City Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening, everyone. Today is June 15th, 2026, and we will start the public speak out portion. We got a full roster of people speaking, so as many of you know, you have three minutes when you come up. And we're gonna use this timer here. Learn how to use Councilor Whitfield, President Whitfield's timer. There we go, perfect. So first speaker we have up on is John Johnson. Is Mr. Johnson here? State your name and address for the record. You have three minutes, sir.

My name is John Johnson. My name is John Johnson. My address is 278 Center Street. I'm actually a new resident here to Springfield. I relocated me and my wife and my family from Las Vegas, Nevada, because we wanted a better education system. I have 20 plus years in community organizing, political organizing, and campaigning, as well as nonprofits. So I joined the Community Residence Council in my community because I have experience in that role. So when I got there, I seen, you know, a lot of inconsistencies, I should say, from how our nonprofits in Nevada work versus how nonprofits in here work. So I want to read what I found out, because we took a vote, or they took a vote two days ago by email. And you can't take a vote by email with a nonprofit. So Massachusetts, it says that nonprofit board members are held to a strict legal standard to ensure they protect the public interest. The attorney general enforces three core fiduciary duties. There's a lot of stuff, but I'm only going to say the stuff that is important. Be active. Attend board meetings regularly. They have a board member that they said having attendance is October of last year. Why is he still on the board? He is not actively attending meetings. He needs to be removed. Duty of loyalty. Strict, excuse me, no, no, no, no, I'm sorry. Where is it? Duty of obedience. Comply with federal tax laws, state filings, and deadlines. Adhere strictly to the organization's own bylaws. Just like we have a constitution, just like you guys have your city charter, a nonprofit has bylaws. These are our constitution. It's not an option. You have to follow them. They are not following their bylaws. The last thing that I want to talk about is duty of care. Ask questions, challenge assumptions, and request data before voting. The vote that they tried to have, the president said that she received a grant request from a nonprofit whatever, it was a certain amount of money, and she wanted us to send a letter of recommendation for a program that we haven't even seen. I had questions. She never answered my questions. So why I'm coming to you guys is I also did my research and seeing that somehow these neighborhood associations are connected to the city somehow. Our neighborhood association is on the website. So I'm coming to you as someone on the board and also as a resident to ask you guys, do you guys hold these nonprofits accountable for dealing with your constituents in the community. They're supposed to be helping us, not hurting us. And I'm letting you know right now, and I have documentation, I have all the receipts, all the emails. When I told the president of the Indian Orchard Resident Council that her actions was illegal, I showed her the laws that said you cannot have a meeting. The only meeting that you can have is in person, or by communications where all board members can hear each other simultaneously.

Thank you, Mr. Johnson. The three minutes is up. Next up, we have Deborah Barbosa Nieves speaking on immigration and housing and resources.

Deborah cannot be here today, but I'm going to speak. Good evening, city councillors. My name is Nevaeh. Oh, sorry.

Give me a name and address for the record.

Nevaeh Cruz, 6 Eaton Street, Springfield, Mass, 01108. Hi, good evening city councilors. My name is Nevaeh Cruz and I am a member of Neighbor to Neighbor, organizing for housing justice in our community. We believe housing is a human right, not a luxury. Yet too many families in Springfield and across Massachusetts are being pushed out by rising rents, unsafe housing conditions, and the constant fear of displacement. Working families, seniors, immigrants, and long-time residents are struggling to remain in the communities they helped build. Our organization supports rent stabilization because communities deserve tools that keep housing affordable, stable, and people-centered. Rent stabilization is not... about stopping development. It is about creating balance, accountability, and protections that allow people to stay rooted in their neighborhoods. When rent rises faster than wages, families are forced to make impossible choices, between paying rent, buying food, accessing medicine, or caring for their children. Stable housing creates stronger neighborhoods, healthier families, better outcomes for children, and safer communities. My personal story reflects these challenges. When I was searching for housing, most apartments were far beyond my budget. I eventually ended up living in a group home because even the organization helping me struggle to find affordable units. Another barrier was finding landlords willing to take the RAF program, even though it was designed to help people stay housed. Not having stable housing has been one of the hardest experiences in my life. Growing up in the foster care system, I already knew what it felt like to have a little control over where I live. As an adult, I faced the painful reality of struggling again to find safe and secure housing on my own. People across Massachusetts are exhausted and fed up with the housing crisis. During the first round of signatures collected, more than 125,000 people across Massachusetts supported taking action because people are crying out for help. Rent stabilization is not the only still solution but it's an immediate and necessary tool to help protect residents while we continue building long-term affordable housing solutions. The question before us is simple. Who gets to remain in our city? We believe Springfield should remain a place where working families can afford to live, grow, and stay connected to their community. Thank you for your time and the opportunity for me to speak today.

Thank you, Mrs. Cruz. Next up we have Miss Katie Talbot. please state your name and address.

I am Katie Talbot. I live at 58 Leach Street in the Pine Point neighborhood of Springfield. I want to first start off by naming that Pine Point has historically been a super working class neighborhood. But if you go online and look at any of the investor websites, they are saying that rent can range from $2,200 to $2,700. What working class person in Springfield can afford rent that is $2,500, $2,600 a month? We can't. Secondly, the city of Springfield is almost 50% tenants. In the resolution, it names that 24% of those folks are cost burdened. 50% of that 24% is extremely cost burdened. She just names, like, who are we expecting to live in our neighborhoods when our residents aren't able to... put down roots, it impacts the schools, it impacts the businesses, it impacts violence on our streets. We want people to be able to stay housed in the communities in which they help build. Lastly, I'm gonna share some resources with all of y'all, but the city of Springfield is no longer the city of homes, it is the city of corporations. Nearly 90, nearly 90% of rental units are owned by corporations. Evictions are on the rise and 40% of those are because of non-payment when rent has increased by 37%. The majority of them, 90% of those evictions come from corporations. This resolution is a way for this city council to stand up against corporate greed and name that the residents of Springfield deserve to be part of the fabric of Springfield. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Talbot. Our next speaker, Stephen Howard, talking about gentrification.

Thank you, Mr. VP. Good evening, everyone. Stephen Howard, 1104 Worthington Street. Just want to share information to lay down my lay down my reason for being here tonight. When a historic single-family two-door home on Worthington Street was built back in 1899, it cost well over $22,000 to construct. Because of its grand scale detailed stonework and craftsmanship, Recreating a home of that caliber today would cost roughly $5 million. From 20,000 when it was first built, now to build a similar home is $5 million. Same thing happened in New York City. Homes that went for like about $15,000, now selling for like $3 million. What has happened is, big developers would move in, offer folks who are struggling, let's say $200,000, $300,000, folks not understanding the value because their parents probably paid like maybe $15,000, $20,000, if even they paid $50,000. They come, they say, hey, look, we give you a quarter mil. When they buy that house, that house is really worth $2 million to $3 million. Right? Now when you look around here, and as I said the last time I was here, gas prices are three times what they should be. Because 60%, 66% of that bill is for transporting the gas from point A to your homes or your businesses. The administration has cut back the education department by 50%. They have eliminated Breakfast in schools. Insurance, now you gotta be paying more money for insurance than you did before. People are moving from all over the world. They're coming from Florida, that's flooding. You're coming from Texas and places like that where you have all kind of disasters going on with storms and hurricanes, tornadoes. And then when you go on the West Coast, you look at all the fire. Springfield is a perfect location. Look at the fantastic homes that we have here. And as was just said, 90% of rentals are owned by corporations. If you don't think that this is gentrification going on here right now, how many jobs are in here? From what I understand, a lot of the people who come to Springfield to work don't even live in Springfield. So here it is that you have people coming from outside the community, taking the income, taking it back to their communities, and the people who are living here are paying astronomical prices. They can't afford to repair their homes because the guidelines say, well, it's a historically designated area, so you have to conform to these guidelines. Otherwise, we can't approve the material that you want to use, making it more difficult for people to fix their homes. If this is a gentrification, I don't know what is. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Howard.

Excuse me as I'm trying to get used to this timer, but next speaker we have is Wilford Champ Godbolt. State your name and address for the record, sir.

Yes. My name is Wilford Champ Godbolt. I live at 65 Pendleton Avenue in Springfield. I'm living, born and live at Springfield, 65 Pendleton Avenue, Springfield. This home has been in my family for over 70 years. My mother and my father grew up in the Jim Crow South era. My father dropped out of school in the fourth grade in Mississippi, okay, and sharecropped with his parents, okay, to help take care of the family down there. And then after that, moved to Springfield where he bought, at that time he bought my childhood home at 65 Princeton Avenue where I'm still living, okay, and it's the only home that I know. Okay, born and raised there, okay? And so, this, and today, I'm fighting Fannie Mae, okay? To get my home back after a foreclosure that should have never taken place. Yes, thank you. I grew up, once again, I grew up here in Springfield, went to Springfield Technical High School, where I graduated from, and Springfield being known as the city of homes, okay, but this, Springfield is so much different now than it was when I was growing up. It's no longer, you know, it doesn't look like it's a city of homes no more. It's the city of corporate homes, okay? And so we are witnessing corporations buying up single and multifamily homes every day. Housing has become a pathway for those okay, with more, and then we're watching working class and poor people, okay, to be bled dry and displaced. So I'm not sure who this city is for anymore. I work with young people as a basketball coach. I worry about what future they have in this city. Will they be able to afford their first apartment? will they be able to afford their first home, purchase their first home? And so this resolution is one step in protecting our residents here in Springfield and being able to live, to stay and live in this city. As a homeowner and potential landlord, I'm really very clear that we need rent control, period. Okay, yes.

Thank you, Mr. Gabo. Yes, okay, thank you. Mr. Gabo, three minutes is up. Thank you so much.

Okay.

Thank you. Thank you.

Next up we have Ms. Nicole Coakley, also speaking on rent control. Thank you.

