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Mayor seeks change with City Clerk position

By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor



CHICOPEE Chicopee Mayor Michael Bissonnette said his proposal to combine two city departments won't cost any employee his or her job and will improve customer service.

Bissonnette would combine the City Clerk's office with that of the Registrar of Voters. He would also make the City Clerk's job an appointed position, instead of an elected one.

Under his plan, the mayor would nominate a person for City Clerk and the Board of Aldermen would approve the candidate.

He would make this change for the next fiscal year when City Clerk Nancy Mulvey's current term is up. She has announced she is going to retire upon the completion of her term, Bissonette added.

"It seems like the right time to do it," he said.

Bissonnette said that he estimated that 70 percent of the contact the general public has with city government is through these two offices and that he wants to make a "culture change" for the city to provide more consumer friendly services.

There are two ways to make such a change, he explained either through a home rule petition approved by the Legislature or through the voters approving the change with a ballot question. Bissonnette said a legal decision will be made by June and he hopes to offer the voters of Chicopee the chance to approve this change.

He said the city has been operating under a system first established in 1890 and that it was time to change.

The new combined office would also be moved to a more accessible part of City Hall, he said.

Although he doesn't anticipate a major budget savings there will be one position eliminated through attrition he believes residents will see an improvement in service.

Bissonnette said he is also looking at possible duplication of services in the School Department in order to save money.

Although he said the city is "going to be okay this year," Bissonnette said he has been looking at ways to manage the city more efficiently.