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[0:20] Good evening and welcome to the East

[0:22] Hampton City Council meeting for August

[0:24] 12th, 2026. The meeting tonight is being

[0:26] recorded and broadcast by E Media on

[0:28] Charter channel 193 and live streaming

[0:30] on their web page eastampton media.org.

[0:33] Councilors and participants in this

[0:35] meeting are gathering hybrid on the

[0:36] order extended until June 30th, 2027,

[0:40] allowing us to do so. I remind both the

[0:43] members of city council and the public

[0:44] participating remotely to remain muted

[0:47] until recognized by the city council

[0:50] vice president. Also for the members of

[0:52] the public, please remove your camera

[0:54] for the duration of the meeting unless

[0:55] you are participating in public speak

[0:57] time or the public hearing. Thank you.

[0:59] This meeting is now called to order.

[1:00] Maryanne

[1:01] » JP Quisinski

[1:02] » Here.

[1:03] » Connie Denim.

[1:06] » Tamara Smith

[1:07] » Here.

[1:08] » Felicia Jazzik

[1:09] » Here.

[1:10] » Tom Peak

[1:11] » Here.

[1:11] » Jonathan Schmidt

[1:12] » Here.

[1:12] » Amanda Newton

[1:13] » Here.

[1:14] » Kaam Jamrock McQuade

[1:15] » Here.

[1:15] » Nathan Marque

[1:16] » Here.

[1:18] » All right. Um, I'm going to take a

[1:21] motion to go ahead and open the public

[1:23] hearing.

[1:24] » Second.

[1:25] » All right. Any further discussion?

[1:27] Seeing none, all those or actually we

[1:28] have to do a roll call vote. Marian.

[1:30] » Yeah. Felicia Jazzic.

[1:31] » Hi.

[1:32] » JP Guinski.

[1:33] » Hi.

[1:33] » Tom Peak.

[1:34] » Hi.

[1:34] » Tamara Smith.

[1:36] » I.

[1:36] » Jonathan Schmidt.

[1:37] » Hi.

[1:38] » Amanda Newton.

[1:39] » Hi.

[1:39] » Nathan Marquee.

[1:40] » Hi.

[1:41] » Cam Jamrock McUade.

[1:42] » Hi.

[1:42] » Connie Denham.

[1:44] Say that.

[1:45] » All right. Motion passes. So, this

[1:47] public hearing is for an interdep

[1:48] departmental transfer for an annual

[1:50] stipen for the licensing clerk. Um, and

[1:52] as such, I'm going to turn it over to

[1:53] Chair Peak to introduce this.

[1:55] » Thank you, Madam Vice President. Um,

[1:57] yes. So, this is an item to transfer

[2:00] $1,200 from the reserve fund to the

[2:02] licensing board stipen. It's part of a

[2:05] broader uh conversation that we've been

[2:07] having about that topic for a while, but

[2:10] I'm kind of do my best to just stick

[2:13] with the matter at hand. Um so we met uh

[2:18] and uh briefly discussed this uh at 5:15

[2:23] uh that by we I mean the finance

[2:25] committee or those of us who were who

[2:27] were present. So we voted two to zero uh

[2:30] to recommend this to the full council.

[2:32] Um I think uh you know our our general

[2:36] view is that whatever one's general

[2:40] feelings are about the

[2:44] sort of the the broader discussion

[2:46] around stipens and uh salaries and when

[2:50] what you know one is appropriate or the

[2:52] other that right now we're at a

[2:54] situation where uh we need a licensing

[2:57] clerk and this is the fastest way to get

[3:00] somebody into that position.

[3:02] And if we don't act, we're going to lose

[3:05] a lot more money than what we're talking

[3:06] about here as a city. So, I felt I think

[3:10] that I don't want to speak for my

[3:12] colleague, but my feeling that it was

[3:14] it's a good idea for us to move forward

[3:15] on this tonight. Um, that's all that I

[3:18] have to say on the subject. I do uh

[3:21] Mayor Derby is could not be present, but

[3:23] did ask uh that somebody uh read a

[3:26] statement that he sent to us into the

[3:28] record. Uh, and given that I'm chairing,

[3:31] I volunteered to do it. So, these are

[3:34] uh, Mayor Derby's words. Um, members of

[3:37] the city council, I am submitting this

[3:39] testimony in writing. I am unable to

[3:41] attend in person. I respectfully ask

[3:43] that this be entered into the record.

