Now I think you have to tweet a little dumb.

It is 7.01 p.m.

on Monday, April 13th, 2026 in the City Council Chambers for the Committee on Finance.

In attendance, we have Council of Ward 2 Scott Humpton, Councilor of Ward 1, Leo Cap, Councillor of Ward 6 of City Council President.

Why are you counter at Lodge James Ball?

And Councilor at Lodge Naomi Carney, you also myself.

We do have two letters to be run into the records.

We do.

This one is uh from Councillor Gomes.

I am writing to inform you that I will be unable to attend tonight's meeting due to a prior commitment and a conflicting schedule.

Please read this letter into the record to make my colleagues in the public aware of the reason for my tardiness, but I'm assuming it's absence.

Right.

Okay.

Um this one is from uh Council Abrew.

I am writing to inform you that I will be late in attending tonight's committee meeting due to an out-of-work commitment.

Please read this letter into the record to make my colleague in the public aware of the reason for my asking.

Can we also this meeting is being live streamed and recorded recorded?

The city council and committee meetings can be viewed on the City New Befort's homepage under quick links, then meetings.

Before we start number one, can I get a motion to receive in place and public communication from the Victoria Theater?

Made by Council Royce, second by Council uh Choquette.

All those in favor?

Aye.

Oppose the ayes have it.

Item number one is written motion, Council Forever Carney and Council President Burgo requesting that representatives from of the Z appear before the Committee on Finance to report the financial and operating expenses of the Zaitarian Theater.

The matter was referred here on July 22nd, 2025.

Motion to receive and place on file made by Council Pereira, second by Council Carney.

All those in favor, opposed the ayes have it.

Rosemary, would you like to go to the podium, please?

Oh push you.

Good evening.

Councilor Pereira?

I don't need to.

Oh yeah, I would be good.

Thank you.

So uh uh as a maker of the motion, um Rosemary, thank you first for providing this information and being here.

So one of the concerns that uh when that we discussed uh back when we were discussing the support agreement with the Zaitarian was uh well the increase in the support uh agreement what were my concerns were uh uh you know making sure that the money that the city is providing to the Zaiterian is going towards uh uh insurance of the building, maintenance for the building, um utilities of the building and such, uh that uh as stewards of a city-owned building that you are, that the money we're giving you is going to maintaining that building.

So uh one that that for my sake and my constituents' sake, I know that the m uh funds, taxpayer funds are being spent properly, and two that an investments in a city-owned building is being maintained, right, by maintenance of the building and such.

Um can you explain can you uh uh go based uh a little bit off that and speak to a little bit of that?

Sure.

I guess I actually should have uh given you a little bit of an overview.

What I passed out um to you all today is something that we sent um both President Virgo and uh Christina Connolly as an action uh a requirement of our support agreement.

We're meant to report on an annual basis, so we sent this last summer when our financials were complete.

Our fiscal year ends on December 31st, so it is different on yours, so it takes us a little bit of time to do that, but you would have received this narrative as well as a full accounting of our financials at that time.

I didn't bring that this time, but it it would have been sent to you at that point.

What I've brought to you tonight is not only the the uh narrative, but also the financials to um December 31st of 2025.

And so that's about that represents six months of our fiscal year.

And I it does a nice job of kind of capturing what our expenses are, where our income is coming from, etc.

Although you'll notice that we don't have much income because other than the uh the support agreement funds and and um some contributed income because we were still closed until January.

When we came before you initially for the support agreement, we thought we would have been open by August August the earliest, if not October.

So the 495 for the first two years was going to, as if you recall, was going to enable us to keep all of our staff while we were raising the $37 million and while we were planning to bring this building back online.

And uh so the addition to there, but the the spirit of this money is to support the Z in its efforts to steward the city owned building to pay for some of the expenses that the city was paying for the building prior to us obtaining the 99-year lease.

And so things like insurance, because the city was self-insured prior to us leasing, but we we are required to have um liability insurance and utilities prior to the lease, the city was paying all of the utilities.

Additionally, the city was maintaining the building.

We were maintaining it like up from a custodial point of view, but any large or even you know small like plumbing or electrical things, the city um DPI was coming in to maintain the building.

