Quick Updates
Here’s some of what’s happened in May:
The Welcoming Community Ordinance was written years ago when the ideas that the federal government would break laws and norms to attack communities was far-fetched. I worked with councilor Ewen-Campen and Hardt along with the ACLU to make some targeted updates to protect free speech and codify into law that our city will not share data or resources with agencies that harm our community. Those amendments have now been officially passed. (read here to learn more).
I co-sponsored councilor Davis’ zoning amendment that would allow shelters by right. Throughout Massachusetts there’s a shortage of beds in shelters. This comes at a time when homelessness among families and the elderly is growing. In fact the fastest growing demographic experiencing homelessness is seniors. Long term we need to work on permanent supportive housing and increasing the supply of affordable housing, but in the short term, we need to be able to open shelters so no one (including children and the elderly) is left to brave the elements in the freezing cold or boiling heat.
I also co-sponsored a resolution supporting the MA state study on single-stair multifamily residential buildings. If we are able to safely unlock this update to the building code, we may be able to improve building layouts so that developments (affordable and market rate) can add more units.
I’ve also been busy chairing the School Buildings Facilities and Maintenance committee. Among many items we’ve been discussing is the updates required at the Argenziano school so that it’s ready to welcome the AIM program.
I also attended some great events, like the ones held by the Greater Boston Labor Council, Cambridge-Somerville Elder Services, and a 100% affordable housing groundbreaking with Just a Start—three partners that make Somerville a better place.
Budget Season
June is budget month in Somerville, as a member of the finance committee, that means a busy month of many meetings. If you have questions you’d like asked during the department presentations, I’d love to hear them! This is an especially tough budget year, so it’ll be hard. This tough work is one of the reasons I ran.
The mayor presented his budget proposal to the city council tonight, Thursday 6/4, in a special meeting and we have a virtual open hearing on the budget on June 10th where you can voice your opinion.
There are many reasons for the budget gap, increased costs due to new contracts, healthcare costs, and inflation, expiring grants, large projects (like the Winter Hill School rebuild), and most of all a drastically lower projection in revenue from development. In total the city is looking at a $5.4 million budget gap. And this doesn’t include some contracts (notably police) that have not hit the budget yet.
Layoffs & Union
Part of how the mayor is addressing the gap is through layoffs. We’ve heard that the layoffs closed $2 million dollars in the budget gap. The city council wasn’t really aware of the details behind the layoffs until after they happened. The city laid off 13 staff and closed 16 open positions.
Mayor Wilson has a tough needle to thread to close the gap, and I appreciate how hard he has worked to try and find the least bad path. That said, I was more than a little concerned by the testimony from some of the city staff, including one person who was laid off. Some of these positions may make it harder to maintain food access, get into affordable housing, and help struggling youth. The layoffs also happened before non-union staff were able to get their union formally recognized. Somerville is a union town, so the city council voted unanimously to support recognition of the new union. During the budget hearings, I’ll be focused on equity and our ability as a city to continue caring for everyone.
Body Worn Cameras
I’m including the body worn camera (BWC) program here on the topic of budget because, beyond the question of how sound the policy is, there’s deep budget implications. BWC come with three basic costs: a 2% salary increase for all officers with 8 years of service, new admin staff, equipment. Taken together, the cost projection is just shy of half a million dollars. I believe this projection is optimistic. In particular the projection includes just one admin, where neighboring cities with BWC have two or more. I expect the cost of this program will exceed half a million dollars. In a year with a good budget and a BWC policy that ensures a transparency and accountability improvement, I’d be an easy yes. Unfortunately, that isn’t what we are looking at. Considering the layoffs, I can’t rationalize adding this much to the police budget.
School Budget
Another interesting aspect of the budget this year is the school budget. The superintendent and mayor proposed a budget, and then the school committee amended and approved one that is higher. The school committee budget adds roughly $600k for six interventionists. The value of interventionists when it comes to student outcomes is pretty clear. Unfortunately, the mayor has not put this budget forward and the city council doesn’t really have a say here. The city council cannot override the mayor’s school budget without a ratification of the acts of 1987 chapter 329. Last year the city council unanimously approved this, but the mayor rejected it. So we find ourselves, once again, in a position where the city council has nearly no leverage.
More to Come
The budget book is over 500 pages and we’ve only just been given access. Once I’ve digested it more thoroughly, I’ll be sharing what I find and what I think. I want to invite people to reach out to me again. Let me know what’s on your mind. You can find the proposed budget book on the city of Somerville website.
AI Ordinance
Another thing I’ve been working on is an AI transparency and accountability ordinance. While there are potential upsides to bringing AI into some processes, I want to make sure the city does it in a way that is easily understood to both people making decisions and the general public. It’s still in the early days as I try to find a balance of having an effective ordinance that does not unduly burden our hard working city staff. If you have thoughts, I’d love to hear them.
Community Corner
Check out these Somerville Happenings!
SomerStreets Carnival - Among the fun will be a dunk tank featuring many of Somerville elected (myself included). Luckily, I know I’ll be safe and dry because the people of Somerville notoriously have horrible aim.
Farmers Markets in Union Square and Davis Square are in full swing
Homan Site
Down in Davis is bringing music to Davis Square each Friday
There’s a Somerville Arts Forum June 15th free with RSVP
The Somerville Community Land Trust and Just a Start are holding a 297 Medford St community meeting.
Finally, I promised Aaron, the delightful owner of Gracie’s, that I’d let people know Gracie’s Ice Cream is now open until 10pm. Maybe this is the start of a local business spotlight?
SROs (School Resource Officers)
Safe Schools Somerville is active again with the recent news that the district is considering bring an SRO back to Somerville High School. I was relieved to hear tonight that from our superintendent, Dr. Carmona, that the 2023 recommendation of an SLO was still on the table. I want to share my deep appreciation to him for this update. It seems clear to me that picking up where the city and school district left things is the best course, as opposed to returning to the outdated SRO model, which has shown, time and time again, to cause harm instead of help.
Jon Link, Somerville City Councilor At-Large • JonForSomerville.com