[3:45] The licensing work is real. It has grown

[3:47] and it deserves fair compensation. The

[3:49] licensing board's workload has increased

[3:51] substantially with the growth in liquor

[3:53] licenses and the city anticipates eight

[3:57] new alcohol licenses in the near future.

[3:59] The clerk prepares uh and processes

[4:03] applications, coordinates with the ABCC,

[4:06] conducts site visits uh and manages

[4:08] renewal season for dozens of licenses.

[4:12] Uh this is substantial ongoing work and

[4:14] I agree with those who have said that it

[4:16] should be fairly compensated. Please see

[4:18] the attached job description prepared uh

[4:21] by the former clerk, which I'm not going

[4:23] to read the job description or the memo.

[4:25] I'm just going to read the cover page,

[4:26] but you all got this. And if anyone

[4:28] wants to see it, I guess email us. Um

[4:32] the stipend is the fiscally conservative

[4:34] structure of this function for this

[4:37] function particularly in this budget

[4:38] year. A stipend of $2,400

[4:42] compensates a discrete set of

[4:43] responsibilities that allows the board

[4:46] to function at a cost far below a new

[4:49] salaried position or a permanent base

[4:52] pay adjustment uh in a year when the

[4:55] city is asking departments to find

[4:57] reductions. This is the responsible

[4:59] interim tool. uh it matches the cost uh

[5:03] to the discrete scope of the work and

[5:06] preserves flexibility should the

[5:08] workload change. Uh it is consistent

[5:10] with how the city compensates other

[5:12] distinct functions and/or

[5:14] responsibilities that fall outside of a

[5:16] position's base responsibilities. A

[5:19] stipend also preserves flexibility and

[5:22] avoids unnecessary costs going forward.

[5:25] Structured as a stipen, this function

[5:26] can be assigned to any qualified

[5:29] employee through a simple side letter.

[5:31] By contrast, writing these duties into

[5:34] the base job description of an ASME

[5:36] covered position would make the change a

[5:39] mandatory subject of collective

[5:41] bargaining requiring formal negotiation

[5:44] and associated legal costs. The stipend

[5:47] accomplishes the goal uh fairly

[5:50] compensating this discrete work and

[5:53] keeping the function assignable uh by

[5:56] the more efficient and more fiscally

[5:58] responsible route. Uh for the

[6:01] committee's convenience, I have attached

[6:03] a short memo reviewing how the city's

[6:05] 2019 compensation and classification

[6:08] study performed by the Collins Center

[6:10] addresses stipens for distinct board

[6:13] functions of this kind. I respectfully

[6:16] request that the committee and full

[6:18] council approve this appropriation so

[6:21] that the licensing board's uh function

[6:24] continues without interruption and the

[6:26] work is fairly compensated. I am glad to

[6:29] provide any further uh information the

[6:33] committee requires and to work with the

[6:35] council on the longer term question of

[6:36] how this function is best structured

[6:39] going forward. Respectfully submitted

[6:40] Salem Derby mayor city of East Hampton.

[6:44] » Great. Thank you. Uh, Chair Peak, and I

[6:46] just want to make a quick note for

[6:47] council here tonight. Um, just to be

[6:49] clear about what we are discussing

[6:51] tonight, the mayor's memo does reference

[6:53] a higher stipen amount, but just noting

[6:55] for the record and for us that the item

[6:57] before council tonight is the posted

[7:00] $1,200 transfer, and that is what any of

[7:03] our vote will be limited to. Um, if the

[7:05] administration wishes to pursue a larger

[7:07] amount, then that will need to come back

[7:08] to us as a separate properly noticed

[7:10] appropriation at a later date. So, we

[7:12] can approve this $1,200 amount tonight.