Now that we have the lease and uh you know we're in the building, we have those expenses.

So we've had to, we've never had uh like building operations staff before.

And uh if you if you're not aware, they're kind of expensive.

Actually, all staff is expensive these days.

But um so we've had to hire for those kinds of positions, more custodial, building operations, building management, things like that, and that's uh where the vast majority of of this money is going to.

Fantastic.

Now by the so within the support agreement that we entered into with the Zaitarian with the Z, excuse me, uh you guys send a financial report every year to the mayor's office?

Last year was the first year and we sent what they we sent that narrative and a set of pretty full financials.

Okay.

And that'll continue.

Yes.

Moving on.

I'm not sure.

So the so the stipulation is that it's received on the first day of your fiscal year.

Yeah.

That's tricky for us.

Okay.

But we'll do our best to hit that as soon after as possible.

So so but but every year we should see some report, whether it's you know, they're saying the first day of the fiscal year, but if it's close to that, we should see that.

Okay.

Yes, yes, of course.

If if um you would be able to uh even if there's a way of producing a uh highlighted version or something, like uh just a top sheet like this, yeah.

And making that available to the council moving forward, I think that would be very helpful.

Believe me, you don't want to see the full financials.

I sent them to you, but like our board doesn't even want to see those.

Um we this is like the high-level stuff that we give the board, our finance committee, of course, sees the full financials.

Okay.

By the way, as a nonprofit organization, we have to file annually with the state our financials.

We file a 990 and a tax return.

So all of this is very transparent, very public.

Okay.

All there.

Very good.

Uh Mr.

Chairman, I don't have any questions at any more questions at this time.

Thank you.

Thank you, Rosemary.

Councillor Carnier and your first.

Yes.

Hi, everybody.

Thanks for coming.

Sorry.

Thanks for coming.

Um, so this is the um what do you call it?

Last year's through December 31st, 2025.

So this would have started to do that.

Oh, yeah, this actually is a 12-month side.

Right.

Because I noticed, yeah, because you had said something I was like, well, look, it says 12 months.

Yeah, my apologies.

This is a full year.

Okay.

So this is from January 1st 2025 till December 31st.

So this is your full year financials.

So unfortunately, you get gave this today.

If in the future when we bring in there, if you get it to us a little sooner so we can look at it and ask questions, you'll be able to read it.

Yes.

That would be that was the same.

I only heard about the meeting last week and my anyway.

Yep.

Of course.

Well, that's fine.

Long as we if we get it a little beforehand so we can read through what you presented so we can prepare some questions.

So I see that the support agreements there.

So your total um expenses totaled to 2,377?

Correct.

Is that with all the new employees that you said that you are getting?

So remember this was last year.

We didn't hire everyone.

We hired a decent amount of them in the last quarter of 2025, but we're still hiring actually.

Right.

So you have um your compensation its package is 1.622 million.

But you said you're going to be adding that's going to be a good thing.

It will be higher this year.

Okay.

Um you have support you just they've asked you to submit it at the end of our fiscal year.

Yes.

So you're giving a half a report.

So it's at yours ends at the calendar year.

It will be our half, but it will be your full.

So just because our fiscal years are off.

Okay.

I was just wondering, are you going to be able to are you going to give us the 12 months?

We'll be able to capture 12 months.

On the on the June 31st, whatever, when you when it's two or July 1st.

So we'll be able to get the 12 months.

Yes.

And that's what you did get actually last summer.

Right.

The other question I have, and they did get received it last summer.

We just didn't get a copy of the to us.

We'll we'll check with them about that.

Um I would just the other question I want to know.

Even if you send it there, would it be easier for you to just do the I mean you're going to send that to the to the mayor's office, but is it easier for the ZITM to sub for a support agreement to do something at the end of the year for the council versus halfway through?

You know what I mean?

Because you're going to do the halfway through for the mayor's office.

And then according to support agreement, you have to give us another one at the end of the year.

Whatever your pleasure is, actually.

It's, you know, like obviously capturing twelve months halfway through our year is tricky for our our financial team, but it's not impossible.

