2007-03-06
JOINT CONSOLIDATION COMMITTEE
OF THE
CITY COUNCIL AND THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE
Meeting Minutes
March 6,2007,8:15 a.m.
Beverly City Hall
PRESENT: Timothy Flaherty, William Coughlin, Miranda Gooding, Paul Manzo,
Maria Decker
Kathy Griffin was also present.
Discussion of Technology Consolidation
Kathy Griffin submitted a draft summary regarding a consolidation of city and school
Technology departments. Her report identified four possible options: 1) consolidate all
IT services and activities into one organization; 2) consolidate certain services and
activities; 3) no formal consolidation, but instead foster increased cooperation between
city and school departments; or 4) maintain status quo. Her recommendation was that
the current departments should be maintained but that steps should be taken to promote
greater cooperation, including monthly department head meetings, the institution of an
automated work order system and the continued "sharing" of staff. There was discussion
among the committee members about the pros and cons of the recommendation. There
was no consensus to adopt the recommendation outlined in Kathy Griffins draft memo,
and discussion of the matter was tabled until the next meeting.
Discussion of Maintenance and Grounds Consolidation
Tim Flaherty informed the committee that he would present a proposal for consolidating
the maintenance and grounds functions at our next meeting. Kathy Griffin informed the
committee that both Sharon and Barnstable had recently reviewed the possibility of
consolidating school and city maintenance and grounds functions. In each case, the
communities retained consultants to study the possibility and in both cases the
communities opted not to consolidate. Kathy did not have details regarding the reasons
for the decisions; she agreed to try to obtain a copy of the reports prepared for those
communities and share them with the committee.
Kathy Griffin provided the Committee with a copy of Massachusetts General Laws
Chapter 71, Section 37M, governing the consolidation of school department
administrative functions within a city or town. That section provides in pertinent part
that the "administrative functions, including but not limited to financial, personnel, and
maintenance functions, of the school committee" may be consolidated with the city
provided that there is a majority vote by the school committee and city council and
approval of the mayor. This section further provides that the decision to consolidate may
be subsequently revoked by a majority vote of either the school committee or city
council, or both. After some discussion of this point, the committee adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Miranda Gooding
April 2, 2007