By a vote of seven to one, City Council agreed to the second three-year contract for current City Manager Rachael Tabelski during Monday’s business meeting.

After what has seemed like a lengthy ordeal, a set of new, downscaled, and more affordable designs for the City Centre entryways have finally come back for final approval, City Manager Rachael Tabelski says.

The first one was about a family with a Ring camera that apparently caught disturbing video of strangers attempting to break into their home by opening the door where the camera was placed. That family has packed up and moved and put their home up for sale.

Batavia City Council president Eugene Jankowski and City Manager Rachael  Tabelski faced off in GO ART!’s Celebrity Bartender Challenge at Seymour Place tonight.  Tabelski and Jankowski both said they weren't really competing and that tips would be combined, though.  All tips are donations to the arts council. 

Tabelski reported at this week’s City Council meeting that she received estimates “ranging between $1.57 million and $2.5 million, so I’ll go with the lowest figure -- 1.5 to come into the City of Batavia, specifically.”

Tentative dollar amounts released Wednesday by Sen. Charles Schumer’s office and the National Association of Counties indicate that the city will get $1.58 million as a result of the legislation.

Tabelski categorized the funding as a “windfall” in that the money must be used for certain projects such as infrastructure and not to “stabilize our operations.” Municipal leaders are waiting for more details on how the money can be spent.

Genesee County is targeted to receive $11.11 million, in range of what County Manager Matt Landers had forecasted. 

The county’s 14 towns are expected to receive $4.66 million, divvied up as follows:

• Town of Alabama, $190,000;
• Town of Alexander, $270,000;
• Town of Batavia, $750,000;
• Town of Bergen, $320,000;
• Town of Bethany, $190,000;
• Town of Byron, $250,000;
• Town of Darien, $330,000;
• Town of Elba, $250,000;
• Town of Le Roy, $810,000;
• Town of Oakfield, $330,000;
• Town of Pavilion, $260,000;
• Town of Pembroke, $450,000;
• Town of Stafford, $260,000.

Allocations to Orleans and Wyoming counties are expected to be $7.83 million and $7.73 million, respectively.

In other City of Batavia government news:

• Tabelski and City Council President Eugene Jankowski Jr. said they are waiting to receive some outstanding invoices before determining the total amount that was spent to conduct the nationwide search for a permanent city manager.

Jankowski previously told The Batavian that he figured it would be around $5,000. The city contracted with The Novak Consulting Group of Cincinnati, Ohio, to assist in the search following the departure of Martin Moore last June. (The Batavian has requested an itemized list of all expenses).

Some residents have criticized the city for conducting another search (Novak was involved in the search that resulted in Moore’s hiring in 2018) when it could have hired Tabelski, who had been serving in an interim role for the past eight months.

Council opted to conduct a full search, however, as a stipulation in the contract with Novak indicated it would be provided at no cost, other than travel, advertising and related expenses.

As it turned out, even if the expenses involved to reach a decision to appoint Tabelski as the permanent city manager increase to $6,000, for example, the city will have saved significantly in salary over that time.

If Tabelski was hired in July, her salary would have jumped from (approximately) $7,398 per month to $9,166 per month – a difference of $1,768 per month. Multiply that times eight months and you get $14,144. The city did give Tabelski a stipend of $1,000 per month for the additional duties, so the savings decrease to $6,144.

But what also must be considered is that if Tabelski was hired in July, she would have brought on an assistant manager in short order. Even at a salary of $75,000, for example, that would have cost the city another $45,000 to 50,000 or so in personnel expenses.

Jankowski said initially he was in favor of “speeding up the hiring process” as he supported Tabelski for the job, but he thinks the decision to conduct the search was the right one.

“Looking back on that, I’m glad I acted on the feedback I received and supported moving on with a full and complete search,” he said. “It was fair and thorough. The search committee did a great job and I’m proud to have been a part of the process.”

• Tabelski, responding to an email from The Batavian, confirmed that Ray Tourt had opted not to accept the permanent position of Department of Public Works director.

“After additional consideration, Ray Tourt has decided not to take the permanent/provisional appointment of Director of Public Works,” Tabelski said. “Ray, a 20-plus-year veteran of the city, is committed to the City of Batavia and will remain the interim director while the city conducts a full search, and hiring process for a new director.”

Once a new director is hired, Tourt will go back to his former position of superintendent of the Bureau of Maintenance, and the city’s Human Resources department will begin to advertise for the position of DPW director in the near future, Tabelski added.

Tourt was appointed DPW director in December after Matt Worth’s announcement that he would be retiring.

While the focus was on Rachael Tabelski as tonight’s Batavia City Council Business Meeting drew to a close, she preferred to keep her eyes on the task at hand – working to find the best ways to "move forward” in her new role as the municipality’s permanent city manager.

In an 8-0 vote, Council approved a resolution appointing Tabelski as city manager following her eight-month stint as acting/interim manager. Council Member John Canale was unable to attend the proceedings (a Special Conference Meeting preceded the Business Meeting).

Council and Tabelski agreed on a three-year contract with a starting salary of $110,000 plus benefits.

