MANCHESTER, N.H. – A modification of the City of Manchester’s Parking Division was put on hold following a decision from the Board of Mayor and Aldermen’s Committee on Human Resources earlier this month.
In a voice vote, the committee moved to receive and file, effectively killing for the time being, a request from new Parking Division Director Faye Morrison. That request sought to defund a pair of vacant full-time Downtown Maintenance Worker positions while creating a new Parking Operations Superintendent position and also revising classifications for Parking Control Officers and Downtown Maintenance Workers.
Morrison, who started her position in March, does not want to defund the two currently vacant positions. However, she stated that efforts had not been made to fill those positions prior to her arrival and there is a significant need for the supervisor position to help with day-to-day oversight to help her focus on more expansive priorities attached to her position such as renovation planning for the Victory Garage and coordination with local homeless organizations.
Ward 5 Alderman Tony Sapienza and Ward 11 Alderman Norm Vincent expressed concern reducing the worker complement of the department, which currently stands at 11 employees plus those vacant positions.
Morrison responded that she would attempt to renew funding for those positions in the future, but the one full-time and one part-time Downtown Maintenance Worker on staff currently are enough for now while the supervisor position is more vital given that the Victory Garage has not seen renovations in 31 years.
“Even though it’s not a big staff, it’s a big city that needs to be served,” she said.
City of Manchester Human Resources Director Lisa Drabik said that the proposed modification to the Downtown Maintenance Worker job classification is not a union position while the Parking Control Officer position is a union position, which in itself would require some discussion before changing the job description. Additionally, Drabik said that the proposed changes to the Downtown Maintenance Worker position were minor.
According to documents in the committee’s packet, the proposed changes to the Parking Control Officer position would add as-needed maintenance duties and snow removal support to the position’s current responsibilities, which are centered around enforcing the city’s parking ordinances.
Ward 8 Alderman Ed Sapienza, who serves as the chair of the committee, told Morrison that he expects a renewed topic on the proposals with a different approach at some point in the future.