[00:00:01]
THE YEAR.[ROLL CALL]
WANNA NOTE THOSE TWO, UH, ITEMS. WE EXPECT TO TAKE JUST ABOUT 10 MINUTES EACH BECAUSE WE WANT THE BULK OF THIS MEETING TO BE DEVOTED TO THE BUDGET PRIORITIES.AFTER THOSE TWO UPDATES, UH, WE'LL GO TO PUBLIC COMMENT AND THEN WE'LL TURN TO THE LARGER DISCUSSION FOR TODAY'S MEETING, WHICH IS THE BUDGET PRIORITIES DISCUSSION.
AND THIS WILL BE THE BULK OF THE DISCUSSION.
WE'LL HAVE FIVE SLIDES BEGINNING WITH THE PIE CHART ON, ON PACKET 27, AND THEN WE'LL HAVE A MEMO AND A CHART OF PREVIOUS COUNCIL PRIORITIES, AND WE'LL BE TAG TEAMING WITH THE, UH, FINANCE.
SO BEFORE, UM, I TURN IT OVER TO CITY STAFF, IS THERE SOMETHING, UH, CO-CHAIR ZUBIE, THAT YOU WANTED TO ADD? NO, I'M OKAY.
THEN AGAIN, AS I SAID, I WILL START OUT WITH THE FEDERAL GRANT CIVILIZATION FUND, AN ARPA UPDATE, AND THEN PUBLIC COMMENT, AND THEN I'LL MAKE AN INTRODUCTION TO THE BUDGET PRIORITIES SECTION, UH, TO LEAD US OFF ON THAT.
[CITY MANAGER'S AGENDA]
WILL TURN IT OVER TO CITY MANAGER, HUANG.THANK YOU SO MUCH, UM, CHAIR NOLAN, AND I THINK WE CAN JUST GET RIGHT INTO IT.
UM, WE HAVE A LOT ON THE AGENDA, UM, AND I THINK IN PARTICULAR, I KNOW WE WANNA SAVE TIME FOR THE BUDGET PRIORITIES CONVERSATION, SO WE'LL TRY TO MOVE QUICKLY THROUGH, UH, THESE OTHER TOPICS.
THANK YOU, UH, MR. MANAGER AND, UH, THROUGH YOU CHAIR NOLAN, WE HAVE A, A FEW SLIDES BOTH.
UM, I'M GONNA, UH, SPEAK BRIEFLY ABOUT THE, THE FEDERAL, UM, GRANT STABILIZATION FUND AND, AND IN GENERAL, UH, THE, THE FEDERAL GRANTS, UM, THE STATUS OF FEDERAL GRANTS.
UH, AND THEN, UH, MR. NELSON HERE WILL GIVE US A BRIEF UPDATE ON ARPA.
SO IF WE COULD, WHENEVER WE CAN GET THE, UM, PRESENTATION UP.
SO HERE, YOU KNOW, AS, UH, UH, CO-CHAIR NOLAN MENTIONED, WE HAVE SORT OF THREE MAJOR THINGS, UM, ON THE AGENDA.
WE'RE GONNA BRIEFLY GO THROUGH, UM, FEDERAL GRANTS AND ARPA UPDATE, AND THEN, UM, HOPEFULLY THE BULK OF THE MEETING WILL BE ON BUDGET PRIORITIES.
UH, SO, UM, I THINK WE'VE, WE'VE SEEN A VERSION OF THIS SLIDE A NUMBER OF TIMES, UM, THROUGH, UH, THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS.
UM, BUT, UH, ESSENTIALLY IN JUNE OF 2025, AMID SORT OF THE UNCERTAINTY ABOUT FEDERAL GRANTS, AS WE WERE TRYING TO PUT TOGETHER THE FY 26 BUDGET, UM, UH, THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVED OUR PROPOSAL, THE CITY MANAGED PROPOSAL TO ALLOCATE $5 MILLION OF, UM, FREE CASH TO A FEDERAL GRANT STABILIZATION FUND.
BECAUSE AT THAT TIME, WE REALLY, IT WAS REALLY UNCERTAIN WHAT WAS GONNA HAPPEN WITH OUR, OUR, OUR FEDERAL DOLLARS.
UM, ALMOST, UH, IMMEDIATELY, UM, A MILLION DOLLARS OF THAT FUNDING WAS ALLOCATED TO SUPPORT HOUSING FOR MIXED STATUS FAMILIES, LEAVING ABOUT $4 MILLION, UH, IN THE, UM, FEDERAL STABILIZATION FUND.
AND THEN IN THE FALL, UH, DURING THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN, AT WHICH TIME SNAP BENEFITS, UM, WERE IMPACTED, UH, THE CITY COUNCIL, UH, APPROVED AN ALLOCATION OF $250,000, UM, THAT WAS USED TO MITIGATE SOME OF THE FOOD INSECURITY RELATED TO THAT SHUTDOWN.
SO THAT LEAVES US WITH ABOUT 3.75, UM, UH, MILLION OF THE 5 MILLION LEFT IN THE, UH, IN THE FUND.
UM, SO LOOKING FORWARD, UM, THROUGH, UM, FY 27, UH, THE MILLION DOLLARS THAT WAS ALLOCATED TO SUPPORT THE HOUSING FOR MIXED STATUS FAMILIES, UM, WE HAVE PRESUMED FROM THE BEGINNING THAT THAT WAS GOING TO BE AN ONGOING PROGRAM THAT WE WOULD SUPPORT, AT LEAST IN THE NEAR TERM.
AND SO AS WE'VE BEEN PUTTING TOGETHER THE FY 27 BUDGET AND DOING PROJECTIONS, WE HAVE, UM, BAKED INTO OUR PROJECTIONS THAT WE WOULD HAVE A MILLION DOLLARS IN THE OPERATING BUDGET TO CONTINUE TO SUPPORT, UM, THAT, UM, THAT PROGRAM.
UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, UNCERTAINTY AROUND THE FEDERAL GRANTS PERSIST, UM, EVEN AS FY 26 IS, PERHAPS THE OUTLOOK HAS IMPROVED, UM, AS WE'VE BEEN UPDATING THE COUNCIL THROUGH THE YEAR.
UM, BUT FY 27 STILL REMAINS, UM, FAIRLY UNCERTAIN.
SO, HERE'S A CHART THAT WE'VE SHARED, UM, SEVERAL TIMES NOW WITH THE COUNCIL.
UM, AS YOU KNOW, AS THE YEAR HAS GONE ON AND, UM, BASICALLY SHOWING, YOU KNOW, 10 OF OUR SIGNIFICANT FEDERAL, UM, GRANTS, UM, THAT WE ARE TRACKING.
[00:05:01]
UM, ESSENTIALLY, UM, YOU KNOW, HAVING, UM, HAVING CREATED SORT OF A RISK LEVEL FOR BOTH FY 26 AND FY 27.AND AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, THE RISK LEVEL FOR FY 26 IS BECOME A, BECOMING A LITTLE LESS DIRE.
UM, IN THAT, UM, AS HAS BEEN DISCUSSED A NUMBER OF TIMES HERE DURING THE FEDERAL UPDATES BECAUSE OF THE LITIGATION, UM, THAT THE CITY OF CAMBRIDGE IS INVOLVED IN, UM, WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO CONTINUE TO, UH, SPEND FUNDING IN SOME OF THESE GRANTS, UM, THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF LITIGATION.
AND SO NOW AS THE YEAR IS, YOU KNOW, COMING ON ALMOST THREE QUARTERS OF ITS WAY THROUGH, THE RISK TO US FINANCIALLY IS LESS, UM, UH, EVEN IF THE COURT, THE FINDING OF THE COURT IS, IS NOT IN OUR FAVOR, WE WILL HAVE GOTTEN MOSTLY THROUGH THIS FISCAL YEAR.
AND SO THAT IS REALLY THE REASON WHY WE'VE, WE'VE LOWERED SOME OF THE RISK REALLY FOR FY 26, UM, AND FY 27.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE THERE, THE, JUST, THE ISSUE IS THAT THE UNCERTAINTY STILL REMAINS.
WE, WE REALLY DON'T KNOW, UM, HOW THE LITIGATION IS GOING TO, UH, COME OUT.
UM, AND I THINK THAT THERE, ESPECIALLY FOR THE COC GRANT, THERE'S A LOT OF MOVING PARTS RELATED TO THAT GRANT.
IT'S A FAIRLY COMPLICATED GRANT.
UM, I THINK IN ANY GIVEN YEAR, WE, WE MAY ACTUALLY HAVE, MAY ACTUALLY BE USING FUNDING FROM THREE DIFFERENT FEDERAL FISCAL YEARS AS PART OF OUR SINGLE FISCAL YEAR.
AND SO THERE'S DIFFERENT RULES AND DIFFERENT THINGS HAPPENING TO THE FUNDING.
BUT IN PARTICULAR, THAT GRANT, WHICH HAS BOTH THE ISSUE, UM, THAT WE'VE FACED WITH MANY OF OUR GRANTS, UM, ON THIS LIST, NOT, UH, NOT INCLUDING THE SCHOOLS THAT, UH, NEW REQUIREMENTS, WE WERE BEING ASKED TO AGREE TO CERTAIN CONDITIONS, UM, ON THE GRANT AND, AND WE WERE ALLOWED NOT TO, UH, WE WERE ABLE TO SIGN THE GRANT WITHOUT THOSE CONDITIONS.
THE OTHER ISSUE WITH THE COC GRANT IS ACTUALLY THERE IS, UM, UM, SOME POTENTIAL THAT HOW THE GRANT CAN BE USED MAY CHANGE, UM, FROM HOW WE'RE USING IT, WHICH IS PREDOMINANTLY FOR PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING, UH, TO MORE TEMPORARY TYPES OF HOUSING.
AND SO THAT'S THE REASON WHY WE HAVE THAT AS A REALLY HIGH RISK FOR FY 27.
UM, OUR OTHER, UM, GRANTS, WE HAVE, UM, UH, NOT THE SCHOOL GRANTS, BUT THE CITY GRANTS WE HAVE LISTED AS MEDIUM, BECAUSE AGAIN, THERE IS JUST UNCERTAINTY, UM, ABOUT WHAT IS GOING TO BE THE ULTIMATE RESULT OF THE LITIGATION THAT WE'RE INVOLVED IN.
SO I'M GONNA PASS THIS OVER TO MATT NELSON NOW, AND HE WILL UPDATE US ON ARPA.
THANKS, UH, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, SPINNER, UM, THROUGH CHAIR NOLAN.
UM, ACTUALLY QUITE WHAT, QUITE, AGAIN, WE ARE MOVING FORWARD THROUGH THIS, BUT IF THERE ARE CLARIFYING QUESTIONS OR SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE ASKED ABOUT THE, THIS STABILIZATION FUND, WHY DON'T WE HAVE ANY COUNCIL QUESTIONS NOW, BUT, AND WE'LL DO THE SAME THING AFTER THE ARPA.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE IF THERE WERE ANY THAT WE HAD THAT NOW WE'LL MOVE TO ARPA.
AND SAME THING, I'LL BE ASKING THE SAME QUESTION AT THE END OF ARPA, RECOGNIZING THERE'LL BE A LONGER REPORT ON PARTICULARLY DELIVERABLES, WHICH WE'VE ASKED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT PEOPLE ACTUALLY DID WITH THE MONEY.
BUT WE, WE DID WANT A QUICK UPDATE ON ARPA NOW.
SO THANK YOU, UH, DIRECTOR NELSON.
THANKS, CHAIR NOLAN, AND THROUGH YOU.
UM, I'LL, I'LL TRY TO BE AS EFFICIENT AS ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER SPINNER HERE.
UM, THIS IS OUR FIFTH TIME IN FINANCE COMMITTEE, UM, GIVEN A REPORT ON ARPA.
AND JUST A REMINDER, LAST, LAST YEAR IN MARCH WAS OUR LAST REPORT WHERE WE REALLY DID REPORT OUT ON HITTING A MAJOR MILESTONE, WHICH WAS OUR OBLIGATION DEADLINE OF DECEMBER 31ST, 2024.
THIS WAS A BIG UNDERTAKING TO MAKE SURE ALL OF OUR FUNDS ARE ON, UM, OBLIGATED AND NONE OF THE FEDERAL GRANT MONEY WAS SENT BACK.
UM, THERE ARE TWO MAJOR DATES THIS YEAR, JUST TO CALL OUT SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2026, WHERE ABOUT 95% OF OUR GRANTS HAVE A DEADLINE TO SPEND ALL THEIR MONEY.
AND THEN DECEMBER 31ST, 2026, WHERE THE FULL GRANT HAS TO BE FULLY SPENT DOWN.
UM, SO WE HAVE THAT THREE MONTH BUFFER TO MAKE SURE WE'RE REPORTING EVERYTHING THAT'S BEEN SPENT DOWN FROM SEPTEMBER TO DECEMBER.
THIS SLIDE HERE, I THINK MOST OF YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH OUR MARY MEKO SLIDE.
THE BIGGER THE BOX, THE MORE MONEY WE'VE SPENT ON DIFFERENT PROGRAMS. UM, AND IT JUST DOES CONTINUE TO SHOW THE CITY'S,
[00:10:01]
UM, ALLOCATION REALLY DOES CONTINUE TO REFLECT THE COUNCIL'S DECISION TO PRIORITIZE AND SUPPORT OUR VULNERABLE POPULATIONS.AND JUST A REMINDER, THIS IS, THIS WAS FROM THE PANDEMIC AND FOLKS WHO WERE AFFECTED NEGATIVELY FROM THE PANDEMIC.
AND YOU CAN UNDERSTAND WHY THIS, SO MUCH OF THE SUPPORT WENT TO FOLKS WHO ARE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS AND, UH, HUNGER ISSUES AND THE LIKE.
I ALSO WANT TO CALL OUT, THERE IS A NONPROFIT BOX HERE, WHICH IS JUST UNDER $6 MILLION.
AND THAT IS SPECIFICALLY THE FUNDING THAT WENT TO THE NONPROFIT, UM, GRANT PROGRAM.
