Re-Elect Holyoke's Fiscal Watchdog!

Re-Elect Holyoke's Fiscal Watchdog!

Friday, January 23, 2009

State probes missing excise taxes from Holyoke collector's office

State probes missing excise taxes from Holyoke collector's office
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
By JEANETTE DeFORGE
jdeforge@repub.com
HOLYOKE - About $82,000 is missing from the Tax Collector's office, a department already plagued with accusations of mismanagement and sexual harassment.

The state inspector general's office is investigating to see if the problem is an accounting error or if the money has been stolen, said Mayor Michael J. Sullivan.

"I'm hoping against hope this is an accounting faux pas," Sullivan said. "That doesn't seem likely."

A spokesman for Inspector General Gregory W. Sullivan declined comment saying it is against the office's policy to verify any investigations.

If the investigation shows evidence of theft, it will be turned over to state Attorney General Martha M. Coakley or Hampden County District Attorney William M. Bennett, Michael Sullivan said.

The money is believed to be missing from receipts from overdue vehicle excise taxes which are typically paid in person with cash or credit cards. The office took in about $770,000 last year in late payments, Sullivan said.

Most of the missing money was believed to have been paid between July and October but some is missing after that, he said.

Still, all tax accounts will be examined since financial practices in the office have been questioned by the state Department of Revenue, independent auditing company Melanson Heath & Co. and the inspector general, he said.

"It is hard to say it is from any one account because reconciliation accounting seems to be very fluid," he said.

Tax Collector Robert F. Kane said he was following a recommendation to improve financial safeguards when he found the missing money. He said he immediately reported it to Sullivan.

"I did an analysis of where they (the accounts) should be and it just didn't look right," Kane said.

Kane told Sullivan of the problem in late December. Sullivan said he immediately contacted auditors from Melanson Heath & Co. and asked them to examine the accounts. About 10 days later, the company reported they too found about $82,000 was missing.

Thursday he met with the Inspector General's office to ask them to investigate.

For years the treasurer's office and the tax collector's office has been criticized for having a lack of controls and other problems. The Inspector General's office and the Department of Revenue conducted separate financial management reviews in 2007 and 2008 and warned city officials the problems could make them vulnerable to theft.

Over the past six months, the tax collector's office has had other problems as well. The Deputy Tax Collector Jacquelynne M. Williams filed a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination Sept. 25 alleging Kane had sexually harassed her.

Then she filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against the city Dec. 31.

The city fired Williams a few days before Christmas for "nonattendance at work," Sullivan said. Her firing had nothing to do with the missing money, he said.

$1 million Deficit: Jourdain keeps tabs on School Spending & Misguided Priorities

Holyoke school board members miffed by City Council's advice to cut raises for administrators
by The Republican Newsroom
Wednesday January 21, 2009, 8:30 PM
By JEANETTE DeFORGE
jdeforge@repub.com

HOLYOKE - The City Council is recommending school officials trim their budget by putting off raising salaries for administrators, but the School Committee said that simply won't help.

In a recent meeting, members also questioned why the City Council was getting involved in the school budget.

"I think this order is disrespectful and misguided and the response is far too polite, but we should be polite," said Margaret M. Boulais, a School Committee member.

The City Council order, which passed 14-1, recommended the School Committee freeze all salaries of administrators who earn above $75,000 a year.

Superintendent Eduardo B. Carballo's response explained 90 percent of the administrators who fall into that category are vice principals and department heads who are represented by the Holyoke Teachers' Association union and have an existing contract that dictates their raises.

Even principals, who are not in a union, have multiyear contracts which cannot be broken, he said.

But City Councilor Kevin A. Jourdain said he proposed the order mostly focusing on the two highest-paid employees, Carballo and Patricia A. Cavanaugh, executive director of finance and operations.

He argued the School Committee hiked Carballo's pay by $5,800 to $151,000 in October, even though this year's budget is in deficit by about $1 million.

That raise was retroactive to 2007, a year when Carballo did not see a salary hike, and the 4 percent increase was the same as teachers received.

While understanding Boulais' comment, member Mary C. Plant said she preferred to send the letter explaining the contracts to the City Council.

Jourdain said council members know the School Committee by state law oversees the School Department budget but said the City Council does have a role to play because school officials have requested extra money from the council in the past to balance the education budget.

"Their job is becoming my job because they are always coming to us to look for money," he said.

He said he is especially concerned the school administration offices have not moved from the rented floors at 57 Suffolk St. to H.B. Lawrence School, even though the School Committee voted to do so a year ago, which is estimated to save about $400,000 a year in a combination of rent, maintenance and utility costs.

