Worcester City Council Agenda Preview: January 16, 2023
Resident Parking, Councilor Salaries, Sheltering the Homeless
The City Council meeting is Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. The agenda is here.
This week: resident parking, Councilor salaries, sheltering the homeless.
Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/91727574825
Resident Permit Parking: There’s a request from someone who lives in the Richmond Street resident-only parking zone, that the City revisit how it implements this program. The petitioner says it’s not working in their neighborhood, and now that the permits are solely tied to license plates, and there are no stickers, it’s impossible for residents to know if people are parking illegally on their street. This will go to the Traffic and Parking Committee for discussion.
Community Ambassador Program: Councilor Ojeda, since he’s also a vice principal, won’t be taking a salary as a City Councilor, since state ethics laws say he can’t get paid for both jobs. He wants the Manager to use the savings to begin a “Community Ambassador Program” of people who would do trash pickup, “outreach with the…homeless population,” and implement “de-escalation and communication strategies.” I am pretty sure the Manager is not going to take this request into account when allocating the money, but presenting this proposal in a quirky way is a nice way to get more press for it.
Welcoming Trans People to Homeless Shelters: In response to a protest at the emergency winter shelter, at which one of the demands was that the shelter provide better options for trans people, Councilor King wants the Manager to make sure shelters have Gender Identity Non-Discrimination Policies.