BUT IN ADDITION, IN EACH ONE OF THESE BOXES ARE GRANT AGREEMENTS WITH NONPROFITS AS SUBRECIPIENTS AND BENEFICIARIES.
SO THERE'S MORE THAN THAT $6 MILLION THAT WENT TO OUR NONPROFITS NEXT SLIDE.
SO AGAIN, THIS IS OUR FIFTH TIME HERE.
WITH EACH UPDATE, YOU CAN SEE WE'VE MADE PROGRESS IN SPENDING DOWN THE CLOSE TO $90 MILLION, UM, AS OF THE END OF THE CALENDAR YEAR, DECEMBER 31ST, WHERE, UM, JUST UNDER $80 MILLION SPENT.
THERE'S A FEW BIG PROJECTS IN THERE THAT THERE'S A PLANNED EXPENSE STATE.
SO WE'RE ACTUALLY, WE'RE ON TARGET TO HIT THE SEPTEMBER 30TH.
UM, AND JUST A REMINDER HERE ON THIS SCREEN, DARK BLUE IS SPENT AND THE LIGHT BLUE IS MONEY THAT'S BEEN OBLIGATED AND, AND WITH A SPENDING PLAN TO IT.
AND THIS IS JUST OUR QUICK THANK YOU SLIDE.
UM, THANK THIS IS A, A HUGE PROGRAM THAT GOES, UH, ALMOST TO ALL OF OUR DEPARTMENTS WHERE, UH, ESPECIALLY, UM, ON THE REPORTING SIDE, FINANCE, LAW, PURCHASING AND AUDITING, BUT THERE'S PROJECT MANAGERS IN ALL OF OUR DEPARTMENTS JUST ABOUT.
AND THEN IN ADDITION, WE'RE CALLING OUT OUR LARGE NONPROFIT AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS, RECOGNIZING THAT THEY'VE REALLY HELPED FACILITATE SOME REALLY LARGE, UM, PROJECTS AS SUBRECIPIENTS.
I DO WANNA CALL OUT THAT THERE ARE ADDITIONAL SMALLER NONPROFITS THAT NEVER REALLY WORKED IN THE FEDERAL GRANT WORLD BEFORE.
AND THIS, THIS GRANT PROGRAM, UM, REALLY DID, UH, REQUIRE A LOT OF OVERSIGHT AND A LOT OF WORK.
AND, UM, WE REALLY LEANED ON SOME OF THESE SMALLER NONPROFITS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY WERE TYING UP THEIR LOOSE ENDS AND, AND, AND IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE GRANT PROTOCOLS.
AND, UM, JUST REALLY THANKFUL FOR ALL THE WORK FROM OUR COMMUNITY.
AND WE DO HAVE OVER A HUNDRED GRANT RECIPIENTS IN, IN THE SMALL BUSINESS AND NONPROFIT COMMUNITY.
SO, UM, THE WORK THAT'S HAPPENING NOW ON THE BACKEND IS SOMETHING WE HAVEN'T REALLY TOUCHED ON MUCH, BUT IT'S, YOU KNOW, A MAJOR PART OF THE WORK FROM OUR SIDE IS WORKING ON REPORTING AND COMPLIANCE, UM, WITH THE, WITH THE 57 PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS THAT REMAIN.
SO THEY'RE STILL WORKING ON SPENDING DOWN THEIR PRO THEIR PROGRAMS, BUT IN ADDITION, ON THE COMPLIANCE SIDE, WE'RE WORKING TO RECONCILE WITH OVER 900 CONTRACTORS, SUBRECIPIENTS AND BENEFICIARIES, UM, EACH ONE OF THOSE PAYMENTS MADE TO THOSE FOLKS HAVE TO BE RECONCILED AND COULD POTENTIALLY GET AUDITED FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
SO WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT I'S, ARE DOTTED AND T'S ARE CROSSED QUARTERLY.
WE DO RE WE RE WE REPORT OUT, UM, A QUARTERLY REPORT, WHICH IS OVER 400 PAGES.
UM, AND THEN THE, OBVIOUSLY THE ANNUAL AUDIT INCLUDES THE ARPA AUDIT AS WELL, WHICH REVIEWS ALL THE PAYMENTS, PROCUREMENTS AND REPORTING.
UM, AND THEN I ALSO WANNA CALL OUT THAT SINCE, SINCE ARPA WAS, UM, FUNDED THROUGH THE, THROUGH, UM, THE US FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, THERE'S BEEN 10 MAJOR SIGNIFICANT GRANT POLICY CHANGES THAT WE'VE HAD TO BE FLEXIBLE WITH AND CHANGE COURSE A NUMBER OF TIMES.
SO THERE'S BEEN TIMES THAT EVEN PROJECTS THAT WERE DEEMED, UH, AS AN ALLOWABLE USE WAS THEN DEEMED NOT ALLOWABLE, AND WE HAD TO GET CREATIVE A FEW TIMES TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT GRANTS STILL WERE ABLE TO GO TO ORGANIZATIONS.
UM, SO JUST ANOTHER THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR PARTNERS, UM, BOTH EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL WHO HAVE BEEN ABLE TO BE FLEXIBLE DEALING WITH, UM, BOTH A CHANGE IN ADMINISTRATION WHICH CHANGED THAT, AND ALSO A CHANGE, UM, THAT COMES FROM BOTH US TREASURY AND THE OFFICE OF, UM, BUDGET MANAGEMENT.
I WILL JUST CALL OUT MY COLLEAGUES HERE ON THE REPORTING SIDE AND THE COMPLIANCE SIDE BECAUSE THEY ARE IN THE BACK OFTENTIMES HERE LATE AT NIGHT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE WE'RE ON TOP.
SO THIS IS, THIS IS MICHELLE KINCADE, THIS COMPARTMENT WORKING WITH SHARON POOH, OUR FEDERAL GRANTS ADMINISTRATOR, JIM MONGO, WHO CAME OUT OF RETIREMENT PART-TIME TO BE THE ARPA AUDITOR, AND THEN ALSO OUR AUDIT TEAM LED BY JOE MCCANN, WHO, WHO REALLY DO WORK AROUND THE CLOCK TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE ON TOP OF ALL OF THIS NEXT SLIDE.
AND SO WE TALKED ABOUT THIS LAST MARCH AS WE WERE TALKING ABOUT SORT OF THE ARPA CLIFF
[00:15:01]
AND PROGRAMS THAT WE REALLY DID SUPPORT, UM, THROUGH ARPA AND HOW WE WOULD EXTEND INTO OUR GENERAL FUND BUDGET.UM, SO LAST YEAR, UM, IN THE FY 26, WE ACTUALLY MOVED, UM, ONE, WE ALLOCATED ONE POINT, ALMOST $1.8 MILLION INTO THE FY 26 BUDGET THAT WERE INITIAL, UM, JUST BEING FUNDED FROM ARPA.
AND THEN IN ADDITION FOR FY 27 TO CONTINUE, IN ADDITION TO CONTINUING THAT BUDGET, WE'RE ADDING ANOTHER JUST OVER A MILLION DOLLARS TO THE FY 27 BUDGET.
UM, SO THE TOTAL ALLOCATION REQUESTED FOR FY 27 WILL BE AROUND $2.8 MILLION.
AND THEN JUST TO REMIND FOLKS, THIS IS, THIS IS, YOU KNOW, NEW MONEY THAT WASN'T IN THE BUDGET, PRE ARPA SUPPORTING COUNCIL PRIORITIES AND SUPPORTING OUR MOST VULNERABLE.
UM, AND AS YOU SEE HERE THAT, YOU KNOW, AFTER SCHOOL HOMELESS SERVICES, THESE ARE ALL PROGRAMS THAT WE ALL HERE REALLY, UM, RECOGNIZE ARE IMPORTANT.
AND I THINK, I THINK THAT IS IT.
SO CHAIR NOLAN, I'M GONNA TURN IT BACK TO YOU.
ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE BODY? COUNCILLOR SUZI, UH, THANK YOU CHAIR NOLAN, THIS IS, UH, THROUGH YOU A CLARIFYING QUESTION FOR MR. NELSON.
SO IF ON SLIDE, UH, WHAT SLIDE IS THAT THE, ANYWAY, THE ONE IF 10% OF 88.1 MILLION IS 8.1 MILLION, RIGHT? BUT THEN YOU TALK ABOUT DISTRIBUTING, UM, 2.8 MILLION THIS IN FISCAL YEAR 27, RIGHT? AND 1.78 MILLION IN FISCAL YEAR 26, SO THAT DOESN'T ADD UP TO 8.8 MILLION.
SO WHERE, WHERE AM I MIXED UP? THANK YOU.
IF WE CAN GO BACK TO THAT LAST SLIDE IN THE ARPA, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT JUST TO HANG ON THERE FOR A SECOND.
SO WHAT WE'RE SEEING HERE ARE, ARE THE AMOUNTS OF MONEY THAT THE ARPA EXPENDITURES HAVE BEEN SPENT THROUGH.
AND IN FY 26, THE CITY COUNCIL ALLOCATED THROUGHOUT THE CITY'S RECOMMENDATION TO PUT THOSE, CONTINUE THOSE PROGRAMS IN THE GENERAL FUND.
SO HERE IN FY 26, 1 $0.78 MILLION WERE ALLOCATED IN THE GENERAL FUND TO WORK ON THESE PROGRAMS THAT WERE INITIALLY AT, UM, ARPA PROGRAMS. OBVIOUSLY WE WERE, WE WERE FUNDING AFTER SCHOOL, WE'VE BEEN FUNDING LANGUAGE JUSTICE, BUT THESE WERE ADDITIONAL PROGRAMS THAT WE ADDED ON USING ARPA.
AND INSTEAD OF NOT FUNDING THOSE PROGRAMS ANYMORE, WE CONTINUE TO FUND THOSE PROGRAMS FROM THE GENERAL FUND.
AND IN FY 26, IT WAS JUST ABOUT 1.8.
AND THEN WE'RE ADDING JUST OVER A MILLION ON TOP OF THAT FOR FY 27, WHICH WILL BE PRESENTED IN THE BUDGET FOR FY 27.
SO THE TOTAL OF THE ARPA CLIFF MONEY THAT WE TALK ABOUT SOMETIMES THAT WE CONTINUED IN THE GENERAL FUND IS JUST UNDER $3 MILLION.
SO TO IT, TO BE CLEAR, WHAT OF THE 88 MILLION, THIS IS TOTALLY UNRELATED TO THE 88 MILLION.
THE 88 MILLION INCLUDED MANY OF THESE ELEMENTS, THOSE WERE ALREADY EXPENDED.
AND THE IDEA WAS, OH MY GOSH, WE'VE SPENT THROUGH ALL THAT MONEY, WE NOW WANNA CONTINUE SOME OF THE PROGRAMS IN THE REGULAR OPERATING BUDGET.
THAT'S WHAT THAT PAGE IS ABOUT, THAT 1.7.
UH, OKAY, A AGAIN, AND I APOLOGIZE FOR NOT GETTING IT.
SO WHY, SO, UM, AND I THINK YOU'VE DONE AN ABSOLUTELY MARVELOUS JOB, UH,
SO, SO WHY, WHY WOULD, WHY WOULDN'T THESE NUMBERS ADD UP TO 8.8 MILLION? SHALL WE JUST YEAH, YOU WANT, WANNA JUMP IN? ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER SPINNER.
AND THEN I CAN MAYBE ASK OUR BUDGET DIRECTOR.
SO I THINK YOU, THROUGH YOU, UH, CHAIR NOLAN, I THINK AS, AS THE ARPA FUNDING ACROSS THE COUNTRY, RIGHT? WAS COMING TO AN END, YOU MIGHT HAVE STARTED TO HEAR THINGS ABOUT THE ARPA CLIFF, WHICH MEANS YOU'VE, YOU'VE GOT ALL THIS MONEY FUNDING VARIOUS PROGRAMS, AND WHEN THE FEDERAL MONEY DRIES UP, THEN THE, THE PROGRAMS, YOU KNOW, ALL OF A SUDDEN GO AWAY.
AND THAT'S PREDOMINANTLY WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE BECAUSE THE, THE INTENT OF THE MONEY REALLY WAS RECOVERY FROM THE PANDEMIC, RIGHT? UH, IT WAS A PANDEMIC.
UM, THESE ARE JUST A VERY SMALL SELECTION OF SOME OF THE PROGRAMS THAT WE FUNDED THROUGH ARPA.
UM, ADDED, UH, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THOSE THINGS WE WERE ALREADY DOING MANY OF THOSE THINGS, BUT THINGS THAT WE REALLY, UM, ADDED CAPACITY TO USING ARPA MONEY JUST AFTER THE PANDEMIC USING ARPA FUNDING
[00:20:01]
THAT HAD WE NOT THEN DECIDED TO ADD IT TO OUR OPERATING BUDGET LAST YEAR, ALL OF A SUDDEN A CLIFF MIGHT HAVE HAPPENED IN AFTERSCHOOL, SUDDENLY FAMILIES, PRIORITY FAMILIES WHO WERE BEING SUPPORTED THROUGH, UM, SEVERAL PARTNERS THROUGH THIS FUNDING WOULD SUDDENLY NOT HAVE ACCESS TO THAT.AND SO INSTEAD OF LETTING THAT HAPPEN, WE, YOU KNOW, SELECTED A FEW THINGS.
OBVIOUSLY WE COULD NOT PUT $88 MILLION INTO THE OPERATING BUDGET AND REPLICATE EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED THROUGH ARPA.
BUT THIS IS A SMALL SELECTION OF ITEMS THAT THE CITY AND THE CITY COUNCIL FELT IMPORTANT, UH, TO CONTINUE TO PROVIDE SUPPORT TO.
SO THAT MEANT THAT IT IS NOW BAKED INTO THE BASE, OR ONE POINT, ALMOST $1.8 MILLION GOT PUT INTO THE FY 26 OPERATING BUDGET.
SO NO LONGER PAID FOR THROUGH GRANT MONEY, BUT PAID FOR THROUGH PUBLIC FUNDS SUCH AS TAXES.
AND WHAT HAPPENED THERE IN THE AFTERSCHOOL IS THAT YOU CAN SEE THAT WE, THE WHOLE COST WAS $990,000.
