RichardHowe.com – Voices from Lowell & Beyond

Lowell Politics: June 21, 2026

The Lowell City Council met on Tuesday, June 16, 2026. The substantive portion of the meeting led off with a motion by Councilor Rita Mericer asking the city manager to provide “a monthly report to the council as to the overtime spending in the fire department.”

In speaking on her motion, Mercier was harshly critical of the fire department, saying the amount of money spent on overtime was “shocking”, that it was “highway robbery”, that the “taxpayers are being held hostage”, that some firefighters “abuse the system for their own personal gain”, that they are “greedy”, and that “she won’t stand for it.”

Councilor Vesna Nuon said he agreed with the motion, especially considering the 4.6% tax increase councilors have imposed on city property owners. Councilor John Descoteaux said it was “a very timely motion.” Councilor Sidney Liang said he agreed with the motion.

Councilor Corey Robinson said he agreed with the motion, but that councilors “shouldn’t kid ourselves.” He laid the blame for high overtime on insufficient staffing, saying that if the city increased the number of firefighters employed by the city, there would be less need for overtime.

Councilor Sean McDonough said that while he, too, is concerned about overtime spending, he didn’t want to create unnecessary work for someone in preparing a new report since the information requested is already being provided to the council each month by the city auditor. He pointed out that the report for last October (just four months into fiscal year 2026 which ran from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026) showed that the fire department had already spent 67% of the money that the council had budgeted for fire department overtime for the entire year. (McDonough’s unstated inference being that if councilors had been paying attention to the information they were already receiving, the large amount of money spent on overtime should not have been surprising.) McDonough added that unlike other city jobs where when a person is out sick the job can be left unfilled, the fire department has “minimum staffing requirements” which require the use of overtime.

Councilor Mercier took umbrage at McDonough’s comments, responding:

“I’m not trying to make work for people. And if it’s already being done, then how hard is it to print that out and give it to 11 people? Is that a burden? It’s a burden to me to see at the end of the budget time and spring it on us. I don’t have the privilege to keep looking and I mean, you know, when you’re not working, maybe you have time to do all these things, but I just would like her, the auditor, to print it out. I don’t know how much more difficult it is. I want to see it in my hand to know that, yeah, it’s getting higher. I don’t think that’s asking too much.”

[Taken from the YouTube transcript of the meeting at 23:18.]

The reference to “not working” was aimed at McDonough who earlier this year resigned his teaching position at Lowell High due to the number of times he had to abstain from city council votes due to the conflict-of-interest rules. McDonough later added, almost plaintively, that he’s starting a new job in September, presumably in another school district.

Mayor Erik Gitschier spoke next, saying that while the overtime spending information was indeed in the auditor’s monthly report, the council needed more information than that. He said the council should more deeply analyze the reasons for high overtime. For instance, how many extra firefighters are there per shift, how many get called in on average per day, how many are out on workers’ comp and for how long, how many are on maternity or paternity leave?

Councilor Dan Rourke pointed out that as the city manager explained several months ago, 110 fire fighters use little overtime, 45 are out a moderate amount of time, and that 30 use every minute of sick time they earn. Rourke said he favors “a full fiscal audit” of the system if that’s what councilors want. He said Mayor Gitschier was correct in the factors he identified. Rourke said the council “should be looking at everything” including vacations and “union leave” (time spent on union activities for which the participants are paid their normal salary, but who are absent from duty which requires replacements to be called in and paid overtime).

Rourke then quizzed the fire chief who explained that the minimum staffing level required 41 firefighters per shift which included three firefighters for each of the city’s 13 trucks plus two deputy chiefs per shift. If all the city’s 213 authorized firefighters were available for duty, there would be 45 or 46 available per shift. This would provide a cushion for each shift meaning that up to four individuals scheduled for duty could be out sick and still leave sufficient personnel – 41 – to meet the minimum staffing level.

However, the city does not have 213 firefighters available for duty now. According to the chief, that number is closer to 200, which leaves the bare minimum on one shift and a single spare person on the other two shifts. In other words, there is no cushion before off duty personnel are called in and paid overtime.

