Holyoke Finance Committee Approves $55,800 Transfer for Staff Moves and Las Vegas Conference

HOLYOKE -- February 25, 2026, Holyoke Finance Committee approves $55,800 reorganization transfer 4-1, sending city staff to Las Vegas conference. The committee voted Wednesday to move $55,800 from a budgeted assistant chief procurement officer position to fund staffing shifts tied to the Municipal Modernization Act and to cover travel for up to seven city employees to the Tyler Technologies "Tyler Connect" Munis user conference in Las Vegas, April 7-10. David Sullivan cast the lone dissenting vote, arguing the items should have been split into separate orders and questioning the need for another conference before a permanent CAFO, treasurer-collector, and auditor are in place. Mayor Joshua Garcia and contract CAFO TJ Plant defended the spending, with Plant noting that on-site training from Tyler runs two to three times the conference cost. The committee also unanimously approved a $50,000 transfer from the city's $2.6 million cannabis stabilization fund to cover legal fees to KP Law and Blue Sky Consulting, while City Solicitor Michael Bissonnette warned that declining cannabis retail prices are already cutting into the city's 3 percent excise tax revenue. All five committee members signed onto a new order requiring conference attendees to report back to the Finance Committee after returning from Las Vegas.