GREENFIELD — Town Council President Brickett Allis has released his subcommittee assignments for this year, saying the changes — which include a complete reassignment of committee chairs — were made to give councilors the most well-rounded experience possible.
Allis, who is entering his second year as council president, said his goal was to place as many councilors as possible on their first-choice committees while also giving them maximum exposure to different committees. Because most councilors are relatively new, he said it’s important for them to get a well-rounded knowledge of all the committees.
“Most people are now on a committee they haven’t been on before, so it was really trying to create that diversity,” he said, adding, “These are very thought-out and these are very good appointments, and the changes do not reflect how people worked on committees. It reflects the need to allow all councilors to get as much experience as possible, because it’s such a new council.”
In a memo to the council, Allis also wrote his goal in making the assignments was to distribute the workload as evenly as possible and give councilors who have not served in leadership roles the opportunity to do so.
Allis said accusations circulating on social media that he made the assignments based on who he does and doesn’t like are false. He said people were upset last year after he released assignments for 2016, but everyone settled in after a few months.
“I have a feeling that’s the way it’s going to be this time, too,” he said. “It was very thoughtful and thought out, and it’s too bad that people are coming up with conspiracy theories about what’s going on.”
Council Treasurer Karen “Rudy” Renaud, a senior member of the council, was not assigned a chairmanship, but said she’s learned after serving on the council for more than five years that committee assignments have little to do with any individual councilor’s effectiveness and ability to legislate.
“How the appointments look is a bit of a surprise, but so what?” At-Large Councilor Mark Maloni said. “The work goes on and our job is to offer the best possible service that we can to our constituents, and that’s what will continue to happen for me. I will bring my best work possible to the committees I sit on.”
At-Large Town Councilor Penny Ricketts, who served as chairwoman of the Economic Development Committee for the past year, said she understands Allis’ desire to rotate chairs, but was a bit shocked to learn she’s been replaced by Precinct 9 Councilor Daniel Leonovich.
“I have only had one year as EDC chair,” Ricketts wrote in an email. “I truly believe the first year is a learning curve and you come into your own.”
She added that being taken off of the Appointments and Ordinance Committee felt devastating at first, because her work over the past year allowed her to collaborate closely with both residents and the police department. However, she said she will continue to serve in whatever capacity has been handed to her and plans to attend as many community events as possible.
“I cannot walk away just because I have been taken off work that I truly love,” Ricketts wrote.
The Ways and Means Committee will be chaired by Precinct 8 Councilor Ashli Stempel. Members include Precinct 6 Councilor Maria Burge, Precinct 2 Councilor John Lobik, Council Vice President Isaac Mass and Precinct 4 Councilor Wanda Muzyka-Pyfrom.
The Economic Development Committee will be chaired by Leonovich. Members include Precinct 7 Councilor William Childs, Muzyka-Pyfrom, At-Large Councilor Penny Ricketts and Precinct 1 Councilor Verne Sund.
The Appointments and Ordinance Committee will be chaired by Childs. Members include Burge, Lobik, Maloni and Renaud.
The Community Relations and Education Committee will be chaired by Precinct 5 Councilor Robert Wainstein. Members include Ricketts, Renaud, Maloni and Sund.
Ricketts and Leonovich will sit on the town’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Committee, Maloni will serve as representative to the Greenfield Business Association and Renaud will serve as representative to the Mayor’s Task Force on Domestic Violence.
Assignments will take effect Feb.1 and run until a successor is qualified and makes his or her appointments after the next council is seated Jan. 1, 2018.