Mary Byrne
In an effort to streamline services, the town has proposed the creation of a Human Services Department, bringing together the Recreation Department, Council on Aging, and Veterans Services.
The proposal, however, has been met with concern from members of the Council on Aging.
“It was laid out without our knowledge or consent,” said Joel Semuels, who serves on the Council on Aging board. “The town has the ability, of course, to structure itself; I just think people should have been made aware of it and debated whether it was a good idea or not.”
The Council on Aging plans to appear before the Select Board to discuss the matter at a meeting next month.
In the spring, Town Administrator Patrice Garvin explained at a Select Board meeting that the proposed reorganization involves identifying redundancies in administrative roles in the Recreation Department and Council on Aging and merging them so one office administrator serves both town departments. Each department, however, will have dedicated programming personnel and other relevant staffing to maintain operations.
“The Council on Aging feels strongly that they should have a role in the process, and while I respect the COA’s desire to be involved, I feel strongly that my view for this department and what is needed is best for the town,” Garvin told the Select Board members, this week.
She said after meeting with the Council on Aging, “there is still fundamental disagreement as to this, in terms of the town administrator’s roles and the COA.” Garvin noted the Town Administrator Act of 2014 Chapter 17, which outlines the Belmont town administrator’s role in hiring and managing staff.
“[The Act] is what we submitted to the Legislature, and this is what the Legislature approved,” said Select Board Chair Elizabeth Dionne. “And as I usually do, I feel pretty compelled to follow state statute and local statute.”
In addition to creating efficiencies, the proposal has “clear lines of report” and improves customer service and programming potential. According to Select Board member Roy Epstein, the reconfiguration aims to address issues that have arisen from resignations and typical turnover in otherwise “thinly staffed departments.”
As part of the reconfiguration, which Garvin proposed to the Select Board in May, the Recreation Department administration will join the Council on Aging at the Beech Street Center.
In May, Garvin emphasized that an existing memorandum of understanding, in which the senior center is granted priority in the use of the building, will be adhered to under the reorganization. If both departments need the building at the same time for programming, preference will always be given to the Council on Aging, she said.
Garvin has appeared before the Council on Aging board twice since the meeting in May, said Semuels. But during those meetings, he said, it was presented as a fait accompli or something already done.
“We still have not received any notice or [information on] how this would save money for the town,” Semuels said, “and what expertise the persons in the new position would have regarding elder services.”
Monday, Garvin said the intention was always to use excess funds to support senior services and programming. She also acknowledged that elements of the plan have been moving forward on a faster timeline than anticipated.
“Unexpectedly, we had some people vacate positions on the Council on Aging side and the recreation side,” Garvin said. “Looking at the re-organizational structure and not looking to rehire into the old structure, because we’re moving forward, we decided to implement those positions into the new structure.”
Peg Callanan, another member of the Council on Aging board, echoed similar concerns about the lack of consultation with the board.
“I don’t see a lot of compatibility between recreation, which is a great resource in the town, and the seniors,” she added. “Brandon Fitts has become the interim director of Council on Aging and is doing a wonderful job. It seems though that he will have two full time jobs, in a sense, if he remains director of Council on Aging and the Recreation Department. Any hiring below Brandon really should have some people who are qualified, have training, or education in working directly with seniors.”
Callanan expressed concern, in particular for whether reorganization could mean a loss of services.
“The programming is great,” she said. “A lot of people come in who are very mobile, who are interested in crafts or who are interested in book clubs or movies. I’m talking about the kinds of services — for example, older people, like myself, who need to be informed a little bit more about some of the scams seniors can get themselves involved in.”
Maryann Scali, also a member of the Council on Aging, said that for her, the most important thing now is ensuring education and understanding of what’s going on.
“We like input when we hire people,” she said. “Although I guess that’s not the process of what the town does — I understand that to a point, but if someone is going to be hiring in our area … we should know a little about them.”
Garvin said she has heard the concerns of the Council on Aging and will take them under advisement as the town moves forward. At the same time, a vote by the Council on Aging wouldn’t stop the implementation of the plan.
“Ultimately,” she said, “a lot of the things we’re doing is really to address the structure of the department to have it run much more efficiently so we can provide a better service.”