Nicole Coakley, 145 Bristol Street in Springfield. Good evening, Vice President, counselors, and members of the community. My name is Nicole Coakley, and I am here speaking tonight as a mother, a renter, and someone who's living the reality that too many Springfield families are facing. I have lived in my apartment for more than 10 years. When I moved in, my rent was $950 a month. On August 1st, my rent will increase to $2,200. I am a mother of five children. I work, I serve my community, I pay my bills, I have done everything we tell people they are supposed to do. Get educated, work hard, stay committed to your community, contribute, and build stability for your family. Yet today, despite doing all of those things, I am standing before you wondering how families like mine are supposed to survive. This conversation is not about blaming landlords. Property taxes are increasing. Cost is increasing. I understand that. But what about the families whose wages have not doubled? What about the seniors on fixed incomes? What about the single parents, the working families, the teachers, the health care workers, and the people who make this city run every single day? How do we observe increases that leave us choosing between rent and groceries, between housing and childcare, between keeping a roof over our heads and simply existing? Housing should not become a luxury. When rent rises this dramatically without meaningful protections, families are displaced, children lose stability, seniors lose security, and communities lose the very people who built them. Springfield cannot continue to say we care about affordability while allowing residents to be priced out of neighborhoods they helped sustain. Families are not just losing apartments. They are losing stability, dignity, and community. Children are changing schools. Parents are sacrificing necessities. Neighbors who have spent years building Springfield are being pushed out. Rent control or rent stabilization is not about preventing property owners from earning a fair return. It is about creating balance. It is about predictability. It is about ensuring that people are not forced out of their homes overnight because of market conditions they cannot control. Tonight, I am asking this council to be courageous. I am asking you to explore and advance meaningful rent stabilization policies. I am asking you to advocate at the state level for tools municipalities need to protect tenants. I, Nicole Coakley, am asking you to hold hearings, collect data, engage residents, and stop treating this as a future problem, because for many families, this crisis is already here. Please do not wait until more children are uprooted, more seniors are displaced, and more working families leave Springfield. I ask you tonight, stand with renters, stand with working families, stand with the people who call Springfield home, and most importantly, stand with me as your next state representative in 11th Hampton District. And let Springfield... and let Springfield send a message that our community is not for sale to the highest bidder. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Coakley. Next up, we have Ms. Jacqueline Velez. Say Jackie Velez. Jackie Velez.

Also on rent control. I'm going to be speaking on behalf of Jacqueline Velez. Jackie Velez.

State your name and address for the record, please.

I'm Rusty Palsgrove. I live at 136 Bowdoin Street in Springfield. Jackie Velez, whose statement I will be reading, lives at 108 Moreland Street. My name is Jacqueline Velez, and I am a homeowner in Ward 2 of the City of Springfield. I relocated my family to Springfield, Massachusetts in 2015. I work for a public health institution out of Boston, but I am speaking in my personal capacity. I moved here from New York City because I wanted to give my three children better opportunities. Rents there were so high I could not keep up with the runaway rents as a single mom. My biggest fear was to become homeless and end up in a shelter with three kids, not just one like years before. My sister, who has an autistic five-year-old child, is staying with us temporarily because she cannot seem to secure affordable, decent, and safe housing. This is the third time in the past six years I am helping someone out by letting them stay with us because they simply cannot secure what is a basic human right, housing. This is not a want, this is not a luxury. It is what everyone should have to keep their mental health and dignity intact. I write to ask for this body to pass this rent control resolution tonight. This issue needs to be addressed as soon as possible. This does not solve all of our housing issues, but it will help. What was a problem has become a crisis, and it's becoming worse daily. Renters are spending more than a third of their income on rent alone, leaving too little each month for food, medicine, and other necessities needed to stay healthy. When people cannot afford their rent, they are forced into impossible choices, skipping medical appointments, stretching prescriptions, and going hungry. Stable housing is the bedrock of strong communities. Rent control's purpose is not to solve every issue in our housing system, but to do one thing very well, stabilize rents. When our neighbors can pay their rents, they can remain being our neighbors. Thank you.

Thank you, Rusty. Next person doesn't have a name, but it just says neighbor-to-neighbor, also speaking on rent stabilization. Is there a representative from neighbor-to-neighbor?

Hello, my name is Sharae Swelters, and I'm a resident of the Brightwood neighborhood.

Give me an address.

I'm a resident of Brightwood, 1350 Main Street, for the address. I'm here today to ask each city council member to lean in and open your hearts. I want you to listen to the cries coming from our city. The disproportionate and unrealistic devastations that rental prices force landlords to have impacted on us is unsustainable. My experience with housing insecurity is deeply personal. I spent three years homeless, living in a hotel shelter program with my two children while figuring out where we're going to go. Why so long? During that time, rising housing costs and a lack of affordable housing made it nearly impossible to secure housing for my family. I'm here today to stand alongside of neighbor to neighbor and remind you that we the people voted for you to sit in the seats that you're sitting in right now today. I am personally asking each of you to listen and take into account the words of our testimonies. These are not just stories and they're not just statistics, they're real life experience. And the reflection and the challenges that we face, we're right here looking at you back, okay? This is our lives. As a Springfield resident living in a low-income apartment in the Brightwood neighborhood, I'm afraid that when I graduate from the University of Massachusetts studying social justice and public policy, that when I select a full-time job, I'm not gonna be able to make market rent. Facing homelessness again, hopefully that's not the cost. As an individual who waited 10 years to finally be called into a low-income apartment is ridiculous. I know firsthand from my lived experience, we were displaced by a flood without any alarm. During that time, I met countless other families facing the same struggles. So I'm looking around and I'm like, wait a minute, this is a social justice issue. Okay. Let's put our boots on the ground. Let's put our shirts on. Let's let us hear you hear our real stories. We're here today. As I'm pursuing an associate's degree, last year at the time, I was a student body president of the class at STCC of 2025. I could not secure stable housing at that time. No one knew I was homeless, but I kept pushing on. Night after night, I sat in a small hotel room with my kids, crying, hiding in the bathroom, because I didn't want them to see my tears. I wanted to be that strong black woman. No family should have to choose between housing stability and basic needs. My experience here is showing that how the rental increases are pushing us out and making us face the same disparities over and over again. We want to get out of the loop. And I'm asking you today to please rent to say yes to on the resolution. Thank you.

All right, last speaker we have is Legacy Rivera, also speaking up for Civilization.

My name is Legacy Rivera. My address is 1313 Bay Street. My name is Legacy Rivera and I'm a resident of Springfield and a member of Neighbor to Neighbor. I'm standing here tonight to urge this council to take immediate aggressive action to address the housing crisis by passing strong rent stabilization measures and expanding local tenant protections. Right now, our community is facing an unprecedented housing affordability crisis. Working families, seniors on fixed incomes, and young residents are being pushed out of the neighborhoods they helped build. When a landlord can raise rent unpredictably by hundreds of dollars a month, it isn't just an individual financial emergency. It is a destabilization force of our entire city. Unchecked rent hikes lead directly to housing instability, school turnover for our children, and increased homelessness. Rent stabilization provides our community with much needed predictability. It ensures that families can budget for food, healthcare, and local businesses rather than pouring every dollar into keeping a roof over their heads. Living with housing insecurity means existing in a state of constant, exhausting survival. When rent increases outpace our income. Your home stops feeling like a sanctuary and starts feeling like a countdown clock towards possible displacement. While I understand the concerns regarding housing development, rent control is not about stopping growth. It's about establishing a basic economic safety net We need local anatomy to protect our residents right now. I urge this council to support resolutions that grant our city the authority to implement tailored, common sense tenant protections. Every month, families like mine are living through a quiet crisis. What was once our safe haven has turned into an exhausting survival calculation due to skyrocketing rent increases. Our household income simply cannot keep pace with annual lease hikes. To keep a roof over our children's heads, we are forced to dismantle our family budget. We systematically cut back on groceries, delay filing medical prescriptions, and live with completely depleted savings. We are currently one minor emergency, a single sick day, or car repair away from losing everything. Living with this level of housing insecurity carries a heavy psychological toll. It takes an immense amount of energy to hide financial panic from our children. We cannot invest in our future or save for home ownership because our entire lives are consumed by immediate survival. City Council policy shouldn't just be about building new units. It must be about protecting the people who already live, work, and contribute to this city. Springfield is currently drafting a comprehensive housing plan and allocating millions in federal housing funds. I urge you to use that power to protect vulnerable renters. Please support local rent stabilization policies, expand emergency rental assistance programs, and establish real protection against arbitrary displacement. Housing is a fundamental human need. Families like mine desperately need you to act before we are priced out of our community entirely. Thank you for your time.

Thank you so much. All right, we're going to take a quick minute recess in between the speak out and the regular meeting. Thank you, everybody.

Recording in progress

I'm going to ask Mike. Hello? I'm going to ask all councillors to return to their seats.

Why is the mic not working?

Can you hear me now? You can go fix it. Mike, it's not. The audio is not working here. I don't know if I've got to do the dialing or the Wi-Fi.

I'm speaking to the thing and it's not working. Yeah, well, it's because he hasn't started the meeting.

You've got to tell him to start the meeting. George, can you start it? Can we start it? All right. I'm gonna ask my colleagues on the council to return to their seats so we can start this meeting. All right, what's this one? All right, good evening everybody. Today is June 15th. Hello, can you guys hear me? All right. Good evening, it's June 15th. We're gonna now start the regular meeting for the city council. I'm gonna ask our Madam Clerk if you can call the roll.

Councillor Santanello.

Present.

Present, Councillor Martin.

Present.

Present, Councillor Perez. Absent, Councillor Brown. Absent, Councillor Govan. Present. Present, Councilor Walsh. Present. Present, Councilor Hurst. Present. Present, Councilor Davila. Present. Present, Councilor Fenton. Present. Present, Councilor Whitfield. Absent, Councilor Klick-Bruce.

Present.

Present, Councilor Edwards.

Present.

Present, Councilor Delgado.

Present. I'm going to hand over for the moment of silence to Councilor Zydeco-Van.

Thank you, Mr. Vice President. So I am, should I stand up? That's good. Thank you. I like standing up. So I want to dedicate this moment of silence to Brenda Lopez, who passed on Friday, I believe it was. Brenda was a really big advocate for domestic violence prevention and treatment. She was an advocate in the city of Springfield and a longtime resident of the city. So I just want to dedicate this moment of silence for her.

Thank you.

