Progress
Kirk Gets Vote of Confidence from Bond Rating Agencies
Wednesday, September 16th, 2009
By Patrick Anderson, Staff Writer
(reproduced from the Gloucester Daily Times)
The country’s two leading bond rating agencies have maintained their rating of Gloucester’s finances this year — a vote of confidence, officials say, for a city that has just gone through budget cuts and a drinking water emergency.
Moody’s kept the city’s bonds at its A2 rating [...]
City Reels In $476K in Back Taxes
Monday, August 3rd, 2009
Collection effort includes funds netted from auction of property
By Richard Gaines,Staff Writer (reproduced from the Gloucester Daily Times)A law firm acting on behalf of the city has collected nearly $500,000 in real estate taxes from properties that have long been delinquent on their payments.
D’Ambrosio Law Offices reported last week the collection of $476,000 from the resolution [...]
Police Union, City Sign New Pact
Tuesday, July 14th, 2009
By Patrick Anderson, Staff Writer (reproduced from the Gloucester Daily Times)Tensions within the Gloucester Police Department over the assignment of daily tasks and paid details, an underlying factor in several recent controversies and the basis for accusations of favoritism and retribution, are targeted in a new contract signed by the patrolmen’s union and city yesterday.
The new contract [...]
Kirk Offers Slightly Smaller 2010 Budget
Friday, May 8th, 2009
by Patrick Anderson, Staff Writer (reproduced from the Gloucester Daily Times)Gloucester’s government will contract but there are no new layoffs in Mayor Carolyn Kirk’s recession-squeezed $80,791,568 fiscal 2010 budget proposal released this week.
Reacting to reductions in both local revenue and state aid, the budget cuts overall spending by $254,211 from the fiscal 2009 appropriation, despite the [...]
Residents Cut Trash Costs by Recycling More; Local Contractor to Take Over Collection of Purple Bags
Wednesday, May 6th, 2009
by Patrick Anderson, Staff Writer (reproduced from the Gloucester Daily Times)Gloucester residents are recycling more of their waste since the city introduced a controversial new bag-based, pay-as-you-throw trash system three months ago, new figures from the Department of Public Works show.
Now, they’ll be able to recycle weekly under changes included in a new trash-disposal contract with [...]
Kirk Joins High School in Accepting Sail Boats from Yacht Club for GHS Sailing Team
Thursday, April 16th, 2009
by Andrea Holbrook (Reproduced from the Gloucester Daily Times)More Gloucester teenagers now have the chance to sail, thanks to a gift from the Eastern Point Yacht Club.
The yacht club has donated two 420 Vanguard sailboats to Gloucester High School to support the development of its racing team. The gift was made during a ceremony [...]
Kirk Proposes Clean Energy Committee be Established by Ordinance
Friday, April 3rd, 2009
by Robert Cann (Reproduced from the Gloucester Daily Times)In recent years the color green has all but given up its former connotations in favor of serving exclusively as a buzzword for environmentalists. However, the city of Gloucester knows green is the color of another thing: money.
As means of combining two greens, members of the [...]
Kirk asks State Legislature to Remove Chief from Civil Service
Friday, March 20th, 2009
by Richard Gaines (Reproduced from the Gloucester Daily Times)Mayor Carolyn Kirk yesterday asked the state Legislature to accommodate the will of City Council and remove the position of fire chief from the Civil Service system.
State Sen. Bruce Tarr said he expects the Legislature to do just that, perhaps within two months, or perhaps as [...]
Early Retirement Program Helps to Avoid Lay-offs in the Midst of a 32% Cut in Local Aid for FY10
Thursday, March 19th, 2009
by Richard Gaines (Reproduced from the Gloucester Daily Times)Nineteen city employees — including the city’s two highest 2007 earners, police Lts. Michael O’Hanley and Jerris Cook — have answered Mayor Carolyn Kirk’s request for volunteers for early retirement to help reduce personnel costs.
Also in the pool of early retirees is fire Chief Barry McKay [...]
Kirk Submits Harbor Plan to City Council for Endorsement
Thursday, January 29th, 2009
by Richard Gaines (Reproduced from the Gloucester Daily Times)With Gloucester’s commercial fishing fleet facing an uncertain future, Mayor Carolyn Kirk has sent City Council a long labored-over draft Harbor Plan, conceived as a road map for the economic revitalization of the waterfront around infrastructure essential for the fishery.
“We want a harbor built around the [...]
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