Mayor Daniel Knapik has hired Anne Larkam as interim head of the city's personnel department.
WESTFIELD – Plans to consolidate several School Department and municipal departments will be phased in over the fiscal year that began July 1.
Mayor Daniel M. Knapik has appointed an interim Human Resources officer for the city and has met with Superintendent of Schools Suzanne Scallion to review school personnel needs. Additional meetings will be held, the mayor said.
Meanwhile, veteran human resources specialist Anne M. Larkam will lead the city’s personnel department, replacing Richard A. Merchant who was not reappointed. Merchant was notified by Knapik earlier this year his appointment would not be renewed when it expired in June.
Former Chicopee assistant superintendent of schools Charles E. Tetrault has been overseeing school personnel needs since the resignation of Helen M. Bowler in May.
“We will phase in the consolidation over time,” Knapik said. “Right now I am awaiting a School Department candidate that will be reassigned to our Purchasing Department and we expect to move three school payroll specialists to the city side shortly,” the mayor said.
Officials plan to consolidate offices of human resources, purchasing, auditing, accounting, payroll and legal based on a consultant report prepared earlier this year by the Collins Institute of the University of Massachusetts at Boston.
Knapik said some staff changes will require new ordinances and some can be completed through a transfer process.
The City Council cut $250,000 in school spending when it adopted the city’s Fiscal 2012 operating budget two weeks ago. The council position was that the $250,000 would be saved as a result of the consolidation.
But, Knapik said savings from the plan will not be fully realized for about three years, predicting 18 to 24 months to pass necessary local legislation and then follow through on the appointment process.
The city’s new budget totals $121.6 million which includes $52.2 million for the School Department.