Holyoke Finance Committee Rejects $21,000 Travel Transfer for Vegas Conference

HOLYOKE -- March 11, 2026, Holyoke Finance Committee unanimously rejects a $21,000 out-of-state travel transfer for a Tyler Technologies user conference. The committee voted to deny the transfer of funds from a pay assistance account to cover attendance at the annual conference, held this year at the Phoenician Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona, citing poor timing during the city's financial management transition and concerns about messaging to taxpayers under fiscal stress. At-large Councilor Michael Sullivan argued that Tyler's regional offices made in-house training a more practical alternative, while Human Resources Director Kelly Curran acknowledged the circumstances and pledged to push department heads to budget the expense directly in future years. The committee separately approved a $7,800 state recycling dividends grant but pressed city officials for a full accounting of unspent dividend funds remaining from fiscal years 2022 through 2025 before those dollars are lost.