AND THE FIRST, UH, THERE WAS STILL, YOU KNOW, APPROXIMATELY $210,000 LEFT IN THE FEDERAL FUNDS FOR FY 26.
BUT HAD WE NOT ADDED THE SEVEN 80, THERE WOULD'VE BEEN A HUGE DROP OFF IN THE BENEFIT.
SO WE ADDED THE SEVEN 80 FOR FY 26, AND NOW WE'RE GONNA ADD THE OTHER 210 IN FY 27, AND THERE'LL BE $990,000 IN THE GENERAL FUND BUDGET NOW IN THE BASE.
SO THAT WILL JUST MOVE FORWARD, UM, 27 AND BEYOND.
AND THAT'S HOW EACH OF THESE, UM, ITEMS WORKED.
I, I GET THAT PART OF YOUR ANSWER, SO I THINK, I THINK WE SHOULD MOVE ON ANYWAY.
UH, MAYOR SIDIKI, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION? I HAD A QUESTION AND A THOUGHT.
UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK FIRST ONE, I JUST ACKNOWLEDGE ALL THE ARPA YOU KNOW, ALL THE WORK ON ARPA BECAUSE IT IS INCREDIBLE HOW, UM, WE HAD THAT RESOURCE.
UM, AND SO I THINK I WAS THINKING ABOUT THESE CATEGORIES AND I JUST WANNA WEIGH IN.
LIKE I TOTALLY AGREE WITH THEM.
I CAN'T REMEMBER IF THE COUNCIL, I THINK IT WAS THE FINANCE FOLKS WHO SAID, HERE'S WHERE WE THINK HERE ARE THE CATEGORIES WE THINK YOU SHOULD BASED ON THE COUNCIL PRIORITIES VERSUS US SAYING, YOU KNOW, HERE'S SO A SPECIFIC PROGRAM THAT WE'D WANT.
I BRING THAT UP BECAUSE THERE WERE A LOT OF GREAT THINGS WE WERE ABLE TO DO.
I THINK ABOUT THE CAMBRIDGE BIKE ACCESS PROGRAMS AND THE E-BIKE PROGRAM.
THERE WAS SO MUCH POSITIVE FEEDBACK AROUND THAT.
THAT'S SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, OUR GENERAL BUDGET BECAUSE OF ANTI AID, PROBABLY SOME ISSUES, YOU KNOW, SOME ISSUES THERE.
UM, BUT I THINK THERE ARE STILL GOING TO BE SOME ASK AND SOME REQUESTS ON THESE THINGS THAT WE WERE DOING.
AND THAT'S ONE THAT I'VE HEARD KIND OF RECENTLY.
I KNOW IT'S SNOWY AND, YOU KNOW, ALL THAT STUFF, BUT HUGE POSITIVE, UM, FEEDBACK ON WE ARE SPENDING MONEY ON BIKE LANES AND MAKING IT MORE EQUITABLE AND BEING ABLE TO GIVE FOLKS WHO ARE LOW INCOME.
THAT OPPORTUNITY WAS REALLY IMPORTANT.
AND SO I THINK, UM, I JUST WANTED TO BRING UP THAT POINT THAT I WISH THERE WAS A WAY TO THINK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, ARE THERE OTHER, ASIDE FROM THESE CATEGORIES, WHICH I A HUNDRED PERCENT AGREE BECAUSE THEY'RE BASED ON OUR COUNCIL PRIORITIES.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A LOT OF GOALS AND PRIORITIES.
SO I JUST WANTED TO, UM, BRING THAT UP.
AND THAT WILL PROBABLY BE A SEGUE INTO OUR FOLLOWING DISCUSSION, UH, UH, CO-CHAIR ZUBI.
UH, THROUGH YOU CHAIR NOLAN, THANK YOU FOR THIS PRESENTATION.
I, I THINK WHAT COUNCILORS ZUI MIGHT BE REFERRING TO, IF I'M UNDERSTANDING CORRECTLY, IS JUST BETTER UNDERSTANDING WHERE THAT 10%, THAT ROUGHLY $8 MILLION FROM THE REMAINDER OF THE ARPA FUNDING WILL GO.
IF THERE ARE CONVERSATIONS AROUND THAT.
UNDERSTANDING THAT WHAT'S ON THE SLIDE HERE IS SHOWING NOW THINGS THAT WE ARE FUNDING THROUGH THE GENERAL FUND.
AND I, I, I CAUGHT THAT AS WELL FROM THROUGH YOU COUNT, UM, CHAIR NOLAN, UM, AND CO-CHAIR ZUBE.
UH, JUST, WE CAN GO BACK TO SLIDES.
UM, I DON'T KNOW WHICH SLIDE SEVEN ON MINE, BUT IT COULD BE CON IT COULD BE DIFFERENT ON THE ONE WITH THE BLUE AND BLUE.
SO THOSE, UM, THOSE LIGHT BLUE BOXES, THE 10% ARE, THAT'S MONEY THAT'S BEEN OBLIGATED TO PROGRAMS JUST NOT FULLY SPENT DOWN.
SO, WHICH IS DIFFERENT THAN THE AFTERSCHOOL MONEY THAT CHAIRS.
[00:25:01]
UM, SO THIS IS MONEY THAT PRO PROJECTS ARE STILL ONGOING.LIKE, UM, MAYOR SIDIKI CALL OUT TO THE, UM, TO THE BIKE PROGRAM.
THERE'S STILL MONEY IN THAT PROJECT.
IT'S STILL BEING SPENT DOWN AND PART OF THAT 10%.
SO AS OF DECEMBER 31ST, 2024, THERE WAS NO UNALLOCATED ARPA FUNDS.
THERE'S BEEN A LITTLE BIT OF MOVEMENT AND YOU'LL SEE THAT, UM, ONE OF THE ATTACHMENTS ON THE, IN THE PACKET ARE ALL OF THE ARPA PROJECTS THAT HAS THE ORIGINAL BUDGET AND THEN THE CHANGE THAT HAPPENS WHEN A PROJECT GETS CLOSED OUT AND THEY COME A LITTLE BIT UNDER, WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF WIGGLE ROOM TO REALLOCATE, BUT IT ONLY HAS, IT HAS TO BE REALLOCATED TO A, TO A BUDGET PROJECT THAT'S BEEN OBLIGATED AS OF DECEMBER 31ST, 2024.
SO WE CAN'T OBLIGATE IT TO A NEW PROJECT.
AND IT ALSO HAS TO GET RE UH, UH, DISTRIBUTED TO A PROJECT THAT'S OF LIKE PROJECT.
SO YOU CAN'T REDISTRIBUTE A, UM, MASK AND PPPE PROJECT TO THE BIKE PROGRAM, FOR EXAMPLE.
SO I DUNNO IF THAT CLEARS THAT UP.
COCHAIR ZUBIE AND COUNSELOR ZUI EY.
I, I THINK THAT CLARIFIED THINGS, BUT WANTED TO MAKE SURE COUNCILLOR EY IF THAT HELPED AS WELL.
AND I'LL GO TO COUNCILOR
ONE, HOW IT WAS ALL SPENT, BUT ALSO WHETHER THE DELIVERABLES WERE MET.
THERE WERE A NUMBER OF PROGRAMS WE HOPED WOULD DO CERTAIN THINGS, YOU KNOW, LIKE CERTAINLY THAT NUMBER OF BIKES, YOU KNOW, HOW MANY ACTUALLY GOT, GOT BOUGHT OR NOT.
BUT TO LET MY COLLEAGUES KNOW, PART OF THE MATERIALS PRESENTED FOR THE MEETING IS A VERY SPECIFIC, UM, ARPA FUNDING EVERY SINGLE PROJECT.
AND IT INCLUDES THE COMMITTED BUDGET, THE UPDATED BUDGET, AND HOW MUCH IS SPENT TO DATE.
AND IF YOU JUST COMPARE THE SPENT TO DATE OR NOT, YOU'LL FIND OUT THOSE, THOSE PROJECTS.
BUT AS, UH, DIRECTOR, MR. NELSON, WHATEVER THE TITLE IS, UM, HAS SAID EVERY SINGLE DOLLAR HAS BEEN ALLOCATED TO A PROGRAM.
SO IT'S ALLOCATED, IT JUST, THEY HAVE UNTIL THE END OF THIS SEPTEMBER 30TH ACTUALLY SPEND IT.
AND THEN THE ACCOUNTING HAPPENS THROUGH THE END OF THE YEAR.
BUT BETWEEN NOW AND SEPTEMBER 30TH, I BET THAT $7.9 MILLION WILL ALL BE SPENT 'CAUSE IT'S ALL ALLOCATED.
UH, COUNCILLOR, SABINA WHEELER.
I HAVE A QUESTION AND THEN, YEP, THANK YOU.
UM, SO A COUPLE TIMES IN THE PRESENTATION IT TALKS ABOUT, UM, PRIORITIZING TWO TO THREE, UH, INITIATIVES, WHICH THE CITY COUNCIL WOULD DO, AND THEN THE CITY MANAGER WOULD SCOPE THOSE INITIATIVES.
UM, REALLY GLAD TO TO SEE THAT CALLED OUT.
'CAUSE I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING I, I'VE ASKED FOR, UM, OVER A NUMBER OF YEARS.
AND IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, HAVING THE, THE COUNCIL HAVE MORE, UH, FORCING THE COUNCIL TO SORT OF MAKE MORE DECISIONS ABOUT WHAT TO INCLUDE IN THE, IN THE BUDGET, HAVING A DELIBERATE CONVERSATION ABOUT THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, HAVING THE COUNCIL MAKE, MAKE HARD DECISIONS AND ACTUALLY PUT IN THERE WHAT WE'RE GONNA INCLUDE.
UH, I THINK IT IS, UM, YOU KNOW, AS SAID A COUPLE TIMES IN THE PRESENTATION THAT THE, THE FUNDING PRIORITIES ARE BASED ON THE, THE COUNCIL PRIORITIES, UH, WHICH IS, IS TRUE, BUT IT SORT OF GOES BACK TO THE, THE COUNCIL GOALS DISCUSSION WE HAD DURING THE RETREAT A LITTLE WHILE AGO WHERE IT'S JUST, IT'S VERY BROAD.
I THINK IT WOULD BE HARD TO POINT TO ANYTHING IN THE, THE BUDGET OR HARD TO, VERY EASY TO INCLUDE JUST ABOUT ANYTHING AND SAY LIKE, THIS TIES TO SOME KISS CITY COUNCIL PRIORITY BECAUSE OUR, OUR PRIORITIES ARE PRETTY BROAD.
UM, SO ACTUALLY HAVING THE, THE COUNCIL PICK TWO TO THREE THINGS, BE SPECIFIC ABOUT THEM, UH, MAKE VOTES, YOU KNOW, HAVE FOLKS, UH, YOU KNOW, BE ON THE RECORD ABOUT WHAT WHAT THINGS WE'RE INCLUDING IS SOMETHING I'D LIKE TO SEE, UH, IN THERE.
UH, SO GLAD TO SEE THAT CALLED OUT.
AND WANTED TO ASK, UH, WHAT THAT PRIORITIZATION PROCESS IS GOING TO LOOK LIKE.
IF YOU COULD BE, UH, MORE SPECIFIC.
UM, HOW ARE WE GONNA LAND ON TWO TO THREE THINGS? UH, IS THAT GONNA BE A VOTE FROM THE CITY COUNCIL? HOW ARE WE GONNA DECIDE THOSE TWO TO THREE THINGS? AT WHAT TIMELINE IS THAT GONNA BE IN THERE? UH, YOU KNOW, IF YOU COULD PROVIDE A LITTLE MORE CONTEXT ON THAT.
SO ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT THE WHOLE BUDGET PRIORITY DISCUSSION, NOT RELATED TO ARRP AND FEDERAL FUNDING? RIGHT.
OH, IS THAT, WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON TO THAT PART OF THE PRESENTATION? YES.
I'LL HOLD MY COMMENT NEXT TIME.
THAT, THAT'S THE, THE WHOLE NEXT SECTION.
SO ANY OTHER CLARIFYING QUESTIONS ON ARPA OR, AND JUST TO REMIND US ALL, WE WILL EVENTUALLY GET A FULL REPORT ONCE THESE ARE ALL EXPENDED ON, ON THE ARPA PROJECTS AND IT'S MASSIVE UNDERTAKING IF PEOPLE DON'T UNDERSTAND ALSO WHAT IT TOOK TO GET SOME OF THE SMALL NONPROFITS WHO HAD NEVER DONE FEDERAL ACCOUNTING.
AND IT WAS PRETTY STUNNING THAT FOOTNOTE THAT, UH, MATT NELSON REFERENCED OF 10 MAJOR CHANGES IN POLICY DURING THIS PROGRAM.
UM, WHICH MEANT EVERYBODY SCRAMBLED AND AS, UH, MAYOR SIDIKI SAID WE WERE VERY LUCKY TO GET $88 MILLION TO ADD TO OUR BUDGET THAT WE SPENT.
SO NOW WE ARE, UM, GOING TO PUBLIC COMMENT AND THEN WE'LL OPEN UP THE NEXT DISCUSSION ABOUT BUDGET PRIORITIES.
[00:30:01]
WE HAVE ONE PERSON SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT, COUNCILOR SIMMONS.OUR SPEAKER IS ROBERT WINTERS.
ROBERT, YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES, PLEASE GO AHEAD.
ROBERT WINTERS FROM BROADWAY AND THANK YOU TO THE CITY OR WHOEVER ELSE.
ACTUALLY RAN A PLOW RIGHT DOWN MY SIDEWALK THIS MORNING.
YOU CAN'T BELIEVE HOW ECSTATIC I WAS TO SEE THAT.
UM, MY, I'M GONNA BE VERY BRIEF HERE.
THIS HAS TO DO WITH THE BUDGET PRIORITIES AND I FOUND, UH, PREVIOUS PRESENTATION HAVING TO DO WITH TAX IMPLICATIONS TO BE VERY, VERY INSTRUCTIVE AND INFORMATIVE.
UM, AND I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY TOOK IT SERIOUSLY.