Okay.

So we can do that.

But if you if your preference would be that we have to No, it it's I was just saying what is easier for the Z and your financial team to put together to give us the information that we need on a yearly basis.

Well, if you want audited statements, then the then you really want to see something after we're audited, which wouldn't because our fiscal year is December 31st, we wouldn't have the full autumn um audited financials and probably till the second quarter.

Right.

Um it's actually not terrible that we're reporting to you out in like July or something like that, because then we're able to give you the um audited, but it would be for the previous year for us.

Okay.

And uh back to the compensation.

So what do you expect to increase your salaries and benefits going to the process?

You know, our budget is going to our expenses are going to rise this year uh close to six million.

So we're six million expenses, not benefits.

Okay.

Overall expenses now that we're up and running?

Because you got you're at two million three.

We were at two point three but we weren't operating.

We weren't operating.

Right.

We were closed.

Okay.

We didn't have the expenses of productions or uh we weren't even really in the building, right?

The construction company was still in the building.

Okay.

So you ex so you do expect the your income balance of the 1.4 to substantially increase also.

Yes.

Okay.

All right.

Yep.

I've just that's all the questions I have for now.

Uh Mr.

Chair, thank you very much.

Thank you, Rosemary.

Thank you.

You're welcome, Council Carney.

Also we in attendance is Councillor Lodge Shane Burgo.

We are on item number one.

Does anyone else have any questions?

Seeing none from the chair.

Rosemary.

I got three quick questions for you.

Can you provide and I don't need it now, a breakdown of your IT and your communication expense?

Your other operating expense?

And then can you provide a just the notes section of your audit?

I don't need the whole 50 pages before of it.

I'm going to need the last six to eight pages of the notes.

You would have received for for this year or for last year.

You have received that.

I've sent that actually.

I sent it to President Burgo last year and Christina Connolly.

Yeah.

Do you have okay?

So I can get up from the office perfectly.

Then I only need one.

So do you still want that breakdown?

Yes.

Okay.

Because it would be broken down.

If it's going to be in the it's if it will be in the audit, then I don't need it.

I believe it is, but I will double check and if it's not, I'll send it to you.

Perfect.

Those are the only questions that I have.

Seeing anything else from floor?

Motion I take no further action referral to the full city council is in order.

So moved.

Second by Council Roy.

All those in favor?

Opposed?

The ayes have it.

Aye.

Rosemary, thank you.

It's my pleasure.

Item number two is written motion, Councillor Dungeons to Avery Lopes.

Council President Morrod, Councillor Gomes, Lima and Carney request that the City Council vote to accept the provisions of Chapter 33, Section 59 of the Massachusetts General Laws that provide the benefits to city employees who are temporarily absent from work due to service in the armed forces of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts or on a reserved component of the Armed Force of the United States.

The matter was charter ruled by Council President Moron on March 14, 2019, and referred on March 28, 2019, April 17, 2019, and tabled until May 15, 2019.

Motion to take off the table.

Motion to remove the table and receiving place on file, made by Councillor Roy, second by Council Choquette.

Anyone on the question?

All those in favor, opposed, the ayes haven't.

Jose, would you like to?

Good evening.

So Go ahead.

I'm sorry.

On this item here, it was one of the items that um when I saw the agenda, I looked at it and of course looked at some of the activity to better understand it.

But this has been there since 2019.

It's been a while.

For sure.

Yep.

Help me understand the the distance in terms of where we are today versus why it stopped somewhere somehow in 2019.

I can only tell you previously it was referred out.

There was a discussion on it with your predecessor.

At that time it was going to be for additional clarification and questions.

And then the item was uh charter ruled and it's been in the committee since.

Okay.

Do you need a little more time to do some research on it?

We can table the item if you prefer.

No, I I would advise to do that because I would like to understand it in full.

So but by the time I got the agenda, I started looking into this, but there's still some history that would like to understand that's one of the items I actually, when I saw um Councillor Pereira, that I would like to circle back to him or somebody that remembers a little bit more.

Because does one think about looking at the laws?

Does one think about looking at the activity, but the content that happened here prior to that is super helpful for me.

