contest began the subtext of the Hampden Senate District’s Democratic primary would be who could represent it best. Therefore, it was probably fate that the battle between Senator Adam Gomez and Springfield City Councilor Malo Brown would take a nasty turn. That happened mid-August.
Five months after the Springfield City Council and Mayor Domenic Sarno forwarded an age waiver for now-Police Superintendent Lawrence Akers, the bill has finally passed Beacon Hill. What is moving to Governor Maura Healey’s desk is not what city officials passed in February.
On Monday, the Massachusetts Legislature’s Joint Committee on Public Service reported out the age waiver to allow Springfield Police Superintendent Lawrence Akers to serve until age 70. As WMP&I reported last week, the Committee redrafted the home rule petition, which the Springfield City Council and Mayor Domenic Sarno had forwarded in February. The Committee’s changes essentially reverse those the city had made.
SPRINGFIELD—Alongside normal business at its June 10 meeting, the City Council greenlighted a list of projects that received funding under the Community Preservation Act (CPA). In 2016, voters authorized a 1.5% surcharge on tax bills.
The Committee’s chair, Robert McCarroll, announced nearly $3 million in projects for fiscal year 2025.
SPRINGFIELD—Despite a lengthy debate and reasonable fears about how the city’s principal revenue stream affects residents, the City Council approved the fiscal year 2025 budget. It passed last week with no modifications and no dissent. This was also the first annual spending document presented under the new Chief Administrative & Financial Officer, Cathy Buono.
SPRINGFIELD—On Monday, the City Council received a briefing on plans for Springfield’s share of the opioid settlement. Health & Human Services Commissioner Helen Caulton-Harris explained how her department will build out a response to opiate addiction within the city. Her presentation came with a startling