Several City Councilors want to see a renewed effort from the city when it comes to hiring Chelsea residents for municipal jobs.
The city charter requires that municipal employees live in Chelsea, but the city manager can request a waiver if there is not a qualified applicant for a position who resides in the city.
Councilor-at-Large Damali Vidot raised some continued concerns she has had about the process when the council was asked to approve a residency waiver for an E-911 operator at Monday night’s council meeting. Vidot noted that there was a bilingual applicant for the position from Chelsea who was not selected for the job.
“I do understand that we give out waivers if someone meets the qualifications or has better skills for a position, but for too long, these positions, and particularly for the 911 office, have been reserved for some reason for people outside of the city,” said Vidot. “It doesn’t really require a lot of training in order to be able to do that position, it’s really just a specific skill set. I’m really disappointed that we are bypassing not only someone who lives in Chelsea, he graduated from Chelsea High School, but he also speaks Spanish when that is something we are looking for in that office.”
Vidot said she was sure the applicant who was granted a waiver was well-qualified for the position, but said she would like a further council discussion about the overall issue.
“We are continuously giving out these waivers like they are hotcakes, and we really have to keep in mind that the charter requires us to hire people who are Chelsea residents, that they get priority over everyone else,” said Vidot.
District 6 Councilor Giovanni Recupero said he agreed that it seems like the city government is looking outside its borders too often when it comes to filling positions.
“Every time, the excuse is that there are not enough qualified people in the city of Chelsea,” said Recupero. “There are 40,000 people in the city, how can you make a statement like that? These people are the middle class of the city, they are going to be making $50,000 or more while the average person in the city only makes $25,000 or $30,000.”
District 3 Councilor Norieliz DeJesus said she agreed with the concerns that were raised, but added that she has spoken to department heads in the city who have told her that there have been a lack of Chelsea applicants for city positions.
DeJesus said she would like to see a subcommittee meeting to discuss ways the city can improve outreach when it comes to advertising municipal positions.
Council President Leo Robinson noted that he worked with the 911 director to hold a workshop for local residents interested in becoming 911 operators, and only one Chelsea resident attended. However, he said he would schedule a subcommittee meeting with the director for a further discussion on the situation.