“I feel very, very excited. I obviously have a big passion for the City of Batavia – for the residents, for the work that Council does,” she said. “I think they’re a great body and I think they get along really well and they make really good policy decisions.

“So, I can’t wait to see and keep the planning that has been done in years before, that started through many members of this Council and (former City Manager) Jason Molino to move forward.”

When asked if she had any personal goals, she instead talked about: neighborhood issues; a strategy for the Batavia Ice Rink; the economic activity on Main Street; the impact of the state’s $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative awarded to Batavia; and the importance of bringing on an assistant manager.

“I was asked to do kind of your first 90 days and, first and foremost, I’m going to be hiring an assistant city manager and I think that will really be helpful … in terms of moving forward some neighborhood priorities and getting some community members that are interested out there in cleaning up their community -- because we know how many passionate residents we have,” she said. “And I think that is one thing the city just hasn’t had the personnel to help with.”

Tabelski, a 2000 graduate of Byron-Bergen Central School, said she couldn’t support a push to privatize the ice rink on Evans Street (formerly Falleti Ice Arena) until “coming up with a strategy – kind of figuring out where we are today and what is the strategy.”

She noted the validity of comments at tonight’s meeting from Stafford resident Bob Gray and Council members citing the importance of the facility as a community recreational outlet.

“We do have a great ice rink but it’s aged and there’s infrastructure investment that needs to go in there. We need to really strategize on how to do so,” Tabelski said, adding that a potential option could be finding a buyer or developer to purchase the rink and tie it in with residential property on a parcel (Creek Park) behind it.

Building owners in downtown Batavia have capitalized on grant funding to make improvements in recent years – enhancements that are ongoing.

“The businesses on Main Street and the buildings have been doing a great job improving with all the grant programs we have, and they’ve invested their own capital. That attracts new business to the building and downtown residents also,” she said. “So, once you start building the density of downtown residents, you’re going to start seeing businesses open on their own. I think that’s the only way we get there, and so I’d like to see more of that happen.”

Tabelski, who previously worked for the Genesee County Economic Development Center and the Batavia Development Corporation, said seeing the DRI projects advance means a great deal to her.

“I was very fortunate to be on the front end of that, writing the grant in conjunction with the city back when I worked for the GCEDC, and I can’t wait to see the projects that happen and how they transform our downtown,” she offered. “And when you start to transform the downtown and have more activities for people and youth, you’re going to start to transform your neighborhoods in positive ways as well. I think it’s all cumulative. So, each investment we make here will continue to spur new investments in our community.”

She said she envisions the assistant city manager working through some of the DRI grants that the city is coordinating and work on extra project tracking, grants, software projects and project management. The assistant also will assume the role of administrative department head.

“That’s important to oversee the clerk’s office, youth services as a whole, and (being able) to interact with the residents – like I said the neighborhood and housing issues,” said Tabelski, who was hired as Batavia’s assistant city manager in August 2019.

Tabelski predicted that Council’s decision tonight to contract with the GLOW YMCA to run the city’s afterschool program and summer recreation youth services will turn out well. She proposed that idea a few months ago after the city had to close the Liberty Center for Youth due to COVID-19 and also as the city was looking to save money in its budget.

“It was an option for Council to consider and I think they did very good due diligence in considering the options and determining how to move forward and serve residents still, and children – youth of our community – and choosing an agency that already is in that business to do the job well,” she said.

Tabelski recalled working for Assemblyman Steven Hawley’s office, answering the phone and listening to constituents’ requests.

“I understand how important your concerns are and when it comes to the city, I hope you always feel free to call Council members, to call City Hall and let us work with you. If it is a city issue, we’ll try to fix it. Also, we love people who want to volunteer and do certain things as we have numerous boards.”

Before the roll call to make Tabelski’s selection official, a few Council members commended Tabelski for excelling under difficult circumstances. One of them was Robert Bialkowski, who publicly voiced his opinion to conduct a thorough nationwide job search while some of his colleagues had hoped to promote Tabelski at the time.

“I would like to thank Rachael because as the acting city manager she really has gone the extra mile. You’ve been doing a great job and we all appreciate that,” Bialkowski said.

That prompted Jankowski, a Tabelski supporter all along, to quip – and draw a few laughs – “(City Clerk) Heidi (Parker), you want to make sure you get that whole statement there. And I feel the same way.”

Photo: Rachael Tabelski at tonight's City Council meeting where she was officially appointed as permanent city manager. Photo courtesy of Alecia Kaus/Video News Service.

Previously: Council set to appoint Rachael Tabelski as city manager on Monday

Council President Eugene Jankowski Jr. today said he has been impressed by Tabelski’s job performance, especially during a difficult time.

“I supported Rachel for the position because she is doing a great job under extraordinarily tough circumstances, and she’s also a local person who has been in the community for many years and is familiar with Batavia and the surrounding area,” Jankowski said today. “And she has served as our assistant city manager since August 2019.”

Jankowski said Tabelski has worked hard to deliver a budget for 2021-22 and was instrumental in the success of the City of Batavia Police Collaboration Stakeholder Group.