'CAUSE WHEN I SEE OVER HERE ON SOME OF THE BUDGET PRIORITIES, MY BASIC COMMENT IS I HOPE YOU'LL FOCUS MORE ON AUGMENTING EXISTING PROGRAMS, ROUNDING THEM OUT, MAKING THEM WORK BETTER, RATHER THAN, UH, ADDING ON AND DEMANDING THAT THE CITY MANAGER START FUNDING BRAND NEW INITIATIVES THAT ARE LAR POTENTIALLY VERY, VERY LARGE BIG TICKET ITEMS. I WILL, UH, CALL OUT JUST FOUR IN PARTICULAR THAT JUST SEEM TO ME TO BE POTENTIAL BIG BUDGET BUSTERS THAT I HOPE WE WILL NOT TALK ABOUT FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS.
ONE IS COMMUNITY LAND TRUST ACQUISITION FUNDING, WHICH I, I CAN'T SEE ANYWAY, OTHER THAN THAT, THAT WOULD BECOME A GIGANTIC BUDGET BUSTER, UM, SOCIAL HOUSING REVOLVING FUND.
ANOTHER GIGANTIC POTENTIAL BUDGET BUSTER THAT LET'S NOT TALK ABOUT THAT FOR AT LEAST A COUPLE YEARS.
AND THEN THE OTHER, THE LAST, THE LAST TWO WOULD BE MUNICIPAL BROADBAND, WHICH I KNOW PEOPLE SEE KEEPS COMING UP AND IT'S A NICE THING HERE, BUT IT'S ALSO, I'VE HEARD ESTIMATES OF THIS IS COSTING HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS DOLLARS EVEN IF IT'S PARTIALLY, YOU KNOW, UM, FUNDED FROM OUTSIDE.
AND THE LAST ONE WAS SOME FORM OF, UM, SUCCESSOR TO THE RISE UP PROGRAM, WHICH WAS AN EXTRAORDINARILY EXPENSIVE PROGRAM.
AND I HOPE WE WILL NOT BRING THAT UP IN THE NEAR TERM.
NOW WE ARE IN THE SECTION OF THE MEETING ON BUDGET PRIORITIES.
I'LL GO THROUGH A, A STATEMENT IN TWO OF THE SLIDES, UH, TO REMIND US ALL, WHICH YOU'LL HEAR ABOUT A COUPLE TIMES.
THIS IS NOT ABOUT NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET.
THESE BUDGET PRIORITIES AND THE CAPITALIZATION AND OTHERS ARE REALLY ABOUT FY 28 AND BEYOND BECAUSE NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET IS SEPARATE FROM THIS DISCUSSION OF OVERALL LARGER, NEW INITIATIVES.
IT DOESN'T MEAN THERE WON'T BE SOME CHANGES AND SOME DISCUSSION AROUND FY 27 BUDGET TO REMIND US ALL.
WE ARE RIGHT NOW IN FY 26 BUDGET, WHICH ENDS ON JUNE 30TH, 2026.
AND THE FY 27 BUDGET IS THE ONE WE'RE DEVELOPING.
AND WE'LL HAVE A NUMBER OF MEETINGS ABOUT THESE.
BUDGET PRIORITIES FOR THE MOST PART ARE FOR FY 28 AND BEYOND.
UH, YOU HAVE A MEMO FROM THE FINANCE CO-CHAIRS THAT WE REVIEWED WITH CITY STAFF AND THE MAYOR.
AND IT OUTLINES A PROCESS BY WHICH WE TRY TO NAVIGATE A PRIORITIZATION EFFORT AND MAKE SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS ON A FEW COUNCIL PRIORITIES.
WE HOPE THAT YOU'VE HAD A CHANCE TO REVIEW IT.
WE RECOGNIZE IT DIDN'T COME OUT I THINK UNTIL YESTERDAY.
I WANNA TAKE A QUICK LOOK AT THE ACCOMP AT A COUPLE OF THE ACCOMPANY SLIDES, UH, BECAUSE THERE'RE A VERY GOOD VISUAL REPRESENTATION OF MUCH OF THE MEMO.
SO NAOMI, IF YOU COULD GO TO SLIDE 12 WITH THE PIE CHART.
YEAH, SO JUST, JUST, AND THIS IS JUST SETTING CONTEXT FOR OUR DISCUSSION.
IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND WHERE OUR BUDGET IS NOW.
THERE ARE TWO DIFFERENT CHARTS HERE, WHICH I'LL BRIEFLY TOUCH ON, AND BOTH ARE FROM THE BUDGET BOOK THAT OUTLINES SPENDING PRIORITIES AND WHAT WE ARE CURRENTLY INVESTING IN THE PIE CHART.
JUST TO REMIND US, THE BUDGET IS, IS DIFFICULT BECAUSE THIS IS OPERATING BUDGET BY DEPARTMENT.
AND THEN THERE'S OF COURSE BY PRIORITIES 'CAUSE SOMETIMES SPENDING IS IN SEVERAL DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS.
BUT OUT OF OUR, THIS IS FOR OUR CURRENT YEAR OF FY 26 AND $992 MILLION OPERATING BUDGET.
NOTE THAT ABOUT A THIRD OF OUR BUDGET GOES TO EDUCATION, WHICH IS NOT SOMETHING THE COUNCIL HAS ANY SAY WHATSOEVER OVER.
THAT'S THE REALM OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
UM, AND THEN THE OTHER LARGE BUCKET ITEMS OF COURSE ARE, UH, PUBLIC SAFETY, COMMUNITY MAINTENANCE, HUMAN RESOURCE, INTER GOVERNMENTS, AND PUBLIC SAFETY.
YOU HAVE BOTH A PERCENTAGE AND THE DOLLAR AMOUNTS ASSOCIATED WITH THAT.
AND THEN THE NEXT SLIDE, IF WE GO TO THE SECOND CHART, IS A CONSOLIDATED SPENDING CHART CATEGORIZED BY COUNCIL PRIORITY.
NOTE THAT THIS CHART INCLUDES OPERATING AND CAPITAL BUDGET CONTRIBUTIONS AND IT MAY BE FROM DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS AS WE KNOW.
THERE'S, THERE'S A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THIS.
UM, IT'S NOT A DIRECT DOLLAR TO DOLLAR COMPARISON WHEN SOMEONE IS CURIOUS, HOWEVER,
[00:35:01]
HOW THINGS ARE PRIORITIZED IN OUR BUDGET.THIS IS ONE WAY TO LOOK AT IT SO THAT WE CAN SEE, IT DOESN'T ADD UP TO THE 992 MILLION, BUT THIS IS REALLY JUST THE CONSOLIDATED SPENDING THAT THE CITY STAFF HAS WORKED INTO OUR BUDGET TO ENSURE THAT WE ALL KNOW WHAT ARE WE SPENDING ON THE PRIORITIES THAT WE HAVE SET AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
VISION ZERO ARE THE BIGGEST ONES.
UNIVERSAL PRE-K OBVIOUSLY WENT WAY UP OVER THE LAST COUPLE YEARS AND THERE'S A NUMBER OF OTHER, UM, AREAS ON THAT WE DON'T, YOU CAN ALL SEE IT AND, AND REVIEW IT CLOSELY.
THE NEXT THREE SLIDES ARE VISUAL REPRESENTATION OF A PROCESS WE ARE TRYING TO OUTLINE TODAY FOR HOW WE GET TO A PLACE WHERE WE CAN MAKE SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS ON TWO TO THREE ITEMS THIS TERM.
ONCE AGAIN, THAT MEANS OVER THE NEXT YEAR, THE BOTTOM LINE WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE HERE IS THAT ALL OF OUR SPENDING AND FUTURE PRIORITIES SHOULD BE IN THE CONTEXT OF WHAT WE'RE ALREADY DOING SO THAT WE CAN BUILD ON WHAT SUCCESS WE HAVE.
WE CAN ADJUST WHERE NECESSARY AND WE CAN THEN AMEND IF WE BELIEVE IT'S, IT MAKES SENSE FROM A BUDGET PERSPECTIVE.
WE CAN NO DOUBT MAKE IMPROVEMENTS IN MANY DIFFERENT AREAS OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS.
IN ORDER TO BEST PRIORITIZE STAFF TIME, WE DO NEED TO SPEND TIME IDENTIFYING JUST A FEW GOALS THAT WE SHOULD PUSH TOWARDS FOR THIS COUNCIL TERM THAT WE CAN WORK WITH CITY STAFF ON TO IMPLEMENT IN FUTURE BUDGET CYCLES FY 28 AND BEYOND.
AND THIS CONVERSATION IS SEPARATE FROM OUR BUDGET FOR THIS YEAR.
HOWEVER, WE DO NEED TO BE THINKING LONG TERM IN ORDER TO BEST AND MOST EFFECTIVELY ACCOMPLISH THESE GOALS WITHIN A LIMITED BUDGET CAPACITY.
SO HERE'S THE GOAL FOR TODAY'S MEETING.
WE WANNA DISCUSS THE PRIORITIES CANDIDLY AND IN DIALOGUE WITH THE CITY MANAGER AND FINANCE STAFF IN ORDER TO PRIORITIZE, COMBINE AND ROUGHLY WORK OUT SOME OF THESE PRIORITIES.
SO HERE'S WHAT WE'RE HOPING FOR, UH, CHAIR ZUBIE AND THE MAYOR'S OFFICE AND I AND THE STAFF AS WE WORK THROUGH THIS.
WE WANT INPUT FOR PRIORITIZATION.
WE SPEAK CANDIDLY TODAY AND TRY TO COMBINE AND ANALYZE AND DISCUSS THE VARIOUS ITEMS NEXT WEEK.
THEN WE HOPE TO CIRCULATE A NON-BINDING SURVEY TO INFORM THE CONVERSATION.
AND THEN IN ANOTHER MONTH OR SO, THE FINANCE CHAIRS AND MAYOR WILL CONSIDER THE CONVERSATIONS HERE IN COMMITTEE AND THE NON-BINDING SURVEY RESULTS AND COME BACK TO THIS COMMITTEE WITH A DRAFT PROJECTED PATH WHICH WE CAN THEN DECIDE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH AS A WHOLE BODY.
THIS WILL PROVIDE A RUBRIC FOR A SERIES OF COMMITTEE MEETINGS, CHECK-INS, OR WORKING GROUPS THAT WILL HELP US MOVE FORWARD TO THOSE TWO OR THREE PRIORITIES IN A STREAMLINED WAY OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS.
AGAIN, AS WE MENTIONED IN THE MEMO, IMPORTANTLY, NARROWING OUR FOCUS IS NOT MEANT TO EXCLUDE, DIMINISH, OR ELIMINATE OTHER GOALS, ALL OF WHICH WILL CONTINUE TO BE PART OF THE CONVERSATIONS BETWEEN CITY STAFF, CITY COUNCIL, AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
RATHER, IT REFLECTS THE PRACTICAL NEED TO CONCENTRATE STAFF CAPACITY AND FINANCIAL PLANNING.
IT'S NOT TO ELIMINATE THE POSSIBILITY OF OTHER ITEMS MOVING FORWARD OVER TIME, BUT TO PRIORITIZE A SELECT FEW AND INSTITUTE A PROCESS BY WHICH WE ENSURE THAT THIS COUNCIL WORKS WITH CITY STAFF OVER THE COURSE OF THIS TERM TO MAKE DEMONSTRABLE PROGRESS ON A COUPLE PRIORITIES, WHICH WILL THEN BE TAKEN UP LIKELY IN THE NEXT TERM.
THE MESSAGE WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE CLEAR IS THAT WE ALL HAVE PRIORITIES.
THE ONLY WAY WE CAN GUARANTEE THAT A FEW OF THEM END UP SCOPED AND PROGRESSED IS TO PRIORITIZE A SELECT FEW BECAUSE WE CAN'T WORK ON THEM ALL.
AND SCOPING ITSELF IS A MAJOR PROJECT, IS A MAJOR EFFORT IF WE SCOPE IT IN A DELIBERATE CONSISTENT WAY AND WE HOPE TO GUARANTEE TWO OR THREE WILL HAVE A CLEAR AND COLLABORATIVE PROCESS MOVING FORWARD.
WE THINK BY REFRAMING THAT WE CAN GET BETTER BUY-IN FROM THE ENTIRE COUNCIL.
AND I ALSO WANNA NOTE WE KEEP USING, DO WE HAVE THE, YEAH, THE UM, THE, WE KEEP USING THE TWO TO THREE NUMBER, HOWEVER, WE SHOULD STATE THAT PROBABLY IT DEPENDS ON THE SIZE AND SCOPE OF WHICH TWO OR THREE PRIORITIES.
IF IT TURNS OUT THERE'S A COUPLE PRIORITIES THAT ARE SMALLER IN BUDGET AND SMALLER IN TIMING, WE COULD DO ANOTHER COUPLE, ADD A COUPLE MORE TO THE MIX.
BUT IF THEY'RE MAJOR PROJECTS, WE ARE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO DO, UH, EVEN PROBABLY TWO OR THREE, UM, SCOPING.
SO THE MESSAGE WE'RE MAKING CLEAR IS WE ALL HAVE PRIORITIES AND WE WANNA GUARANTEE A FEW OF THEM DO END UP BEING SCOPED IN PROGRESS.
'CAUSE WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS, YOU HAVE THE MEMO BEFORE YOU, THERE'S, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW, I CAN'T, DID WE COUNT 'EM UP 20 DIFFERENT PROJECTS? WE ALL WANNA DO ALL OF 'EM AND WE'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO.
SO I'M NOT SURE FRANKLY MOVING FORWARD HOW WE'RE GONNA GET TO THAT IN THIS MEETING, BUT WE REALLY WANNA HAVE AN OPEN DISCUSSION SO THAT WE CAN MOVE FORWARD AND, AND FIGURE THIS OUT, IF THAT MAKES SENSE.
BEFORE I TURN TO SOMEONE ELSE, I WANNA SEE IF, UM, UH, CO-CHAIR ZUBIE WANTS TO ADD ANYTHING TO THAT, UM, OR THE MAYOR SINCE HER TEAM WAS ALSO INVOLVED IN THIS DISCUSSION.
UM, YEAH, YOU BROUGHT UP SOME GOOD POINTS.