One reason it is difficult for the city to maintain the 213-staffing level is a continuous stream of firefighters filing for retirement. The chief said that as soon as the department bring a new firefighter onboard from the twice-annual fire training academy, it seems that someone else retires.

I assume that long term injury leave is also a factor. Between working on ladders and roofs or slipping on ice that coats everything in the aftermath of a winter fire, or straining to lift a stretcher, “normal” working conditions for fire fighters inevitably lead to more injuries than among the average municipal worker.

Still, the distribution of sick time usage among fire fighters is not even. Are the 30 or so fire fighters who use all their sick time more prone to injury than their peers who use little sick time? There has long been suspicion – never proven as far as I can tell – that some fire fighters game the minimum staffing rules by coordinating their sick time usage with colleagues so that when Fire Fighter A calls in sick on Day 1, Fire Fighter B gets called in to replace them and is  paid overtime, then on Day 2, Fire Fighter B reciprocates by calling in sick, causing Fire Fighter A to be called in a paid overtime. Both A and B have worked a normal number of hours, but both have been paid overtime for one of their shifts.

A “full fiscal audit” that either documented such abuses or proved that they were not occurring would be helpful. But that’s unlikely to happen for at least two reasons. First, collective bargaining rules protect employee confidentiality to a degree that likely would paralyze such an inquiry. Second, it’s doubtful that (some) councilors really want to dig into this issue.

There was a Rip Van Winkle quality to Tuesday night. Just three weeks ago at the May 26, 2026, council meeting, City Manager Tom Golden made an impassioned plea for support in his efforts to curb what he framed as the abuse of sick time that was driving the exorbitant cost of fire department overtime. The council not only failed to back up Golden but also instructed him to go back and work it out which he did. That sent a clear message that there would be no meaningful pushback from the council on fire department overtime. Now with the time for any meaningful response already passed, we suddenly have a pack of born again fiscal watchdogs on the council.

That said, the collective bargaining agreement between the city and the fire fighters by which the city agreed to minimum staffing levels regardless of the cost ties the city’s hands in this conflict. That was apparent when, under the threat of fire fighter layoffs last month, the union obtained a judicial restraining order that essentially prohibited layoffs and any reduction in per shift staffing. Anyone who says, “the city should negotiate that provision out of the contract” has never been involved in union negotiations since, once a benefit as lucrative of that makes it into a contract, it’s nearly impossible to get it out.

In the end, public opinion counts for a lot so the more light can be shed on staffing procedures and fire fighter absenteeism, the better voters will be able to assess performance of councilors on this issue.

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In other matters, councilors discussed the practicalities of providing air conditioning in city schools that don’t already have it; debated how Community Preservation Act funding has been allocated; and discussed an upcoming public forum on data centers which will give residents an opportunity to ask questions and share feedback with the city’s Planning Department. That forum is Monday, June 29, 2026, at 6pm at the Butler School at 1140 Gorham Street.

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As challenging as Lowell’s fiscal road ahead may be, it perhaps got a little less dire on Thursday when the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court invalidated the proposal scheduled to be on this November’s state election ballot that would reduce the state income tax from the current 5% down to 4%. City Manager Golden previously had warned that if this referendum passed, the effect on the city of Lowell’s budget would be catastrophic. With the SJC now invalidating the question, that risk seems to have been removed, at least until the next fiscal crisis arises.

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Lowell’s Franco-American Festival Week kicks off today. I’m especially interested in an event tomorrow night (Monday, June 22, 2026) called “Across the Years: Three Franco Poets from Lowell” which begins at 5:30pm at UMass Lowell’s Coburn Hall, Room 255, at 850 Broadway (on South Campus). The three poets featured are Dr. Joseph H. Roy (1865-1931) and contemporary poets Suzanne Beebe and Paul Marion. The event is free, open to the public, and will be moderated by Dr. Mercedes Baillargeon of the university’s Department of World Languages and Cultures.

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This week in my Seen and Heard column I wrote about a recent visit to the Boott Cotton Mills Museum; shared my thoughts on the NBA Finals including why I was cheering for the New York Knicks; commented on a Dan Shaughnessy column speculating on why the World Cup isn’t treated as a big deal around here; and noted the 75th anniversary of the creation of the Freedom Trail in Boston and reminisced about efforts to create something similar in Lowell.