[7:14] We can reject it, we can approve less,

[7:16] but we cannot vote on a higher number

[7:18] tonight. So, I want to be really clear

[7:19] about that. And so, while the memo does

[7:21] advocate for more and for um additional

[7:24] uh discussion as chair peak mentioned,

[7:26] the higher figure is not before us

[7:28] tonight. Um councilors, are there any

[7:30] clarifying questions before we hear from

[7:32] public? So, I see a number of hands up.

[7:33] I did see um I did see Thank you, uh

[7:37] councelor Marque's hand first and I'll

[7:38] come back to this slide over after that.

[7:42] » Two questions. Um, I don't really care

[7:45] who answers it. Um, but when it mentions

[7:49] former clerk, are we is that um Evan

[7:51] Leau?

[7:54] » No.

[7:54] » Um, so in the memo that was emailed to

[7:57] us earlier today, it appears to be a

[7:59] slightly different memo than the one

[8:01] Cher Peak read into the record. Okay.

[8:03] » That language was not in the memo that

[8:05] was emailed to council. So I do not know

[8:07] the answer to that, but I know that Evan

[8:10] is here tonight. if you would like to um

[8:12] speak to that if he's able to

[8:19] » Um

[8:19] » And please just state your name and

[8:20] title.

[8:21] » Yeah. Evan Leau, assistant to the mayor,

[8:23] in licensing clerk. Um as far as the

[8:28] discrepancies between the two, my

[8:30] apologies if this may be an earlier

[8:32] version from what um was sent to you,

[8:34] but this is the version that I had uh

[8:36] that I wanted to make sure printed

[8:38] copies were provided of. Um so

[8:42] of that that would be the former clerk

[8:44] prior to myself.

[8:46] » Yeah.

[8:48] » Thank you. Um I saw hands over here. So

[8:51] I'll go to Sorry. Did you have another

[8:53] question?

[8:53] » I I did have another question. Okay. So

[8:56] when it says former clerk, it it is you

[9:00] when in this memo

[9:01] » When it is uh talking about the job

[9:05] responsibilities that was compiled by

[9:07] the former clerk that was not me.

[9:10] » Okay.

[9:10] » Yeah.

[9:11] » Okay.

[9:12] » Apologies. I know there has been a

[9:14] little confusion on that.

[9:15] » Um I have one more question. I know that

[9:18] the matter before us is the 1200 inter

[9:21] departmental transfer. I know there's

[9:23] been a lengthy discussion around the

[9:26] clerk. I know that Mayor Derby

[9:30] mentioned in this thing of $2,400. I

[9:33] know that we cannot go above that. My

[9:36] question is

[9:39] before we had the budget vote was the

[9:43] clerk stipen set at 1,500.

[9:47] » Yes, that is I believe that's correct.

[9:49] But chair P if you'd like to answer

[9:50] that.

[9:51] » Okay. Uh yes. So, prior to the budget

[9:55] vote, there was no clerk statement.

[9:57] » Gotcha.

[9:58] » Prior to the budget vote, there was no

[10:00] statement. And before that, um the the

[10:03] previous mayor's assistant had

[10:07] the licensing jobs as part of her job

[10:10] description and part of her total

[10:12] compensation. So there was no when when

[10:15] Mayor Derby won the election like the

[10:18] the way that that came into be is that

[10:20] at the time there was a question about

[10:23] how best to do that and and basically

[10:27] that Evan when he assumed that role was

[10:30] assuming that role in essentially a

[10:31] volunteer capacity for the first five

[10:33] months until we uh the the $1,500

[10:38] proposed stipend was included in the

[10:40] budget.

[10:42] Um, and also I think when we're talking

[10:43] about 2400 versus 1,200, I think that

[10:46] the distinction there is that there is

[10:48] currently a budgeted amount in the

[10:49] budget authorized to be spent of 1,200.

[10:52] This 1,200 would increase that to 2400

[10:56] total.