I, I DO HOPE THAT WHAT WE HAVE BROUGHT TOGETHER AND THIS IS USEFUL FOR HELPING US AS A COUNCIL AND THE CITY STAFF, UM, COME TO MORE CONCRETE, UH, THINGS TO SCOPE AND, AND I DEFINITELY DON'T THINK TODAY'S CONVERSATION WILL BE FINAL AS WE'VE GOT ABOUT AN HOUR OR SO.
SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO DO THE WORK ON, ON THAT EVEN OUTSIDE
[00:40:01]
OF THE NON-BINDING SURVEY.AND, UH, APPRECIATE JOURNAL'S COMMENT ON THE SIZE, RESOURCES ASPECT OF WHAT WE TALK ABOUT AND REITERATING WHAT JOURNAL AND SAID, UM, TO BE CLEAR THAT NARROWING THIS LIST FOR MORE SCOPING FROM THE CITY STAFF SIDE DOESN'T MEAN THAT ANYTHING WE TALK ABOUT TODAY WILL BE NEGLECTED OR DIMINISHED.
AND WE EXPECT THOSE CONVERSATIONS TO CONTINUE BY THE CITY STAFF, THE CITY MANAGER AND COUNCIL AND OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
AND, AND THIS IS, IS IS MORE SO FOCUSED ON WHAT WE CAN ACTUALLY MOVE FORWARD TOGETHER NOW.
AND I THINK NOW WHAT, WHAT WE'LL FOCUS MOSTLY ON NOW IS, IS IF YOU GOT THE MEMO, IT HAS A WHOLE LIST OF, UM, POSSIBLE PROJECTS AND MAYOR SIDIKI, DID YOU WANNA ADD ANYTHING TO THAT SINCE I KNOW YOU HAVE A DEEP INTEREST IN MAKING SURE WE GO THROUGH THIS? I JUST WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE MY CHIEF OF STAFF, BENJI, WHO HAS BEEN VERY ACTIVE AND INVOLVED AND HELP HELPFUL ON THIS.
AND I WILL GO TO COUNCILOR REEL 'CAUSE HE HAD SPOKEN BEFORE THIS, AND THEN I'LL GO TO, UM, COUNCILOR MCGOVERN.
YEAH, THAT, UM, FOR ME, COUNCILOR NOLAN, AN ANSWERS PART SOME OF MY QUESTIONS.
UH, I THINK THIS IS, UH, GREAT, GLAD IT'S HAPPENING.
UH, AND I THINK MY QUESTIONS ARE MAINLY ON, UH, MORE DETAILS ON IT EITHER FOR THE, THE FINANCE CO-CHAIRS OR CITY MANAGER.
UM, WHEN WILL, SO WE'RE GONNA DO A NON-BINDING SURVEY.
WHEN WILL THE RESULTS BECOME BINDING, UM, FOR YOU JOURNAL AND YOU KNOW, I THINK, I THINK WE ARE PROBABLY CREATING THE SHAPE OF THE WORK AND UH, AND OBVIOUSLY AS WE MOVE THROUGH THE PROCESS TO HOW CHAIR NOLAN WAS DESCRIBING IT, UM, IT DOES DEPEND ON WHICH, YOU KNOW, WHICH PROJECTS WE END UP CHOOSING.
UM, I THINK MY REFLECTION ON THIS LIST, UM, IT FEELS, IT FEELS ABOUT RIGHT WHEN I THINK ABOUT ALL THE CONVERSATIONS WE'VE BEEN HAVING OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS.
UM, TODAY WOULD BE A GREAT DAY IF SOMETHING'S NOT ON THIS LIST TO BRING SOMETHING UP.
UM, ALTHOUGH I WOULD, I WOULD NOTE, UM, AS CHARLES ZUBY SAID, UH, THIS ONE HOUR CONVERSATION IS NOT GOING TO BE A BIG GATE AND, AND YOU KNOW, THERE'S GOING TO BE A PROCESS THAT WE GO THROUGH.
UM, I THINK IT'S HARD TO MAYBE COMMIT TO A FIRM LIKE, OKAY, WELL HERE'S A GATE AND THEN, YOU KNOW, WE CAN'T TALK ABOUT OTHER THINGS ANYMORE.
OR AS TR NOLAN WAS SAYING, WELL, IT CAN BE THREE, BUT IT CAN'T BE FOUR PROJECTS.
I, I THINK A LOT OF IT WILL DEPEND ON, UH, HOW WE END UP DECIDING ON WHICH THINGS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, UM, THE SIZE AND SCALE AND SCOPE OF THOSE PROJECTS.
THE EXTENT TO WHICH I THINK ACROSS THE COUNCIL THERE'S CONSENSUS HOW COMPLEX THE DECISION MAKING IS BETWEEN, UM, YOU KNOW, BETWEEN DECISIONS THAT WE'RE MAKING COLLECTIVELY.
UM, SO I THINK, I DON'T WANT IT TO SOUND LIKE A DODGE, BUT I THINK ULTIMATELY IT WILL DEPEND A LITTLE WHERE WE LAND.
YEAH, I HOPE THAT'S SOMETHING THE, UM, YOUR TEAM AND THE FINANCE CO-CHAIRS CAN WORK OUT.
I DO THINK, UH, THIS NEEDS TO BE BINDING AT SOME POINT AND WE NEED A YEAH, UPDATE FOR THAT.
UM, IO OTHERWISE IT'S JUST SORT OF NOT THAT DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WE HAVE BEEN DOING, WHICH IS, IS SORT OF, WE ALL SHARE OUR PRIORITIES AND THEY GO OUT INTO THE ETHER AND THEN WE MOVE ON.
IF IT'S, IF IT'S NON-BINDING, IT'S, IT'S SORT OF JUST ANOTHER VERSION OF THAT.
UM, WE DO, WE NEED TO MAKE HARD DECISIONS AND WE NEED TO, TO HAVE THAT BE CONCRETE.
UM, AND THEN THE OTHER QUESTION I HAD IS, IS THE IDEA THAT WE WOULD DO THIS EVERY YEAR, WE HAVE A NEW BUDGET EVERY YEAR.
UH, WOULD WE DO THIS EVERY YEAR STARTING IN FEBRUARY? OR IS THIS SOMETHING WE'RE DOING THE, I KNOW THAT YOU'RE SAYING THIS IS NOT FOR FY 27, THIS IS FOR A SORT OF MULTIPLE PROCESS, THIS CARRIES OUT INTO THE NEXT TERM.
DOES THAT MEAN WE'RE NOT DOING IT EVERY YEAR AND IN WHICH CASE ARE WE DOING IT EVERY TWO YEARS, EVERY FIVE YEARS TO THAT? SO THROUGH YOU JOURNAL AND MAYBE TWO THOUGHTS.
I THINK ONE IS TO TRY AND BE A LITTLE MORE CONCRETE.
UM, I I WOULD SAY, UH, I THINK, I THINK THE TIMEFRAME, THE TIMEFRAME I WOULD PROBABLY HIGHLIGHT IS IF WE CAN ACTUALLY GET THROUGH THIS CONVERSATION.
UM, I MEAN THIS BUDGET IS CLOSING ON US PRETTY QUICKLY, AND SO TO THE EXTENT THAT SOMETHING FLOATS TO THE FRONT QUICKLY ENOUGH, THERE IS SOME POSSIBILITY DEPENDING ON SCALE THAT WE MAY BE ABLE TO DO SOME THINGS.
AND CERTAINLY WHEN I LOOK AT SOME OF THESE ITEMS, UM, SOME OF THESE ARE ULTIMATELY MULTI-YEAR PROJECTS, SO IT'S NOT REALLY LIKE WE WOULD BE DOING EVERYTHING IN ONE BUDGET ANYWAY.
SO THE IDEA THAT IF WE PRIORITIZE SOMETHING, FOR INSTANCE, IF WE WERE GOING TO EXPLORE, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST BECAUSE IT'S THE FIRST ON THE LIST, ALBANY STREET SHELTER, I MEAN THAT'S, THAT'S A PROJECT THAT REQUIRES CONVERSATIONS PLANNING BEFORE, UH, AND, AND THERE MAY BE SOMETHING WHERE WE'RE PUTTING A SMALL AMOUNT OF MONEY IN THE BUDGET SO THAT WE CAN START THAT EXPLORATION PROCESS, UM, BUT ULTIMATELY WON'T KNOW WHAT THE FULL PRICE TAG MIGHT BE, WHO WE WOULD BE PARTNERING WITH UNTIL LATER.
[00:45:01]
SO I THINK, I THINK I'M PARTIALLY SAYING YES, THIS IS DEFINITELY A CONVERSATION ABOUT MULTIPLE YEARS, BUT IT DOESN'T NECESSARILY MEAN THAT NOTHING CAN MAKE IT INTO THIS BUDGET.IT IS GONNA BE IMPORTANT THAT WE MOVE PRETTY QUICKLY THOUGH.
AND, AND I THINK THAT GETS TO, UM, GETTING TO CONSENSUS, GETTING TO A CLEAR SENSE THAT, THAT THE BODY IS PRIORITIZING AND SAYING THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT WE WANNA SEE.
UM, AND, AND ALSO WORKING OUT SCOPING DECISIONS.
UM, AND I THINK THAT IS SOMETHING THAT, THAT WE'VE DONE WELL IN THE PAST, BUT NOT WITH AS MUCH TRANSPARENCY AND PUSH AND PROCESS.
UM, SO I THINK THAT'S WHAT'S EXCITING ABOUT THIS.
UM, TO YOUR QUESTION ABOUT LIKE, DO WE DO THIS EVERY YEAR? UH, I DON'T KNOW, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME WE'RE KIND OF GOING THROUGH THIS SO WE CAN KIND OF SEE, UH, I THINK IT ALSO DEPENDS ON THE EXTENT TO WHICH, UH, WE'RE CONSTRAINED FROM A BUDGET PERSPECTIVE.
AND SO IF THERE WERE SOME MAGICAL ARPA TWO FEDERAL PROGRAM, WE COULD HAVE A LOT MORE OPPORTUNITY AND THERE WOULD BE A LOT MORE OPTIONS TO, TO BE THINKING ABOUT NEW PROGRAMS AND IDEAS.
UM, BUT UM, BUT IT DEPENDS A LITTLE BIT WHAT WE END UP PRIORITIZING.
AND I WOULD SAY AS AN EXAMPLE, IF THERE IS SOMETHING THAT WE ALL COLLECTIVELY SAY, THIS IS THE NEXT BIG THING AND WE'RE GONNA TRY TO WORK IT INTO THE BUDGET OVER THE COMING CYCLES, THAT WILL HAVE IMPLICATIONS FOR HOW MUCH FLEXIBILITY THERE IS IN THOSE UPCOMING CYCLES.
AND THAT IS MY REFLECTION ON THE LAST COUPLE OF BUDGETS.
YOU KNOW, WE, WE HAVE ACTUALLY SPENT THE LAST COUPLE OF BUDGETS, UM, ABSORBING THE ADDED COST OF NEW PROGRAMS THAT WE COMMITTED TO MANY, MANY YEARS AGO.
UM, WHETHER THAT'S NEW SCHOOL BUILDINGS OR UNIVERSAL PRE-K.
AND SO I THINK THE CYCLES DO FEEL MORE MULTI-YEAR AND THE EXTENT TO WHICH WE SAY THERE IS A MULTI-YEAR PRIORITY THAT WE'RE INVESTING IN OVER MULTIPLE BUDGET CYCLES, THAT WILL MEAN A, YOU KNOW, IT WON'T MEAN THAT WE CAN'T HAVE SOME CONVERSATION ABOUT BUDGET PRIORITIES.
THERE WILL JUST BE A MORE CONSTRAINED SET OF FINANCIALS.
UM, I AGREE WITH A LOT OF THAT.
I THINK THE ONE, ONE PART, UH, MAYBE WOULD DISAGREE WITH THE OF, UH, THAT THE COUNCIL HAS DONE THE PRIORITIZATION BEFORE THAT WE'VE DONE IT.
I DON'T THINK WE'VE EVER DONE IT IN THE CONTEXT OF THE BUDGET PER SE.
WE'VE PASSED CYCLING SAFETY ORDINANCE THAT HAS HAD BIG IMPACTS ON THE BUDGET.
WE'VE NEVER, WE'VE NEVER DONE A THING WHERE WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THE BUDGET AND PRIORITIZED TWO TO THREE THINGS THAT WOULD BE TOTALLY NEW.
I WOULD BE VERY EXCITED ABOUT IT, BUT I THINK IT IS JUST WOULD BE A RADICAL BREAK FROM WHAT WE'VE DONE WHERE WE'VE NEVER REALLY MADE DECISIONS ABOUT THE BUDGET BEFORE.
UM, I WOULD BE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THAT, BUT I, I WOULD LOVE TO ACTUALLY SEE US FLESH OUT A A TIMELINE FOR IT.
OTHERWISE IT JUST, IT FEELS A LITTLE BIT LIKE, UM, SORT OF SEEN THIS MOVIE BEFORE WHERE WE SAY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TOO LATE FOR THIS YEAR'S BUDGET, BUT YOU KNOW, IN THE FUTURE WE CAN HAVE A, A MORE CONCRETE PROCESS AND FIGURE OUT A PRIORITIZATION FOR IT.
AND I, I HOPE IT CAN BE TRUE THIS TIME.
UM, BUT IT, IT DOES FEEL LIKE A CONVERSATION WE'VE, WE'VE HAD IN THE PAST AND SO HOPING WE CAN CAN FLUSH THIS OUT A LITTLE BIT.
UM, I HAD COUNCILLOR MCGOVERN, BUT YOU WANNA MAYOR SIDIKI.