And if we're able to, if you're able to, can you please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance? All right, thank you for that. Are there any reports of committee, Councilor Martin? Followed by Councilor Santanello-Walsh.

Thank you, Mr. President. The Public Safety Committee, we had a meeting last Wednesday, I believe, June 10th. The major topic of conversation was in regards to the Union Station. Obviously, that's been a bit of a hot button issue in regards to some of the disturbances that have been... Going on there, I was joined by myself, Councilor Hurst via remote, Councilor Click-Bruce via remote, and then Councilor Davila via remote as well. We also had Sergeant Brian Kelly. We had Bill Baker, the Mayor's Chief of Staff. Tim Sheehan, Emily Cruzuto, Springfield Public Schools, Dr. Jose Escobano, the assistant superintendent to the Springfield Public Schools as well. Very informative. Lieutenant Elliott gave a real rundown on some of the new procedures and the new systems that they plan to put in place to make sure that people who are using Union Station will be doing so safely. 26 of the new graduated 52 officers will be starting to be kind of baked into that process and will be going around and keeping us safe at Union Station. I was also interested to know some of the statistics that were brought up, especially by Dr. Escobano. It was reported that only 81 students from the Springfield Public Schools during the whole time were trespassing in Union Station. That's less than 1%. So to really think it is a Springfield issue, it's not really fair. It's not really correct. It's people coming from all different areas. So it was very informative. It was very beneficial, and I'm very happy to have it. So anybody have any other further questions, please feel free to reach out, but I'll yield my time. Thank you.

Thank you, Councilor Martin. Councilor Santanello.

The Health and Human Services Committee met June 2nd of this year. I was joined by Zaida Govan, Councilor Govan was at the meeting too. And we met to discuss behavioral health, substance use treatment, homelessness, and community health coordination efforts with representatives from Trinity Health of New England, Mercy Medical Center, and the Springfield Department of Health and Human Services, Helen Calton. Dr. Rodriguez of Mercy Medical Center provided an overview of emergency behavioral health services, addiction treatment programs, community health worker services, care coordination, and partnership with organizations including Gandara, Tapestry, and BHN. The discussion focused also on alcohol use disorder trends, and by the way, Many, many people use our emergency rooms because of alcohol addiction and alcohol poisoning. It's becoming epidemic in both hospitals. Commissioner Calton highlighted the city's health services for the homeless program, an ongoing partnership supporting unhoused residents experiencing mental health and substance use challenges. The committee also discussed outpatient detox services, recovery support programs, and future collaboration opportunities. The meeting adjourned at 2.41 p.m. Thank you.

Thank you, Councilor Santanello. Councilor Govan.

Thank you, Mr. Vice President. So we had a Finance Committee meeting today at 5 o'clock. Councilor Davila and Councilor Click-Bruce were there, and we just discussed the financial orders that we'll be addressing today. Thank you.

Thank you, Councilor Govan. Councilor Walsh. Can we have your mic on, please?

Planning and Economic Development Meeting met June 8th. In attendance was Councilor Delgado Chair Tim Sheehan, Ken Shea, Michelle Grant, Phil Dromey, Councilors Walsh, LeVar Quick-Bruce, and Hurst. The committee chaired by Councilor Jose Delgado met to discuss zoning issues related to surface parking lots and special permit requires for multifamily housing development. Discussion focused on concerns that the current requirements for City Council special permits on developments with 10 or more housing units may create delays and uncertainty for housing projects. The committee also discussed concerns regarding the number of surface parking lots in the downtown area and the impact on walkability, redevelopment, and long-term growth. A motion to advance the zoning issue related to surface parking was approved unanimously. Discussion regarding multifamily housing permits will continue at a future meeting.

Thank you, Councilor Walsh. Any other reports of committee?

Hearing none. All right. Mr. President, if I can, just a point of order. Yes, sir. Could we please take item number 26 out of order? There's a lot of folks here tonight. I know Senator Gomez is in the crowd. Can we take that first, please?

Are there any objections to taking it out of order? No. Second. Oh, sorry. I jumped the gun. We have to accept the reports of committee first.

On the reports of the committee, Councillor Santanello. Yes.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Martin.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Perez. Absent. Councillor Brown. Absent. Councillor Govan.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Walsh. Yes. Yes, Councillor Hurst.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Davila. Yes. Yes, Councillor Fenton.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Whitfield. Absent. Councillor Click-Bruce.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Edwards.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Delgado.

Yes. Now can we take item 26 out of

Item 26 is the rent stabilization resolution.

Counselor Hurst. Thank you, Mr. President. I just want to take this opportunity to thank my colleague and co-sponsor of this resolution, Zyda Govan. I also want to thank all of the organizations that have been lobbying, not only at the Statehouse, but at the local level, for a number of months and for some years. I won't go into depth in terms of why it is that I'm supporting this resolution. I'll yield to Senator Gomez for my time, but I just, I want to reiterate the testimony that I heard. She was crying in the bathroom so that her kids couldn't see her. because she was so burdened by rent. If that doesn't resonate with you all, I don't know what will. It's obvious that we have a problem. This resolution is a step in the right direction, and it's also in support of the tireless efforts of our former counselor, Senator Adam Gomez. So with that being said, I will read the resolution into the record, and then I will yield my time, if it's okay with you, Mr. President, to Senator Gomez. Whereas the rapidly escalating cost of housing in Springfield has created profound instability for renters, placing many seniors, essential workers, and families at risk of displacement and housing insecurity. And whereas as of 2023, 24% of Springfield renters are housing cost burden, spending 30% or more of their income on housing costs. And of those, 31% are severely cost burdened, paying 50% or more. And whereas rent control was banned through a 1994 statewide ballot questioning by the aggregate of Massachusetts voters, despite Springfield voters supporting the continuation of rent control by a significant margin. And whereas the current Massachusetts statute currently prohibits rent control so that Springfield cannot address this problem without legislative action on the state level, Now, therefore, be it resolved, the Springfield City Council supports Bill H-2328 and Senate Bill 1447, an act enabling cities and towns to stabilize rents and protect tenants, calling for the repeal of the statewide rent control preemptions, allowing cities and towns to institute rent stabilization measures and implement tenant protections with exemptions for owner-occupied buildings of four or fewer units and for newly constructed buildings, and be it further resolved that the city clerk is hereby requested to transmit a copy of this resolution to the Attorney General, the Springfield delegation of the Massachusetts legislature, the Mayor of Springfield, and the Governor of the Commonwealth. Thank you, Mr. President, and I'll yield to Senator Gomez.

Senator Gomez, welcome back. You just got to turn on the little, I know it's changed a little bit since you've been here.

Which one do I press? The little person icon. I turned it on for me. Whoever did that, thank you. Thank you, Mr. President. It feels good being back home. This chamber will always be home for me. and these organizations that stand here today have always been organizations that I'm a part of, I'm still a member of, and honestly, I can just say that I just feel just a wholesome feeling, so thank you for standing with me, but more or less, thank you for selecting me to stand for you. So, Council President and members of the Springfield City Council, community leaders, advocates, and residents, I want to thank all of you for the opportunity to speak today and I personally want to thank Councilor Justin Hurst, Councilor Govan for sponsoring this resolution, having to do with local option. This resolution don't necessarily take a stake in the referendum, which I know that it's hot, and I was the first signator for that referendum, so I'm very proud to state that today. Because I know, you know, I rise in support of this resolution because while it may be non-binding, it's a message that could not be more important. Today is about more than just a vote. Today is about whether we are willing to acknowledge the housing challenges facing working families throughout Springfield and whether we are willing to stand up and say that the status quo is not acceptable. This resolution is about giving voices to the people who are struggling to remain in the city they helped build. And while the resolution itself does not create rent stabilization, it sends a clear message that Springfield is ready to take part of the solution and not being told what and how to manage their own city. I stand before you not only as the Senator for the Hamden District, but as someone who has spent his legislative career fighting for economic justice, housing security, immigrant rights, criminal justice reform, and opportunity for all working families, which started right here in this chamber, and started right there in those seats as a member of Neighbor to Neighbor. Because of all these issues that are all interconnected, housing is not simply a roof over someone's head. Housing is healthcare. Housing is public safety. Housing is an educational opportunity. Housing is economic stability. And housing is human dignity. And when housing becomes unaffordable, every one of those pillars begin to crack, especially in front of this city hall. This legislative session, I have filed legislation aimed at advancing housing rights, reducing poverty, supporting returning citizens, protecting immigrant families, combating discrimination, strengthening tenant protections, and creating pathways towards economic opportunity. Why? Because this government has a responsibility to ensure that the prosperity is shared, not hoarded. Because government has the responsibility to stand with working people. And because government has the responsibility to intervene when markets are failing the very people that they are supposed to serve. Today, Springfield faces a reality that many of our residents know all too well. Thousands of families are struggling to keep up with rising housing costs. Seniors living on fixed income are worried about whether they could remain in their homes and neighborhoods that have occupied for decades. And we just heard that from Mr. Champ. Young families are finding a hard way and even harder way to afford rent. Working people are working longer hours and still failing and falling behind. And while Springfield's economy continues to grow, to many residents, they're asking a simple question. Will there be a place for me when it's all said and done? The answer to the question should concern every one of us and every one of you and everyone that's watching this at home. It exists in every single neighborhood that we all know. Springfield has 22 neighborhoods, 14 of those neighborhoods fall below the federal poverty level. It exists in Brightwood. It exists in the North End. It exists in Old Hill. It exists in Upper Hill. It exists in Lower Forest Park. It exists in the South End. It exists in Indian Orchard. It exists even in Ward 7. Ward 6. These neighborhoods contain census tracts where poverty rate exceeds 20%. and where generations of residents have faced systematic barriers in economic mobility. These are neighborhoods filled with hardworking people, families, veterans, seniors, immigrants, children, small business owners, people who contribute every single day to the fabric of our city. And yet these are often the same neighborhoods most vulnerable to displacement when housing costs rise. And that is why the conversation matters. When rents increase faster than wages, because we all know, being the most arrested county, but then at the same time with stagnated raises on wages, which we've been fighting for decades, it makes families forced to make impossible decisions. Do I pay the rent or do I buy groceries? Do I pay rent or do I fill this prescription? Do I pay rent or keep the lights on? and we sure are making double payments, I know a lot of us are, even elected officials, we do see the bills too. And when those choices become unsustainable, families are displaced, children's, like we heard before, children change schools, neighborhoods lose long-term residence, communities become fragmented, and homelessness increases. That is not simply a housing problem, that's a public health problem. That is a public safety problem. That is an economic development problem, and that's where the moral problem stands. Some have asked what rent stabilization actually means. This legislation that Senator Pat Jalen and myself filed recognizes a simple truth. Housing markets are different across the Massachusetts. What works in one community may not work in another. That is why our legislation is based on local control. It is a local option proposal. It does not force every city or town into a one size fits all policy. Instead, it gives municipalities the authority to determine whether rent stabilization is appropriate for their communities. It trusts local elected officials, like everyone in this room that was trusted and voted upon, because the residents trust you. And it trusts communities to decide what's best for them. The legislation would allow municipalities to adopt measures that protect tenants from excessive rent, increases while preserving important protections for responsible property owners, and encouraging continued housing development. Because this is not about freezing rents. This is not about punishing the landlord. This is not even about stopping the investment. This is about preventing displacement. It's about providing stability. It's about ensuring that families are not forced out of their homes because housing costs have risen astronomically. And we already know what the pump is looking like when it's time to pump for gas. And that is why this resolution matters. Because this resolution is fundamentally what this is about, local control. Fundamentally about home rule. This resolution is fundamentally about whether Springfield should have the ability to address Springfield housing challenges and not Beacon Hill. And I would argue that nobody understands Springfield's housing market better than the people who live here. The people that are on the front lines. And this legislative season, I filed a bunch of different protections specifically because it's not an all size fits all and it's not one piece of policy. This is just a piece of the puzzle that can help communities and cities like ours that deal with all the things that create these uncertainties when it comes to housing insecurity or food insecurity. So with that, the family that's facing eviction today, we also see you because I know that you guys are also struggling with food insecurity. and returning citizens denied housing after their time, paying their debt to society, coming back because of their records, they can't find a place to live, we also see you too. For the immigrant family living in a mixed family home that your father or your mother is working and your children are part of our school system, we also see you too. And these are interconnected challenges that require comprehensive solutions. And this is just one of them. And at the central of every one of these solutions, it's housing stability. So it's harder to find employment. It's harder to get even an appointment at your clinic or with your doctor. It's harder to break the cycle with poverty. And I just want to thank the time and giving me the moment to speak because Springfield cannot become a city where prosperity arrives only after the people who endured the struggle and are forced to leave. We cannot revitalize neighborhoods by removing residents who never gave up on them. We cannot celebrate development while ignoring displacement. Growth should not require displacement. Investment should not require exclusion. Development should not require abandonment. The truth measure, excuse me. The measure of the city is not how much wealth it creates. The truth is measured of a city, whether the people who create that wealth can afford to remain and benefit from it. And that is the challenge before us, that this is the opportunity for us, from Brightwood to Lower Forest Park, again, from the north end to the south end, to Memorial Square to Mason Square, to Bay Street to Six Corners, all the way up to Indian Orchard. This is not the end. This is just the beginning of a great conversation. And it's Springfield raising its voice. It's Springfield standing up for working families. And it's Springfield declaring that housing stability, economic justice, and community preservation matter. And I respectfully ask all of your support. And thank you. God bless the city of Springfield. God bless the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. And God bless you all. Thank you for the time, Mr. President. Thank you, Senator.