And that's the that's the part that I'm missing.

I can always do research and see what's happening out there.

But what was missed since for seven years and getting that back, to me it's that part is ghosted.

So I need it to resurface somehow.

So if nobody has any questions or concerns, we can table the item for 60 days.

Council Prior, did you have a if if uh uh uh thank you.

If Attorney Garatowski uh would be available.

Hi, David.

Hello.

So uh this was before my time, even uh on the council.

Uh so my question would be uh this this is clearly a provision, and I imagine the counselors at that time uh spoke with you about this.

Um I don't recall them inquiring of me.

I think it was just that whether by a policy they wanted to have people who have who go into military service to be able to um receive their pay and benefits and not lose any time.

Um now it went back to the council at some point, and it could have been that one councillor just had some concerns about it.

Seems as though they tabled it and then sent it back here for some reason, and then it wasn't taken up any further.

I don't know whether at the time the personnel department or the mayor's office expressed some concern about what the costs of this would be um to be able to do this or what the impacts were, but it seems as though and the other the other issue is I'm not sure if we've accept an earlier provision of the same law.

It doesn't appear that we have.

Okay.

Nobody's raised that we had because I know in the law it does say over and over, or if to accept the provisions of this section or an earlier version of the law.

So I don't know what that earlier version was that we may have accepted, but it doesn't seem that that's the case because I don't know who inquired of Councillor Dunn and Councillor Lima, who are the sponsors and others.

Someone may have inquired and said, Look, I had military service and I I wasn't paid and I lost benefits or whatever the case may be, and they and they wanted to raise that.

So I don't recall what all the conversations were, but it does seem that upon acceptance of this section that someone who takes a leave for military reasons um would be entitled to um the benefits as detailed in this in this law.

I don't know what the financial impact that may be.

I don't know how many people we have in the service.

Maybe there's some employees in the National Guard.

So figuring out what the impacts of that would be would probably be the question that would determine whether you want to adopt this section or not.

Okay.

It it's been uh reading through the provisions of the law as such were attached.

Yep.

Um and and going back and and looking into that, I do think it's a good piece of policy as a matter of principle of those folks who are serving their armed forces shouldn't lose their tenure in the city, shouldn't lose their benefits in the city.

So my uh request to the chair, thank you, Attorney Garatos.

I think it does also say I'm not sure if it says receive pay or something.

Something to that effect.

So it's a compensation that it's going to be given out when they're you know off on military service.

So I don't know what the impacts of what the previous people that were in these positions were telling I don't know if it was Judy Judy Keating at the time or someone saying here is what the impacts would be and the council maybe changed their mind.

I don't know.

Fair enough.

Okay.

Thank you Attorney Garotowski.

Uh Chair, at appropriate time before we table I'd like to just set a few requests of some officials from the city, please.

Council Carney on your first?

Yeah David, you want to you want to go back so working for the State.

So this this is within the State we're just looking to adopt the State's policy for this for the city employees.

Correct.

Right.

So working for the State I just know that um when uh when I worked for the Sheriff's Department there were several people that were in the military and came out of the military their times if they spent four or five years in the military it would be added on to their service as a public employee.

So if they worked they they if they were in the service for two years, those two years were added on to their service their the years of employment.

So if they were there for 10 years and they served for two years, they got 12 years.

Twelve years of what in other words service towards retirement service of retirement service of your your um vacations.

Yep.

So if you were supposed to get your vacation in 14 in 14 years, your full vacations they would be able to get it.

I will say this that that when you're talking about retirement Chapter 32 we already govern what that happens here because this one seems to to deal with pay yes vacation time, seniority, um it looks like sick leave personal leave you accrue those types of things.

Right.

It doesn't seem to address the retirement years of credible service.

So that may already be addressed in Chapter 32 I don't I'm not sure because I wasn't asked to look at that but you're talking about a different different thing so retirement may be addressed separately.

Right but I'm saying it's but they didn't lose it B for their military service.

I mean their service time was added on to their time so it would it would stay with the seniority meta stay with all these things that are stated here.

They would have those years of service then if added.

It appears if you adopted this.

