Council refers economic development hire to subcommittee

City Council · Meeting of September 15, 2026

CHELSEA — The Chelsea City Council referred a proposed Chief Economic Development Officer to a subcommittee on a 5-3 vote. City Manager Fidel Maltese asked the council to create the post, which was not in the FY27 budget and would need free cash and FY28 offsets. One councilor put the salary at "at least" $100,000.

Councilor Leo Robinson argued the city needs someone to "go out and sell the city." Councilors Calvin Brown and Lisa Sandigat also opposed referral. The council accepted $249,000 in Mass Save grants 9-0 and approved a $22,750 gala donation tally 8-0. It also sent the low-income solar contracts, which are projected to be worth more than $400,000 a year to residents, to the same subcommittee.

In the full story:

• CHELSEA — September 15, 2026 —
• Celebratory Resolutions
• Appointments, Minutes and Routine Communications
• Grants, Appropriations and Contracts
• Low-Income Solar and Net Metering
• Donations
• Broadway Layouts
• Chief Economic Development Officer
• Traffic and Parking Commission and Other Business
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 2,295 words

Source: the City Council meeting of September 15, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.