Councilor Hurst. I just wanted to highlight for the council that we did have a meeting on this resolution and it was voted unanimously in favor of passing it and sending it to the full body. Thank you, Councilor.

Councilor Santanello, followed by Govan.

Yes. I want to commend you, Senator, for an impassioned speech on the floor of the council. And I just have a quick question. This is a resolve. And it's an important resolve. But do you plan or people in the legislature plan on bringing something in to put it on the ballot?

So right now there is a referendum for. for rent control, but this specific bill is local option, which right now, today, Governor Maura Healey has stated in the Boston Globe that she wants to find a compromise, and what you guys are voting for right now is basically that compromise. What you guys are doing right now is putting a good footstep forward to show that Western Massachusetts is ready to get a compromise because we understand that this question, it's serious and it's real. But... if we're letting the municipalities within the piece of legislation that I offered, that I filed in the Senate with Senator Jalen, an option for the city to have control over what that looks like instead of What this bill, I mean, what this question on the ballot that's on, which is an all-size-fits-all, it gives this council the power to really study, look into this, and establish some real ideas on what rent stabilization can look like here for the city of Springfield. And honestly, I think that this is the best path forward. And I think that this council would be one of the first councils in the Commonwealth taking that step forward and flagging for the legislature and leadership and also the governor that we're ready to come to the table to make sure that we can get something done that's comprehensive, that works for everyone and not some of us.

And I guess my question is, is there time to do that before we go to the polls in the fall and vote on rent control?

Well, the truth is today you have the moment in time to stand with us. And I think that, you know, respectfully, there is other things that I cannot share, but I do suggest that, you know, that this is something that is going to be heard loud and clear. And what I feel from what I've heard from the governor today is that this is going to be the path moving forward. And that's all that I can get into.

Thank you, Senator. I commend you.

Councilor Govan.

Thank you, Mr. Vice President. And thank you, Senator Gomez. I don't think I'm going to ask you any questions. I just want to thank you for the bill. And I want to thank the organizations who are here. Senior Action Council is here, Neighbor to Neighbor, Springfield, No One Leaves. Am I missing anyone? Thank you. Thank you for being here. You've heard... The testimony from the residents, from neighbor to neighbor and other entities, what stood out to me was what Mr. Howard talked about, gentrification. I've actually been whispering it to myself for these last few years because I wasn't sure if that's where Springfield was headed. But today it seems clear that that's what it seems, I'm going to say the powers that be, want to happen. And that really scares me, right? Because when I was teaching at UMass right downtown here, one of my students came in one day and he said, I'm going to have to move out of his apartment down, I think he was living in the lofts. And I said, what happened? He said, my rent just went out by $500 from one month to the next. which caused him to not be able to live there. And I believe Nicole Coakley said that an average rent, let's say, is $2,500. You're supposed to pay a third of your income in rent, right? That means that if you're going to pay $2,500, your income needs to be $90,000 a year. And in Springfield, I don't know a lot of people that make that much money. I don't make that much money. You know, so I'm hoping and I think that my colleagues here on the city council are in agreement. I'm hoping that we pass this resolution and support Senator Gomez in his efforts to pass this bill. And I'm hoping that it will go before the vote on the ballot question. If the ballot question passes, I'll be happy because we'll have rent control hopefully, right? But I think there are some really good things in this bill that will help us. one of the commenters said, you know, this is not a referendum on passing a resolution or not. This is about our values and what we value. You know, I value the residents in this city, whether they own a home or whether they rent. I value the passion that we have in this city. And I really value us trying to do something to help our people stay here. You know, someone talked about teachers, police officers. When you first start teaching, when you first become a police officer, your income is not going to be $90,000, right? If it's $1,500 a month, which is probably a studio apartment, if you get it really cheap. Nowadays, I don't think that exists anymore. You'd still have to make at least $50,000 a year. So I'm just encouraging us all to vote yes on this resolution so that we can send a message to our residents that we value them. Thank you, Mr. Vice President.

Thank you, Councilor Vaughn. Anybody else in my colleagues? Councillor Fenton.

Thank you, Mr. President, and thank you, Senator and members of the public for bringing this presentation before us today. I think that this is a wonderful compromise and attempt to take a ballot initiative that I personally have concerns and reservations over given the one size fits all parameters of that referendum. But this is something I can support. Giving the city of Springfield and all of the 350 plus cities and towns in Massachusetts an opportunity to craft local rent control on our terms for what makes sense for our city is something that we should all get behind and very happy to support this tonight. Thank you. Thank you.

Chancellor Davila.

Thank you, Mr. Vice Chair. Good afternoon to all. Senator Gomez, welcome back to the Chamber, sir. Mr. President, in a society, there's five tenets that are critical in any society. Food, water, security, healthcare, and shelter. People that testified during public speaking, as we all know, here in Springfield, wages have, excuse me, rent has almost doubled. Two and a half. I believe I heard your lady here saying that she's paying, she went from $1,000 to $2,000. That is 100% increase. Rent control, excuse me, the increases on rent has not kept up with the pace of wage, not only throughout the nation, but particularly here in the city of Springfield. If I'm not mistaken, the average wage increase is two to two and a half a year, while inflation, what we buy on milk, bread, butter, has been consistently between 6% and 7%. Not to mention that if you don't own a home, your property taxes have been increasingly going up, something like 30% or 40%. If we don't address the issue of housing security, we are going to end up with a major displacement, housing displacement, here in the city of Springfield. And in essence, what we're gonna be doing is losing the campus of the city, the mosaic of the city. For we cannot thrive to have a better city if we are going to lose the people in the city. That is an oxymoron that we cannot allow to happen. I also think it's important, Mr. President, to highlight some of the particulars on this bill which I believe is S1447. One, there is a local option that down the road we can adopt here in the city of Springfield and it does not force any other municipality to adopt it. Two, that it will be limited to properties that have four units or less. They will be exempted. If you're a mega corporation and you have 100 units, it will apply to you. There will be no more than 5% increase a year in rent. And if there's gonna be increase, it's gonna be once the renter leaves. They cannot increase it while you are there. There will be no fault eviction. Too many people have been kicked out of their homes here just because. And that's not a reason to get displaced out of your home. Mr. President, my own father-in-law in the city of New York lived in a rent-controlled building for at least 20 years. And the world did not come to an end. I too join Senator, my colleagues, in congratulating Senator Adam for being a trailblazer and for putting this into the queue in the Senate for passage. This is not a want, this is a necessity. And I will be proud to join my colleagues in voting in favor of this. Thank you, Mr. President, God bless you.

Thank you, Councilor Davila. Councilor Quick-Bruce.

