Greetings Councilors:
Our community should be very appreciative of Ms. Linda Scott’s initiative for a Public Records Request, specific to the proposed Watertown City Logo; kudos. Herein, as followup to Ms. Scott’s material, I offer my two cents to the process.
More fun facts …, follow the money …
The Fiscal Year 2024 Budget for HR Contracted Services Acct. 0115252-530303 was funded for $32,720, starting on 07/01/2023. The 11/17/23 Transfer of Funds Request, for the account, was for an additional $15,000.
As per the 11/17/23, narrative of the Request: “97% accounted for already”. Maybe encumbered? Unknown to who the funds were disbursed.
The 11/17/23 three page Human Resources Budget Transfer submission is as follows: https://watertownma.portal.civicclerk.com/event/5322/files/report/374
The attached minutes of the 11/27/23 City Council meeting make no mention of Councilor questions, etc. during the discussion for the $15,000 Contracted Services Transfer of Funds Request. Also, there are no followup Requests for Information, under Agenda Item 11.
Let’s not forget: for those of us who participated in the ZOOM, and in-person, Committee on Personnel and City Organization Meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 12th, after my ad-lib comments, Mr. Proakis finally acknowledged the expenditure of “… no more than $20,000 ... .” I would presume the amount is for the Logo design services rendered to date. There was no further clarification by Mr. Proakis; nor was the dialogue a Q&A, that would have allowed for followup.
During the Committee Meeting, Mr Proakis and Mr.Tyler Cote, spoke about the standard grading used for a Flash Vote Survey. Attached is a 10/16/24 email that speaks of: “We will use the Likert Scales” for the [10/17-19/24] Logo Survey. Make special note of the criteria. The powers that be must really think the electorate is quite gullible.
So …, according to personnel documents, Sebastian Ellington Ebarb (Design), a.k.a. SEED & Nahi, was hired on 02/20/24. Based on an email, services were being rendered one year prior, on 02/28/23, for design of a “seal”.
email from jostroff to Sebastian Ebarb February 28, 2023
“Hello Sebastian,
Thank you for the info you sent us about designing a new seal for Watertown. The City and Deputy Managers think a seal should be a longtime process if the City Council decides to go in that direction.”
Interesting! Who put in motion, and paid for, a conversation to discuss a new “seal” for the City of Watertown? On 03/26/23, communication stated: “Please note that the [logo] project does not affect the City seal, which will continue to be used for official purposes.”
From Mr. Ebarb’s bio, one could discern a previous business and academia acquaintance with Mr. Proakis. Where was the open public process?
(Links: https://sebastianebarb.com, https://camd.northeastern.edu/people/sebastian-ebarb/, https://nahimade.com/about)
Who knew what; and when? More fun to come …
Best,
Angie
Angeline Maria B. Kounelis
Retired District A, East End, City Councilor
November-27-2023-Minutes-and-Addendum-1-1
Committee-Memo-GP-on-Branding-Options-1-1
Ms. Kounelis,
Thanks for your further enlightenment on this issue.
A note: City Manager Proakis writes about the cost effectiveness of a logo project which was done way before October 2024, when the public was finally “allowed” an extremely limited weigh-in on this matter. He mentions hiring Mr. Ebarb for this job, implying that that was the only cost to the City of Watertown.
It is very disingenuous for Mr. Proakis to mention the reason for not including the public was because involving the public would be “resource-intensive from a cost, time and staffing perspective.”
The public records sent to me made it very clear that the path our City Manager took (not involving the public and making the decision on his own, without the advice and consent of the City Council) used far more city funds than the hiring of Mr. Ebarb.
In fact, there was a much larger cost to the City, in terms of staff involvement. In the records that were sent to me were hundreds of back and forth staff e-mails, mentions of numerous meetings with staff, etc.
This is all time on the City’s dime, an assignment of time and resources to an optional project (branding is not compulsory for cities and towns) done before our elected officials had performed their duty of advice and consent.
Even our elected officials, our city councilors were left out of this process until it was, in effect, a “done deal.”
As you mentioned, the Councilors bear some responsibility in this as well, because in the few opportunities Mr. Proakis allowed for them to be involved, (the November 2023 City Council meeting, when Mr. Proakis asked for a fund transfer, for instance) they neglected to ask questions and do their due diligence.
Hopefully, this is a lesson learned by our Council. But I must say in their defense, they are not full-time City employees (although it must feel like it at times), and it is a very large task to keep up with someone who is hell-bent on doing things their way, acting more like a mayor, who is elected by the public, rather than a City Manager, a public servant hired to follow the direction of an elected City Council.
Since George Proakis started as City Manager in August, 2022, he can’t say he was still adjusting to his new role as our City Manager at the time of this on-going process and did not realize there are restrictions to his lone decisions.
After now being here over two and a half years, we would hope he realizes that he is responsible to the Council and the residents of Watertown and will not engage in any similar activities going forward. We need transparency and up front approaches to all government plans.
I agree that transparency is the operative word. In all of government today, whether it be state, federal or local, there is a real distrust of how decisions are made and how public money is spent.
Government officials need to follow all the rules and public citizens shouldn’t feel they need to monitor actions. That’s why our state auditor, Diana DiZoglio, saw such fantastic voter approval on the recent ballot initiative for auditing the state legislature, and sadly they are still pushing back on her desire to do what the public authorized her to do. Is this because they are hiding something? Not answering provides much doubt and suspicion.
We all work or have worked hard to provide for our needs and those of families, and politicians should handle our tax money as if it were their own and ours. In essence it is our money being spent.
I would encourage that going forward that our city officials spend within our means and prioritize the really important needs of our community over any individual wish lists and carefully review budgets and proposals for spending. I think for the most part Watertown does that, but there seem to be some things slipping between the cracks. Going forward show us those are the goals set by every department and give us reasons to trust.