The School Committee is planning to request money to finish a study to see how much money has to be spent in renovations to move the main computer server and create offices.

Jourdain said he expects serious budget cuts citywide for the next fiscal year that starts in July and he feels the School Committee, which oversees the largest portion of the budget, has to cut more.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Early hopefuls take out papers

Wednesday, January 07, 2009
By KEN ROSS
kross@repub.com
HOLYOKE - The municipal election may be 11 months away, but the campaign season is already under way.

On Monday, the first day on which residents could take out nomination papers to run for office, several did so for several offices, including retired Police Lt. Eva M. O'Connell. She plans to run for mayor.

Four incumbent office-holders, including At-large Councilors Patricia C. Devine and Peter R. Tallman, Ward 1 Councilor Donald R. Welch, and City Clerk Susan M. Egan, also took out nomination papers.

O'Connell is the only potential candidate to take out papers for mayor so far.

Two residents who had said they were considering runs for mayor, City Councilors Diosdado Lopez and Kevin A. Jourdain, said later they will not seek the office.

"I really landed a great job here," Jourdain said on Monday, explaining his decision. "I made a commitment to the Sisters of Providence, and it's an exciting new challenge."

Last November, Jourdain, 37, was named a senior financial analyst for the Sisters of Providence.


Lopez, 44, said he made his decision after talking with his family.

"I talked to my family, and I'm not doing it," he said.

Mayor Michael J. Sullivan repeated that he will not run for re-election in November.

"I made the decision, and it's time for me to move on," he said.

Sullivan said he hopes that several people decide to run for the post he has held since 1999.

"Maybe we'll have an exciting election season," he said.

Councilors James. M. Leahy and Elaine A. Pluta said they have not ruled out running for mayor.

"I'm still weighing my decision," Pluta said on Monday.

Leahy said he met with friends and family last week to discuss whether to run for re-election as a councilor or for mayor.

People interested in running for mayor must obtain 250 signatures by July 28, and submit them to the clerk's office.

The mayor's post pays $85,000 a year.

LOWES PASSES!

Wednesday, January 07, 2009
By KEN ROSS
kross@repub.com
HOLYOKE - A proposal to build a Lowe's store in the city moved one step closer Tuesday after a vote by the City Council to rezone the property where developers want to build the store.

"I'm pleased," said Jay Fisher, development director for S.K. Properties, the West Hartford, Conn.-based company that agreed to buy the 18.2-acre parcel from Holyoke Gas & Electric for $3 million on Feb. 26 provided the land is rezoned.

The council voted 11-4 in favor of rezoning the land on Whiting Farms Road from industrial to business general. Councilors Rebecca Lisi, Diosdado Lopez, Elaine A. Pluta and John E. Whelihan cast the dissenting votes.

An official from Lowe's, Robert B. Jess, was at Tuesday's meeting but declined to comment on the vote. Jess serves as a senior site development manager at Lowe's Saratoga Springs, N.Y., office. At previous meetings, Jess has said the new store would create an estimated 80 full-time and 65 part-time jobs.

Construction of the new store will not begin immediately, Fisher said.

First, developers must go through the approval process, including creating a site plan for the project, Fisher said. Exactly how long the approval process will take has not been determined, Fisher said. As a result, he said he did not have a time line for when work would begin or be completed on the store.

The council was scheduled to vote on the zone change at its Dec. 16 session. But the vote was tabled because of several legal questions.

The main question the council wanted answered before Tuesday's meeting was whether condominium owners at a complex on Whiting Farms Road were considered abutters of the proposed project.

If they were so considered, City Council President Joseph M. McGiverin said there was some question about whether the condominium owners were properly notified about the public hearing.

In addition, if the condominium owners were considered abutters, they would have been able to sign a petition opposing rezoning the 18.2-acre parcel on Whiting Farms Road from industrial to business general.

On Dec. 18, the city's law department determined that only the condominium owners directly abutting the property are considered abutters.

How many people are considered abutters had a significant impact on the vote itself. That is because if 20 percent of abutters had signed a petition opposing the zone change, a "super majority" vote by the 15-member City Council would have been necessary.

Since some people removed their names from a petition submitted Dec. 12, less than 20 percent of abutters signed the document. As a result, only 10 councilors needed to vote for the zone change. A super majority would have required 12 votes.

Friday, January 2, 2009

Happy New Year 2009!!

On behalf of the entire Jourdain Family to you and yours, our very best for a healthly and propserous 2009!

All the best,

Kevin