By Adam Swift
The City Council tabled a hearing on a change to the city ordinance that would increase the pay for two clerk positions to its Dec. 4 meeting.
The motion will allow the council to vote on the ordinance change at that meeting without a further subcommittee meeting on the proposal prior to that meeting.
Monday night, the council held a public hearing on the ordinance change that would increase the Zoning Board of Appeals clerk’s salary from $6,000 to $12,000 annually. It would also officially create the position of assistant City Clerk and put that salary at $75,000.
“The ZBA clerk’s salary has not been updated in 25 years,” said Ward 3 Councillor Anthony Cogliandro. “Putting it into an inflation calculator through the state, we came up with $12,000 for that position.”
Cogliandro said the assistant city clerk is not an official position listed in the city, and needs to be included at that title.
“Currently, the assistant City Clerk is labeled as an administrative assistant, and she is handcuffed as to what she is able to get paid, unfortunately, so we are just trying to make this right,” said Cogliandro. “This woman has worked for the city since 2006, she has been appointed as the assistant City Clerk, and she needs to be compensated as one, as well.”
In other business, the council approved the withdrawal of a special permit request without prejudice for a proposed four-story, 11-unit apartment building at 1473 North Shore Road.
Project attorney Nancy O’Neil said due to the tight timeline at the end of the year, the developer was seeking to withdraw the special permit application and resubmit it at the beginning of the next council session next year.
Ward 6 Councillor Richard Serino cast the lone vote against approving the withdrawal and questioned why the request was being made.
O’Neil said the developer believed they would have enough meetings to get approval for the project, but had scheduled a community meeting to make sure they had enough input and feedback on the project.
Serino noted that it was peculiar that the applicant would file for the special permit near the end of the session only to request that it be withdrawn.
“Residents are watching and the residents aren’t foolish,” said Serino.
