Newest councilor staying active on campaign trail, advocacy thereminder.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thereminder.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Agawam will ask feds for $48M in sewer funds
Updated 8:29 PM;
AGAWAM Sewers still aren’t coming to southwestern Feeding Hills, no matter how much money Washington spends on infrastructure, city councilors said Monday.
The council unanimously passed a resolution calling on Western Massachusetts’ representatives in Washington to fund the estimated $48.48 million cost of extending the town’s wastewater utility to neighborhoods along South Westfield Street and South West Street, using some of the more than $2 trillion in President Joseph Biden’s proposed American Jobs Plan.
Although several councilors spoke in favor of the goal, many at the meeting said the project does not appear to be eligible for funding under the president’s proposed legislation.
Agawam City Council rejects voter ID resolution by thin margin
Updated 3:35 PM;
AGAWAM By the thinnest possible margin, city councilors this week rejected a call for more stringent voter identification laws.
The council voted 6-5 on Monday against a resolution that would have petitioned the state Legislature to require voters to produce proof of identity and return to the pre-pandemic rules that allowed mail-in voting only in cases of necessity for medical, religious or travel reasons.
“I really don’t think there is a big problem in the state of Massachusetts, when it comes to elections,” said Councilor Paul Cavallo, who voted against the resolution after having previously described himself as undecided. In local elections, he said, “I don’t think there has ever been any fraud or corruption involved.”
‘Embarrassed’ council gives Agawam mayor a bigger raise
Updated Jan 13, 2021;
AGAWAM The people want a better-paid mayor, city councilors said Monday before voting to increase the salary to $110,000.
They had already voted, on Dec. 21, to raise the salary from its current $85,000 to $95,000, to take effect after the next election. In the weeks since then, however, they’ve heard from constituents who thought they should have endorsed the full $130,000 requested by Mayor William Sapelli.
“I did also talk to some people who came up to me and said they were embarrassed by the amount of money this council was going to give him,” said Councilor Paul Cavallo.
Council compromises on raise for Agawam mayor, agrees to $10K increase; board also backs proposal for 4-year term
Updated Dec 22, 2020;
In a similar split, they also voted to support a four-year term.
Mayor William Sapelli had proposed the longer term and a salary increase from $85,000 to $130,000. Many councilors balked at such a large jump in pay, and proposed lower figures. Amendments for salaries of $115,000, $110,000 and $105,000 all failed by a single vote until Councilor George Bitzas, one of the “no” voters, said he would accept a salary of $95,000.
“This is a first step,” said Bitzas. “We would pay $10,000 more than Chicopee, $10,000 more than Holyoke, $5,000 less than Westfield, which is bigger. I cannot support higher than $10,000 for this first step.”