WESTFIELD — The City Council voted unanimously on Sept. 5 to eliminate the requirement that the city engineer obtain a professional engineer license.
The change had been requested by Mayor Michael McCabe. Several councilors also said they were happy with the work being done by current City Engineer Allison McMordie, who does not have a P.E. license.
City Councilor Cindy Harris, chair of the council’s Personnel Action Committee, introduced the amendment. She said private industry pays much more than the city for someone with a P.E., and the combination of other important educational qualifications and skills in the job description would ensure that the city hires an employee who can do the work.
The old city engineer job description said the engineer “must possess a current and valid registration as a professional engineer in the commonwealth of Massachusetts or the ability to obtain the same within six months of employment.”
The new wording requires a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, and a construction supervisor’s license. A master’s degree or P.E. license is “preferred.”
“This is a tough call for a lot of people,” said Councilor Richard Sullivan. He said he would support the change because the mayor is asking for it, and because the city has a person in the position without the license who has performed well. He said McMordie is also a Westfield resident, and the city has benefited for a long time from city engineers who are also residents and invested in the community.
Councilor James Adams, also a member of the Personnel Action Committee, said he pushed to encourage hiring a P.E., but said perhaps that job could be done without the license. He added that he hopes any person who is hired would strive to get a P.E., and that the city might pay for it. The committee had voted 3-0 to recommend that the full council support the change.
Even without the P.E. license requirement, the city engineer’s job description still contains a comprehensive list of qualifications on which candidates will be judged, said Councilor Nicholas Morganelli.
“The person has to be a leader, manager and knowledgeable in every facet of engineering. It’s a team effort, for sure. I’m confident the mayor will choose the right person for this — I would support it,” he said. He said the engineer is one of the most important positions in city government.
Councilor Ralph Figy, the third member of the Personnel Action Committee, said he worries that if the city sets the qualifications bar too high, the people it hires will end up leaving quickly for better-paid private sector jobs. He said the last assistant engineer left to work for Tighe & Bond.
“It’s a delicate balance we need to strive for,” he said.
Councilor Michael Burns said this month is the fourth anniversary of the previous public works director retiring. He said the original job description for public works director also required a P.E., but that license requirement was also removed, because the city couldn’t find a candidate who met all the qualifications.
“We have done this before,” he said.
He noted that the DPW position is still unfilled. Perhaps removing the P.E. requirement from the city engineer can prevent a long vacancy in that job, the next time it is open, he suggested.