I JUST HAD A QUESTION AND THEN I'LL YIELD, UH, I THINK JUST TO JUMP OFF OF, OF WHAT COUNCILOR SABRINA WHEELER SAID, I THINK, UM, CITY MANAGER TOTALLY HEAR WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
I, I GUESS A CLARIFYING QUESTION I HAD IS, YOU KNOW, I THINK IF, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE SAYING MAYBE THERE'S SOME ROOM, RIGHT? SO HOW ARE YOU DEFINING ROOM? UM, IS THAT 1 MILLION, IS THAT 4 MILLION? BECAUSE THEN I THINK IT ALSO HELPS US FIGURE OUT FROM OUR END, LIKE, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY SOME OF THESE ARE NOT GOING TO BE A MILLION HERE MAYBE, BUT IS IT, YOU KNOW, ARE WE STARTING OFF ON SOMETHING AND THAT'S, YOU KNOW, 1 MILLION TO A STUDY TO LOOK INTO SOMETHING LIKE, I THINK IT VARIES FOR EACH OF SO MANY OF THESE ITEMS, UM, BECAUSE THE SCOPING IS REALLY DIFFERENT FOR EACH OF THESE ITEMS. SO IT WOULD BE HELPFUL WHEN YOU SAY, YOU KNOW, IS THAT $50,000? IS THAT, UM, AND IF THERE'S, IF YOU CAN'T KIND OF SHARE, YOU KNOW, I THINK YOU'VE, YOU'VE BEEN HERE BEFORE WHERE IT'S HARD TO KIND OF SAY IT'S DEJA VU 'CAUSE I THINK IT'S HARD, BUT IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO GET SOME GUIDANCE BECAUSE I THINK HERE WE ARE JUST THINKING LIKE, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY ADDING, I'M THINKING ABOUT THE SCHOOLS, ADDING A SOCIAL WORKER
AND IN THIS WAY MAYBE IT'S EASY, IT'S EASIER TO MAYBE HELP GAP FILL THE PANTRY IN NORTH CAMBRIDGE, UH, VERSUS MUNICIPAL BROADBAND.
SO ANY INSIGHT WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL AS WE MOVE FORWARD AND SHARE WHAT WE'RE THINKING.
DO YOU WANNA PUT THIS, I THINK MAYBE WE'LL TAG TEAM THIS ONE, YOU KNOW, THROUGH YOU CO-CHAIR.
[00:50:01]
I MEAN, I THINK PART OF IT IS IT ALL HAS TO SORT OF DOVETAIL IN WITH A LOT OF THE INFORMATION THAT WE'VE BEEN PROVIDING IN THE FINANCE COMMITTEES ABOUT WHERE WE ARE FINANCIALLY AND THE POTENTIAL IMPACTS ON TAX RATES OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS.SO I THINK WE ALL HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT TO THE EXTENT THAT, THAT WE'RE CONCERNED ABOUT OUR FINANCIAL FLEXIBILITY DUE TO THE CURRENT MACROECONOMICS, WE'RE CONCERNED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, KNOW POTENTIAL IMPACT ON BOTH RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL TAXPAYERS.
WE ALL HAVE TO OWN THAT THERE IS NOT A LOT OF ROOM TO ADD THINGS IN OUR BUDGET WITHOUT THE IMPACTS THAT WE HAVE.
I THINK LAID OUT NUMEROUS TIMES ABOUT WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF OUR BUDGET GREW TOO FAST, THE REASON WE'RE IN BUDGET MODERATION.
I THINK WE WANNA BE IN THIS CONVERSATION AND I REALLY DO APPRECIATE THE WAY, UM, THE TEAM PUT TOGETHER THIS LIST, WHICH IS A, A FAIRLY GOOD COMPILATION OF MANY, MANY THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN OUT THERE.
BUT THEN TO SORT OF ORGANIZE THEM BY THE, THE PRIORITIES AND SO YOU CAN SORT OF SEE ALL OF THE KINDS OF IDEAS THAT ARE SORT OF WORKING KIND OF ALL TOWARDS, YOU KNOW, SIMILAR THINGS, HOUSING AND ZONING OR ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY AND AFFORDABILITY AND TO, YOU KNOW, FOR THE CONVERSATION TO HAPPEN.
IT'S LIKE, WHAT DO WE WANNA FOCUS ON? AND I THINK, BUT THEN I THINK THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF THAT IT MAY TAKE A NUMBER OF YEARS, UM, FOR SOMETHING TO GET FULLY IMPLEMENTED OR FULLY FUNDED AND, UM, AND SO IT'S HARD FOR US TO SAY YOU HAVE $4 MILLION TO SPEND, OR $2 MILLION TO SPEND, OR 1 MILLION.
I THINK WE WANNA START FROM THE WHAT IS THE GOAL, WHAT ARE THE I WHAT DO YOU WANNA ACCOMPLISH AND HOW CAN WE WINNOW THAT DOWN? AND IT'S TRUE IF YOU SAID MUNICIPAL BROADBAND IS THE ONE THING WE WANNA ACCOMPLISH, THEN WE'RE GONNA SAY, WELL, WE MIGHT HAVE TO DO IT ON A SUPER SLOW WAY BECAUSE THE WHOLE THING COSTS 200 MILLION, WHICH WOULD HIT OUR OPERATING BUDGET AT, YOU KNOW, ON A 10 YEAR BOND AT OVER $20 MILLION A YEAR.
WELL, WE COULDN'T DO IT THAT FAST, RIGHT? SO I THINK IT'S MORE COMING FROM THE, IT'S HARD FOR US TO SAY, HERE'S SOME MONEY TO SPEND, RIGHT? BECAUSE WE DON'T REALLY THINK THAT THAT'S THE, THE ACTUAL, UH, STRATEGIC WAY TO THINK ABOUT WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT THIS COUNCIL WANTS TO ACTUALLY ACCOMPLISH AND IN WHAT AREAS.
I MEAN, I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE ALWAYS BRING UP UPK AND EARLY CHILDHOOD AND THE FACT THAT IT TOOK US A DECADE RIGHT, OF, OF A LOT OF WORK AND WE BEGAN TO BUILD IT AND THEN WE FINALLY DID IT VERY EXPENSIVE.
AND IT STILL IS IMPACTING OUR BUDGET, RIGHT? EVEN IN THE FY 26 BUDGET, WE WERE STILL ADDING FUNDS TO TO, TO FUND THAT PROGRAM.
SO I THINK I'M, I'M GONNA HAND IT OVER TO, UM, THE, THE CITY MANAGER OR EVEN TO TAHA, BUT YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT WE DON'T WANNA START WITH A DOLLAR AMOUNT BECAUSE WE DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT THAT IS, UM, BECAUSE OF WHERE WE ARE FINANCIALLY.
UM, I, I THINK I WOULD ECHO ECHO THAT.
UM, SO, SO WHAT, UH, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER SPINNER IS NOTING IN TERMS OF STARTING WITH OUR GOALS, SORT OF THE, UH, THE WATERFALL THAT I THINK WE WERE, WE WERE PRESENTING THROUGH AND THEN WE CAN WORK OUT THE BUDGET.
UM, I KIND OF RECOGNIZE THERE IS A LITTLE BIT OF A CHICKEN IN THE EGG BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, HOW DO YOU KNOW, UH, WHAT IS ON THE TABLE IF YOU DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH YOU CAN SPEND? UM, I THINK THE ANSWER IS NOT ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.
OTHERWISE WE WOULDN'T BE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION.
YOU KNOW, THERE ARE MO MOST CITIES ARE SITTING IN PLACES WHERE THERE IS ZERO BUDGET FLEXIBILITY, AND IN FACT THEIR CONVERSATION IS NOT WHAT SHOULD WE PRIORITIZE FOR A NEW PROGRAM? THEIR CONVERSATION IS, WHAT ARE WE CUTTING BECAUSE WE ACTUALLY NEED TO MAKE OUR BUDGET.
UM, UH, I THINK, I THINK MAYBE THE RELUCTANCE TO LIKE SAY, WELL THIS IS THE DOLLAR NUMBER IS, IS MORE THAT WE ACTUALLY ARE STILL WORKING THROUGH THE NUMBERS AND SO THERE IS A LITTLE BIT OF SPACE FOR US TO FIND SOME INCREMENTAL INVESTMENTS, UM, THAT WILL BE TRADING OFF AGAINST HOW WE'RE THINKING ABOUT TAX RATES.
UM, AND THEN ULTIMATELY THERE IS A LOT OF UNCERTAINTY AROUND FEDERAL FUNDS, STATE FUNDING.
AND SO, UM, AS WE'RE UPDATING PROJECTIONS AND FINALIZING THE BUDGET, THERE ARE NUMBERS THAT ARE MOVING AROUND A LITTLE BIT.
UM, AND SO I THINK GETTING THROUGH THE PRIORIT PRIORITIZATION EXERCISE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING.
AND THEN ONCE WE ACTUALLY GET TO THE TWO TO THREE INITIATIVES, WE CAN BE TALKING ABOUT SCOPING AND WE CAN BE TALKING ABOUT MORE CONCRETE NUMBERS.
IS THAT RESPONSIVE TO IT IS, IT'S A LITTLE MIXED MESSAGING, UM, FOR ME AT LEAST.
AND I THINK IT'S JUST IMPORTANT.
I THINK AT ONE POINT, AT SOME POINT WE'LL HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, DEFINE WHAT IS ROOM, YOU KNOW, AND SO THAT'S KIND OF MY POINT OF LIKE, WHEN YOU'RE SAYING CITY MANAGER, HEY, THERE COULD BE ROOM, IT'S,
[00:55:01]
YOU KNOW, AND, BUT WE CAN'T POINT TO IT.IT'S, AND I GET THAT THERE'S A WHOLE, WE WANNA GO THROUGH THIS, SO I'LL YIELD, BUT, UM, THAT, THAT'S ALL I WANTED TO SAY.
AND I JUST WANNA ADD, LIKE, EVEN ON THE SCOPING ITSELF IN PREPARATION WITH THIS MEETING, SAID, WELL, CAN YOU JUST GIVE A DOLLAR AMOUNT FOR SOME OF THESE, JUST SO WE KNOW, IS IT A MILLION DOLLARS, 5,000,050? AND THEN IT'S, FOR SOME OF THEM WE COULD DO THAT, BUT FOR OTHERS IT, IT TOTALLY DEPENDS ON HOW YOU DEFINE THE PROGRAM.
YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE EVEN TALKING ABOUT TREE PLANTING, WELL, WE'RE ALREADY DOING THAT.
ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT DOING MORE TRIPLING IT, QUADRUPLING IT OR DOING IT EVERY PLACE IN THE CITY? SO EVERY SINGLE ONE HAS A QUESTION BEFORE THE SCOPING.
SO I WANNA APPRECIATE THAT AS MUCH AS I WANTED IT.
AND I WANTED TO BRING, WE WANTED TO BRING TO ALL OF YOU A COLUMN THAT SAYS, HERE'S A TIMELINE AND DOLLAR AMOUNT.
IT WAS, WE CAN'T EVEN DO THAT FOR SOME OF THESE BECAUSE IT DEPENDS ON HOW YOU DEFINE IT.
SO IT'S, IT'S ACTUALLY A CATCH 22, THE CLASSIC ONE, COUNCILOR MCGOVERN, UH, THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR THROUGH YOU AND THANK YOU TO THE CO-CHAIRS AND THE MAYOR'S OFFICE AND EVERYONE WORKING ON THIS.
UM, I WAS SORT OF, MY QUESTION WAS THE SAME, UH, IN, IN LINE WITH THE MAYOR.
I MEAN, IT, IT'S JUST, IT'S A DIFFICULT, IT, IT, IT IS A CHICKEN AND THE EGG, RIGHT? AND, AND, AND SO, BUT IT, IT, IT DOES, IT IS RELEVANT IN THE SENSE OF, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A PRETTY LONG LIST OF, OF THINGS.
AND, AND IF WE'RE SAYING, GEE, WE, YOU KNOW, WE COULD POTENTIALLY BE LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, TWO OR $3 MILLION OF NEW SPENDING, WELL, THAT'S GOING TO KNOCK OUT A LOT OF THESE THINGS.
UM, AT LEAST IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT FISCAL YEAR, YOU KNOW, 27, 28 AND FISCAL YEAR 28.
UM, AND, AND, AND SO IT, YOU KNOW, IT IS, IT'S, IT'S JUST, IT'S CHALLENGING.
UM, I WOULD SAY, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE SOME OF THESE THINGS WHERE, UH, SOME OF THESE THINGS KIND OF OVERLAP A LITTLE BIT, RIGHT? SO IF I'M LOOKING AT THE ALBANY STREET SHELTER, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE ALSO HAVE A DAY CENTER ON THIS LIST.
WE HAVE AN OPC ON THIS LIST, WHICH IS SORT OF A, THERE'S A WHOLE LOT OF OTHER COMPLICATIONS WITH THAT IN TERMS OF LEGALITY IN THE STATE AND, AND EVERYTHING ELSE.
BUT THOSE ARE THINGS THAT I WOULD ENVISION WOULD BE PART OF THE NEW ALBANY STREET CENTER.
RIGHT? UM, AND SO, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, MAYBE A NEW BUILDING, YOU KNOW, MIT COMES THROUGH WITH A NEW BUILDING FOR US AND IT, AND, AND, AND FOR THIS SHELTER, SO THAT IT'S NOT BUILDING A WHOLE NEW STRUCTURE FROM SCRATCH.
AND THAT WOULD DECREASE THE AMOUNT OF MONEY.
AND SO THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE MAYBE THINK ABOUT SOME OF THESE THINGS IN, IN COLLABORATION WITH EACH OTHER? AND, AND IN TERMS OF PARTNERSHIPS, YOU KNOW, THE STATE HAS APPROVED A WHOLE LOT OF MONEY FOR HOUSING.
HOW MUCH IS THAT, YOU KNOW, THE, JUST LOOKING AT THE FIRST PAGE, THE, THE LAND TRUST ACQUISITION FUNDING, IS THAT PART OF THAT STATE FUNDING THAT WE COULD TAP INTO? AND, AND, AND MAYBE, MAYBE IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE TO FUND OUT OF OPERATIONAL AND CAPITAL EXPENSES, BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN GET, YOU KNOW, WE CAN TAP INTO STATE MONEY FOR.
SO THERE'S, THERE'S DEFINITELY A LOT OF MOVING PARTS TO THIS.
UM, I WOULD SAY JUST KIND OF OVERALL AS I, AS I, AS I THINK ABOUT THIS, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE IS NO SHORTAGE OF GOOD IDEAS.
