Ray Mariano: The good, the bad and the ugly of ideas for Worcester

After nice, long summer vacations, the Worcester City Council and School Committee are back at work proposing new exciting/frightening ideas to help better serve the citizens of Worcester.

The Good

I wish it were otherwise, but it seems that some leaders in places like Florida and other states are going out of their way to engage in a virtual war on gay and trans kids. Most of it is hateful and ugly.

Here in Worcester, Bishop Robert McManus has raised his crozier and joined the fight announcing a new policy that is so repugnant that at least two well-known Catholic schools — St. John’s and Notre Dame Academy — have refused to adopt the policy, instead choosing to treat all students with love and acceptance for who they are. The new policy affects 20 schools and an estimated 9,000 students, some number of whom will undoubtedly be left hurt and isolated.

In part, the policy says: “If a student’s expression of gender, sexual identity or sexuality should cause confusion or disruption at the school, or if it should mislead others, cause scandal, or have the potential for causing scandal…then the student may be dismissed from school…”

This is not the bishop’s first foray into making national headlines for his mean-spirited approach to all things LGBTQ. Not that long ago, he went after the Nativity School in Worcester for flying a rainbow flag, which he said sent a “scandalous message.” Ultimately, he prohibited the school from identifying as Catholic and no longer permitted them to offer Mass or sacraments.

But there is some good news here. School Committee member Tracy O’Connell Novick has proposed creating an affinity group made up of parents and guardians who would advise the school administration on issues involving LGBTQ+ students.

O’Connell Novick proposed working with families to better understand the issues that the students face as they make their way through the public schools. This group has the potential to benefit both the students and families who can often feel isolated.

The Bad

So what did you want to be when you grew up? Apparently, the Worcester City Council wants to be the Boston City Council. Citing the number of staff people who support city councilors in Boston, Worcester’s illustrious 11 thinks it should have more staff too.

Well, the folks who sit in those big chairs in Boston City Hall are an interesting lot. Let’s see, they have a councilor who has driven around for the past decade without a driver’s license and racked up eight charges relating to a car crash. Then there are the two city councilors who have been fined by the state Ethics Commission and been involved in other sordid matters. Oh, and let’s not forget the fistfights at council meetings. Yup, the Boston City Council is a great role model for them to emulate.

Presently, Worcester’s councilors have a staff person who is assigned to the city clerk’s office who works for them. Ultimately some councilors want an assistant assigned to each individual councilor. That’s 10 new employees to service a city council where some of the members don’t even return phone calls. Can’t they think of anything better to do with a half a million bucks or more?

But fear not, Councilor-at-Large Khrystian King wants to start with only two new staffers. His reasoning: “It’s important that we’re able to ensure that our chief of staff, when supervising or managing these positions, has an opportunity to work out the bugs before we move forward.”

I get it. First hire the chief of staff and then the rest of the thundering herd. Did I say half a million, make that a million dollars wasted!

Look, I don’t have anything against the City Council adding a staff person if they need the help. But adding 10 is just plain ridiculous. Here’s an idea: Why don’t some of them actually answer the phone and return a few calls before they start hiring staff?

There are some other ridiculously bad iterations of this idea — like giving each city councilor $25,000 to pool with other councilors to hire staff. All of these proposals should be thrown in the trash bin specifically marked “bad ideas.”

Try fixing a sidewalk or a pothole first.

The Ugly

I wish that was the end of it. But sadly, there’s more. Now the council is considering hiring its own legal counsel. According to King, the council seems inclined to do it. Of all the bad ideas they have ever considered, this is among the worst. Now that I think about it, it is the worst.

District 3 City Councilor George Russell thinks there is a need for separate counsel because there are times when the City Council and city manager may disagree. Instead of hiring a lawyer, Russell wants to hire outside legal counsel as needed.

Here’s the backstory. A councilor wanted an ordinance drafted and the city solicitor said it was a bad idea because it would open up the city to lawsuits and damages. So, because they couldn’t get their way, they want to hire their own lawyer and tell that lawyer what they want him or her to say so that they can do what they want.

If Ed Augustus Jr. was still city manager they would never have pulled this. But the new guy is easy to smack around and so why not set up their own satellite government.

This idea is dangerous and likely violates the city charter. But I suppose they could tell their new lawyer to say that it doesn’t.

Email Raymond V. Mariano at rmariano.telegram@gmail.com. He served four terms as mayor of Worcester and previously served on the City Council and School Committee. He grew up in Great Brook Valley and holds degrees from Worcester State College and Clark University. He was most recently executive director of the Worcester Housing Authority. His column appears weekly in the Sunday Telegram.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Ray Mariano column on the good bad and ugly ideas for Worcester