City Treasurer Rory Casey (left) and Mayor Josh Garcia (right) answer questions at a press conference about the upcoming special election.
Reminder Publishing photo by Tyler Garnet
HOLYOKE — On Tuesday, Jan. 28, voters will be asked if they want to continue the practice of electing the city treasurer or approve a city charter change to make the position appointed, rather than elected.
There is only one question on the ballot: “Shall the Holyoke City Charter be amended to change the position of City Treasurer from an erected position to an appointed position?”
All the city’s polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. In-person and absentee voting options are available. The City Clerk’s Office has information on how to request an absentee ballot and can identify the location of residents’ polling places.
City Clerk Brenna Murphy Leary said the last day to register for the election will be Saturday, Jan. 18. The clerk’s office is still taking vote by mail applications and have mailed out ballots to vote early, but the last day to do so is Jan. 22 at 5 p.m.
There will be no in-person early voting for this election, but Leary said if voters would like to go in- person absentee, if they have a religious reason, they may be out of town, they can come into the office and vote absentee up until Monday, Jan. 27 at noon.
Holyoke Mayor Joshua A. Garcia, City Council President Tessa Murphy-Romboletti, City Treasurer Rory Casey, other city councilors and state Rep. Pat Duffy (D-Holyoke) hosted a press conference on Jan. 9 to address the initiative and pass along the message to “get out and vote.”
Although the press conference was hosted to discuss the vote, Murphy-Romboletti said, “We’re not here today to tell people how to vote. The reason that we’re here today is because it is our responsibility as city leaders to share perspectives and explain why we believe this change is important for the future of Holyoke.”
This proposal aligns with recommendations from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue and is a broader effort between all branches of government to modernize and strengthen the city’s financial practices.
Under the current system, the city treasurer is elected by Holyoke voters every four years.
Out of the 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts, Holyoke is the only place remaining that still has a standalone elected treasurer.
Casey talked about Holyoke being the only city or town with an elected official.
He said, “In cities like Holyoke, with a $196 million budget, with hundreds of millions of dollars in assets invested, we’re the only one with a standalone elected treasurer. If you really want to have control over the city’s finances, entrust the elected officials you put into place already, the council, who will make this appointment, the mayor who will oversee the day to day operations of this office.”
Garcia has worked with the City Council and state Legislature for two years to bring this matter to a vote. The mayor, along with the entire City Council, said they support changing the city charter to make the treasurer’s position appointed.
He said the goal is to improve the city’s financial health and administrative efficiency, which benefits all residents.
“State officials and outside auditors have been urging us to make this change for many years,” Garcia said.
Garcia pointed to a 2007 evaluation of the existing practice that was conducted by the Massachusetts Department of Revenue’s Division of Local Services. With an elected treasurer, the assessment concluded, “The mayor does not function as a fully empowered, central authority who can demand that jobs get done. This lack of authority severely limits the ability of the mayor to impose sound financial management practices.”
Garcia further talked about the report and said, “All of Holyoke’s department heads should be held accountable to the mayor and City Council. Under the existing system, there is no requirement that the treasurer be accountable. Just as bad, if not worse, there is no requirement that an elected treasurer possess any sort of credentials.”
When the former Holyoke city treasurer resigned in July 2022, Garcia began working with the City Council to navigate the steps necessary to change the charter to make the position of city treasurer appointed instead of elected.
“The public has heard me talk a lot about the need to modernize our municipal administrative operations to strengthen internal controls, polices, and procedures for how we manage our finances in order for us to better mitigate liability, reduce harm to local resources, protect local assets, and better comply with financial standards and regulations,” Garcia said.
When asked why this election must be hosted in January, Casey said, “It wasn’t signed off by the governor until a few weeks ago, which is why we’re in such an accelerated pace. We don’t normally in Holyoke go out in the dead of winter to vote for anything but this year’s different.”
Casey acknowledged that his term ends at the end of this year and there’s an election this fall so the city needs to know now what the direction is going to be.
If the charter change is approved, the position will be a three-year term. Those who want the position will have to apply, be interviewed by the City Council and then be appointed.
Casey said he has no interest in being the appointed treasurer if the change is approved.
More information and a FAQ page are available to learn more about the proposed change at holyoke.org.