Thank you, President Delgado. I'd like to thank Senator Gomez for bringing this forward. Also to my colleagues, Councilor Hurst and Councilor Govan for bringing this to the City Council. Thank you for doing this. I'm in the support of this as well. I think I said it in the subcommittee meeting. Personal testimony, I have my own daughter. just turned 26 and she's still living at home because she's having a hard time finding an apartment because of the rising cost of rent. So this, you know, hits home not only with our residents here in the city of Springfield, but also hits home with me personally with my daughter who currently has a full-time job and is taking care of her children, her child. BUT THE SALARY THAT SHE MAKES IS NOT ENOUGH TO AFFORD THE HIGH RENT COST HERE IN THE CITY OF SPRINGFIELD. SO AGAIN, I LOOK TO SUPPORT THIS AND I ASK TO BE ADDED AS A SPONSOR TO THIS RESOLUTION. THANK YOU, PRESIDENT.

NEW SPEAKER THANK YOU, COUNCILOR CLIFF. NEW SPEAKER DID I MISS SOMEBODY? YOU WANTED TO SPEAK? Can you add, Councilor Click-Bruce, to the resolution? And as well as Councilor Doblin. Is there anybody that does not want to be added to the resolution? All right.

Councilor Santanello. Very briefly, I think everybody has spoken and spoken the right way. I think this is a great move on our part as a city council, and I want to commend Councilor Hurst. Council Govan, everybody else that's involved with this. It's really tough when people have to make a decision that they have to pay their rent but can't feed their family. And that's a no-no in my book. So I'm going to be 100% wholeheartedly in favor of this. Thank you.

Councillor Santanello, if there are no other discussion, Madam Clerk, can you call a roll and vote for the resolution?

On the resolution, Councillor Santanello.

Absolutely, yes.

Yes, Councillor Martin.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Perez. Absent. Councillor Brown. Absent. Councillor Govan.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Walsh.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Hurst.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Davila. Yes. Yes, Councillor Fenton.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Whitfield. Absent. Councillor Click-Bruce. Yes. Yes, Councilor Edwards.

Yes.

Yes, Councilor Delgado.

Yes. Congratulations. I would invite you all to stay here for the rest of the agenda, but I'm sure you got enough on your hands, so thank you guys for being here, and thank you former Councilor and State Senator Adam Gomez for being here as well. Thank you, guys. Madam Clerk, can you call the next item on the agenda?

The next item is the election warrant for the September primary with polling locations.

All right, who do we have on item one? Councilor Hurst?

Thank you, Mister president, I'd like to make a motion to send items one and 2 to the general government committee. We've had a number of conversations around the elections in general and just would love to vet this in advance if possible.

Second, the motion can I say something we have a motion seconded motion by just in hers and a second who was it by council Martin which which items is that Mister president, the one in 2. Yeah, it was for numbers one and two. Gladys, did you have anything you wanted to add? No? All right.

I have a question on the motion before it's heard.

All right. Well, go ahead.

Thank you. Are there any deadlines that we need to be worried about, Madam Clerk, with respect to the warrant? I CERTAINLY UNDERSTAND NUMBER TWO GOING TO COMMITTEE. THAT SEEMS LIKE A BROADER DISCUSSION, BUT ARE THERE ANY SENSITIVITY TO ITEM NUMBER ONE NOT BEING ACTED ON TONIGHT TIMEWISE?

ACTUALLY, ITEM NUMBER TWO. is the item where there is sensitivity in terms of the timing for the September election. If it does go to committee, we will not be able to use it for the September primary election, the electronic poll books. However, if it does go to committee, we can skip the September election, and then they would be in use for the November election. So I'll leave it to the councillor's discretion.

Councillor Hurst, would you be open to discussing it a little bit tonight, or...

So my thought process is that this is one of those type of items that ought to be thought through and committee prior to us approving it. I would be open to having a quick committee meeting and then what Gladys did you say there was an actual deadline and and maybe appealing to the president to have a special meeting if necessary, yes, what is the deadline, what is what is your time 60 days prior to the use.

60 days prior to the election.

And it's September 1st, right?

September 1st.

So what would that be?

And we, yeah, the next regular meeting would be after the deadline.

We'd need a special meeting in June, right?

We'd need a special meeting in June.

Do we have a hearing today in June? We have a hearing today in June. So maybe we could possibly ask...

I don't have that in my calendar for the 29th. We have a meeting on the 29th?

We got a lot going on here.

Madam Clerk, when's our next meeting?

Glass, you have the next meeting on there?

The 22nd. When is our meeting in June? I mean in July. We have to hear it before July. You need it passed before July.

Before the July meeting, because the July meeting is after. The 1st of July would be the 60-day deadline.

So, if I may, that means, Councillor Hirsch, you'd need to have your committee meeting this week, and President Whitfield would have to agree to put it on the agenda by Wednesday, two days from today, for the 22nd. If that's the case, if you can do that, then I'd be fine with it going to committee. Can you do that?

Go ahead counselor Martin I also want it to be known to that Friday is a federal holiday. So the City Hall is also closed so it'd have to be Thursday or before and Thursday there is a meeting at 5 o'clock already subcommittee meeting

So, Councilor Harris, would you want to rescind that?

So, with that being said, I will withdraw my motion for item number two.

So, you're withdrawing the motion for item number two, but you're holding the motion for item number one to send it to committee?

I will keep the motion for item number one to send it to committee.

Any discussion on that piece? Is there a second for that? Did you second it, right, Jerry? Excuse me, Councilor Martin. Any discussion on that?

Thank you, Mr. President. Clarifying. You were drawing item number two. Number two. But keeping the motion one. And we're about to vote on both or just?

No, we're just, we're talking about one right now.

We're talking about one. Okay. I do have a question on one to the clerk, if I may. Sure. Madam Clerk, do we have any changes in polling locations?

We do not.

Okay. And you're okay with going to committee for further discussion? It would not create a hardship on?

No, the item one is pretty procedural, so I have no issue with it, and there's no time constraint associated with that item.

All right. Thank you, Madam Clerk. Thank you, Mr. Parson.

All right. Any other discussion on motion to move item one to committee? Hearing none, clerk, can you call the roll on sending that to committee?

On sending item 1 to committee, Councillor Santinello.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Martin.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Perez. Absent, Councillor Brown. Absent, Councillor Govan.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Walsh.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Hurst.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Dahlby. Yes. Yes, Councillor Fenton.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Whitfield absent. Councillor Click-Bruce?

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Edwards?

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Delgado?

Yes. Motion passes. All right. Can we hear the next item, number two?

Item two is an order authorizing the use of electronic poll books.

All right, and are you speaking on that? Who's speaking on that?

Yes, so Gladys Oyola-Lopez, 38 Rolling Street, City of Springfield. I come before you as election commissioner for the City of Springfield, introducing item two, which is an order authorizing the use of electronic poll books pursuant to MGL 54, Section I. Electronic poll books, which have been used in elections at this point since COVID, so since the election of 2020, were introduced to the city of Springfield for early voting purposes and have been used citywide in both City Hall as well as other polling locations. And right now what we're looking to do as a commission is expand that usage to Election Day. So what that would mean is we would be using the poll books which have already been procured. So they were procured last fiscal year. They're physically in the building right now. We've received training on the poll books, the staff has, and are expanding and hoping to train our poll workers over the course of the summer. We have a core group now that has used the poll books, has been trained on them, and we've seen that what they do is provide for reduced check-in time. So just as a brief explanatory, an electronic poll book could be anything from a tablet like an iPad to a something like this, which is a laptop computer. We've used both versions of it and have decided to go with something that's more of a laptop and it has an attached printer as well. So the electronic poll books will have the entire City of Springfield voter list uploaded to this poll book and it will live on the check-in table at each polling place. So when you as a voter walk up to your polling place, you would see the iPad or the poll book and are able to say your name to the poll worker and they're able to look your name up. And we have as a backup, the actual paper voter list. It will be printed out for every single precinct and that is kind of like the checks and balances to make sure that in the event that whatever reason the poll book fails, the backup polling list is required to be at every single polling location. The poll pad itself also has the entire city listed on this poll book. So one of the other advantages that we have seen is that Right now, the way that the system is set up, if you go in and you're not on that paper list, the poll worker is forced to call down to City Hall and verify that this person is registered to vote, that the voter is somewhere within the City of Springfield system, and then give them instructions on how to go to the next polling location. This list or the ePollBook will allow poll workers to be able to see where in the city someone is registered if they are registered at another polling location and allow for the immediate redirection to the correct polling place And from what we have seen in other cities and towns, and it's used widely in other counties in Massachusetts, is that there is a reduction of anywhere from 15 to 40 seconds per transaction when it comes to each voter being checked in at the polling location. There is also the ability for the voter to receive a printed receipt of their vote. So if you go to vote, you can get a paper receipt that has your name on it, it has the polling place that you have voted at, and you can take that receipt with you when you leave the polling location as well. And I'm open to answer any questions that you may have, council.

Thank you, clerk. Councilor Click-Bruce, followed by Councilor Santanello.

Thank you, Council President Glass. More of a question. I'm happy to support this, all for technology. But I think I had this problem back in 2020 when I ran a special election. They switched the poll from the Pine Point Library to SciTech. Say we have a situation where a resident goes to vote at SciTech. and for whatever reason they didn't know, excuse me, they went to the library to vote, and their polling location changed. I mean, I get it that we want to reroute them back to where they're supposed to vote at, but I had a lot of situations where people were on the bus line, or their ride, or they just couldn't get over to the other location. Now, this may be a bigger issue citywide, where someone may have moved and said they went to the north end, but then they got a vote at 16 acres. So personally, again, this may be a state law. I think if they show up, I don't know how many of these we get, shouldn't it be a way that we should let them vote so that their vote is counted versus redirecting them? And that could be a situation where someone may not have the opportunity to participate in the election.

