Search for Worcester police chief tops City Council agenda
WORCESTER — Tuesday's City Council session has the makings of another jam-packed meeting with an agenda filled with orders and reports from individual councilors and standing committees.
Several of the most hotly discussed topics in city politics in recent months are scheduled to be heard before the City Council Tuesday. However, a definitive vote on any of these topics is not guaranteed as any councilor can exercise their privilege to delay any item to the next meeting.
Agenda items range from the selection of the next permanent police chief, a resolution adding stipulations on a proposed accessory dwelling unit policy, and the city's recommendation for a specialized stretch code.
Search for permanent police chief
On Sept. 1 Police Chief Steven Sargent retired after 37 years with the department and the day after the Telegram & Gazette reported that the city was reporting a 2021 investigation of Sargent to the state's police oversight agency. Eric Batista, who became city manager last year, said he had not been aware of the investigation until the city received a public records request in the spring.
Paul Saucier was named interim chief on the same day as Sargent's retirement announcement.
In the following weeks, a separate investigation from 2020 was reported by the Telegram & Gazette where the investigator ruled Sargent was untruthful about a 2019 driving dispute in which a city resident claimed Sargent had been drinking. The conclusions were disregarded by then-City Manager Edward M. Augustus Jr.
Batista went on "Talk of the Commonwealth" Sept. 14 and told host Hank Stolz both he and Saucier had pledged transparency from the department. He said reporting from the Telegram & Gazette had hastened Sargent's retirement.
On Sept. 19, Mayor Joseph M. Petty sent out a news release calling for Batista to review how police chiefs are chosen in Massachusetts, including the possibility of creating a separate public safety commissioner.
“We have had countless dedicated public servants in the chief’s position, including our current acting chief, but that does not preclude us from a review of the process,” Petty said in the statement.
One of Petty's rivals in this year's mayoral race, Councilor-at-Large Khrystian King, has submitted an order requesting Batista provide draft language that would remove the civil service requirement for the chief of police position.
King is requesting the draft language in order to "consider the expansion of the applicant pool" for police chief. The civil service exam has been subject to criticism over studies finding it hurt hiring and advancement of qualified minority candidates and that it could not predict success in public safety positions, particularly for supervisors.
In-law apartments coming to Worcester?
At the Sept. 12 City Council meeting, the city administration put forward an amendment to the city's zoning ordinance that would allow homeowners to to construct accessory dwelling units, often known as in-law suites, in all zoning districts except the manufacturing and airport districts.
The City Council advanced the amendment to the Planning Board for review and it must also go to the Standing Committee on Economic Development before a full City Council vote.
However, Councilor-at-Large Morris Bergman said he had reservations on how the amendment as written could impact the character of neighborhoods, particularly single-family neighborhoods, and suggested the amendment should focus more on households who wish to have a family member living with them or other special circumstances.
Bergman has submitted a resolution to Tuesday's agenda asking the City Council to consider amending the report "in order to balance the public good of creating ADU’s and to preserve the character of the neighborhoods in which ADU’s are sought to be created in."
The following amendments are requested by Bergman: an amendment to when the lot owner's dwelling unit can be rented during a temporary absence; a requirement that occupants of the lot have a family relationship of up to three degrees of kinship; a requirement that an accessory dwelling unit have one additional off-street parking space (for a nonfamily relationship) in most kinds of zoning districts except for two districts: RS-10 and RS-7; and that prior to the adoption of the zoning changes, the city consider any suggested restrictions on accessory dwelling units provided by state legislation.
Specialized stretch code returns
On Aug. 22, Batista amended a recommendation that Worcester adopt a new state building code that calls for electrification of new construction to include a faster deadline preferred by environmental activists in the city.
The recommended implementation date for the specialized stretch code is July 1, 2024.
The Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce had come out in support of the new code with the original Jan. 1, 2025, implementation date in order for the many involved parties including the city, real estate developers and National Grid — Worcester’s electricity supplier — to fully understand the code.
On Sept. 19, the specialized stretch code recommendation was unanimously approved in the Standing Committee of Economic Development and is set to return to the City Council Tuesday.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Search for Worcester police chief tops City Council agenda
