Pittsfield Councilor Presses for Change in Public Works Dept.By Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
11:23AM / Saturday, September 14, 2024 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Ward 5 Councilor Patrick Kavey wants to address issues in the Department of Public Services and Utilities.
His petition requesting a restructuring of the department was filed on Tuesday after some conversation about accountability and planning.
"At the end of the day, I agree with something needs to be done," Commissioner Ricardo Morales said at Tuesday's City Council meeting. "I think we are getting to that answer with some sort of restructuring."
Kavey would like to see the highway division and traffic division merged and an update of the standard operating procedures to streamline efficiency and improve outcomes in the city. There are varying views on this being the right path forward.
"We're going to do a much better job of controlling or examining road work done both by outside sources and by inside sources to ensure that the work is being done correctly," Marchetti said.
Morales pointed to staffing shortages within the department, varying responsibilities and training levels, and not being able to offer the most competitive pay.
Kavey pointed to the mayor's promise not to "clean house" when he was sworn in and to give all city employees a chance or train away any undesirable behavior.
"I fully respect that approach. I think that it's the right thing to do. I don't think you should just clean your house as a new mayor so I appreciate what you have done," he said.
"I'm just — you're only in your first term and your first year of your first term so I'm giving you time. It's just, we really need to address this so I want this in the front of your mind because it can't continue to happen, the issues we're seeing."
Marchetti reported that the city has been approved for a grant to begin analyzing major city departments and identifying places for improvement.
Out of respect, the administration hoped not to detail possible changes on Tuesday because of a death in the department. The mayor said having this conversation was "extremely sensitive."
He had been queried about a brief, three-sentence response provided in advance of the meeting. Given the complex subject matter, Kavey had expected more.
"It's very brief because we really didn't want to be put on the spot to be talking about possible consolidations and possible movements in a time frame we attended the funeral of one of the people that I'm talking about," the mayor explained.
Prior to the meeting, Marchetti said the administration is working to make improvements to the department's structure and is "committed to making the necessary enhancements to ensure efficiency and improve outcomes across the city."
He engaged with a former commissioner shortly after taking office in January and asked for suggestions on how the department could be run more efficiently.
One of the suggestions was to create a deputy commissioner of public works and utilities and another was to take two positions and consolidate it somewhere else.
In July, the Personnel Review Board supported the creation of a deputy commissioner in the department that would assist Morales. The full-time position, if approved by the City Council, will have a Grade M-8 pay scale with a yearly salary ranging from $89,247 to $116,021.
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