In the six months since voters in Framingham elected their first mayor and city council, the city has witnessed some power struggles as elected officials try to stake out their turf in the new government.
Dan Houde, who voted for Framingham to become a city last year, has sensed the tension between Mayor Yvonne Spicer and the council from the sidelines.
“You got to pick your battles, and I think that takes time, figuring out which battles that you can get done quickly and which battles you’re going to take over time and make your statement,” Houde said.
Since they took office in January, Spicer and the council have bumped heads over budget and personnel issues. Behind some of the problems are a less than clear city charter and the presence on the 11-member council of several members who backed Spicer’s opponent in the November election.
Spicer said the strained relationship started when she hired two staff aides during her first month in office, but the council would only let her keep one.
“Based on my understanding and my legal counsel advice, as long as I didn’t increase the budget, I could hire them. I was informed that there was money in the budget to hire them, which I did," she said. "So from that point on that became a bone of contention with the council.”
Council President Dennis Giombetti said council members believed they had the authority to approve the new jobs.
“We asked the mayor to add those positions to the classification plan, and that’s where the contention became of her unwillingness to do that,” Giombetti said.
The tension then rose from that episode. Council members, who include four former selectmen, have been at odds with the mayor over other money issues. One example was the purchase of a car for city-related business. Another was the council slashing $290,000 from the $1.2 million dollars proposed budget for the mayor’s office. With some of that money, Spicer wanted to hire a diversity officer for $100,000 a year.
“It was very disappointing,” Spicer said. “When we don’t have someone spending their day looking at this issue, it's very hard to evaluate it from an objective point of view."
Giombetti acknowledged the growing pains.
“You know, we are both finding our roles and responsibilities, and the charter set up a checks and balances,” he said. “So we want to make sure that each of our roles are respected and our authorities are respected.”
Struggles aside, Spicer touted six police promotions, including the first black officer to deputy chief in Framingham’s history, and a lawsuit against drug makers to recoup money spent fighting the opioid crisis. Both decisions were within her power, Spicer said, but she had the council’s support. They’ve also come together at other times.
“We signed a joint resolution that we would actively fight against guns in schools, you know, people having assault weapons,” Spicer said. “And that was something that I felt positive about.”
Giombetti cited another example of collaboration.
“We’re in the middle now of creating our own ordinances for the marijuana retail,” he said. “We have a task force that is of city councilors and as well as members of her administration. So we hope that before the summer's out that we have a good ordinance that we can be proud of.”
Houde said he hasn't seen the new government accomplish that much so far, but he is hopeful and willing to wait a little while longer for the mayor and council to work things out.
“I think it takes about a year. Give her a chance,” he said.
Spicer said her office should have the last word at the end of the day. Giombetti said councilors provide much-needed checks and balances. Both agree compromise is key to moving Framingham forward.