That is a good question. It happens every election. So I'm going to say that a city the size of Springfield with the population as transient as it is, I mean, we just heard about the rent stabilization. So people do move in the city of Springfield quite frequently between elections. And part of the process now is you have to vote at your other polling place, at the polling place where you are listed and where your name is found. However, and I'm going to say the caveat, I can't deny you the ability to vote. So if you show up in the north end and are trying to cast a ballot there, but your name isn't in Indian Orchard, I have to say to you, this is where your name is on the list in Indian Orchard. However, if you would like to vote a provisional ballot, you are allowed to vote a provisional ballot where you stand at this polling place. Now, why there's a caveat to that is because according to master and law, you are supposed to vote where your name is on the list. And so we have to explain that to the voters to say your vote may not count because if we do the research and we find that you never changed your address at the Registry of Motor Vehicles, we never came to the city hall and changed your address, then you should have voted in Indian Orchard, and therefore your vote will not count. However, we will offer that provisional ballot to any voter that requests it.

Councillor Govan? It was actually Councillor Centinello and then Councillor Govan.

Thank you. You're absolutely correct, as a former election commissioner myself. On the provisional ballot, though, that doesn't count on election night, does it?

So, no, Councilor, election night, we've taken the provisional ballots from all the polling places, and then in the days following, we will do the research to ensure that if the ballot should be counted, then it is counted.

Thank you. Thank you, Councilor. Councilor Govan.

Thank you, Mr. Vice President. Commissioner, regarding Councilor Click-Bruce's question, the provisional votes, I know that the polling workers get trained and all that, but there have been instances where people have gone to the polls and maybe their name wasn't on the thing or what happened one time. I can't remember, but they were not offered the provisional vote. So maybe they said, oh, I just registered last month and maybe it didn't come up. So I'm just hoping there might be a way, and I know in our election coalition meeting we can, you know, talk more about this, but I'm hoping there might be a way for us to kind of, I really like what Councilor Kip Bruce said about having them cast the provisional vote there, because a lot of times what happens is they're coming at 7 o'clock in the morning because they have to go to work, so they go maybe to the wrong polling location, like when they moved my polling location from Indian Orchard to Pine Point, and they don't have time to go to the other polling location. So I'm wondering, is there a way, you said it's state law, is there a way that we can somehow find a way to allow that to happen provisionally so that we can count the votes? Because, you know, we need to count every vote because we don't get that many.

So, unfortunately, we can't count the vote if their name does appear at the other polling location and once we do the research because we do the research through the RMV and all of the different avenues the voter fills out it's almost like an intake sheet of sorts where they're saying I swear that I should be registered in this polling place for this reason so meaning I changed my address at the RMV or at the Mass Health Office or whatever state organization they would have changed it and then if we don't find I mean after doing the research if we don't find that we can prove that they did change their address. We are required not to count it if their name was at another polling place. So I take your point also of having poll workers be a little bit more assertive when they offer that if the name is not on the list and after they do their research. Part of what is written on the provisional packet that we have at the polls It's almost like an advisory to the poll workers. If you do not find them, please call us because we have the ability to search statewide for voters, and we walk them through the process. And that's a matter of, you know, kind of reinforcing that in training that we make sure that they offer. And I will make it a point to let our trainers know that they should reinforce that provisional ballot piece as well. Okay.

All right. And I know we're totally off topic of electronic poll books. But I think that's a great idea to use those poll books. Will you still have the paper ones just in case some technology issues happen?

Yeah, we are required to print what's called a paper backup list.

Okay, okay. I think this is a good idea to use it at the voting locations. We do need to come up to the 20, are we in the 21st century? We need to come here. Thank you, Madam. Thank you, Commissioner.

Thank you. Before I give it to Councilor Davila, I just want to remind folks, 736, we still have 23 items left on the agenda, and we have a number of folks patiently waiting for their stuff. But with that, I'll give it to Councilor Davila.

My question was answered, Mr. President.

All right, perfect. Are there any other questions on item number two? Hearing none, Madam Clerk, can you call the roll?

On approval, Councillor Santanello?

Yes.

Yes. Councillor Martin?

Yes.

Yes. Councillor Perez absent. Councillor Brown absent. Councillor Govan? Yes. Yes. Councillor Walsh? Yes. Yes. Councillor Hurst?

Yes.

Yes. Councillor Davila? Yes. Yes. Councillor Fenton?

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Whitfield, absent. Councillor Click-Bruce.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Edwards.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Delgado.

Yes, item passes. Madam Clerk, can we call items, items three through eight are all Eversource, so if there are no objections, I'd like to hear all those together. Hearing none, can you call three through eight together?

Items three through eight are Eversource for Nathaniel Street, Emma Lane, Middlesex Street, 120 Ashland Avenue, Liberty Street, and 195 State Street.

All right, who do we have speaking on items three through eight?

Hector, that is DPW Engineering Department. Thank you, Hector. Really quick, Nathaniel Street is a petition from Eversource to install a pole. They're going to upgrade the HVAC system on Dorman Elementary School, and they request to upgrade the power, the electrical system on the school. Emma Lane is a subdivision with like 20 houses. and Eversource is requesting to install a pole to bring power to the subdivision. And it's in Allen and Emma Lane. Middlesex. Okay, they're gonna install a new manhole on Wilberham Road. And bring a new conduit to the pole on Middlesex is to make more reliable that area in case the power go out, they can supply power from the other side. It's like a loop system. Ashland Avenue is another school. They're going to change the HVAC system. They're going to install a new pole on Ashland Avenue. and bring power to a new transformer to the school. This school is Glickman School. It's an elementary school too. And this one is... Oh, Liberty, they're requesting to install new pole in Liberty to divide the Springfield Plaza business to that neighborhood. In case something happened, the neighborhoods can have power and get upgrade to the business in Springfield Plaza and the other side of Liberty Street. And the last one is 195 State Street. There's two buildings in 195 State Street. They're doing like a new apartment. And Eversource is going to install a new manhole on Maple Street to supply power to those two new buildings. The buildings are there. They're remodeling the apartments.

Thank you so much, Hector. Any questions from my colleagues? All right, hearing none, Madam Clerk, can you call the roll on items three through eight?

On approval, Councillor Santanello.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Martin.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Perez, absent. Councillor Brown, absent. Councillor Govan. Yes. Yes, Councillor Walsh. Yes. Yes, Councillor Hurst.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Davila.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Fenton.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Whitfield. Absent, Councillor Click-Bruce.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Edwards.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Delgado.

Yes. Item passes. Can we call item number nine?

Item nine is an honorary street sign for Reverend Miles T. Crawford, Jr. Do we have somebody here on behalf

Well, please come up to the podium. State your name and address. And I like your shirt, by the way.

Of course you do. Good evening. My name is Ann Ray, 29 Leach Street, Springfield, Mass. And we are here tonight to petition for a street sign naming for our Reverend Miles T. Crawford, Jr. It's been through... traffic. And we've, we've done all of the proper procedures I'm hoping. So today we're just asking that you, um, consider us to, um, have our street renamed on Berlin street. And, um, it's for the river miles to Crawford junior from Zion community Baptist church. Um, he actually pastoring for over 50 years in the city. and he's also a board member of the Springfield Girls Club, advisory member for the Springfield College and Springfield Technical Community College, decades-long member of the Pastors Council in Springfield. He served in so many capacities with Baptist Convention, and he was a former chaplain for our Springfield Police Department, and helping so many people in the city of Springfield. So today we're just asking that you would consider our petition for Reverend Miles T. Crawford Way on Berlin Street. I truly believe the traffic department has already signed off on it. And police and our Upper Hill neighborhood council has already signed off on it.

Thank you so much. Councilor Govan.

Thank you, Mr. Vice President, and thank you for coming here for Reverend Crawford. I remember Reverend Crawford a long time ago at his church. He opened his church up to a lot of people in Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous. He was very helpful to that community and to me personally, so I thank you, and I would definitely vote for this. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Vice President.

Thank you, Counselor. Counselor, click Bruce. Thank you, Council President. So, yeah, I look to support this for sure. I know Reverend Crawford through the years, real good friends with my dad, George Bruce, and I had the pleasure of attending his church on several occasions. The church is really, we have a lot of backbones in our community, but the church is one of those backbones where you go to get healing and set free And it's definitely a sense of community. And Reverend T. Crawford definitely exuded that throughout the years. It's a place where you can go to get healing and delivered. So looking to support this. I believe in giving folks their flowers while they're alive. And again, this is a great honor for a great man and definitely a great church community. So I'm looking to support this. Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else?

Councilor Hurst. I too am excited to support this. It's fitting and it's always exciting and rewarding when we're able to honor individuals that have given the city of Springfield so much. So we certainly appreciate Reverend Crawford and all that he's done for the city of Springfield and I'm excited to support this.

Thank you. Thank you, Counselor. Anyone else? I'll just add my two cents. I don't know the Reverend, but I do appreciate, you know, all the work that continues to be done from folks who don't ask for recognition and the impacts and just hearing some of the stories from both Counselors Govan and Click Bruce about their relationship. And I'm sure that the Reverend has, you know, has had a team of people with them as well, looks like. to help support him along that journey. So I just want to say thank you to the Reverend. Thank you to all of you who've had an impact on the city of Springfield because we need you guys, I would say now more than ever, but continually. There's a lot of work, and so I just really appreciate that. So thank you. You're welcome. If there are no other questions, Madam Clerk, can we call the roll?

On approval, Councillor Santanello.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Martin.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Perez. Absent, Councillor Brown. Absent, Councillor Govan. Yes. Yes, Councillor Walsh.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Hurst.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Davila. Yes. Yes, Councillor Fenton.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Whitfield. Absent, Councillor Klick-Bruce.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Edwards.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Delgado.

Yes. Item passes. Thank you guys so much, and please let us know when the festivities are. Madam Clerk, on item 10, I don't know if you guys saw the memo from the law department. I know we got a memo from the law department earlier today asking us not to take any action on item 10 for right now. They recommended for us to refer it to the clerk's office. So that's the recommendation we got from the law department. So I'm seeking a motion to refer. Motion so made. I saw a councilor go out first. And second, Councilor Click-Bruce. All right. So we got a motion by Councilor Govan, seconded by Councilor Click-Bruce to refer item 10 to... Point of order. Yes, sir.

Just to... Okay. Just procedurally, don't we have to read this into the record?

Say that again?

Don't we have to read what the item is before we make any motions?

Yes.

Oh, did you read it? I'm sorry. I didn't read it.

