🔨 Full Time Disabilities Coordinator Goes Part Time
Preview of Council Meeting | Important Meeting about BFRT | Update about General Chemical | What’s Happening | The Civic Week Ahead
Good afternoon, Framingham. Welcome to June!
I want to take a moment to remember Charles H. Audet, a Bronze Star and Purple Heart recipient who was one of the last surviving American paratroopers to fight in World War II, who died on Memorial Day. He was 105.
Charlie was one of the first combat paratroopers in U.S. history and the final survivor of the original members of the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion, an elite paratrooper unit that fought in some of the war's fiercest battles, including the Battle of the Bulge and Anzio, hiked across the North African desert, and helped save millions of people from the Axis powers. He was a U.S. Army corporal.
Last year Mayor Sisitsky and the City of Framingham honored Charlie during the first Purple Heart Ceremony and proclaimed Charlie Audet Day on his 105th birthday.
Day before his passing, members of the younger generation of the 509th presented Charlie with the Saint Michael Patron of The Airborne Medal in the Notre Dame chapel.
You can read the rest of his remarkable story here. He was a true hero. A definition of the Greatest Generation. Godspeed, Charlie.
Have a question about the goings on in Framingham? Drop me an email and I’ll answer it in the next Ham’er Mailbag.
Share The Ham’er with someone you met in May. If you are that someone, subscribe here.
Full Time Americans with Disabilities Act Coordinator Goes Part Time
Just two years into being a full time position, the Sisitsky Administration is changing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Coordinator into a part time position.
Needing an update: Councilor Michael Cannon requested an update from the Administration regarding ADA compliance and the coordinator role. Cannon did not see the ADA Coordinator in the FY25 budget.
What does the ADA Coordinator do?: It is a role required by law for a public entity that has 50 or more employees. The coordinator coordinates ADA compliance of a government entity to Title II and investigates any complaints that the entity has violated Title II.
There is also the role of Access Compliance Inspector. This position deals with the Massachusetts Architectural Access Board - 521 CMR, which involves the accessibility of new construction, addition, and renovations. The role is in the Building Inspector’s Office.
Who is the ADA Coordinator now? The ADA Coordinator recently retired, and the role of the position was added to Chief Operating Officer (COO) Mike Tusino’s portfolio. Access Compliance Inspector is now Fred Bray, the Director of Inspectional Services Department.
Background: The Access Compliance Inspector was created in 2015 upon the recommendation of the then Assistant Town Manager. At the time Tusino was the Building Inspector, and in his memo stated he was “not in agreement with creating this position.” The job description did not have many ADA responsibilities, but instead supported the Assistant Town Manager who was the ADA Coordinator. The position oversaw the AAB 521 CMR with inspections, enforcements and plan reviews.
A full time ADA Coordinator was a recommendation in the Framingham Charter back in 2017. Under the Spicer Administration, COO Thatcher Kezer III served as the ADA Coordinator. Shortly after assuming office, the Sisitsky Administration fulfilled the full time ADA Coordinator recommendation back in early 2022. The two roles were combined into one.
Why the change? In a memo to the Mayor found in the Council’s background material, Tusino stated his research found very little ADA and minimal amount of AAB 521 CMR work done by the position. Since 2020, only 41 complaints were filed, only 3 were ADA-related.
Tusino stated, “…the workload does not exist to support a full time position, especially when AAB 521 CMR is legally enforced by Certified Building Inspectors that are in Framingham’s Inspectional Services Department.”
He continued…“Giving the uncertainty of next year’s budget based Governor Healy’s (sic) forecast and since the position is vacant, I recommend one of the first three options, and certainly recommend #4.
Go back to the former model and make the COO the ADA Coordinator.
Make HR Director the ADA Coordinator. Some communities use this model.
Make the current vacant ADA Coordinator position part time.
Do not renew the yearly subscription of BlueDog software, it has not been utilized. The cost per year is $48,000 and it expires November 2024.”
Councilors “not on the same page”: Both Cannon and Councilor Adam Steiner pointed out that the lack of calls does not mean there aren’t any issues, with Councilor Janet Leombruno saying the Building Inspector cannot “catch everything.”
“Don’t focus so much on the lack of calls about the issue because I think the reason why there aren’t a lot of calls is not because there aren’t accessibility issues. I think the issue is that average residents don’t know what their rights are. I think we really need to do a better job letting people know what their rights are and then encouraging them to bring those concerns…” stated Steiner.
Advocacy in government: Framingham has an appointed Disability Commission. The commission advocates for the disabled community, and works with city officials, in particular, the ADA Coordinator and the Access Compliance Inspector, to promote the inclusion of people with disabilities in all aspects of community life.
Next steps: Cannon requested a report in 90 days stating how the city plans to move forward with a part time coordinator, and what work has been done to ensure Framingham remains compliant.
“I’m less interested in the minimum standards of compliance than I am making sure that we’re constantly bettering ourselves and our community to accessibility for all. I get nervous about these rules and responsibilities when we seem to accept the fact that what we’re doing is good enough and I’m telling you it’s not.”
Preview of Tuesday’s Council Meeting
The Council meeting on June 4 is very financially focused. Here’s what is on the docket…
Citations and proclamations:
A citation will be presented to the FHS Varsity Football Team
Joint proclamation of the Mayor, Council, Superintendent of Schools and School Committee declaring June as Pride Month.
