Remarks by Shawn E. Cadime
98 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 4 of 4
“May 15. So we have a $484 million budget. And the first time we have conversations with department heads is mid April a month before that it's due. So now, I'm getting I'm getting accused of extorting the city for $40,000. Okay, that's on that's on public radio. I'm getting accused of having secret meetings with Cliff at his restaurant because I can't God forbid I go to Al Max diner and have some breakfast. Right. Okay. I am being accused that we've we've got deadlines to me. yet the administration meets with department heads a month before the budget is submitted and then when we try to get…”
“Which, again, I haven't really reviewed because I haven't had the time to review it. So I don't know why.”
“But do you understand where I'm coming from, though, in terms of you're submitting budgets to us. You're telling us we need to vote on stuff. And it's like the things are not done. The time frames are not met. But we're the ones that are getting blamed for it. Well, that's the narrative that's being spun. And I just don't appreciate it, because it's not the $40,000. It's the $40,000, it's the transportation, it's the questions on the health care, it's the $450,000, which you have there. It's the items on the indirect costs that we haven't seen. There's a number of things.”
“So I've got a number of questions. I just haven't had time, so I'll yield to my colleagues to have this discussion, but I just want to be very, very clear that it's not just the 40,000, but I will still stand by that if we don't have $40,000 in the city council budget that I will be In my opinion, my personal vote, I will not be supporting the budget. This is the only opportunity, quote Matt Thomas, the power of the purse strings. This is the only time we have the control to be able to get what we need. I have no confidence in Corporation Council. I asked for $100,000 reduction in salaries,…”
“Point of information, I think my colleague should be asking, why did it take so long for the city administration to even ask the question? Last week. Point of information. I also see that you have a floor.”
“In any of it. So when's the first time you've had the conversation with the school department about transportation?”
“I understand my colleague's frustration, but I think it works both ways. I don't know how you submit a budget without having answers to transportation. It works both ways. If you're not getting responses and we want to go beat up the schools, at the end of the day, and I had this conversation with my colleague a couple of weeks ago, The expense is a city expense, right? So you're responsible to make sure and come up with your own estimate in terms of what it is, what it looks like, tie into what the schools are since it's an operation over the schools. So those conversations should be having…”
“So I guess my issue, my concern is that the school department had their budget, I'd say, back in December, right? I don't know when they had, well, they start their budget in December. Right, so I would imagine that there's December all this and they're going through and they've got transportation numbers. So I'm not saying it was at the school committee, but the administration is working on their budget back in December on transportation. So I don't know why we wouldn't have any type of documentation or backup as to how they came up with that $17 million number because It's very clear that…”
“That's what I can say to that Right, but we're in July starting tomorrow That's the problem, right?”
“Right, and the expectation is for us to approve a budget. This is the collective issue that we have.”
“So you want us to approve a budget that we're not starting on. It can either be a million dollars lower or a million dollars higher, and then we'll just make an amendment as to the million dollars.”
“set and accurate and firm you're right that could change but that that could be the case either way even with that 17 million dollar number that could also change so either way it could be adjusted or need to be adjusted down the line so how many other numbers in the you know 484 million dollar budget all the other line items have swings of about a million dollars line items could go up a million dollars could come down a million dollars maybe health care”
“But that's self-funded. We've got claims. You can't see. But outside of health insurance, is there anything? No. Okay. So to me, that is, when we had this conversation, is just... unfathomable in terms of not being able to get a number. And I understand if it's when we got projections, if it's, you know, $100,000 off or $50,000 off or whatever the case may be, but a million dollars in different directions, not being able to be on the same page. That's a concern, right? And I think, you know, we continue to talk about the cost of transportation and it has a significant impact on the budget so…”
“Motion to reject items A through I. Yeah, motion to reject all items A through I.”
“ALL I'M SAYING IS WE'RE GOING LINE BY LINE. TAKING IT ALL AT ONE SHOT, LINES A, 1 THROUGH 10, B, 1 TO 3, JUST TO BE CLEAR. C, 1-2, D, 1-3, E, 1-3, F, 1-3, G, 1-3, H, 1-8, I, 1-4. We can do it either way, but it's very clear that we're taking- Through the chair to the clerk.”
“Motion to reject all funding sources. Second.”
“Second. Point of information first. Constance, you want your point of information? So we don't have a continuation budget before us. There was nothing submitted, so we don't have anything to vote on. So I think what my colleague's looking to do is to make a motion that we move forward with a continuation budget. We don't have anything before us. There's nothing to adopt. It needs to be submitted to us. So I just want to make sure we're clear.”
“She's just looking for a motion just to be on the safe side of it.”
“Can you just, the only question I have is the savings, so the 8,000 tons in trash and the 3,000 tons in recycling, what's that equate to for a savings?”
“So from the... I think my colleague had mentioned $9 to $11 million for the cost of the contracts, and that's annually? Well, yeah.”
“No, but I mean, it's just a quick math between the two of assuming that it's not contaminated about $1.3 million. So that comes off. So annually 1.3 million. So you're knocking that nine to $11 million by 1.3 just by”
“Motion to recommend through first reading.”
“Councilor Kadim. Thank you. So I support what's before us, and I hear what my colleague's saying, and I don't disagree. The problem is I think three to six months is an aggressive time. approach. I think when you start looking at human services and the staffing levels, I mean, how many folks do you have in human resources? Uh, five, five, right? So you're doing payroll benefits, you're doing negotiations. So to find a time to actually truly do a, uh, a valid, uh, comp study on, on all these salaries, especially what positions that may not be, um, in other communities is a challenge, right? So…”