9:00: Police Chief Gary Gemme is advocating for his creation of a Fall Impact Unit – similar to the Summer Impact Unit – by once again discussing how there’s a significant uptick in crime after midnight.
8:54: Continuing their pledge, Councilors Clancy and Palmieri vote(twice) against appropriating money to improvements at Worcester Airport. They’ve said they won’t vote yes on anything until Massport takes over the place.
8:49: The city’s bond ratings have all either stayed stable or gone up. Pretty cool stuff, considering the economic situation, says Clancy (different words, same sentiment, less time)
8:43: Providence St. Fire Station is still closing. Haller just wants a more detailed response time report.
8:26: Due to a reduction in the number of yellow trash bags being used, DPW has reduced the number of sanitation routes to 8 from 9. O’Brien writes that it’s “fiscally prudent,” and that some former sanitation workers have been reassigned to the streets division.
8:14: Item referred to Public Works subcommittee.
8:09: Mauro DePasquale from WCCA: “WCCA is going to partner with the city, no matter what.” That said, “We will be financially hurting.” And while projections are great, DePasquale points out the Verizon crews laying fiber optics around the city, speculating that Charter might have some competition — and lower revenues — down the road.
8:08: Haller says “WCCA has my full support,” and says she wants to take a close look at the contract to make sure it allows the station to continue their mission.
8:03: O’Brien’s counter: out of a $500,000 capital fund coming from Charter over the five-year contract, $300,000 will be going to WCCA. And, he reiterates, they expect a $50,000 increase from current money for WCCA in year one(status quo) and a $10,000 increase from the current level in the years following.
7:58: As Rosen points out, WCCA is taping this meeting. He thinks that the station should either get more money, or be level funded, not decreased. Reading through the report, he proclaims he doesn’t like the “pitting” of WCCA vs. government, and calls it “ironic” that the government station needs new cameras and equipment. “How ironic, so does WCCA.”
7:56: Rushton is asking that it go to subcommittee, and is expressing concerns raised by WCCA head Mauro DePasquale that there has been little communication between the station and the City Manager during the allocation decision process.
7:51: Taking the PEG cable funding item out-of-order. O’Brien says they’ve taken a “fresh look” at public, educational, and government stations, and the work they do. Right now, the 5% franchise fee paid by Charter is divided into 60% for WCCA(public)-20% for government and 20% for education.
So, what now: 60-20-20 is being maintained right now; O’Brien says Charter revenues are up, so more money will go to WCCA.
Going forward, WCCA will get 55, while the government station gets 25 and educational gets 20. O’Brien says there will still be as much as $10,000 more annually for WCCA, based on revenue projections.
The added funds to government will allow for more remote broadcasts, broadcasting from the second City Hall chamber when it opens, and added activities.
7:48: Blogging all-star/neighbor Tracy Novick is speaking in favor of a resolution against Question 1; focusing on the schools, she says, “The state is going to keep plowing the pike…they’re not going to be concerned…with class size [in Worcester].”
7:40: Palmieri talks about needing to keep a better eye on things, about getting a better “bang for the buck”…and then talks about what added services, like commuter rail, we need.
7:37: “This is the result of frustration…but there are everyday citizens and everyday business owners who say they are being priced out of Massachusetts,” states Haller. She says that while she opposes the motion, people need to realize why it’s gotten this far–a feeling that money is being spent on things that don’t need to be. “At the same time, we need to remain committed to driving out waste.”
7:35: “Draconian…doesn’t describe the scene if we had to make these cuts,” is Kate Toomey’s analysis. She wants the school committee to join in sending a letter. Who does that letter get sent to? The papers? The voters?
7:32: Councilor Smith says there would be a “negative domino effect that would change Worcester as we know it.” Parks, sidewalks, schools…everything would fall apart.
7:28: CIty Manager Michael O’Brien answers: he says we’d be forced to cut about $50 million from about $140 million of fixed city costs. “Talking about decimating…departments, and operations.” “This is so deep, you’re talking elimination of whole departments…if this was enacted.”
7:20: Councilor Rushton’s item asking the Council to go on record against Question 1. (Remember, Question 1 is OK to talk about, Question 2 is not.) “This is urban lynching, by statute,” says Rushton. “If Question 1 passes, all that will be left is the rich and the poor in the city; it will drive the middle class out.” Clancy talks about the hundred teachers, aides, firefighters, police etc. that would be lost if Question 1 passed. He’s throwing around numbers like “50% of school budget,” “hundreds of schoolteachers laid off,” and “over 100 policemen and firemen.” Thinking out loud here, where did those numbers come from?
7:18: Councilor Clancy, Palmieri, and Smith’s item on whether or not to require hearings and/or assessments for sidewalk reconstructions on main arterial ways. The City Solicitor has ruled that hearings and assessments aren’t needed, meaning reconstructions can take place quicker. “This will give the abutter the opportunity to petition for the reconstruction of that sidewalk,” says Clancy, “and then it can be chosen…from the [annual] list.” The benefit? Clancy says it’s all about connected unconnected sections of sidewalk. Palmieri says the ruling fixes a longstanding issue that sometimes resulted in fixed sidewalks on one side of the street, but not the other. Item passes unanimously.
7:08: Heeeeere we go.
Daily Worcesteria 