“She’s doing well with getting the city back on track, hitting goals, on strategic planning, and all that important stuff we look forward to as a community,” he added.

Council is expected to formalize the selection at its Business Meeting on Monday night at the City Centre Board Room. A Special Conference Meeting will precede it, starting at 7 o’clock. The resolution on the agenda of the Business Meeting stipulates that Tabelski's employment as city manager will begin on that date.

Contacted minutes ago, Tabelski said she would comment on the appointment during Monday's proceedings.

Tabelski's experience in the public sector arena includes serving as a Bergen Town Councilwoman, legislative aide to Assemblyman Steven Hawley, director of marketing & communications for the Genesee County Economic Development Center for eight years and director of economic development for the Batavia Development Corp. for a year before beilng hired as assistant city manager. 

Jankowski shared details of the search process coordinated by a committee of Council members Patti Pacino and John Canale, (former DPW Director) Matt Worth and Human Resources specialist Dawn Fairbanks, working in conjunction with The Novak Consulting Group of Cincinnati, Ohio.

The city had contracted with Novak for the search that brought Moore to Batavia in August 2018.

“The committee met with Novak and they started the process, which consisted of advertising and setting up the job requirements,” Jankowski said. “Initially, there were 35 applications and all applicants were screened to make sure that they were qualified. At that point, it came down to three people for final Council interviews, but one of the three people dropped out.”

That left two finalists – Tabelski and another candidate.

“I’m not at liberty to mention the other person’s name.

Council and three city department heads -- DPW Director Ray Tourt, Police Chief Shawn Heubusch and Fire Chief Stefano Napolitano -- conducted extensive interviews in executive session last Thursday (Feb. 25) with the two candidates, Jankowski said.

“While Council members were interviewing one candidate, department heads were interviewing the other candidate, and then we switched candidates – with the entire interview process taking about four hours. All told, the executive session went from 8:30 a.m. to 1:42 p.m.,” he said.

Additionally, Council engaged in a phone conference with the city’s psychologist, Jay Supnick, Ph.D., who had previously met with Tabelski and the other candidate to conduct a character/temperament evaluation.

“This is normal procedure during the hiring process for key positions of the city,” Jankowski advised.

After final discussions among Council members and the department leaders, Council decided to direct Fairbanks to start contract negotiations with Tabelski.

“The offer we are making is the same one that we made to Martin Moore when he started in 2018,” Jankowski said, noting that the contract will commence on Monday after the final vote by Council. “The agreement includes a salary increase of $2,000 in 2022 and again in 2023.”

Canale said that he preferred to comment after Monday's meeting, but did say that the residents of Batavia will be pleased to learn of the process used by Council to reach a decision.

Moore and the city departed ways on June 20, 2020, prompting Tabelski to move up from her assistant city manager role while a professional search for a permanent manager was taking place.

Advertising and other costs to the city came to approximately $5,000, he said, noting that expenses were kept in check because prior interviews and meetings were held via Zoom videoconferencing and there were minimal travel costs.

Previous: Acting city manager's deep roots, varied past converge in path to make a better, brighter future

Previous: Acting City Manager Tabelski: A prepared, in-tune team player working toward a common goal

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As the Yellow Zone restriction was lifted from Batavia, this meeting will be open to the public with appropriate facemasks, social distancing and temperature screening upon arrival.

Options for viewing the meeting:

Batavia News Service Youtube Channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOdvZ9lGH0FiD9ADz6Cg6EQ

Streamed LIVE on Facebook: 

https://www.facebook.com/bataviany/

Spectrum Channel 1301 – Wednesday, March 10th  at 9:00 a.m. and Friday, March 12^th at 8:00 p.m.

The agenda is posted on the City website under the City Council page.

The Batavian file photo of Rachel Tabelski.

We plan to speak with Rachael Tabelski, Batavia's interim city manager at 2:30 p.m.

The livestream will appear right here on The Batavian's home page. Or you can view it on YouTube at this link, where you can ask questions in the live chat and we will try to get them answered for you. Or you can go to The Batavian's page on Facebook and watch the interview there and ask questions through that chat.

Council members Bob Bialkowski and Rose Mary Christian voted against the stipend.

Christian said she opposed the same stipend for Matt Worth when he was interim city manager after Jason Molino left, and to be consistent, she needed to oppose it for Tabelski.

"I'm concerned about a lot of people," Christian said. "We have long lines at food banks; people can't pay their rent or mortgage."

Bialkowski said he was applying the standard of the private sector, that when you're on salary you do the work assigned even if you fill in for a vacant slot at the same salary you were getting.

Council President Eugene Jankowski spoke in favor of the stipend. The assistant acts as a department head for administrative staff as well as other administrative duties and while department heads have helped pick up some duties the workload for Tabelski has increased substantially.

He also noted the City Charter requires the city to have a city manager and assistant manager. 

"If you're doing both jobs, it's a burden," Jankowski said.

Tabelski's base salary is $52,339.

Moore's salary was $110,838.

Jankowski noted that the stipend is not a cost that will put the city in a hole because they're currently saving money operating without a city manager.

The Council is in the process of identifying candidates, which may include Tabelski, to become the city's next city manager.

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