Public Hearings:
Purchase of Property at 196-200 Concord Street $1.5M and Design of Farley Building Rooftop Solar $500,000: Two issues ago I wrote about how the Sisitsky Administration wants to transfer $2m out of an existing bond to purchase 196-200 Concord Street to make additional space for a parking garage. The Council will hold a public hearing about this purchase tomorrow night.
Action Items/Discussions/Votes:
FY25 Budget: Council gives a second reading and final vote on the budget.
Highlights:
No services are affected by this budget. No one was laid off. Departments were level funded.
Total budget is $15m over FY24, an increase of 4.4%
Cuts to the budget were 17 vacant positions that will not be funded this year. Those vacant positions include two full time firefighters and two full time police officers.
Salaries total $59.8m, which include obligations of 12 union collective bargaining agreements and non-union municipal COLA 2.%
Callahan Center receives a social worker and program coordinator from the Public Health Department, which reduced the PHD budget.
Police receives 3 fulltime positions to operate the new Bodycam program.
Operational budget increases over $10,000 include:
$10,050 for Callahan Center programing
$51,060 for the Mayor’s Office to cover dues and city events (including activities for Framingham’s 325th anniversary next year)
$11,400 for Parks, an advisor for the Farmers Market at $5,000 and $6400 for Team Framingham
“It is a status quo budget,” said Finance Chair and Councilor at Large George P. King, Jr., at the last Council meeting. He continued to say the Finance Subcommittee held their usual round of meetings and public hearing, but unlike past years, almost no changes were made by the committee to the budget.
The Finance Subcommittee voted 3-2 (King, Cannon, Mallach - Steiner, Alexander) to reduce the Reserve fund spending by $200,000, which King called a “symbolic cut.”
Budget raised the tax rate to 2.5%, the highest it has been as a city and in recent memory.
What does the increase mean for me?: The average home value in Framingham is $600,895. That tax bill will increase by $186. Breakdown of this year and previous year’s tax bills:
FY24 Tax Bill: $7,487
FY25 Tax Bill: $7,673
Council voted 10-1 (Ottaviani, Alexander, King, Leombruno, Steiner, Bryant, Long, Ward, Mallach, White-Harvey - Cannon) in favor of the budget.
FY2025-FY2030 Recommended Capital Improvement Plan: Receives its First Reading.
Important Meeting about the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail
The next meeting of the Framingham Bicycle, Pedestrian and Trails Committee features representatives from BETA Group, who will give an update on the status and progress of the design of Phase 1 of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail.
When: Thursday, June 6 at 7PM
Where: Costin Room of the Main Public Library or on Zoom.
Click here for the meeting agenda and Zoom link.
(I’ll be there representing Friends of Framingham Trails. Please say hi if you see me!)
Update about General Chemical on Tuesday
In person meeting: Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) will be at Harmony Grove Elementary School (169 Leland Street) to provide updates on the cleanup at the former General Chemical site.
When: Tuesday, June 4 from 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Where: Harmony Grove Elementary School at 169 Leland Street
Status of work: MassDEP will provide updates on cleanup work at the former General Chemical site, discuss planned demolition of a warehouse building, and answer questions from residents in the neighborhood. Spanish and Portuguese translators will be available.
Flag Day Parade Returns
Tradition returns again: The Sisitsky Administration shared the news today that Framingham’s longtime tradition of celebrating Flag Day returns this year.
When: The Flag Day Parade takes place on Saturday, June 15 at 10:00am. A ceremony will follow. Both events take place at Cushing Memorial Park on Dudley Road.
While the parade is not what it was when I was a kid, it is still a great celebration of community with our elected officials, first responders, schools, local organizations, and veterans groups participating and walking around Cushing Park.
All are welcome! See you there!
What’s Happening in Framingham
June is shaping up to be a busy month! Here is what is upcoming this week:
80th Anniversary of D-Day: This Thursday, June 6 the Framingham Veterans Council invites you to a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day. The event takes place at 6:00pm at Veterans Memorial Park on Concord Street next to the Courthouse.
Festa de Junina: Come to St. Tarcisius Church on Saturday, June 8 starting at 1:00pm for an incredible festival. A great family event for food, music and dancing. This festival draws tens of thousands of people from the area. There will be delays on Waverly Street throughout the day. So, instead of avoiding the area, park and join in! (This is one of my favorite events of the year!)
Repair Cafe: Need something fixed? Take it to the Repair Cafe on Sunday, June 9 from 2:00-5:00p.m in Scott Hall, First Parish (24 Vernon Street). Volunteers will repair clothing, lamps, small appliances, electronic devices needing button batteries, computers and other electronics, bikes, toys, dull blades, and more.
The Civic Week Ahead
Monday, June 3
Tuesday, June 4
7:00pm: Council Agenda
Wednesday, June 5
Thursday, June 6
In Closing…
A round of congratulations to the Framingham High School Class of 2024 who graduate on Friday at Bowditch Field. We are incredibly proud of your achievements. Fly high, Flyers!
See you next week,
Mary Kate
Another great information filled post.
Be interesting to see if some posts could be either culled or moved to part time.
Thank you Mrs Hammer for your postings.
I for one support the transition if the ADA coordinator to a part time or even consultant position based on facts noted. Hours should vary each week/month based on needs determined by the building inspectors dept
Too many new positions are being created as full time in areas such as diversity, communications and the like . I’d like to see a list of new titles since we became a city with documentation of accomplishments, goals and option to make part time