Gates Block Garden

Gates Block Garden

By Leo Racicot

Every year, I can hardly wait to shake off the ice and snow of winter and head down to Gates Block Garden on Market Street to see what the soil has yielded. Gates Block Garden is an enchanting aerie located at 307 Market Street, sandwiched between Mochinut Bakery and Cafe and The Arts League of Lowell Gallery (ALL). I stumbled upon the garden one Spring Day not knowing it was there and was amazed, as I am to this day, by the ever-changing variety of flora and fauna the caretakers manage to plant. No week is ever the same in this little piece of stretch of heaven. In fact, no day is ever the same, given whichever daily slant of light is infusing the place, depending on the weather. I’ve spent hours in its company, enjoying my own company with a book and especially with a camera raised to snap photos of the many different flowers, bulbed wonders, climbing ivies I find. No summer is the same as the previous summer. I liken the space to a kaleidoscope with its ever-revolving colors, each turn of the cylinder revealing something that wasn’t there a moment ago, In fact, at times, the garden has showcased large shards of mirror that catch the day’s sun and through which I’ve aimed my lens, capturing the reflection of the shops opposite, the cars driving by. The location is ideal as a starting point for a walking tour; the Whistler Museum & Whistler Park are a stone’s throw away, as is North Common Village with its own pretty garden plots. I also point my camera at these. They put me in mind of quaint old English villages such as the ones you find in Miss Marple mysteries. Lowell National Park’s Headquarters isn’t far in the other direction. I never get tired of stopping in there for its free recordings of Jack Kerouac reading his work. Just put on a headset and listen to your heart’s content to literary history.

The appearance a couple of years ago of gigantic murals hovering above Block Garden are breathtaking though I sometimes think they’re too big and dwarf the wonders below. I do like them and always like taking as many photos of them as I can.

Nobody for years seemed to know about this garden. I knew it as a place I could go any time of day and unwind. There are times I’ve been so bowled over by what I saw there, the different configurations, a tiny group of bluebells hiding in a corner, a sculpture, a single rose that I literally took a picture of everything, one-by-one. I’d get swept away by these moments of joy and not want to leave. Of special note was finding my friend, Lowell artist and poet, Stephan Anstey’s poem inscribed on a cinder block in one corner, a lovely free verse that perfectly summing up the city of Lowell in a line or two.

Hidden urban gardens have always delighted me.  When you’re walking along taking in what is maybe too much city, too much red brick, too little view of the sky, there’s a quality of surprise when out-of-nowhere, you spy a pocket of sudden color that roots you to the spot. Instantly the tenor of your day is changed. You literally find yourself again…

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A riot of color

Garden mirrors, 2020

Gates Block Garden entrance

Mirror reflection

Peony

Sunflower

The garden, 2021

Trompe-l’oil windows wall

Mural of woman drumming

Poem by Stephan Anstey

Happy Juneteenth 2026

This post originally appeared on this site on June 18, 2023.

Juneteenth traces its roots to June 19, 1865, when United States Army General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, to announce the emancipation of enslaved African Americans, a full two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued by President Abraham Lincoln. With General Order No. 3, Granger proclaimed that all slaves in Texas were free.

In the years following the initial announcement, Juneteenth became a time for African Americans to gather and celebrate their newfound freedom. These celebrations often included community gatherings, church services, parades, music, and speeches.

Juneteenth symbolized the end of slavery in the United States and was a reminder of the long struggle for freedom endured by enslaved African Americans. Juneteenth also signified the Post Civil War beginning of what was seen by many as a new era of equality and civil rights began to materialize for African Americans.

Despite being observed in African American communities for over a century, Juneteenth did not gain widespread recognition until recent years. Efforts to establish Juneteenth as a national holiday gained momentum in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, driven by activists, community organizations, and political leaders.

On June 19, 2021, Juneteenth took a significant step forward as the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a bill to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. The bill was later signed into law by President Joe Biden, officially designating Juneteenth National Independence Day as a federal holiday. This historic decision acknowledged the importance of Juneteenth as a national commemoration and recognized the need to reckon with America’s complex history of slavery.