[10:56] » Understood. Thank you.

[10:58] » Thank you for that clarification. Um,

[11:00] councelor,

[11:00] » This is a clarification that I wanted to

[11:02] make too, just that it this would equal

[11:04] the 2400.

[11:07] » Uh, councelor Schmid,

[11:08] » Same thing. All right. Um, any other

[11:10] questions from counselors?

[11:13] » All right.

[11:14] » I'll just say councelor

[11:15] » I would like to have further comments,

[11:17] but I'll do that after.

[11:18] » Yeah, let's save the deliberation until

[11:19] after we go to the public, but thank you

[11:21] for that. Um, all right. So, if there

[11:22] are no other questions at the moment, I

[11:24] see none online. Um, I would like to

[11:27] open the floor to public comment on this

[11:29] matter. If there's any members of the

[11:31] public in the room or online who would

[11:34] like to um to speak, please go ahead and

[11:37] raise your hand if you are online or

[11:39] approach the podium if you are in the

[11:40] room.

[11:45] All right, I am seeing no public

[11:47] comment. So, going once, going twice.

[11:51] I'm going to go ahead and close public

[11:53] comment on this item. So, back to us

[11:54] counselors. Um any further discussion or

[11:57] deliberation? Uh, councelor Schmidt,

[11:59] would you like to go ahead at this

[12:01] point?

[12:01] » Uh, sure. Thank you, Madam Vice

[12:03] President. Um, as uh the uh individual

[12:07] who had reason uh originally brought

[12:09] forward this motion in finance, I

[12:11] thought it would make sense for me to to

[12:13] speak a little bit um especially because

[12:15] there were some uh questions and

[12:17] confusions from uh individuals who had

[12:20] watched those meetings as to how um our

[12:23] thinking had sort of played out. And um

[12:26] if I'm being entirely honest, a lot of

[12:27] my thinking has played out outside of

[12:29] meetings. And so um makes sense that it

[12:32] it would not have been totally clear. Uh

[12:34] and so I just wanted to offer some of

[12:36] that. Um

[12:38] uh to bring us back to um kind of the

[12:41] for me anyways, I'm only going to speak

[12:43] for myself. Um my original concerns

[12:46] around this particular budget line item

[12:48] um I brought up um at a previous council

[12:51] meeting and and first at the the finance

[12:53] uh budget hearing where this had um been

[12:56] discussed. Uh and at that time um my

[12:59] concern that I had brought forth uh was

[13:02] largely related to um how the the item

[13:06] was included within the budget. not so

[13:08] much the the number itself um but the

[13:12] fact that the the licensing board had

[13:13] sort of been singled out um within the

[13:16] the budget. Uh and so um I was already

[13:20] feeling a little um uncertain about this

[13:22] particular item. And so, uh, when it

[13:24] came time to, uh, have the finance

[13:27] committee discuss potential amendments

[13:29] to the budget, uh, and, um,

[13:33] a conversation, you know, began around

[13:35] this particular item and, um, a desire,

[13:39] uh, from, uh, councelor Denim had had

[13:42] been brought forth to to cons, you know,

[13:45] reconsider the amount. Um, I was

[13:47] interested in having that conversation

[13:49] because of some of that uncertainty that

[13:51] I was feeling. Um, as I've looked back

[13:54] on that, I think that this is an

[13:55] instance of, you know, uh, being a new

[13:58] counselor and and sort of learning the

[14:00] ropes. Um, and I just want to take

[14:03] responsibility for that because I think

[14:04] I can and should have approached that

[14:06] particular situation better. Uh, and I

[14:08] think if I were to do it all over again,

[14:11] um, rather than discussing, you know,

[14:14] small amounts, um, that ultimately, um,

[14:18] I felt weren't the right path forward.