No, I did not. Did you? Do we need to read it to the record, Madam Clerk?

I'll read it in.

All right.

Item 10 is the Wallace Street discontinuance.

Make a motion that we refer to the clerks.

Second. Thank you. Item again, motion made to refer by Councilor Govan, seconded by Councilor Click-Bruce. Are there any discussions on the motion? Hearing none.

Sorry, the background noise. I apologize. Mr. President, I will be voting to go to committee. I think it's quite appropriate. Actually, do we bring it back to the clerk? Yes. But to be transparent, because I do feel a little uncomfortable just sending it to committee without telling people what the heck is going on. I have to wonder to myself what the heck is going on here. This Wall Street situation is exactly what got this council to a jam back in February. I don't know how this made it to the agenda, but we need to take this extremely serious because I don't know what kind of game I'm watching, to be honest with you, but this memo that was given to us talks about inappropriate procedures. It talks about Reverting this back to the beginning. I'm concerned. I'm concerned with this. I went voting in front of it, but I want to put it on the record because this created a lot of commotion back in February. I'm not about to go through it again. I don't know how this made it to the agenda. I have no clue. I just want to put it on the record. And thank you for your kindness, Mr. President.

Thank you, Councilor Davila. For the record, I don't approve the agenda, so I got what I got. From what I understand and read, there was a procedural issue, so that's kind of what I got at the moment.

Yeah, Mr. Vice President, nobody is inferring that you approved or disapproved. You know, it's just I am not to let this slide that easy because I was here when that whole commotion happened. And this talks about more ethics violations. I'm very concerned. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Councillor Davila. Any other discussion, comments from my colleagues? Hearing none, Madam Clerk, can you call a roll on the motion to send this back to the clerk?

On the motion, Councillor Santanello.

No.

No, Councillor Martin.

Yes.

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Do we have enough votes on that?

Yes, seven votes.

All right, item is approved. Thank you, Madam Clerk. For items 11 through 13, they're under the threshold. Can we just call those together?

On items 11 through 13, which are donations to the Springfield Library in the amount of $50, $73, and $141.08, Councillor Santanello. On approval.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Martin.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Perez. Absent. Councillor Brown. Absent. Councillor Govan. Yes. Yes, Councillor Walsh. Yes. Yes, Councillor Hurst.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Davila. Yes. Yes, Councillor Fenton.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Whitfield absent. Councillor Klick-Bruce.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Edwards. Away, Councillor Delgado.

Yes. Yes. Item passes. Can we call the next item, Madam Clerk?

The next item is an FY27 local consumer aid grant, no match required, in the amount of $135,000.00.

Thank you, do we have somebody here to discuss item 14?

Good evening, Vice President Delgado.

Good evening, can you give name and address for the record, please?

Yep, Angelica Castro, 36 Court Street. All right. So this annual grant we received from the Attorney General's Office, which funds the Mayor's Consumer Information Office. The grant provides funding for two staff members along with supplies and services necessary for constituent inquiries.

All right. Thank you. Any questions from my colleagues? Hearing none. Madam Clerk, no questions? All right. Madam Clerk, can we call the roll on item 14?

On acceptance, Councillor Santanello.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Martin.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Perez. Councillor Brown, absent. Councillor Govan. Yes. Yes, Councillor Walsh. Yes. Yes, Councillor Hurst.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Davila. Yes. Yes. Yes, Councillor Fenton. Yes. Yes, Councillor Whitfield absent. Councillor Glick-Bruce.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Edwards.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Delgado.

Yes. Item passes. Can you call item 15?

Item 15 is a FY27 EOHHS grant for homeless youth program budget in the amount of $934,419. Thank you. Do we have anybody here online speaking on this?

Yeah. Yes. Good evening.

Jerry McCafferty, director of housing for the city. This is a grant that comes from the state of Massachusetts. We've been receiving it annually since, I think, 2018. It funds activities for young adults 18 to 24 who are homeless. Included in what it's funded is a hotline for them to call a shelter. money toward rent and rent arrears and utilities. It works very closely with our other federally funded homeless programs. So those programs then fund longer term housing support rental assistance. So together they create a whole system that responds to young adults who are experiencing homelessness.

Thank you, Jerry. Any questions or comments from my colleagues? Hearing none, Madam Clerk, can you call the roll on item 15?

On acceptance, Councillor Santanello. Yes. Yes, Councillor Martin.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Perez and Brown. Absent, Councillor Govan. Yes. Yes, Councillor Walsh. Yes. Yes, Councillor Hurst.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Davila. Yes. Yes, Councillor Fenton. Yes. Yes, Councillor Whitfield. Absent, Councillor Klick-Bruce.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Edwards.

Yes.

Yes, Councilor Delgado.

Yes, item passes. Madam Clerk, items 16 and 17, I have to recuse myself because they are involved with my employer, so I will be stepping down, and I've had the little battle between the seniority, but I think Councilor Centinello is going to... I surrender. I give it to Kateri Walsh. You want to flip a coin? Councilor Santanello, you're up.

We have items 16 and 17, Madam Clerk. Will you call those?

Item 16 is the FY27 State 9-1-1 Training Grant, no match required, in the amount of $213,031.30. Is there any discussion? Hearing none. Oh, I'm sorry.

Hi, Rebecca Ocasio, 22, Lindsay Road, City of Springfield, Deputy Director for the 911 Department. So the fiscal year 27 training grant is funded by the State 911 Department, no match, non-competitive grant, reimburses class costs, associated man hours, professional memberships, training and protocol software that's associated with 911, up to a maximum of $213,031. Any questions on council? Hearing none,

Call the roll.

On acceptance, Councillor Delgado recused. Councillor Martin. Yes. Yes. Councillor Perez absent. Councillor Brown absent. Councillor Govan.

Yes.

Yes. Councillor Walsh. Yes. Yes. Councillor Hurst.

Yes.

Yes. Councillor Davila.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Fenton.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Whitfield. Absent. Councillor Click-Bruce.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Edwards.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Santanello.

Yes. More than sufficient number of votes.

The next item is an FY2027 State 9-1-1 Department Support and Incentive Grant, no match required, in the amount of $1,125,816. Do you have the floor?

Hi, Rebecca Ocasio, 22 Lindsay Road in Springfield. 27 Support Incentive Grant provided by the State 9-1-1 Department is a no-match, non-competitive grant. It's based on call volume and population in the amount of $1,125,816, and that's used to offset wages in the 9-1-1 Department.

Any questions? Hearing none, call the roll.

On acceptance, Councillor... Delgado recused. Councillor Martin.

Yes.

Yes. Councillor Perez and Councillor Brown absent. Councillor Govan. Yes. Yes. Councillor Walsh. Yes. Yes. Councillor Hurst.

Yes.

Yes. Councillor Davila. Yes. Yes. Councillor Fenton.

Yes.

Yes. Councillor Whitfield absent. Councillor Klick-Bruce.

Yes.

Yes. Councillor Edwards.

Yes.

Yes. Councillor Santanello.

Yes, more than sufficient number of votes. This item is passed. Thank you very much.

Thank you.

You know, I did notice something, that I'm not using the gavel after every thing. I'm missing out the fun, so thank you, Councilor Santanello, for taking over. Madam Clerk, can we call the next item?

The next item is unexpended bond proceeds transfer reversal.

We have somebody speaking on that. Name and address for the record.

Thank you, Mr. President. Lindsay Hackett, 80 Tamarack Drive in Springfield. So this order is to reverse part of the order that you all voted on the last meeting. There was an error made in some of the numbers by me. So this will just reverse it back so the accounting is all set.

All right. Any questions, Councilor Govan?

No questions. Just a comment that we found out that the finance department is not perfect like we thought you were. But they are an award-winning finance department, so we got to commend them on that.

Thank you, Council. Any, Councilor Davila.

Thank you, Mr. President. Good to see you, Lindsay. What are some of those numbers? Can you just refresh my memory?

Sure. It's actually $676,000. I was planning on doing was moving that money out because it was unspent bond proceeds and moving them to other projects so we don't have to issue debt for those projects. But that 767 actually wasn't available.

Okay. Lindsay, I have to say I think it takes a lot of courage to say that you made a mistake. Thank you. So my compliments to you. Thank you.

Anybody else? Well, thank you for coming up here to face the music on that. I appreciate it. Madam Clerk, can we call the roll?

On approval, Councillor Santanello.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Martin.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Perez. Absent. Councillor Brown. Absent. Councillor Govan. Yes. Yes, Councillor Walsh. Yes. Yes, Councillor Hurst.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Davila. Yes. Yes, Councillor Fenton.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Dalton. Councillor Whitfield, absent. Councillor Click-Bruce.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Edwards.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Delgado.

Yes, item passes. Call the next item.

The next item is an order granting permanent utility easement to North Star slash Eversource at 20 Lydia Street.

Name and address for the records. Good evening, Councillors. John Kerrigan, 233 Allen Street. I'm here tonight to present to you yet another utility easement in support of an electrical upgrade at the Hiram Dorman Elementary School. This project will ultimately result in air conditioning at this location, and we're optimistic and hoping to complete that this summer.

Thank you. Any questions or comments from the council? Hearing none, Madam Clerk, can you call the roll?

On approval, Councillor Santanello.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Martin.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Perez and Brown. Absent, Councillor Govan.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Walsh.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Hurst. Away, Councillor Davila.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Fenton.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Whitfield. Absent, Councillor Click-Bruce.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Edwards.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Delgado.

Yes. Item passes. We can call the next item.

Next item is item 20, which is reserved for contingencies to benefits in the amount of $75,000.

Welcome back.

Yes, I have the next few. So this order is to transfer 75,000 from the reserved for contingency line over to the medical line and benefits. And that line is to cover people out on workers' comp Injured on duty for police and fire, so we just need to transfer some Funds over there to close out the fiscal year Thank You councillor Darla I Think it was a president.

Let's see. Oh if I recall correctly we did transfer some money to benefits Yeah, so long ago, right?

That's correct last meeting. This is an additional $75,000 we need I

How did that $75,000 came to be?

