Newton City Council - January 20, 2026

Meeting Details

• Governing Body: Newton City Council
• Meeting Type: Regular Meeting
• Date: January 20, 2026
• Location: City Hall Council Chambers / Zoom

Attendees

• Councilors Present: President John Oliver, Vice President David A. Kalis, Tarik J. Lucas, Andrea W. Kelley, R. Lisle Baker, Joshua Krintzman, Rebecca Walker Grossman, Julia Malakie, Susan Albright, Martha Bixby, Randy Block, Brittany Hume Charm, Cyrus Dahmubed, Stephen Farrell, Rena Getz, Brian Golden, Lisa Gordon, Maria Scibelli Greenberg, Julie Irish, Alison M. Leary, Sean Roche, Jacob Silber (online), Pamela Wright.

Committee Report

• Item 13-26: Request to amend a Special Permit at 14 Elliott Street.
  • Action: Approved by a vote of 8-0.
• Public Hearing Request: Councilor Kelley requested a public hearing for Item 58-26 to be set for January 27, 2026.

Committee Report

• Economic Development Oversight: Request for ordinance amendments to change oversight of the Economic Development Commission and transition functions to the Mayor's office.
  • Action: Approved by a vote of 8-0.
• Late Filed Items: The Council approved a suspension of the rules to allow the following late-filed items:
  1. Item 59-26: Presentation and report of the Newton Housing Priorities Task Force.
  2. Item 57-26: Request for discussion and ordinance amendments regarding two-dimensional controls aligning use and zoning.

Committee Report

• Item 32-26: Reorganization plan to create a new Arts and Culture Department.
  • Action: Approved unanimously by a vote of 7-0.
• Item 25-26: Appointment of Merrill Kessler as the Director of Newton's Arts and Culture Department.
  • Action: Approved unanimously by a vote of 8-0.

Committee Report

• The committee approved several auto-related licenses by unanimous 8-0 votes:
  • Item 18-26: Renewal of public auto license.
  • Item 37-26, 36-26, 38-26, 39-26: Class 2 Auto Dealers Licenses.
  • Item 19-26: Class 1 Auto Dealer's License.

Committee Report

• Item 12-26: Eversource Petition for Grant of Location on Rumpert Avenue.
  • Action: Item was held.

Discussion on Mayor's Office Funding

• Item 24-26: Request for authorization to transfer $300,000 to fund new positions in the Mayor's office.
• Financial Breakdown: The $300,000 transfer is sourced from:
  • $100,000 from the City Clerk’s office (Elections line items).
  • $100,000 from the Human Resources Department (unfilled vacancies).
  • $100,000 from the DPW Street Division (unfilled vacancies).
• Purpose of Funds: To fund two Full-Time Equivalents (FTEs)—a Chief Community Services Officer and a Chief of Staff—and to provide for a transition overlap for the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) position due to the upcoming retirement of Ms. Lemieux.
• Key Testimony: Councilor Grossman shared insights from COO Josh Morse, noting that the COO role is currently overextended:

  "The COO being a singular person with management responsibility for essentially every department other than the financial services department and the public schools is really triple scheduled every hour of the day."

• Council Discussion:
  • Councilor Block: Noted that while he supports the Mayor's staffing needs, the annualized cost of these positions is approximately $600,000, which warrants careful consideration in the broader budget process.
  • Councilor Albright: Questioned the availability of funds in HR; Councilor Grossman clarified that HR has had significant vacancies (down from four to two recently).
  • Councilor Kelley: Expressed concern regarding taking $100,000 from the Elections budget, citing potential special elections in the coming year.
• Action: The item was approved by a unanimous voice vote (following a 24-0 roll call on the general committee reports).