Taunton CFO got $65K raise without approval from City Council — What does law dept. say?
TAUNTON — Two city employees received pay increases of tens of thousands of dollars by way of contract addendums that were never approved by the Taunton City Council — raising the question who is supposed to approve such pay hikes?
In one case, the city's chief financial officer got a 43% pay hike over two years, taking his salary from $150,000 to $215,000.
In the other case, the city's human resources director got a 36% pay hike over a year-and-a-half, taking her salary from $110,700 to $150,000.
These raises were approved by Mayor Shaunna O'Connell but never went before the City Council as such raises have in the past — setting off alarm bells among some city councilors.
“In past processes, any kind of increase or transfer had to be approved by the Finance and Salary Committee,” said City Councilor Estele Borges, who motioned at that committee's Jan. 9 meeting to request a legal opinion from the Law Department regarding the proper process and who has oversight over raises.
In response, City Solicitor Matthew Costa issued an opinion on Feb. 26, saying it is the mayor, not the City Council, who has authority to set the salaries for "appointed municipal officers and employees."
How many employees got raises?
The Gazette analyzed non-union contracts for assorted high-ranking city employees.
If an employee is receiving a raise while in the midst of a current contract, an addendum is attached at the end of the contract signifying this increase. All addendums are approved by the mayor.
There were three notable examples of non-union personnel who received recent raises on their contracts through addendums — Dello Russo, Kazlauskas and City Auditor Ian Fortes, who received a smaller increase of 6.6% in one year.
The city has posted on its website a few other contracts with addendums over the last year but the raises in those are comparatively small — the largest being for Water Department Supervisor Michael Arruda, who received a 3.6% raise after more than a year and a raise of 2.3% the following year.
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Patrick Dello Russo, chief financial officer
The contract for the city's Chief Financial Officer Patrick Dello Russo runs from Dec. 21, 2021 through June 30, 2024. Dello Russo received a total raise of 43% in two years.
Starting base salary, Dec. 21, 2021 — $150,000
First Addendum, Dec. 22, 2022 — $170,000
Second Addendum, Dec. 22, 2023 — $215,000
Amy Kazlauskas, human resources director
The contract for the city's Human Resources Director Amy Kazlauskas runs from July 22, 2022 through June 30, 2025. Kazlauskas received a total raise of 36% over the course of a year and a half.
Starting base salary, July 22, 2022 — $110,700
First Addendum, June 28, 2023 — $125,000
Second Addendum, Dec. 20, 2023 — $150,000
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Ian Fortes, city auditor
The contract for the city's Auditor Ian Fortes runs from Jan. 14, 2023 through Jan. 14, 2026. Fortes received a 6.6% raise in January of this year via an addendum.
Starting base salary, Jan. 14, 2023 — $122,000
First Addendum, Jan. 14, 2024 — $ 130,000
Legal opinion
In his Feb. 26 legal opinion Costa said the salaries of elected officials are set by the legislative branch, which is the City Council. But the salaries of appointed officials and employees are set by the executive branch, the mayor.
“Generally, unless salaries are established by ordinance or according to a special law, a municipality’s legislative body (council) approves budget appropriations, and the municipality’s executive officers (Mayor) establish salaries of non-elected municipal officials within the available appropriations,” Costa said.
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Mayor institutes 'pay for performance' raises
Mayor Shaunna O'Connell acknowledged that past practice in Taunton was for the City Council to approve such raises. But she said that past practice was "neither required nor efficient."
“My administration embraces change when needed and does not subscribe to the notion that we continue to do things a certain way because that is the way they have always been done," O'Connell said in a written statement to the Gazette.
O’ Connell said over the last few years, her administration has revised financial policies and procedures, some of which were changed to be more in line with recommendations from the Department of Revenue. One of these changes is implementation of a “pay for performance” model where salary increases are merit and performance-based, rather than regularly scheduled.
Regarding the CFO, Dello Russo, O’Connell touts his achievements managing the city’s finance team identifying improvements to financial processes.
“Our comprehensive financial policies have had a widespread positive impact on the City, increasing our bond rating to a historic AA+ level and garnering financial accolades and recognitions, locally and regionally,” O'Connell said.
Reaction to legal opinion
The way the current salary increases were handled is in sharp contrast to the uproar in 2016 when then-Mayor Tom Hoye got approval from the City Council for a large raise for his Chief of Staff Alyssa Haggerty — whose salary went from $43,000 to $57,000 one year and then up to $63,000 the following year. The argument was made that Haggerty’s responsibilities and workload increased.
Long-time City Councilor David Pottier, who was present for the Haggerty controversy, said he is comfortable with the new policy of not seeking council approval for salary increases, saying “the mayor has carte blanche” — but he understands why people might be questioning the interpretation of the law.
City Councilor and Chair of the Finance & Salary Committee Phillip Duarte also said he agrees with Costa's legal opinion. Duarte said the past practice of having the City Council approve salary increases "created a false understanding that this is a function of the City Council," when it is clearly an executive function.
But City Councilor Barry Sanders said he believes the Council should be involved in salary approvals and contract revisions pertaining to compensation.
“I think they should be approved by Council,” said Sanders, adding that just as “we have a role in approving appointments” the City Council should also have a role in approving increases in compensation.
Borges, in response to Costa's legal opinion, said “she’s still looking into it” regarding the law department’s interpretation of Mass General Law and the Council’s rules of order.
“I know the mayor has the right to increase salaries. I just want to make sure we are following the right processes,” Borges said.
No response from commonwealth
The Gazette reached out to the Department of Revenue, including its Bureau of Municipal Finance Law, regarding how municipal salary increases are supposed to work. But they said these questions should be directed to the city's law department.
This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Taunton workers got giant raises without City Council approval