If we adopted it it's already adopted within the what I'm just separating out is that they may already get their retirement service because another section of the law may govern that this doesn't seem to speak di directly to retirement years of credible service.

So that that may be in chapter 32 so I don't know.

But this doesn't seem to speak to that but if you adopted this it would it would deal with you know accruing vacation time, sick time those types of things.

For for your military service.

Yes.

Right.

Which is already been doing in Massachusetts but not with the city.

Well I don't know what the State does I don't know what the State does for their employees.

I don't know.

Well this is a this is the this is this is the State.

Right, this is a state adopt this but I don't know whether the State is paying their employees.

I can't speak to that.

No no no basically I'm not asking right or or gives them any time.

This just basically says if you if you accept it then the city will do that.

We'll do this yeah I don't know what the State does but the law says if you accept the provisions of this that it appears that these things will take place when people take their military service.

Right.

Okay.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Carney.

Anyone else in the thing David seeing none Council Pereira thank you.

Could if we could have from attorney um excuse me if we could have from um Jose Govea by the next time that you bring it forward Mr.

Chairman the following items would be a list of uh number of employees not a list of them but a n how many employees have in the um you know go back three or four years served in active duty military, left the city to go serve in active duty uh whether called up through reserves or whatever anyone who served in the forces while an employee of the city came back if we could have that number.

If we could then forecast a little bit what that would look like, because this uh we've talked about this with paid time off and such, there's no technical increase in the budget because they're already accounted for salary-wise.

What the uh approximation would be of any other benefits that we might not be aware of and such, just uh an approximation of what that would look like.

And um uh from attorney from city solicitor Eric Jakes.

If we could see if this any if he has any record of what attorney Garatowski was saying a previous version was uh accepted.

And if he could give an opinion on behalf of the administration if they would support the accepting of these provisions.

Thank you.

Those are your two questions, Council Pereira?

Okay, so attorney Jakes and Mr.

Govea, do you are you uh well aware of what you'll be asked to provide in 60 days?

Is that enough time?

Yes, sir.

Perfect.

Make a motion to table the item for 60 days.

Made by Council Pereira, yes.

Second by Council Carney, all those in favor?

Opposed, the ayes have it.

Item number three is a communication member to city council submitting an order for the transfer of one million seventy thousand five hundred and fifty-five dollars from state aid and an order for the transfer of three hundred and fourteen thousand five hundred and thirty dollars from State Aid 950 to school department general expense.

The matter was referred here on March 5th, 2026.

3A is the order and 3B is also the order.

Both were referred on March 5th, 2026.

Motion to see the listed class.

Made by Council Pereira, second by Council Choquette.

All those in favor, opposed, the ayes have it.

Bob, would you like to go to the podium?

Good evening.

Bob, would you like to give an overview of the two orders?

Uh sure.

They're actually um basically the same issue.

Uh after the uh well, as you remember, last spring, we tried to set the correct net school spending uh amount that uh equated to the latest and greatest information we had available, which was the uh Senate uh committee version of the mass uh cherry sheet aid and assessments.

Uh that's we knew that was going to change.

Uh it's going to go through reconciliation, which it did, and then the uh the governor made other adjustments and then and ended up vetoing uh well, actually made a 10 percent cut rather, I should say, uh, in the amount of cherry sheet aid.

So we took care of two supplemental budget requests in July last year.

One was to restore a 1.7 million dollar cut um that was made on cut night, and on top of that, we uh restored a 1.1 million, I think it was, of additional uh aid to the school system based on the revised numbers we had from the Cherry Sheet Assessments.

So uh the long and short of this story is that in January or February, sometime around then uh it might have even been in the the late fall, the uh the governor's cut was overridden.

So the ten percent cherry sheet aid was restored.

So what's happened here is that there's been about a one million, almost one point four million dollars of of uh net pickup for the city in terms of increased aid for uh for charter schools and a reduction of the assessment.

We don't own that money, the school does really, because what happens is the foundation budget is set, uh last year it was set at 295 million dollars.

One way or another, we have to contribute 295 million dollars of public education.

