Town moves closer to inclusion in Group Insurance Commission

By Joseph Domelowicz Jr.

The Winthrop Town Council on Tuesday night adopted a key state law that will allow the town to conduct coalition bargaining with the town’s employees unions and retirees. Its  main goal is the town will attempt to reach agreement with those unions so the town can purchase employee/retiree health insurance through the Group Insurance Commission (GIC), at an estimated cost savings of between $600,000 and $800,000 beginning next fiscal year.
Town Manager Rick White told the council negotiations have been ongoing with the town’s unions separately for some time, but in order for any agreements to advance to the next step, the town is required by legislation to enter into coalition bargaining first.
The council voted unanimously to adopt Section 19 of Chapter 32 B of the Massachusetts General Laws, which gives the municipality the right to coalition bargaining.
White said negotiations have advanced to the point that a coalition agreement is possible before the October 1 deadline for filing with the state.
If the town is successful in getting 70 percent of the bargaining units representing the insured population to agree to utilizing the GIC, the town could save between $600,000 and $800,000 based on what was spent on insurance premiums in the current 2008 fiscal year.
“I think its really important to recognize all of the hard work that has gone into these discussions to this point,” said council President Thomas Reilly after the meeting. “The town manager and the union representatives from all of the unions have been working very hard on this issue for some time, and if they are successful, Winthrop would be one of the first communities in the state to take advantage of the new legislation and the savings that it could mean.”
Reilly said with the October 1st filing date approaching rapidly, only 20 other communities have approached the state about providing insurance through GIC, but none of them have finalized such plans as yet.

One contested race, one unfilled seat on November ballot

By Joseph Domelowicz Jr.

When Winthrop voters head to the polls in November for the town’s first municipal election in two years, there will be 13 seats up for election, and 13 names on the ballot. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean there candidates for all of the open seats.
In the race for Town Council president, two candidates have turned in nomination papers and will appear on the ballot, incumbent council President Thomas Reilly and Brian Perrin, a former selectman and veteran Winthrop police lieutenant.
For nearly every other seat on the ballot there is just one candidate, except for a two-year seat on the Library Board of Trustees, which has no candidate.
It will be interesting to see how Perrin will deal with his candidacy, since the town’s charter doesn’t allow town employees to hold elective office. If he wins, Perrin may be forced to resign his position in the Winthrop Police Department in order to serve the two-year term.
Here is a list of the other candidates, the offices they are seeking and the terms of office for each. All are incumbents:
Councilor At-Large, Philip Boncore, four-year term
Precinct 2 Councilor James Letterie, four-year term
Precinct 4 Councilor Jeanne Maggio, four-year term
Precinct 6 Councilor Linda Calla, four-year term
School Committee, Patricia Milano, four-year term
School Committee Gus Martino, four-year term
School Committee Mary Lou Osborne, four-year term
Winthrop Housing Board, Frank Ferrara, four-year term
Library Trustee, James Matarazzo, four-year term
Library Trustee, John Tranfaglia, four-year term
Library Trustee, Stephen Dalton, four-year term
Library Trustee, vacant, two-year term (to fill vacant seat)

By Joseph Domelowicz Jr.

Town Manager Richard White announced last week that Winthrop Police Sergeant Terrence Delehanty had been named to serve as Acting Assistant Police Chief, fulfilling a pledge he had made to Chief of Police David Goldstein to create the new position and potentially setting up a showdown with Town Councilors who have questioned the need for the new administrative position in the town’s police department and White’s authority to create it.
Delehanty assumed the position of Acting Assistant Police Chief on Monday, September 13, 2007. According to White, the creation of the position of Assistant Police Chief adds a critical visible leadership presence during the off shift hours (any time that is not Monday through Friday 8 A.M. to 5 P.M).
In making the announcement, both White and Goldstein discussed Delehanty’s qualifications, long ties to the community and personal attributes, which they used to make the decision.
“Terry has been indispensable to me as Chief” said David Goldstein.  “He is a thoughtful, innovative and creative problem solver.  His work product has been flawless in his career here. The personnel on his shift are always prepared and they produce.  His interview was a terrific reminder to me as to his strengths as a leader and a manager as well as to what he has been able to accomplish in his career as a law enforcement professional in Winthrop. I feel very fortunate that he is willing to perform at this next level of law enforcement and am certain the citizens of Winthrop will see immediate results in the performance of the Police Department as a result of his appointment.”
Delehanty is a lifelong resident of the Winthrop, a graduate of Winthrop High School and the University of Massachusetts, where he majored in criminal justice and was licensed to practice law in Massachusetts in 2000, after graduating from the Massachusetts School of Law.
White also said that Delehanty’s appointment followed an extensive internal interviewing process in which four candidates were interviewed to fill the Assistant Chief’s position. Police Chief David Goldstein interviewed all four candidates.  Candidates responded to a series of multi layered questions focusing on leadership, strategic planning for police departments, operations management, communication, supervisory style, priority setting as well as questions regarding some of the more technical aspects of law enforcement.
“Chief Goldstein reported that all four candidates acquitted themselves well during the interviews, but that Delehanty’s interview and performance as a police officer and police sergeant distinguished him as a leader best capable of helping him make the necessary changes that will help him make the Winthrop Police Department one of the highest performing departments in the greater Boston area,” said White.
“Long term, I anticipate that it will take more than 12 months for the Massachusetts Civil Service Commission to authorize the permanent creation of the Assistant Police Chief position,” added Goldstein. “Once authorized to create the position, a competitive process will be created and an assessment center selection process will implemented to select a permanent full time Assistant Police Chief.”
During an open meeting on August 14, several Town Councilors questioned White about Goldstein’s decision to remain as Police Chief and White’s decision to create the Assistant Chief position.
Councilors Joseph Ferrino, Linda Calla and Phil Boncore peppered White about the need for a Assistant Police Chief, when the town was struggling to put more patrol officers on the street. Additionally, they questioned White’s ability to create the position without the approval of the Town Council itself, referring to the move as a reorganization of the department.
However, White told the councilors that he saw the move more as a restructuring of the department’s existing personnel, a function that was in his job description as Town Manager, and informed the council that he had checked with Town Counsel Robert Noonan as well, before deciding on the new position.