PUBLIC SESSION
MEETING CONVENED
Acting Committee Chair and Commission Executive Director David A. Wilson called the meeting to order at 10:01 a.m. Also in attendance was Committee member and Commission Chair Maria J. Krokidas. Committee Chair Wilson and Chair Krokidas participated remotely.
REMOTE PARTICIPATION
Committee Chair Wilson announced that the meeting would take place remotely pursuant to Governor Baker’s Order Suspending Certain Provisions of the Open Meeting Law, G.L. c. 30A, § 20, dated March 12, 2020. He stated that members of the public had been invited to watch and listen to the public session via Zoom Webinar. Committee Chair Wilson noted that all votes at the meeting would be taken by roll call.
APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES
On the motion of Committee Chair Wilson, seconded by Chair Krokidas, the Committee voted 2-0 to waive the reading and approve the public session minutes of the November 21, 2019 Committee meeting.
| Committee Chair Wilson | Yes |
| Committee Member Krokidas | Yes |
DISCUSSION
Fiscal Year 2021 Spending
At Committee Chair Wilson’s request, Government Affairs Officer Robert Milt and Chief Financial Officer Alice Wu provided an update on the Commission’s Fiscal Year 2021 spending.
Mr. Milt noted that the appropriations and budget process has been challenging and irregular during Fiscal Year 2021 with five more months remaining in the current fiscal year. He explained that the Commission typically submits its maintenance budget request to the Executive Office for Administration and Finance in November before submitting it to the House and Senate Committees on Ways and Means.
Mr. Milt said that the Governor vetoed several budget provisions that the legislature passed in December 2020, including the Commission’s maintenance and expansion requests. He added that the legislature overrode the Governor’s vetoes to fully meet the Commission’s original $2,583,964 funding request, which is $191,845 more than the amount received in Fiscal Year 2020. Mr. Milt described how the Commission’s budget from Fiscal Year 2010 to 2015 stayed about the same as the demand for services grew. He reported that only last year, the Commission’s budget exceeded the inflation-adjusted amount that it received twenty years ago in Fiscal Year 2001.
Mr. Milt said that this requested higher level of funding enabled the Commission to hire a Special Investigator and an Assistant Agency Counsel. He noted that the Special Investigator position was filled in January, and the Assistant Agency Counsel position was posted with the goal of filling the position by March.
Mr. Milt reported that the Enforcement Division has four attorney positions and the Legal Division has six attorney positions. He explained that since the Enforcement Division was short-staffed, the Commission sought and received funding to restore the four attorney positions in Fiscal Year 2019. He added that the Commission will have 28 staff members in total after an Assistant Agency Counsel is hired. Mr. Milt said that the Commission is optimistic that it can reduce the complaint backlog and shorten the duration of investigations with additional staff in the Enforcement Division.
Committee Chair Wilson said that the Assistant Agency Counsel position is a newly created position to support key functions in both the Legal and Enforcement Divisions. Chair Krokidas asked for an explanation of how the separation of Legal Division and Enforcement Division staff functions would apply to the new position. Committee Chair Wilson replied that the attorney could provide advice in the Legal Division and could investigate cases in the Enforcement Division but could not investigate any cases relating to any advice he or she had given. He said the attorney could investigate and prosecute cases as long as he or she was not involved in legal advisor work on the case. He noted that the Assistant Agency Counsel would be supervised by General Counsel/Legal Division Chief Eve Slattery to ensure that their duties for each division would not overlap.
Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Request
Mr. Milt said that the Commission will request a maintenance budget of $2,666,362 for Fiscal Year 2022, an increase of approximately $83,000, or 3.2%, over the current year, to provide the same level of services that it provided in Fiscal Year 2021. He said the budget request would be submitted to the House and Senate Committees on Ways and Means on February 4, 2021.
Chair Krokidas asked whether the Commission was advised to submit a more modest budget request for Fiscal Year 2022. Mr. Milt explained that the Commission received guidance to be more conservative since Fiscal Year 2021 was a financially challenging year as the Commonwealth dipped into its rainy day fund. Committee Chair Wilson said that the Commission submitted a reasonable request based on state revenue projections. He said that while the Commission can consider a budget expansion request at a later time, the Commission must be resourceful with the current funding that it received from the legislature. Mr. Milt mentioned that the Commission will continue to work with the House and Senate Ways and Means Committees and the Executive Office for Administration and Finance to discuss the ongoing needs of the Commission.
Ms. Wu provided a brief explanation of each category of spending in Fiscal Year 2021. She explained that employee compensation amounted to approximately 86.7% of spending in Fiscal Year 2021. Ms. Wu noted that the percentage ultimately depends on employee turnover, which has been historically low due to competitive compensation. Chair Krokidas asked whether overall expenditures have grown since Commission staff are working from home. Ms. Wu said that Information Technology spending increased by approximately $90,000 to purchase the necessary hardware and software for staff to facilitate hybrid work.
Committee Chair Wilson said that he hopes to provide a safe and comfortable office environment. Chair Krokidas asked whether the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance was working to improve the air quality in the office. Committee Chair Wilson said that while they have reportedly improved air circulation, the Commission purchased several air filters for the office to compensate for the aging infrastructure. He noted that the Commission office will not be fully safe until the vaccination rollout is complete.
The consensus of the Committee was to support the Commission’s Fiscal Year 2022 budget request.
ADJOURN MEETING
At 10:52 a.m., on the motion of Committee Chair Wilson, seconded by Chair Krokidas, the Committee voted 2-0 to adjourn.
| Committee Chair Wilson | Yes |
| Committee Member Krokidas | Yes |
Respectfully submitted,
Arthur Xia
Program Coordinator