Juneteenth is also an appropriate time for all of us to acknowledge the insidious role that slavery played in the development of the United States, and of how the country still struggles with that reality. Furthermore, starting with the Reconstruction Acts that followed the Civil War and continuing up until the present, every time the United States has moved towards becoming a true egalitarian, multiracial, pluralistic democracy, reactionary forces rise to defend traditional hierarchies of race (and of gender, religion, and wealth). We’re amid one of those struggles now, and the outcome is far from certain.

Living Madly: Making Life “Easier” Won’t Make You Happier

View from the summit of South Twin, White Mountains, New Hampshire, November 2024. Photo by Emilie-Noelle Provost

Living Madly: Making Life “Easier” Won’t Make You Happier

By Emilie-Noelle Provost

Life can be a grind. Working, meal planning, cooking, grocery shopping, cleaning, laundry, paying bills—all of it wears me out sometimes.

Even doing activities I enjoy often requires a fair amount of effort and planning.

Hiking in the White Mountains, for example, is one of my favorite things to do. But hiking safely takes a lot of work. The day before a hike, I check weather reports repeatedly so I can pack and organize my backpack accordingly. I make lightweight, nutritious meals and snacks that won’t go bad on the trail. I make sure I have an adequate amount of water, rain gear, sunscreen, bug spray, an extra change of clothes, a first-aid kit, a headlamp. The list of essentials is long. On top of all that, I often have to be up and on the road by six a.m. in order to give myself enough daylight hours to complete whatever hike I’m hoping to do.

Sometimes, all this effort feels like too much. There are days that I just want to sleep in, relax, and not do anything strenuous or that requires too much thought.

Once in a while, this is OK. Everyone needs to rest at times. But I’ve discovered that there’s a limit to the amount sleeping in I can do before I start feeling restless and bored, even kind of depressed. When I pull myself together and get back on the trail, I always feel much better. I feel happy, much happier than if I hadn’t done a bunch of planning and packing and driving and dragged myself out of bed at the crack of dawn to climb a 4,000-foot-tall pile of rocks.

This led me to wonder about the connection between happiness and effort. And as it turns out, being happy requires us to get off of our butts.

Not everything you do that involves work makes you happy, of course. But putting effort into things that have been proven to make people’s lives richer and more meaningful, such as maintaining close friendships, pursing hobbies, volunteering, or achieving a personal goal, will almost always make you happier than sitting on the couch binge-watching old episodes of Downtown Abbey will (not that there’s anything wrong with Downton Abbey).

According to a recent Upworthy.com article, people are happiest when they avoid the urge to seek relaxation and instead make an effort to get out of their comfort zones. Tod Perry, the article’s author, cites a 1980s study conducted by Hungarian-American psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, which determined that people are happiest when they are engaged in “optimal experiences.”

An optimal experience, according to Csikszentmihalyi, is one that requires all of one’s mental concentration and physical effort. Like hiking, for example. Other optimal activities mentioned by Csikszentmihalyi include playing basketball, learning to play a musical instrument, practicing yoga, and enjoying dinner with close friends.

By contrast, Csikszentmihalyi says that excess comfort often results in feelings of boredom, anxiety, guilt, or uselessness, and can eventually lead to depression and even substance abuse and eating disorders.

This is because evolution wired our brains to seek out and learn from new experiences. Visiting new places, meeting new people, and learning new skills all make us happy because they keep our brains active and healthy. These things also help us form new memories, help keep us motivated, make us more mentally and emotionally flexible, and add to our personal libraries of skills and knowledge—all things that make us feel good.

I think Yvon Chouinard, Maine native, rock climber, and founder of Patagonia, summed it up well when he said, “I’ve found the cure for depression is action.”

So, the next time you’re feeling lazy or burned out and are tempted to spend the afternoon on the couch, resist the urge and find something else to do: Call a friend, pick up a book, go for a hike. It might feel like work at first, but you’ll be much happier for it.

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Émilie-Noëlle Provost is the author of The River Is Everywhere, a National Indie Excellence Award, American Fiction Award, and American Legacy Award finalist, and The Blue Bottle, a middle-grade adventure with sea monsters. Visit her at emilienoelleprovost.com.