Board of Selectmen tweak candidate by-law amendment

Date: 4/23/2012

April 23, 2012

By Chris Maza

chrism@thereminder.com

EAST LONGMEADOW — The warrant article proposed by Board of Selectmen Chair James Driscoll that would not allow candidates to run for more than one elected position in an election is getting some tweaks.

The by-law amendment originally brought forth by Driscoll would keep residents from being able to run for more than one of the following in a single election — Board of Selectmen, Planning Board, Board of Public Works, School Committee, Board of Library Trustees and Town Moderator.

Town Counsel James Donohue told the board the purpose of the warrant article should be not only to prevent a candidate from running for two positions at once, but also to stop someone already in an elected office from running for and holding a second elected position by requiring they choose to resign from the other.

"It is my understanding that a real concern is the fact that you could, for example, have a sitting Board of Assessors member who now in the next election run for a position on the Board of Selectmen," he said. "All of the elected officials ... all have their own statutory authority and things that they are responsible to do and some of those responsibilities don't always dovetail with the duties and responsibilities or views of other elected boards.

"There's the potential for a conflict between the desires of one board or another and having one person be a member of both boards is a concern that I thought was one of the big issues," he continued.

Driscoll said he agreed with Donahue's assessment, stating that preventing both was his intent when he created the proposal.

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In response to a records request made by the Republican for the town's municipal salaries, Villamaino also suggested that the town put the list up on its website, www.eastlongmeadowma.gov. The list was made available on April 19.

Villamaino said the move would be in the interest of added transparency for the Board of Selectmen, also pointing out that all meetings are videotaped by East Longmeadow Cable Access Television and audio recorded.

The motion was passed unanimously.

East Longmeadow Public Schools Superintendent Gordon Smith was the most well-compensated municipal employee on the list, earning $131,384 in salary and other earnings.

David Gromaski, head of the Department of Public Works, made $129,751 in total earnings, while Police Chief Douglas Mellis earned $127,005.

In total, 16 municipal employees made more than $100,000 in total earnings; including Mellis, 11 of those employees worked for the Police Department, the other five, including Smith, were employed by the School Department.

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The Board of Selectmen also voted to increase the town's legal budget by $20,000 after a 2-1 vote. Driscoll and Selectman Paul Federici voted in favor of the motion, while Villamaino voted against it.

Town Accountant Thomas Caliento said that the $78,000 originally budgeted for legal costs has proven not to be enough based on historical data.

"Given what we've seen in the past, the $78,000 has always been short," he said. "I think that $15,000 minimum may satisfy next year's budget and the attorney's fees, $20,000, given our history, would reasonably put us in the ballpark of being safe."

Driscoll said he was of the mindset that it was better to be prepared and not have to use the funds than have to find the money at a later date.

"The reality is if we don't budget for it, we're going to end up spending it and just have to ask for it later on," he said.