A few recent My Turn columns presented a fractured picture of Greenfield’s current municipal government, accompanied by a fundamental misunderstanding of the current budget. Most importantly, they mischaracterized the active role the Greenfield City Council plays in managing our city’s finances. As chair of the Ways and Means Committee, tasked directly with our city’s fiduciary oversight, I believe it is essential to set the record straight.
Under Massachusetts municipal law, the City Council has no authority to appropriate or spend money; that power lies with the mayor and executive branch. The council’s role is oversight, budget adoption, and approval of appropriations and tax rates. That work happens continuously, not just during floor debates or elections, but at committee meetings, regular council sessions, executive sessions, and meetings with the mayor.
The delay in certifying our free cash, the unreserved funds calculated after the close of the fiscal year, was not ignored by council, nor was free cash spending approved without certified funds. The lack of certified free cash was a known red flag for months, resulting directly from significant staffing turnover and a lack of continuity in our finance department, a challenge affecting multiple Massachusetts communities.
Ways and Means members have diligently tracked this issue since I was appointed in January. We have met with the Department of Revenue (DOR), requested weekly status reports from the mayor’s office, reviewed reports and audit updates from our contracted accounting firm, and questioned or requested holds on spending that could be delayed until the audit closed, including capital projects. Those projects are funded through borrowing, not free cash.
When Greenfield experienced notable staff departures across departments in 2024 and 2025, council members asked tough questions and demanded accountability. An executive session was held, and several of us reached out directly to the DOR to confirm they were assisting the city with our books. Councilor Derek Helie and I met with the majority of departed staff members, took their operational and compliance concerns seriously, and pushed for answers around financial continuity, even when doing so created friction across City Hall.
Over the past eight months, our committee has treated this fiduciary responsibility with absolute seriousness during an extraordinarily difficult financial year. We did not simply rubber-stamp executive budget proposals. President Lora Wondolowski, Vice President John Garrett, and I met with the mayor throughout the process to evaluate funding levels and options. We pushed where constituents and departments affirmed they needed funding. We invited every department head into open meetings to review budgets line by line, often discussing individual departments for hours. Veteran councilors met with newer councilors to provide historical context, and we consulted former municipal officials when needed. To ensure transparency, I held additional committee meetings and public listening sessions so residents could engage directly with the budget process.
My goal is not to write another campaign endorsement, but to correct the record with what I know to be true as someone who cares deeply about Greenfield and has been steeped in council governance for four years. We are fortunate to have dedicated candidates willing to do the hard work required to represent us. But to suggest Council President Wondolowski has sat idly by through this audit and reconciliation process is simply false. She may not always be the loudest voice in the room, but she is often the most strategic. When our city faced a severe fiscal cliff regarding municipal health insurance costs, she brought municipal unions to the table. Together, we negotiated a transition to the Group Insurance Commission (GIC). A complex compromise other towns said was nearly impossible to achieve, ultimately closing a major budget gap.
President Wondolowski has met with the DOR, helped newer councilors connect governance dots, advanced constituent priorities that did not necessarily build her political capital but served the community, and focused on correcting compliance errors and moving us forward. She has been a steady collaborator and someone I trust to represent our district at the state level if she were elected to the 1st Franklin District.
Marianne Bullock chair of the Ways and Means Committee of the Greenfield City Council. This column is her personal opinion and does not represent an official position of the entire council or committee.