[14:21] Um,

[14:22] I if I were to do it again, I would have

[14:25] uh, recommended that we zero out this

[14:28] line altogether and ask the mayor to

[14:30] come back for an appropriation um, from

[14:32] his office to properly fund this amount

[14:35] uh, or this uh, position. Um I think one

[14:37] of the things that we heard that we've

[14:39] heard um previously around this uh is

[14:43] that we had an individual who was um

[14:47] doing this work uh on a volunteer basis

[14:51] uh who and who was willing to do it for

[14:53] uh an extremely reduced rate um that

[14:56] everybody seems to agree was not enough

[14:58] money to adequately pay that position.

[15:01] Um, and when I heard um when I heard

[15:05] that being presented as um an argument

[15:09] for for moving forward as it was, um

[15:12] that didn't sit well with me either. Um

[15:14] that felt like we were taking advantage

[15:15] of um a person in who was in the city's

[15:19] employment. Um and so

[15:23] I'm actually very much pleased to

[15:25] consider the the higher amount here. Um

[15:28] and uh the information that's been

[15:30] provided um around why you know having

[15:34] this as a stipen um

[15:38] makes sense to me. Um and you know I

[15:41] appreciated that uh the the information

[15:43] that the auditor was also in favor of

[15:45] that approach. Um I think what continues

[15:49] to not sit quite right with me is again

[15:52] the way that this is built into the

[15:54] budget. Um every other stipend is uh

[15:57] under the responsibility of one

[15:59] department or another um under the

[16:01] responsibility of paid employees of the

[16:03] city. Uh and if we actually look at the

[16:06] job description that the mayor sent to

[16:08] us uh along with the memo um it states

[16:11] that this position is under the general

[16:14] supervision of the mayor or the mayor's

[16:16] designate. Uh and so it continues to be

[16:19] my opinion that this belongs in the

[16:22] mayor's office budget. Uh and it is my

[16:27] desire and intention to next year um

[16:31] revisit this and um I appreciate in the

[16:34] mayor's memo uh his stated desire to um

[16:38] work with us to to figure out the best

[16:40] path forward. Um and so I want to make

[16:44] that that known. I think um it it it

[16:50] wasn't a good look to I think you know

[16:52] take it out of of that particular

[16:54] section of the budget and to then claim

[16:58] savings from the cuts that were made to

[17:00] the position that was doing it. It

[17:02] didn't feel honest to me. Um, and

[17:07] as we look at this, um, again, I think

[17:11] it's important that that a department is

[17:14] responsible for this, uh, and given the

[17:16] amount of money that they bring in that

[17:18] we've heard about. Um, I and the the

[17:23] interactions that this individual has

[17:24] with the state and all of the forward-

[17:27] facing work that they do, um, I think it

[17:29] really makes sense that it's coming out

[17:30] of the mayor's office. And so, um, all

[17:32] that to say, um, I'm not looking to hold

[17:34] up this vote by any means, um, or, you

[17:37] know, the the ability for us to move

[17:39] forward with this position. And so, I'm

[17:41] in favor of voting in favor of this

[17:43] tonight. Um, but I want to provide some

[17:45] of that context and to provide some

[17:47] information about my future intentions

[17:49] about how I think we should be

[17:50] approaching this particular position.

[17:53] And that's kind of all I got.

[17:55] » Thank you, Councelor Schmidt. Um,

[17:56] Councelor Smith, online, I see your hand

[17:58] raised.

[18:00] Um thank you. I also wanted to give my

[18:04] perspective as a sociologist uh

[18:07] particularly a sociologist that has

[18:09] looked at uh gender and work patterns.

[18:13] And one of the things that was really

[18:16] notable to me when we were talking about

[18:19] this was that it was being reduced from

[18:23] a salary rather to a stipend. And in

[18:28] many jobs which are assistant jobs,

[18:30] traditionally women have been shortch

[18:33] changed with an increase in the salary

[18:36] which would also benefit the retirement

[18:39] benefits and other you know um domino

[18:44] effects type of issues. And so 1,200

[18:48] and500 both felt too much of a low a low

[18:53] ball number to feel comfortable doing

[18:56] that. And I hope the clerk can

[18:59] understand that my position is as a

[19:02] woman who has studied a lot of these

[19:04] issues and I felt that it was an

[19:06] injustice in the way that it was moving

[19:08] forward at that level. I'm grateful that

[19:12] it's moved up to 2400. Um hopefully in

[19:15] the future if it deserves more

[19:17] compensation than that. Um I'm very open

[19:20] and hopeful to have that conversation.