I, I, I, I DO THINK THAT, UM, MR. MANAGER, YOU, YOU KNOW, YOU MENTIONED THAT IN VIRTUALLY EVERY OTHER COMMUNITY, THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT CUTS.
I MEAN, I THINK, I THINK BOSTON, WHAT DID THEY SAY, THEIR SCHOOL BUDGET'S? 52, SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
UM, SO IT IS, I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT FOR ALL OF US TO UNDERSTAND THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE AREN'T A LOT OF COMMUNITIES THAT ARE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION ABOUT POTENTIALLY NEW SPENDING.
UM, BUT THAT DOES ALSO LEAD INTO, YOU KNOW, THIS, THIS LARGER CONVERSATION.
IF WE SAID, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW, ITEM X, LET'S JUST, I'M NOT GONNA PICK ONE BECAUSE THEN IT'LL FEEL LIKE I'M TARGETING IT OR WHATEVER.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE ONE ITEM ON THIS LIST, WE SAY, YES, WE WANT TO DO IT.
WE ARE ALL IN, ALL NINE OF US ARE FIGHTING FOR IT.
AND YOU COME BACK AND SAY, OKAY, TO FUND THAT, WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE ENOUGH MONEY IN NEW REVENUE TO FUND THAT.
SO TO FUND THAT, WE HAVE TO CLOSE THREE FIRE STATIONS,
[01:00:01]
TO TAXES EVEN WITHOUT TALKING ABOUT NEW SPENDING.SO WE'RE ALREADY GONNA BE INCREASING PEOPLE'S TAXES.
NOW WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MAYBE POTENTIALLY DOING THAT MORE, MAYBE DOING THAT FOR SOME BIG TICKET ITEMS, AND WHERE ELSE IS THAT MONEY GONNA COME FROM? I MEAN, THAT'S ALL HAS TO BE PART OF THIS, OF THIS CONVER IT'S EASY TO COME UP WITH A WISHLIST AND, AND, AND SAY WHAT YOU WANT.
UM, SO I JUST THINK THERE'S A LONG WAY TO GO WITH THIS, AND I THINK IT'S GONNA BE, IT IS GONNA BE DIFFICULT FOR US.
AND I, I DO APPRECIATE THE, AND I'M WITH COUNCILOR SABRINA WHEELER, AND THEN I THINK THE COUNCIL HAVING MORE INPUT AND REALLY STEERING THINGS IN, IN, YOU KNOW, MORE SAY IN HOW SOME OF THIS MONEY GETS SPENT.
THE FLIP SIDE OF THAT IS THAT'S GONNA MEAN THAT, YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY IN THIS BUDGET TIME, IT'S GONNA MEAN, YOU KNOW, IT'S POTENTIALLY ONE GROUP OF PEOPLE ARE GONNA BE REALLY HAPPY AND THERE'S GONNA BE 30 GROUPS OF PEOPLE ADVOCATING FOR THINGS THAT ARE GONNA BE REALLY P****D OFF.
UM, BUT THAT'S THE REALITY THAT WE'RE, THAT, THAT WE'RE IN, UM, RIGHT NOW.
SO, UM, YEAH, I MEAN, IF THERE'S SOME WAY TO, AS THIS CONVERSATION GOES ON, TO GIVE US ANY MORE GUIDANCE AROUND, MAYBE NOT A SPECIFIC NUMBER, BUT A RANGE OR A, A AN IDEA ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE WE, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT? AND THEN, YOU KNOW, THE FLIP SIDE BEING, WHAT, WHERE WOULD WE LOOK TO WHERE WE LOOK TO FIND OTHER MONEY TO FUND THE THINGS THAT WE WANT TO DO IF WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT NEW MONEY? UM, BECAUSE AGAIN, THAT DOES, THAT WILL HAVE AN INPUT, UH, AN IMPACT ON, ON WHAT WE WANT TO DO.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I I WOULD SAY LASTLY, MADAM CHAIR, UM, FOR ME WITH A LOT OF THIS IS, IS I'M INTERESTED.
I MEAN, THE TWO THINGS THAT I'M SORT OF INTERESTED IN WHEN I LOOK AT THIS IS I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WHATEVER WE'RE DOING IS HELPING, EXCUSE ME, HELPING THE PEOPLE THAT NEED IT THE MOST, RIGHT? THE PEOPLE WHO ARE MOST VULNERABLE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
AND I THINK WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THEY'RE NOT LOSING GROUND VERSUS GAINING GROUND, RIGHT? SO IF YOU LOOK AT CONTINUUM OF CARE GRANT GAPS, RIGHT? THOSE ARE, THAT'S MONEY THAT'S ALREADY HOUSING PEOPLE.
AND SO, BEFORE WE START TALKING ABOUT, I WANT, YOU KNOW, BIG BELLY TRASH BINS ON EVERY CORNER, THAT'S GONNA COST, YOU KNOW, $2 MILLION.
I WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE NOT TAKING MONEY AWAY FROM PEOPLE THAT THEY'RE ALREADY RELYING ON AND ARE ALREADY BENEFITING FROM.
SO, TO ME, AND I THINK ABOUT PRIORITIES, I DON'T, YOU KNOW, WE, WE, WE CAN'T SAY WE'RE GONNA SPEND THIS NEW MONEY ON, ON SOMETHING NEW AND EXCITING.
OH, AND BY THE WAY, THAT MEANS WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE THE MONEY.
PEOPLE ARE GONNA LOSE THEIR HOUSING VOUCHERS OVER IF, IF WE DO THAT.
LIKE, SO TAKING THINGS AWAY, I DON'T WANT TO TAKE THINGS AWAY FROM PEOPLE WHO ARE AL WHO NEED THOSE THINGS TO SURVIVE IN OUR CITY BEFORE WE START THINKING ABOUT NEW BELLS AND WHISTLES.
I'LL GO TO, UM, COUNCILLOR ZUZI, AND THEN COUNCILLOR FLAHERTY.
I THINK IN TERMS OF THE NUMBERS FOR THESE ITEMS, I GUESS WHAT I, WHAT STOOD OUT TO ME IS, LIKE WITH THE COMMUNITY LAND TRUST FUNDING, I WAS NEVER THINKING ABOUT ACQUISITION.
I JUST KNOW THAT THE CAMBRIDGE COMMUNITY LAND TRUST HAS TRIED TO GET LEGS FOR ABOUT FOUR YEARS, RIGHT? AND SOMERVILLE GOT ITS LEGS WHEN THE COUNCIL DEDICATED $200,000 TO IT, TO, TO, TO GET ORGANIZED.
SO I'VE ALWAYS FELT THAT IF, IF THE COMMUNITY LAND TRUST CAN DEMONSTRATE, COME UP WITH A, A VIABLE BUSINESS PLAN, THAT THEN MAYBE WE SHOULD COMMIT $200,000.
I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT AN ACQUISITION FUND OF $5 MILLION OR A MILLION DOLLARS.
I'M THINKING $200,000 SEED MONEY TO HELP EMPOWER A COMMUNITY GROUP THAT MIGHT BE ABLE TO PRODUCE A LOT OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
SO, I, I, I FEEL LIKE NUMBERS, LIKE, ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY'RE LOW NUMBERS, WOULD BE HELPFUL.
SO AGAIN, UM, I, I, I DO THINK SOME NUMBERS WOULD BE HELPFUL.
I RESPECT, AS, YOU KNOW, UM, THAT WE'LL HAVE LESS MONEY AND THERE'LL BE GREATER NEED, ESPECIALLY, UM, IF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT PULLS BACK, UH, GRANT FUNDING.
I QUESTION, IF ANYTHING, WHETHER WE SHOULDN'T BE PUTTING MORE MONEY IN THE FEDERAL GRANT STABILIZATION FUND.
'CAUSE IT SEEMS LIKELY WE MIGHT BE LOSING THE CONTINUING OF CARE MONEY.
AND THEN THE OTHER POT THAT I'D PUT MONEY IN IS MONEY FOR INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS, BECAUSE I, YOU KNOW, I'M, SO, I'M, I'M CONCERNED ABOUT, I THINK WE DO AMAZING WORK, AND
[01:05:01]
WE'VE BEEN SO PROACTIVE IN PLANNING FOR DEVELOPING INFRASTRUCTURE, BUT EVERYTHING COSTS A LOT.AND THERE ARE A LOT OF PROJECTS THAT IF WE LIKE, DON'T REPLACE THE ROOF, IF WE DON'T DO, UM, NECESSARY MUNICIPAL IMPROVEMENTS, NOW THE PROJECTS ARE GONNA COST MORE LATER.
SO, I MEAN, THAT WOULD BE THE OTHER BUCKET THAT I WOULD REALLY, UM, WANNA CONSIDER, IS THAT MAYBE WE SHOULD BE PUTTING MORE MONEY FROM OUR OPERATING BUDGET INTO INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS SO THAT WE'RE BORROWING LESS MONEY, BECAUSE I'M NERVOUS ABOUT OUR BORROWING MORE MONEY WHEN LESS MONEY WILL BE COMING IN.
UM, AND THE, THE THING THAT WASN'T ON THE LIST THAT I WAS AWARE OF WAS, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD MANY MEETINGS ABOUT THE COMMUNITY BENEFITS FUND, AND WE KNOW OUR NONPROFITS ARE REALLY STRUGGLING.
AND ACTUALLY, I SHARED THIS EMAIL WITH YOU, UM, EON THE CITY MANAGER, AND I SHOULD HAVE SHARED IT WITH THE REST OF YOU.
BUT ACCORDING TO A PRESENTATION, A RECENT PRESENTATION OF THE NONPROFIT COALITION, 42% OF THE NONPROFIT SURVEYED WERE GETTING SOME MONEY FROM CAMBRIDGE.
AND I WONDERED HOW MUCH THAT REALLY ADDED UP TO OVERALL.
BUT I FEEL AS THOUGH, RATHER THAN HAVING, UM, OUR NONPROFITS, WHICH ARE DOING VERY SIGNIFICANT WORK, LIKE FIGHTING OVER COMMUNITY, YOU KNOW, UM, DEVELOPMENT MITIGATION FUNDS ON A PROJECT BY PROJECT BASIS, I JUST FEEL LIKE IT WOULD BE, WE'D HAVE MORE PEACE THROUGHOUT THE LAND IF THERE WAS AN ANNUAL, LIKE, CITY ALLOCATION TO THE COMMUNITY BENEFITS FUND THAT COULD BE DISTRIBUTED EITHER BY THE COMMUNITY BENEFITS FUND OR THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION TO HELP SUPPORT NONPROFIT WORK.
BUT I THINK WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT SITUATION BETTER.
BUT I THINK AS, UM, WE HAVE LESS GROWTH AND THERE'S GREATER NEED, OUR NONPROFITS WILL BE UNDER MORE PRESSURE TO, UM, TO BE DELIVERING SERVICES WITH FEWER RESOURCES.
SO I JUST FEEL LIKE IT WOULD BE, UH, IT WOULD MAKE A LOT OF SENSE TO DEDICATE SOME, SOME MONEY TO THAT, SO THAT, THAT SHOULD BE ADDED TO THE LIST.
AND ALSO, WE SHOULD GET SOME ANSWERS, UM, FROM YOU ABOUT HOW MUCH WE'RE ACTUALLY, UH, DEDICATING TO THE NONPROFIT SECTOR NOW.
'CAUSE IT SOUNDS LIKE IT, UH, IT'S HAPPENING, BUT IT ISN'T ALWAYS, UM, OBVIOUS TO US WHAT'S BEING FUNDED.
UM, MY THREE, MY THREE LIKE PRIORITY GOALS FOR FUNDING WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, HOW TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO BUILD MORE WORKFORCE HOUSING.
SO I THINK, UM, UH, GENERALLY, AND I, YOU KNOW, I THINK YOU ALL KNOW THAT I'M EAGER TO SEE SOME AMENDMENTS TO SOME EXISTING ZONING PROPOSALS THAT WILL MAKE THEM BETTER.
AND I WANNA SEE BROADER TRANSPORTATION PLANNING.
I THINK THAT, AND, AND THOSE THINGS, BROADER TRANSPORTATION PLANNING MAY NOT REQUIRE A BIG INVESTMENT OF MONEY.
IT MAY JUST REQUIRE A, A BROADER WAY OF LOOKING AT THE CITY'S TRANSPORTATION ISSUES.
SO THAT MAY JUST BE A MATTER, A PHILOSOPHICAL SHIFT, OR A, OR BROADENING OUR FOCUS, UM, RATHER THAN, UH, EXPENDITURES.
I, I DO THINK I, I AGREE WITH WHAT SO MANY OF MY COLLEAGUES HAVE SAID ABOUT, UH, LOOKING FOR OTHER SOURCES OF FUNDING AND PARTNERING, BECAUSE I, I, I THINK WE, WE'VE GOTTA WORK WITH MIT TO FIX THE ALBANY STREET SHELTER.
AND THAT SEEMS LIKE AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE SOME IMPROVEMENTS TO, UH, TO THE, TO THE DESIGN.
NOT ONLY TO FIX THINGS THAT ARE BROKEN, BUT TO MAYBE MAKE MODEST IMPROVEMENTS TO THE DESIGN THAT WILL REALLY MAKE IT A MUCH HEALTHIER PLACE FOR OUR IN HOUSE RESIDENTS TO BE.
UM, AND I, I THINK THE IDEA OF THE SOCIAL HOUSING REVOLVING FUND IS SO EXCITING.
THERE AGAIN, I THINK, YOU KNOW, MAYBE WHAT WE WOULD DO IS IF, IF WE WANTED TO START WITH THREE TO 5 MILLION THERE, MAYBE WE WOULD BE TRANSFERRING MONEY FROM THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING TRUST TO THIS OTHER FUND.
UM, I KNOW THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING TRUST NEEDS, UH, THEY'RE LOW.
THEY WILL SOON BE LOW ON MONEY.
BUT MAYBE IF, IF THIS IS SOMETHING THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO IT, IT'S ACTUALLY A MATTER OF SHIFTING RESOURCES RATHER THAN COMING UP WITH NEW RESOURCES.
