The council president reshuffled committees and named numerous new chairmen.
Springfield City Council President James J. Ferrera III, center, announces new committee appointments and chairmanships. He is joined (left to right) by Councilors Zaida Luna, Timothy C. Allen, Clodovadlo Concepcion and Bud L. Williams.
SPRINGFIELD — City Council President James J. Ferrera III reshuffled his committees for the new year on Monday, appointing several new chairmen and again denying that any appointments are used to punish any councilor.
“No one ever gets punished on committees,” Ferrera said during a press conference at City Hall to announce his committee appointments. “That’s just a fallacy. I have faith and confidence in every member.”
As council president, Ferrera appoints seven standing committees and 10 special committees, with each of the 13 city councilors serving on multiple committees.
Of seven standing committees, five have new chairmen in 2013. The two chairmen staying the same are Councilor Thomas M. Ashe as chairman of the Public Health and Safety Committee and Bud L. Williams as chairman of the Planning and Economic Development Committee.
Ferrera was re-elected president on Jan. 7. by a 10-0 vote. However, two councilors, Michael A. Fenton and Timothy C. Allen, did not support Ferrera, saying “present” when asked to vote on the presidency.
Some controversy occurred in January 2011 when Fenton and Allen were slow to support Ferrera for president.
Last January, Fenton and Allen received no chairmanships and just one committee assignment each. Fenton at the time was stripped of his chairmanship of the Finance Committee and chose not to accept his sole appointment as a member of the Animal Control Advisory Committee.
Ferrera denied at that time and again on Monday that his appointments were in any way unfair and vindictive.
This year, Allen has been appointed as chairman of the Human Services Committee, and as a member of Planning and Economic Development, and was also appointed to a newly created Special Committee on Residency to evaluate an ordinance that has long required employees to be residents of Springfield but has not been enforced for the most part.
Allen said he was “happy” to be on three committees this year.
Fenton was appointed chairman of the Special Committee on Residency, and as a member of the Finance Committee. The Finance Committee has a new chairman, Clodovaldo Concepcion, replacing Timothy J. Rooke. Kenneth E. Shea will be the third member of Finance, which considers all financial matters proposed by Mayor Domenic J. Sarno.
Williams said that he is hoping that a proposed complete revision of the city’s zoning ordinance, which has been discussed and worked on for the past six years, will be ready for council action shortly. Some residents have criticized the council for the prolonged review.
Concepcion, who is chairman of the Committee on Elder Affairs, said there is “a lot of work to do” including seeking funding for a new senior center.
Zaida Luna, chairman of the General Government Committee, said she looks forward to working with the community and working together on the council.
The standing committee assignments are as follows, with the chairman listed first:
- Finance: Clodovaldo Concepcion, Kenneth E. Shea, Michael A. Fenton
- Public Health and Safety: Thomas M. Ashe, Zaida Luna, John A. Lysak
- Planning and Economic Development: Bud L. Williams, Timothy J. Rooke, and Timothy C. Allen
- General Government: Zaida Luna, Melvin A. Edwards, Rooke
- Human Services: Timothy Allen, E. Henry Twiggs, Kateri B. Walsh
- Maintenance and Development: Kateri Walsh, Concepcion, Shea
- Intergovernmental/State and Federal Relations: John Lysak, Luna, Edwards
The special committees are as follows, with the chairman or sole member listed first:
- Committee on Elder Affairs: Concepcion
- Audit: Twiggs, Rooke, Williams
- City Council/School Committee: Ashe, Shea
- School Building Committee: Williams
- Special Committee on Residency: Fenton, Allen, Williams
- Green Committee: James J. Ferrera III
- Responsible Employee Ordinance Committee: Williams, Edwards
- Animal Control Advisory Committee: Ferrera
- Special Permit Review Committee: Shea, Luna, Ashe
- Casino Site Committee: Paula Meara, and current members