[19:22] So, I just wanted to say that that my

[19:25] reservations really were from the

[19:28] context of um what has traditionally

[19:31] been um deemed as women's work in many

[19:34] assistant roles and making sure that we

[19:37] were not creating bias in how we were

[19:40] looking at how to compensate that. So, I

[19:43] will be voting yes for this with the

[19:45] hopes that in the future we will have

[19:47] more discussions on how to properly um

[19:50] and fairly compensate this position

[19:52] since it's a very um heavily um

[19:56] warranted position with a lot of work.

[19:59] Thank you.

[20:00] » Thank you, Councelor Smith. Um,

[20:02] councelor Krinski,

[20:04] » I uh would like to thank uh councelor

[20:06] Smith for the sociological perspective

[20:09] uh and

[20:12] councelor Schmidt for his in-depth

[20:14] analysis of and thinking and reviewing

[20:18] and careful thought on the subject.

[20:21] I have given much reflection to the

[20:23] matter myself and I frankly am sorry

[20:26] that we've spent this much time over

[20:30] what was originally a $300 cut and I

[20:33] think that's uh insulting to anyone who

[20:37] works for this city and I would like to

[20:40] extend my apologies to that individual

[20:44] whoever that may be regardless. Uh I

[20:47] think we all we all understand that

[20:49] whenever we have issues we try to deal

[20:53] with it as a position and not a person.

[20:56] It is a position. It is a that and

[20:58] that's what we're working with.

[21:01] Insults are not what we want to do here

[21:04] in this council. Uh

[21:07] with regard to how we move forward,

[21:11] I think our path was cleared before when

[21:13] we voted with a split vote. four of us

[21:16] voted in favor and four against uh the

[21:19] cut. Uh so at this point it seems quite

[21:24] clear with what the mayor's lit laid out

[21:27] that this position is deserving. And if

[21:29] you haven't been listening and tuned in,

[21:32] I don't think you understand what's been

[21:34] going on with the city and with the

[21:36] licenses that have been in question and

[21:38] held up. Uh I and I I know that many of

[21:42] you do. It's important work for the

[21:45] city. I again will vote yes and extend

[21:48] my apologies to the individual and I

[21:50] would hope that my fellow colleagues are

[21:52] doing.

[21:54] » Councelor Januk.

[21:56] » Thank you, Madam Vice President. Um, so

[21:57] I just have a couple things to say. Uh,

[21:59] I wasn't there for this original full

[22:01] council vote. Um, and if I was, we might

[22:04] not have been here um, doing this again.

[22:07] Um, but I do I will say that I

[22:09] appreciated the extra time to really

[22:11] think about this issue more deeply and

[22:12] see how it's all played out. Um, I think

[22:16] my main thoughts are um I definitely

[22:19] agree with the other members of the

[22:20] council in feeling like this is work

[22:23] that needs to be compensated fairly. um

[22:25] and that given the importance in in um

[22:30] the litany of things that this uh

[22:32] position needs to to handle um it makes

[22:34] sense uh both to to compensate them

[22:36] fairly through a siphon um at least in

[22:39] this structure and then also raise that

[22:40] site. I was happy to see that as well.

[22:43] Um, I I do think that there are fair

[22:46] questions about how this position is

[22:48] structured and I think that that's a

[22:49] separate conversation and um I think us

[22:52] as council as we know we have very

[22:54] limited tools in terms of

[22:57] numbers in the budget and we can only um

[23:00] we can only cut um and I think that that

[23:03] was I personally feel like that was the

[23:04] wrong tool to use in this situation um

[23:06] to exercise our oversight over this

[23:08] position if we have concerns. I I think

[23:10] that council has a lot of authority to

[23:12] to potentially weigh into this using

[23:14] ordinance. Um and we should pursue that

[23:17] in the future, but I I think that we're

[23:18] talk if we're talking about this budget,

[23:20] the question is does this person deserve

[23:22] to be paid for the work that they're

[23:24] doing? And and I fully agree um that

[23:26] they do. So I will be voting yes to

[23:28] this. Um and yeah, I think that's all I

[23:31] have.

