Council still sending order to Correia to halt EZ Disposal deal, enter into short-term pacts with sanitation workers

FALL RIVER — After several periods of confusion and a number of reconsiderations, it took the City Council two votes to pass the more than $255 million fiscal 2017 spending plan Tuesday night, avoiding a 1/12th budget.

An order is also heading to Mayor Jasiel Correia II’s desk that would temporarily bypass the contract with private trash hauler EZ Disposal Service and enter into short-term agreements with 24 sanitation workers slated for layoffs on Thursday.

The final vote was 5-4, with Councilors Richard Cabeceiras, Raymond Mitchell, Linda Pereira and Cliff Ponte voting against Correia’s proposed budget.

City Council President Shawn Cadime and Councilor Steven Camara changed their votes to pass the budget after they joined last night’s opposing councilors in a 6-3 vote to reject the budget last week, although the vote was deemed invalid.

A response from Correia is pending after a request for comment on the passing of the budget and the council’s order.

Some councilors were unaware that the first vote on Tuesday was on the budget in its entirety, and that vote ended up 8-1, with Cabeceiras the lone “no” vote.

Waste disposal contract a big factor

Pereira, who made a motion to reconsider the first vote, indicated she wanted to change her vote to reflect her opposition to Correia’s contract with EZ Disposal, which features a hefty penalty schedule if the city should break the 10-year contract.

The City Council began the night’s first deliberation going line-by-line on the appropriation order, initially voting to table the budgets for Community Maintenance, which would fund the EZ contract. Councilors also considered tabling the insurance appropriation, which includes health and building insurance, but changed their minds.

City Administrator Cathy Ann Viveiros and budget consultant Mary Sahady began the Committee on Finance meeting by outlining the concessions to the budget made over the past few weeks with city councilors.

“Most of these were made as a result of comments, concerns and requests by the members of the council,” Viveiros said

Viveiros read a letter to the City Council from Corporation Counsel Joseph Macy addressing a lawsuit filed against Correia and the city that could affect privatization and the controversial 10-year contract with EZ.

Ray Mitchell warned his fellow councilors that terms of the contract, which includes an expensive penalty to the city if the agreement is broken, would be devastating to the city.

A “Ten Taxpayer Group” lawsuit will be heard in Taunton Superior Court today, in an attempt to get a temporary restraining order against the city, which is scheduled to begin privatization on Friday, July 1.

“This office is confident that the contract is valid and entered into properly. We feel the citizens lawsuit will not succeed,” read Viveiros from the letter.

Pay increase for chief of staff

Sahady recited the latest changes to the budget; the City Council was notified of the changes before the meeting.

In a last-minute change in the mayor’s budget, Chief of Staff and retired police Sgt. Michael Hoar will see a significant salary increase.

Hoar was hired as chief of staff on June 2 to replace Correia’s political supporter and high school friend, who left abruptly.

Hoar, who collects about a $67,000 annual pension, initially agreed to a $40,000 salary for the remaining fiscal year 2016, which ends Thursday.

At the time, Correia touted it as a cost savings.

Now Hoar will earn a salary of $78,000 as chief of staff, an amount that, Sahady noted, is contained in an ordinance that governs a chief of staff position.

A bumpy budget process

Getting the new budget was not a quick and smooth process for the City Council, four of whom are first-year councilors.

The City Council last week voted to reject Correia’s budget, but the mayor quickly claimed that vote was invalid, which was confirmed by the Department of Revenue because the vote was taken in error of state law requirements. According to the law, the councilors should have voted by line item in the appropriation order to reject the proposed budget.

DOR confirmed that, as well as the fact that — again, under state law — the council has the ability to reduce separate line items on an appropriation order.

Regarding the City Council's order to suspend EZ Disposal’s contract and hire back the sanitation workers with temporary contracts until the “10 Taxpayers Group” lawsuit is sorted out, Viveiros said Correia has 10 days to sign the order or reject it.

If rejected or no action is taken by the mayor, it goes back down to the City Council which has the ability to override Correia’s decision.

Email Jo C. Goode at jgoode@heraldnews.com.