GREENFIELD — Mayor Ginny Desorgher assured city councilors on Wednesday that the city’s finances are stable, and that it is making progress toward reconciling its accounting discrepancies and funding its capital expenses.
“You asked me for clarity around what my expenses are going to be coming forward in the near future, and I’m happy to provide that,” Desorgher told the council. “But I want to be clear that the city is stable, and we are being thoughtful and deliberate about how we manage the finances.”
On Wednesday, City Council voted unanimously to borrow $600,000 for stormwater and sewer repairs, and was presented with a first reading of an extra $702,286 in capital projects to be paid for through borrowing.
Next month, the council will further discuss and vote on the proposed capital projects and purchases, after the Ways and Means Committee reviews them. The list includes $30,836 to purchase defibrillators for public safety departments, $36,450 for personal protective equipment for the Fire Department, $150,000 for the engineering and development of Millbrook Well No. 1, $110,000 for traffic light upgrades, a $30,000 van for the Veterans Services Department, and other sewer and water system repairs that the city had originally planned to fund via sewer and water retained earnings.
City officials have been working to address bookkeeping errors between the Accounting Department and the Treasurer/Collector’s Office that led the state Department of Revenue to not certify the city’s free cash — money that is budgeted and appropriated, but not spent in the previous fiscal year that the Department of Revenue then recertifies, allowing municipalities to spend it on needs such as capital purchases.
The capital projects and purchases were going to be paid for using free cash and retained earnings. Because of the recertification issues, however, some will need to be delayed, while some will be paid for through borrowing.
Desorgher and Finance Director Stephen Nembirkow have said the city would need to hire an accounting firm to go through the books and reconcile the differences between the Accounting Department and the Treasurer/Collector’s Office, estimated to be $1.97 million in variances for fiscal year 2025. The FY25 budget that City Council had approved in May 2024 was $64.87 million.
On Wednesday, the council voted unanimously to approve spending $75,000 from stabilization to pay the accounting firm of CliftonLarsonAllen LLP for the line-by-line review of the cash books, which Desorgher said is already underway.
Desorgher added that she believes she has been a responsible fiscal steward for the city and she has reduced the amount of debt the city takes on each year.
“In the past, the practice has been that the city has been borrowing approximately $4 million every year to support capital improvements and other budgetary needs. Since I took office, you have asked for minimum borrowing,” Desorgher said. “This year, we are proposing in total $1,423,000 in borrowing, which will allow us to address important needs while continuing to be responsible stewards of the city’s finances.”
She said additional borrowing will be needed in the coming months, as the Police Department needs approximately $325,000 for cruisers, and the cost to repair Poet’s Seat Tower could top $1 million. The tower has been closed since the spring, when a building inspector’s examination found cracks and degraded welds.
“We will also have to decide together what to do about Poet’s Seat Tower. Preliminary numbers keep increasing. I feel comfortable to say now that it’s not going to be under $400,000; it could be as much as over $1 million,” Desorgher said. “But I do want to emphasize that the city’s going to be OK.”
The School Department will also need to purchase three new vans, estimated at $66,000 each. However, Desorgher said these will be purchased using the school district’s Transportation Revolving Account, which has a balance of $1.4 million.
Desorgher said she is confident the city will receive $1 million in federal dollars as well. Chief of Staff Erin Anhalt further explained that she has been working with U.S. Sen. Ed Markey’s office on an infrastructure bill that would provide funding and bring the Army Corps of Engineers to Greenfield to work on critical water infrastructure. She said the bill needs to be voted on by both the House and Senate, but that these bills rarely fail to pass.
Department of Public Works schedules
During the meeting, councilors also asked Desorgher to address questions and concerns they have received from citizens regarding whether Department of Public Works employees are being paid for five days of work while only working four days per week.
According to Desorgher, the city has been trying a new pilot program in which DPW staff work four and a half days per week, as a recruitment and retention strategy. The program has been underway for about three months, and after a year, the city plans to review its effectiveness.
“The impetus for this is that we had 13 to 18 vacancies,” Desorgher explained. “You can’t get the work in the city done.”
She said DPW workers are frequently poached by other communities as their licenses and certifications are valuable, particularly a Water Supply Facility Operator’s License, which she said is “like gold” and allows employees to seek higher-paying jobs in other towns.
Desorgher said the goal of the pilot program is to incentivize people to stay and help fill vacant positions, particularly for essential roles such as managing the city’s water supply. She added that the DPW’s Parks & Forestry Division, which she said currently has no staff, just received two applicants.
This summer, she said, the DPW has tackled water main breaks, highway replacements, hydrant painting and flushing, maintenance and upkeep of city grounds and buildings, and crosswalk painting. Staff have also repaired 57 potholes throughout the city.
“DPW is working nonstop,” Desorgher said.
Precinct 4 Councilor John Bottomley called the idea a “progressive approach,” and said he appreciates the efforts to increase compensation for DPW staff.
“For many, many years, the DPW was some of the lower-paid employees and we haven’t been able to fill those positions,” Bottomley said. “So I’m glad that you took some steps so that we can have success.”
City councilors also raised questions about potholes, particularly at Highland Park and near Beacon Field, and said some of the unpaved roads have large potholes that could be dangerous to motorists.
“When you drive into Highland Park, it is treacherous,” Precinct 6 Councilor Patricia Williams said. “A small Volkswagen would get lost in the craters. I understand the ecological reasons why the road cannot be paved, but I’m wondering if something could get done?”
Desorgher said she would flag the issue for the DPW.
The mayor also responded to a question about the Colrain Street Bridge and said that, according to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, the repair project is expected to be complete by October.
“Many, many people are frustrated with that,” Desorgher said, “but that’s the timeline that we believe that’s gonna happen.”