[23:33] » Councelor Marque,

[23:34] » Thank you madame vice president. Um,

[23:38] I originally made the motion to

[23:40] reinstate the 300 back to the budget. I

[23:43] disagreed with the finances committee's

[23:46] recommendation at the time of cutting

[23:48] 300 from

[23:50] the position. Um, I

[23:54] agree with councelor Schmidt with there

[23:56] maybe and councelor J. McQuade that

[24:00] there maybe should be a fresh look of

[24:02] how the licensing clerk is structured

[24:05] under the mayor's budget. I also want to

[24:07] echo um councelor Kisinski's

[24:12] concerns. I I believe the optics are not

[24:16] great for council and I believe we

[24:17] dropped the ball on this. Um and I also

[24:20] want to extend um an apology. Excuse me.

[24:23] Point of order, council marquee.

[24:25] veering away from the

[24:27] » I I I I appreciate what you what you're

[24:28] saying, but we're what's at hand right

[24:30] here is a $1,200 appropriation.

[24:32] » I want to extend my apologies to Mr.

[24:36] Leau as well. I don't believe that he

[24:39] was spoken about fairly at our

[24:41] » That again, Council Mar um I appreciate

[24:44] that and I share those feelings, but

[24:47] let's keep the matter to the agenda item

[24:49] at hand, which is should we transfer

[24:51] this money from the reserve fund to the

[24:53] stipen? I will be voting yes.

[24:55] » Thank you.

[24:57] » Councelor Newton,

[24:59] » Um I just want to confirm what uh

[25:02] Councelor Smith and Councelor Smith each

[25:05] said. Um I think both of those are two

[25:08] of the points that I was really thinking

[25:10] about. I will be voting yes, but I I

[25:12] agree that this is something we should

[25:14] consider going forward, the way that

[25:16] it's structured and how it does affect

[25:17] retirement um and all of that kind of

[25:19] stuff.

[25:23] any other questions, comments.

[25:27] All right. So, I think um just to add in

[25:29] my own uh thoughts as well, um I echo a

[25:33] lot of what has been shared here tonight

[25:35] with regards to this particular

[25:37] transfer. Um it's unfortunate the mayor

[25:39] is not here tonight. Um and we don't, I

[25:41] believe, have our um any other finance

[25:43] folks online, but I am curious for

[25:45] future discussion around funding this

[25:47] out of the reserve fund as opposed to

[25:49] another option. So, that's a curiosity I

[25:51] have. I don't know if um you have any

[25:53] insights to that, Chairp.

[25:54] » Sure, I can weigh in. Normally, this

[25:56] sort of thing would happen out of free

[25:57] cash. Free cash has not been certified

[25:59] yet for this year. So, you usually these

[26:01] sorts of one-time transfers that are

[26:03] done. We usually don't do any of those

[26:05] between the start of the fiscal year and

[26:06] the certification of free cash. We do

[26:09] have reserves for when things like this

[26:11] do come up. We did move some money into

[26:13] reserves during this last cycle, you

[26:16] know, for when stuff like this comes up.

[26:19] So, like I don't think that it's

[26:20] something that we would generally

[26:21] consider best practice, but um we don't

[26:24] have any free cash. All the free cash

[26:27] rolled over, right? Or we we we either

[26:30] spent it or we put it into reserves and

[26:32] we won't get any more free cash until

[26:33] it's certified, which I'm being told

[26:36] should be hopefully in the fall. Um but

[26:39] in the meantime, it's uh I I don't have

[26:41] any um objection to the funding source.

