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Category Archives: Springfield

Springfield Council chambers

Briefings: Springfield City Council Cancels Budget Meeting…

Less than twelve hours before it was scheduled to take up Mayor Domenic Sarno fiscal year 2017, the Springfield City Council cancelled its budget meeting scheduled for Tuesday night. The cancellation, while last-minute, was not unexpected. Several councilors had expressed concerns about where resources had

Springfield

Take My Council, Please: An Appeal for a Troubled Paradise…

SPRINGFIELD—With its annual review of the city budget looming ahead, the City Council flexed its muscles Monday night turning back or sending to committee several financial orders. It may be too early to assume the Council will cut Mayor Domenic Sarno’s $616 million budget, but

Springfield

Take My Council, Please: A Little Something on the Sidewalk…

SPRINGFIELD—In a somewhat wonky meeting on a dreary May Monday, the City Council considered a host of financial measures from grants to appropriations to bonding. While most sailed through the body, there were speed bumps, which may presage a rockier path for Mayor Domenic Sarno’s

Springfield City Hall

Briefings: Gray Fiscal Skies Continue to Clear in Springfield…

Budget release day in Springfield has been less of a somber affair in recent years. During five years of Control Board rule followed by the economic crisis beginning in 2008, doing more with far less was a constant and self-defeating, if unavoidable refrain in the

Editorial: Agnosticism on Residency, Zeal for the Rule of Law…

When Springfield at-large City Council Justin Hurst released his General Government Committee’s Thursday agenda, there were signs that the Council was inching toward a Rubicon. The meeting will discuss compliance with the city’s residency’s ordinance, expiration of waivers and the applicability to the fire chiefs,

Employee Residency Battle Ignites Anew in Springfield…

UPDATED 10:26AM: For grammar & clarity. Touching off a fresh battle in a politically fraught issue, the Springfield City Council voted to strengthen the city’s employee residency ordinance Monday night. As expected, if surprisingly quickly, Mayor Domenic Sarno vetoed the measure the next day and sent

Springfield Council chambers

Analysis: The Rusting Rule of Law in Springfield…

UPDATED 9:17AM: For grammar & clarity. Last week the Springfield City Council stood up and demanded that Mayor Domenic Sarno (as well as other appointing authorities) fulfill their obligations and appoint individuals to dormant boards and commissions of the city. As important as that public

Springfield

Take My Council, Please: Déjà Vu et Déjà Dit…

SPRINGFIELD—With MGM off its docket after weeks of reviews and hearings, the City Council returned its focus to its normal duties. Greeted with a lengthy and technical agenda on bond authorizations and contract approvals, the meeting opened with a push from the community for the