What happens is part of that money is we the amount of assessments net of reimbursements from Cherry Sheet Aid go into that formula.

So it's always a delicate balancing act as the state gives, we take from the schools.

The state as the state takes, we give to the school.

So it's what we're trying to do now is give that two that extra 1.3 million dollars back to the schools because we were the recipient of a windfall when the governor's veto was uh uh I mean I'm sorry, when the governor's cut was uh vetoed.

So it's a zero-sum game for the city.

We're gonna we're gonna receive a f million three eighty-five in benefits.

It's split into two orders because what's happening is we're getting a million seventy thousand dollars in in revenue, and we're having a cut of three hundred and fourteen thousand dollars in expenditures.

So we're moving each one of those into this uh into the public school education line uh on separate matters, so it doesn't get too confusing.

Thank you, Bob.

Before we ask any questions, um council of warfort Derek Bratis has also joined us.

Does anyone have any questions for CFO West?

Council Roy.

Okay, so the other night um may have been at the full city council meeting, we accepted uh a statute.

And that has to do with uh setting up a revolving fund.

Yes, for the school department.

So we accepted that statute.

I believe an ordinance has to be drafted um for it to be all set up, but that'll fix this.

So if the state ever has to ever has to, you know provide the city or the school department funding, it would go to the revolving fund and it wouldn't need to be appropriated.

That was for a specific purpose, though.

I think that was for our district uh tuitions that they wanted to set aside.

Okay, generally the way uh Massachusetts uh law works is that all receipts have to go into the city's general fund unless they're specifically carved out.

And some examples would be um mass uh chapter 44 sections 53E and 53F which set up revolving funds and enterprise funds.

This is another vehicle uh that they're they're looking to take uh dis uh out of district tuitions and set them aside so that they can use those fees to pay for extra costs related to that program.

Okay, so it's sort of is a bypass of the general fund, and these are actually in the general fund.

So they are sort of mutually exclusive.

Uh what we're doing here is uh we're we're basically restoring the amount that of money we're going to give.

We the city out of taxpayer dollars are gonna give to the uh the city school department.

Okay.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Roy.

Anyone else?

Seeing none, Bob, thank you.

Recommendation from the committee?

Motion we have to refer to the whole city council for adoption of the laws.

Second.

Made by Council Pereira, second by Council Carney.

All those in favor?

Opposed.

The ayes have it.

Can I get a motion to put at this time if we okay can leave my second on the table?

At this time, if the body would be okay with leaving this item tabled for the time being, Mr.

Chairman.

Yes, please.

Okay.

No further action on that one.

Well, you've got to make a motion, counselor.

You can't just look at me.

No, no.

I'd like to make a motion for no further action on item number four.

Follow the recommendation of the chair.

Second, second by council Roy, but there was a motion to the table, but there wasn't a second on the motion to motion to table.

Well, there would be the nothing's been read into the records to read to have a motion to table.

Has to be removed from the table.

It has to be removed, and it hasn't been a motion to remove from the table with a second.

But I would I would support uh council president Pereira's motion to table until uh to leave on the table.

So don't do any of the questions.

Since we can't speak on uh no further, it'll say where it is.

So we're gonna move back to the just vote on it.

So was I guess the first question is was this matter tabled at a previous meeting?

Yes.

Okay.

So there's a tabled matter that would be a motion to remove from the table.

Um unless there's no objection, then someone could take no further action if there's no objection.

However, there seems to be objections.

So a motion to take from the table would have to come first.

You would need six votes to do that, and then do whatever you will with it.

If you don't get six votes to remove it from the table, it's remains on the table and till another till the chair decides to put it back on the agenda.

Is that speak can we speak on that item or no?

You cannot speak on removal.

No.

So we will leave the item as is in the further discussion about it.

We will leave the item tabled.

We will not take it off, no further action.

We'll leave it tabled, and it'll it'll be discussed at a later time.

Thank you, Mr.

Motion to adjourn.

Motion to adjourn with made by Council Burgo.

Is there a second on adjourning?

Council Baptiste.

All those in favor, opposed.

We are adjourned at 734 p.m.

Thank you, Children.

Yeah, okay.