[26:44] I don't I'm not aware of a better

[26:46] funding source that we could use at this

[26:49] moment without waiting into the fall

[26:52] which would have serious fiscal

[26:54] consequences.

[26:55] » Thank you very much. Appreciate that

[26:56] clarification. Um all right. So if there

[26:59] is no further discussion or deliberation

[27:02] then um I will take a motion to make

[27:07] this transfer. Chair Peak.

[27:09] » All right. I'll make the following

[27:10] request in the form of a motion. Request

[27:13] is hereby made for the approval of the

[27:14] following appropriation. Amount

[27:16] requested, $1,200 to be transferred from

[27:19] reserve fund, $1,200 to be transferred

[27:22] to licensing board stipen, $1,200.

[27:26] The amount requested will be used for

[27:27] the following purpose. Annual stipend

[27:29] for licensing clerk LLA.

[27:33] » Second.

[27:34] » Great. I have a motion and a second to

[27:35] transfer $1,200 from the reserve fund to

[27:38] the licensing board siphon for annual

[27:40] siphon for licensing clerk LLA. Any

[27:43] further discussion?

[27:45] » Seeing none. So Miriam

[27:46] » JP Quisinski. Hi

[27:48] » Tom P.

[27:48] » Hi

[27:49] » Tamara Smith.

[27:51] » Hi.

[27:51] » Jonathan Schmidt.

[27:52] » Hi.

[27:53] » Amanda Newton.

[27:54] » Hi.

[27:54] » Nathan Marquee.

[27:55] » Hi.

[27:56] » Cam Jamrock McUade.

[27:57] » Hi.

[27:57] » Felicia Jazzic.

[27:59] » I

[28:00] All right. Motion passes. Um. All right.

[28:03] All right. So, I will take a motion to

[28:04] close the public hearing at this time.

[28:07] » Second.

[28:07] » All right. I have a motion in the second

[28:08] to close the public hearing. Any further

[28:09] discussion? Seeing none. Miam.

[28:12] » Tom Peak.

[28:13] » Hi.

[28:13] » Tamara Smith.

[28:15] » Hi.

[28:15] » Jonathan Schmidt.

[28:16] » Hi.

[28:17] » Amanda Newton.

[28:18] » Hi.

[28:18] » Nathan Marquee.

[28:19] » Hi.

[28:19] » Caam Jam McQuade.

[28:21] » Hi.

[28:21] » Felicia Jazzic.

[28:22] » Hi.

[28:23] » JP Guazinski.

[28:24] » Hi.

[28:24] » All right. Motion passes. Um, we next

[28:27] have on our agenda public speak. So, for

[28:30] any members of the public in the room or

[28:32] online, this is your opportunity to

[28:33] speak to us about any items not related

[28:35] to this public hearing that we just

[28:36] concluded. Um, anyone who wishes to

[28:40] speak about the public hearing, um,

[28:41] unfortunately that is closed at this

[28:43] time. So, if folks would like to speak,

[28:46] please feel free to approach the podium

[28:47] or raise your hand online.

[28:51] All right. I am seeing no one looking to

[28:54] speak. So,

[28:56] » Move to close.

[28:57] » Uh, yes. Yes, I will take a motion to

[28:59] adjurnn.

[28:59] » Move to adjurnn.

[29:00] » Yes.

[29:00] » Second.

[29:01] » I have a motion and a second to adjurnn

[29:02] the meeting. Miam.

[29:04] » Uh Tamara Smith.

[29:06] » I.

[29:06] » Jonathan Schmidt.

[29:07] » Hi.

[29:08] » Amanda Newton.

[29:09] » Hi.

[29:09] » Nathan Marquee.

[29:10] » Hi.

[29:10] » Cam Jamrock McUade.

[29:12] » Hi.

[29:12] » Felicia Jazz.

[29:13] » Hi.

[29:14] » JPinski. Hi.

[29:15] » Tom Peak.

[29:16] » Hi.

[29:17] » All right. Meeting is adjourned. Thank

[29:19] you everyone.

Easthampton City Council 8/12/2026

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