We just, we re-looked at the projections, and this is a conservative projection through the end of the fiscal year, and we thought since we had the money in reserve for contingencies, we might as well move it over just so we don't end the line into deficit.

So, to be clear, this money is for workers' comp? This is for the medical line. For workers' comp?

Yes. From my understanding, it covers medical procedures associated with the workers' comp claims and injured on duty claims.

If I recall correctly, I don't think I fell asleep on that meeting, we transferred money, significant amount of money, from workers' comp. In fact, they told us that the workers' comp is increasing.

Correct. That was for the workers' comp line, which is a separate line, and we also transferred money into the health insurance line last time.

Huh. OK, let's see. I would be straight with us. I have no reason to doubt you, Lindsay, but this is starting to pique my interest with this work has come. I know we did an audit a while back and, you know, we should take a look at what the heck's going on here. If I recall correctly, it's kind of like 40 percent, 30, 40 percent of claims. And I'm sensitive to this because I myself got injured on my work, on my work site. And so, but we need to figure out what's going on here. Hopefully, this is going to be it. I hope, Lindsay, right?

Well, it has to be because this is our last meeting, so, of the fiscal year.

Lindsay, like always, thank you. You've always been straight with me, and I thank you for that. So, I will take you for your word, Lindsay.

Thank you, Counselor. And any questions you have, you can always reach out to us.

Thank you, Lindsay. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you. Are there any other questions? Hearing none, Madam Clerk, can you call the roll?

On approval, Councillor Santanello. Yes. Yes, Councillor Martin.

Yes.

Yes, Councillors Perez and Brown. Absent, Councillor Govan. Yes. Yes, Councillor Walsh. Yes. Yes, Councillor Hurst.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Davila.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Fenton.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Woodfield. Absent, Councillor Click-Bruce.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Edwards.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Delgado.

Yes. Item passes. Can you call the next item?

The next item is FY25 Certified Free Cash to the Stabilization Reserve Fund in the amount of $412,418.55. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. President. This order is to move the remaining money in FY25 Certified Free Cash over to stabilization reserves.

Any questions, Councilor Govan?

So like I said to Lindsay in the Finance Committee meeting, I'm just wondering, you all guys know how I feel about free cash and where it should go. I just asked about it going to the Stabilization Reserve Fund as opposed to going into property tax relief. And she explained very well why. If you guys want to hear it, you can explain, Lindsay. Thank you. I'm sorry, what did you say? You can explain why it's not going to property tax relief.

Thank you. Well, property tax relief would be a different order altogether. So this order is just to transfer it over to stabilization reserves. And if an order is brought forth to move it over from stabilization, we can certainly use this funding for that.

Thank you, Lindsay. I guess, Mr. Vice President, I think in the future we should think about, as a body, considering making that request for our property tax owners in the city. Let's see what happens. Thank you.

Thank you, Councilor Govan. Councilor Davila, did you have a question?

I just have one more thought, if I may. The mayor did tell us last time he was here that he was going to commit money for... property tax relief once the free cash was certified later this year. Actually, Lindsey, do you know when the free cash is expected to be certified?

Generally, it's around November.

November. So that we can possibly use some of that money to be used. Now, I do advocate that we need to have a budget that is sustainable. Last year, did we have $50 million in free cash certified?

No, that was a couple years before.

Do you know how much it was last year?

Last year it was $19 million.

Oh, even better. Okay. It's just a thought. And I have to say that in my mind, as I sit here, $400,000, it's not a lot of money, a budget of $1.38 billion. I get it. But it is a billion dollars. I don't see why we couldn't make a commitment to keep that now. towards tax relief in December. Just a thought. I think it would be a good gesture from the administration to do that, honestly, to say, I'm going to use that $400,000. Because once it goes into the reserve, we cannot take it out for tax relief, right? Or it's not the standard practice. That was for you, Lindsay.

Oh, I'm sorry. I'm watching you guys and I just see the back of you. If that's where we had the funding, that's where we would take it. For instance, when we get the interest on the T-bills, we actually do transfer that out of stabilization reserves because that's where that funding eventually goes in. So yeah, we have made transfers out of stabilization reserves for tax relief. There's no reason why There's nothing saying that we can't do that.

But it's not the standard accepted practice?

In the past, no. We've used other funding sources. Okay, okay.

It's just more of a thought, Mr. President, that I think it would be a good gesture to make that commitment of $400,000 to our property tax relief now, plus whatever we get, a certified free cash in December. Because again, and I know I'm going to say this back in December again, we are chasing on tail with this subject. of our property tax. We have got to come up with a mechanism if that's a thing that we as a city want to do to give property tax. Otherwise, it's going to be a political football that is going to be kept passing around day in and day out. And it's not fair to the residents. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Lindsay. Thank you, Councilor Davila.

Anyone else? Councilor Govan.

Thank you, Mr. Vice President. So this is, I think, what I was trying to have us have a conversation about when we voted on the budget. That's why I wanted to postpone the budget for maybe a couple of weeks so that we can talk about that and we can find a way to allocate maybe the free cash that's coming up. $400,000 to taxpayers is not going to do a lot for them. in reducing their property taxes, but $19 million probably would. And I'm not sure what our free cash is going to be this year, but I think that would have been a great opportunity for us to come together talk about what we could do for the taxpayers in the city, and get a commitment at that time. I think right now it's a little bit late. I'm going to still keep trying, as I have been since the day I got onto this council, to try to advocate for the taxpayers so that they get some relief. Because as we heard regarding rent control today, the same thing is happening for property tax owners. We are not looking at... The fact that their income is not going up at the rate that inflation is and our property taxes continue to go up. You know, one comment that I heard from one of my colleagues a few years ago was that maybe they can get another job to pay the property taxes. You know, why should a 90 year old couple who is struggling to pay their property taxes have to go get another job? That doesn't make sense to me after they've worked their whole lives in the city of Springfield, their house is paid off. They're on the income that they're getting for the rest of their lives. And they're supposed to get another job. That doesn't make sense to me. So I'm here. Thank you, Lindsay. This is not, you know, nothing personal, you know, to just remind us that we as a body need to work together to make sure that our residents are being cared for and not just, City Hall, not just, you know, I'm not sure what it is because I was thinking that we have a billion dollar budget. Our city doesn't look like we have a billion dollar budget. You know, there's some things that are lacking. So that's my take on that. And I have to bring it up because we did talk about it. Thank you, Mr. Vice President.

Thank you, Counselor. All right. Looks like no other ones. Madam Clerk, can you call the roll?

On approval, Councillor Santanello.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Martin.

Yes.

Yes, Councillors Perez and Brown absent. Councillor Govan. Yes. Yes, Councillor Walsh. Yes. Yes, Councillor Hurst.

No.

No, Councillor Dabula.

No.

No, Councillor Fenton.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Delgado.

Yes.

I apologize. Councillor Whitfield absent. Councillor Klick-Bruce.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Edwards.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Delgado.

Yes. Do we have the numbers on that?

You do not have nine ones.

All right. So item fails.

We need two-thirds. It was a transfer into stabilization, right? Correct. I guess... I don't know. I think it's a simple majority. I can double-check the rules.

Is it a simple majority? Linda, do you have any insight?

I can check the rules, but I think if it's free cash, it's just a simple majority. If it's a transfer from stabilization, it's two-thirds. Maybe we could have a two-minute recess to conference and look that up, please.

Two-minute recess. Thank you. All right. Thank you guys for being patient. So correction on item 21, it was a simple majority vote. So it does pass. And if there's any further clarification, then the law department will let us know. All right. And Madam clerk, can you call the next item?

The next item is a budget transfer from finance to multi-year pay go fund in the amount of $1,000,000. $320,334.50. Thank you, Councilors.

So this is another one of our year-end transfers, and this is to transfer money that we have from FY26 and any current PAYGO projects and move them over to the multi-year account so we can continue with those projects in FY27.

Thank you, Lindsay. Any questions from my colleagues? Hearing none, Madam Clerk, can you call the roll on 22?

On approval, Councillor Santanello.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Martin. Yes. Yes, Councillors Perez and Brown. Absent, Councillor Govan.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Walsh. Yes. Yes, Councillor Hurst.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Davila. Yes. Yes, Councillor Fenton.

Yes.

Yes, Councillor Whitfield. Absent. Council click Bruce, yes, yes, Council Edwards, yes.

Yes, Councilor Delgado, yes, I don't passes. Call the next item.

The next item is item 23 amended ordinance Chapter 16 Article 5 Youth Commission.

Thank you. Yes Sir.

Just a point of order. I would like to make a motion to send item 23 and 24 to the end of the agenda under unfinished business as we did not vote in subcommittee meeting in advance of this agenda coming out to move these items forward to the full body. So I certainly don't mind us entertaining them today. I just would like to see them under unfinished business.

Thank you, Councilor. Well, for item 23, the law department did reach out asking us if we could table that one so they can finalize, because I think they had a subcommittee Thursday, but they hadn't had enough time to review the language, so they are asking us to table that one.

It wouldn't have to be tabled if it was an unfinished business.

All right.

So we have a motion on the table by Councilor Hurst to...

On the motion, I have a point of information.

Yes.

That on item number 23, the reason that that's being discussed again is because of the pushback it received in the city council when it was first suggested setting up a commission, the youth commission, without any participation from anybody on the city council. And the changes, I think, reflect the strong stand the city council took to make sure they were included in that process. So hurray for the City Council.

Thank you, Councillor Walsh. So we have a motion on the table by Councillor Hurst to move item 23 and 24 to unfinished business. Is there a second to that motion?

I have a clarifying question.

Seconded by Councillor Walsh. Is there any discussion?

Just a clarifying question. Through the chair to Councillor Hurst, my understanding was that 24 was voted favorably to come to the chambers.

So both item number 23 and number 24 were voted, one was voted on favorably to come to the council, one was just voted to come to the entire council and we didn't vote favorably or not. The agenda came out prior to our meetings in which we voted these 2 items to come to the full body, which means that they shouldn't have been refiled on this agenda, which they are and they should have remained under unfinished business. I do plan on taking those out of unfinished business. But at the appropriate time sounds like one needs to be tabled. But when we get there. I will certainly take the one that does not need to be tabled out of unfinished business.