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For more than an hour, the Everett City Council appeared to have been taken over by Martians, aliens or the lollipop kids – with technical issues taking over the meeting and making every councilor and presenter appear to have a very high-pitched and electrified voice.
It was nothing new for the Council, which had experienced numerous technical difficulties over the last year when holding meetings at City Hall, but it was unexpected as the body had moved to the School Committee Chambers in Everett High School. The School Committee has met there successfully for months with no issues, but on Monday the system went awry. It evoked the best of Buck Rogers, Lost in Space, or maybe Dr. Who, as everyone sounded quite strange and outer-space like.
One week after some members of the City Council questioned the outside legal fees paid for the tax valuation case that took place for several years between the City and Exelon Power Plant, members of several City Departments said the expenditures since 2017 are not out of the ordinary. There is a need often to get attorneys specializing in unique areas of the law as many surrounding community cities have done, said City Solicitor Colleen Mejia. She also said that the notion that her department doesn’t work or farms out all of the legal issues is not correct.
“It is absolutely not true that we’re farming out all the legal work,” she said. “We work all day every day – as well as nights and week-ends. Virtually every department head in the City calls us at night and on weekends. This isn’t a 9 to 5 job. We use outside legal services to supplement and help us resolve issues we need help with. We don’t know all the aspects of the law and sometimes legal research doesn’t
City officials told the City Council on Monday they are having a hard time filling critical positions in the administration, including the Election Commissioner, Diversity Director and the Planning and Development Director, among others.
To that end they told the Council they would be hiring an outside job recruiter to try to lure candidates to these City positions, some of which have been vacant for some time.
Councilor Fred Capone brought the matter up in an order on the agenda asking about the Elections Commissioner and the Library Director. The Council just recently filled the ISD Director position with long-time Facilities Director George Lane, but so far many key positions remain vacant and the City continues to have difficulty finding a good group of candidates.
City officials told the City Council on Monday they are having a hard time filling critical positions in the administration, including the Election Commissioner, Diversity Director and the Planning and Development Director, among others.
To that end they told the Council they would be hiring an outside job recruiter to try to lure candidates to these City positions, some of which have been vacant for some time.
Councilor Fred Capone brought the matter up in an order on the agenda asking about the Elections Commissioner and the Library Director. The Council just recently filled the ISD Director position with long-time Facilities Director George Lane, but so far many key positions remain vacant and the City continues to have difficulty finding a good group of candidates.