UM, AND WE'VE TALKED ABOUT AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAMS AND THINKING ABOUT IT TIERED FUNDING AND MAKING SURE WE'RE BILLING PEOPLE THAT WILL HELP US TO BETTER PROVIDE, UM, AFTERSCHOOL FOR OUR FAMILIES.
UM, AND, AND I AM CONCERNED ABOUT, UM, THE ECONOMIC, UH, WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO SUPPORT OUR RETAIL, OUR, OUR SMALL
[01:10:01]
LOCAL RETAIL.AND, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THIS WOULD COST A LOT, AND MAYBE IT'S ALREADY WHAT WE'RE FUNDING WITH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AT THE SMALL RETAIL LEVEL, BUT I, I DO THINK MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE SUPPORTING OUR LOCAL RETAIL IS VERY, VERY IMPORTANT.
AND A MODEST AMOUNT OF FUNDING MIGHT MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD.
I THANK YOU FOR, UM, FOR KEEPING TRACK OF OUR FINANCES AND, UM, PRESERVING OUR AAA BOND RATING.
I YIELD THANK YOU, COUNCILLOR ZI, UH, COUNCILLOR FLAHERTY VERY BRIEFLY THROUGH YOU.
I, I JUST WANNA REMIND ALL OF MY COLLEAGUES AND MYSELF, UH, OF A CENTRAL TENANT THAT WAS SHARED WITH ME AT OUR, UH, INITIAL FINANCE ROUNDTABLE, WHICH WAS THAT HISTORICALLY THE CITY OF CAMBRIDGE WOULD, UH, BUILD TO A BUDGET RATHER THAN BUDGET TO BUILD.
AND IT ALMOST SOUNDS ODD TO HEAR THAT, BUT I THINK NOW IN THESE ECONOMIC TIMES, THINGS ARE DIFFERENT AND WE'VE GOTTA BE PRUDENT.
AND AS WE DO, UM, PRIORITIZE THESE, UH, PROGRAMS AND EXPENDITURES, AND EACH OF US HAS OUR, UM, IDEAS, I THINK WE NEED TO KEEP IN MIND THAT CENTRAL TENANT THAT EVEN THOUGH THERE IS MAYBE SOME WIGGLE ROOM, UH, IN OUR BUDGET, THAT WE'VE GOTTA BE CAREFUL ABOUT IT AND BE PRUDENT ABOUT IT.
AND QUITE FRANKLY, I COULD TRIPLE THIS LIST OF PRIORITIES BEING A, YOU KNOW, A WORKING CLASS LIBERAL DEMOCRAT THAT I AM.
AND I AGREE WITH MY COLLEAGUE, UH, COUNCIL MCGOVERN THAT WE SHOULD FIRST AND FOREMOST BE THINKING ABOUT THOSE MARGINALIZED, IMPOVERISHED MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY WHEN WE'RE MAKING THESE EXPENDITURES.
SO I WOULD JUST LIKE, HOPEFULLY THAT EVERYONE IN THEIR OWN HEART AND MINDS KEEP THAT CENTRAL TENANT OF, UH, THINKING BEFORE WE SPEND AT HEART AS WE PRIORITIZE THIS.
THANK YOU, COUNCILLOR FLAHERTY.
I'LL JUST MAKE A COUPLE COMMENTS AND THEN WE CAN GO AROUND AND FIGURE OUT WHERE WE'RE GOING WITH THIS CONVERSATION.
JUST TO REMIND US, THIS LIST CAME FROM REALLY REVIEWING EVERYTHING WE'VE TALKED ABOUT.
AS WE ARE OFTEN REMINDED, IT'S REALLY EASY TO JUST VOTE YES ON A POLICY ORDER SAYING DO THIS.
AND YET THAT DOESN'T HELP US PRIORITIZE AND IT DOESN'T HELP US.
'CAUSE EVERY SINGLE THING ON THIS LIST, IF WE HAD ENDLESS FUNDS, ALL OF US WOULD DO.
AND THEN, AS ALL OF US HAVE SAID, AND WE COULD PROBABLY TRIPLE IT.
SO WE RECOGNIZE THAT THIS IS A TIME WHEN WE ALSO HAVE TO REMEMBER WE ARE DOING AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT IN OUR BUDGET.
NOT ONLY ARE WE NOT HAVING TO CUT BACK, WE ARE ABLE TO, TO FUND SOME INCREASES IN, YOU KNOW, HEALTH INSURANCE PREMIUMS, WHICH ARE GOING UP A LOT.
UM, EV ALL THE STAFF AND UNION STAFF ARE ABLE TO GET THEIR RAISE, WHICH IS NOT TRUE IN OTHER PLACES WITHOUT LAYOFFS.
UM, SO I THINK WE'RE AWARE OF THAT.
UM, BUT THIS LIST, AGAIN, CAME FROM REALLY WINNOWING THE, THE, THE LAST FEW YEARS OF POLICY ORDERS AND IDEAS.
AND, AND WE JUST WANNA BRING THIS TOGETHER TO SAY, HOW IS IT THAT AS WE LOOK FORWARD IN THE FUTURE, JUST TO REMIND US ALL TOO, THE TIMELINE REALLY MATTERS.
THAT IT MAY BE, IT SEEMS LIKE, WELL, WE CAN'T DO ANYTHING, BUT IF WE HAVE A 10 YEAR TIMEFRAME, WE CAN.
AND THAT'S PART OF WHY WE'RE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION, IS THAT WE DON'T KNOW IF IT'S THE ONE YEAR OR FIVE YEAR, OR THREE YEAR OR 10 YEAR, BUT CERTAINLY WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO DO SOME OF THIS OVER THE NEXT 10 YEARS.
UM, SO WE HOPEFULLY WANNA GET TO UNDERSTANDING HOW IT IS THAT WE CAN, UH, MOVE FORWARD ON SOME OF THESE.
AND SOME OF THE POINTS HAVE BEEN RAISED IN THAT FUNDING CAN COME PARTLY FROM, I MEAN, THERE'S ONLY A COUPLE OPTIONS.
WE GET IT FROM TAXES OR FEES, OR WE FIND SAVINGS IN OUR CURRENT SPENDING, AND WE REDUCE FUNDING IN CERTAIN AREAS BECAUSE WE BELIEVE THAT THERE'S A MORE EFFICIENT WAY TO DO IT.
I, I THINK ALL OF THOSE SHOULD BE ON THE TABLE.
IT SHOULD NOT BE ONLY FROM, UH, RAISING CERTAIN TAXES.
THERE MAY BE WAYS, AS WE KNOW, MOVING FORWARD.
SOMETIMES SOMETHING COMES UP AND YOU DON'T NEED AS MANY PLAYERS.
I JUST, YOU KNOW, IF WE WERE FARMERS, APPARENTLY A LOT OF THEM ARE REPLACING WORKERS WITH ROBOTS GOING OUT IN THE FIELD.
I'M NOT SAYING WE HAVE ANY THAT DO THAT, BUT THE POINT IS, THERE'S OFTEN WAYS IN WHICH WE COULD FIND SAVINGS IN EXISTING DEPARTMENTS AND THEN THAT WOULD HELP FUND OTHER THINGS SOONER THAN WE MIGHT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO OTHERWISE.
THE THE OTHER QUESTION I'M THROWING OUT TO MY COLLEAGUES IS, ARE THERE OTHERS WE SHOULD INCLUDE IN THIS PRIORITY DISCUSSION? WE OFTEN TALK ABOUT MAKING SURE WE'RE GOING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY ABOUT WHAT PRIORITIES ARE.
AND I'M THINKING ALSO, FOR INSTANCE, OF BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, LIKE ONE OF THE ITEMS ON THE LIST IS SOMETHING WE TALKED ABOUT WHEN WE HAD THOSE, THAT VERY LONG DISCUSSION, WHICH TOOK SEVERAL YEARS TO PASS A PLAN FOR DECARBONIZATION OF BUILDINGS ACROSS THE CITY, RECOGNIZING
[01:15:01]
THE EXISTENTIAL CRISIS OF CLIMATE.BUT WE DID NOTHING FOR RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS AT THE TIME.
AND THE CLIMATE COMMITTEE EVERY YEAR FOR THE LAST COUPLE YEARS HAS SAID, HEY, I HOPE YOU'RE DOING SOMETHING TO HELP LOW AND MODERATE INCOME RESIDENTS IN CAMBRIDGE ALSO PARTICIPATE IN BEING ABLE TO FUND CLIMATE.
SO I'M JUST THINKING OUR BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS ONES THAT WE MIGHT WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THEY ALSO WEIGH IN ON OUR BUDGET PRIORITIES.
I'M JUST MAKING A NOTE TO MYSELF THAT I WILL CERTAINLY REACH OUT TO THOSE, YOU KNOW, I'M IN TOUCH WITH, LIKE THROUGH HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT.
IF THE CLIMATE COMMITTEE IS ONE I'M FAMILIAR WITH, 'CAUSE I FOLLOW IT, BUT IT'S INCUMBENT ON US TO REMEMBER THAT AS WELL.
OBVIOUSLY WE REPRESENT THE WHOLE CITY, AND YET THERE'S ALSO OTHER PARTS OF THE CITY, UM, IN ADDITION TO THE CITY STAFF THAT MAY HAVE SOME SENSE OF HOW IT IS THAT WE SHOULD GO ABOUT, UH, PRIORITIZING.
JUST TO REMIND US ALL, AS WE STARTED THIS CONVERSATION, WE, WE WANNA GET TO A POINT, AND I'D BE INTERESTED IN HEARING, I WILL ALSO GO TO COUNCILLOR SIMMONS WHO HAS THEIR HAND UP THAT WE ARE THINKING WE'D CIRCULATE SOME KIND OF NON BITING SURVEY.
AND I THINK ONE WAY TO FORCE CHOOSE THAT IS THAT YOU, YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO JUST CHECK OFF AND SAY, I WANNA DO ALL OF THIS.
IT WOULD HAVE TO BE SOME KIND OF PRIORITIZATION YOURSELF.
I THINK THAT GETS AT, AGAIN, IT'LL BE IN A, IN A, A SITUATION OF IMPERFECT INFORMATION.
WE WON'T KNOW TIMELINE, WE WON'T KNOW NUMBERS, BUT AT LEAST GET, TRY TO GAUGE A SENSE OF THE BODY OF WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT GOING FORWARD, AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ALSO TAKING INTO ACCOUNT WHAT WE'RE ALREADY SPENDING IN THOSE AREAS.
'CAUSE I THINK THOSE TWO NEED TO BE CONSIDERED THAT, UM, AS COUNCILOR SARINA WHEELER SAID, WE, WE DIDN'T HAVE THE DISCUSSION WHEN WE PASSED, WHICH I VOTED FOR THE CYCLING SAFETY ORDINANCE.
AND YET IT MAY BE IF THERE HAD BEEN SOME DIFFERENT, IF WE HAD HAD THE BUDGET IN FRONT OF US, WE MAY HAVE SAID, HEY, IS THERE A WAY TO DO THIS A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY? AND INSTEAD OF SAVING 50% OF THE PARKING, SAY 40%, AND WE COULD SAVE $20 MILLION, YOU KNOW, AND THEN WE COULD HAVE REALLOCATED THAT.
I THINK THOSE ARE SOMETIMES DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS, BUT THE COUNCIL WASN'T EVEN, UH, INCLUDED IN THOSE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT UNDERSTANDING THE BUDGET.
WE PASSED IT AND THEN THE BUDGET WAS SEPARATE.
MAYBE THAT WAS OUR FAULT, MAYBE THAT WAS WHO KNOWS WHAT, BUT IT DID HAPPEN.
AND LET'S MAKE SURE WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING IN THIS PROCESS PARTLY SPURRED BY OUR CHANGES IN THE CHARTER TO MAKE SURE IT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE COLLABORATIVE AND A LITTLE BIT EARLIER ON.
SO THAT'S, UM, I'M LOOKING FOR FEEDBACK FROM ALL OF YOU ON, DO YOU THINK WE CAN GET TO THAT WITH THIS KIND OF NON-BINARY SURVEY AND ANY ADVICE YOU HAVE ON IT? AND JUST TO REMIND US ALL TO THINK ABOUT WHO ELSE MIGHT BE INCLUDED IN THESE CONVERSATIONS.
AND THEN WITH THAT, COUNCILOR SIMMONS, IF, UH, YOU HAD YOUR HAND UP THROUGH THE CHAIR TO THE FINANCE COMMITTEE AND THE CITY MANAGER? JUST CURIOUS.
AS I SCROLL THROUGH THE LIST OF ITEMS TO BE PRIORITIZED, I DID NOT SEE PROGRAMMING FOR SENIORS THERE.
I DON'T KNOW IF IT IS EMBEDDED OR IT WAS, IT'S IMPLIED OR WE OVERLOOKED IT.
AND I RAISED THAT PARTICULARLY BECAUSE I HAPPEN TO KNOW, AND MY COLLEAGUE IN THIS WORK, COUNCILOR SUZI, UH, WE ARE BOTH AWARE THAT THE, SOME OF THE FUNDING THAT SERVES MEALS TO OUR SENIORS MAY BE CUT.
IF THAT'S, SO AS IT CITY GOING TO STEP UP TO MAKE SURE THOSE PROGRAMS AT THE SENIOR CENTER CONTINUE BE FOR TWO REASONS.
ONE, WE TALK A LOT ABOUT FOOD INSECURITY AND WE ALSO TALK ABOUT HOW WE WANT SENIORS IN PARTICULAR TO FEEL AS THOUGH, UM, THEY ARE A RESPECTED AND IMPORTANT PART OF OUR POPULATION.
SO IF IT'S NOT A PRIORITY, I WANT US TO MAKE IT A PRIORITY THAT WE MAKE SURE WE DO NO MORE HARM TO OUR SENIOR COMMUNITY.
SECOND, I WANTED TO SAY, AND THIS IS, UM, MORE FOR MY COLLEAGUES WHO WILL, WILL KNOW THIS, HAVING SERVED ON THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE BEFORE AS A, AS A MEMBER OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE, IS THAT THERE WAS A TIME WHEN YOU OFFERED THE IDEA OF A PROGRAM YOU OFFERED ALSO HOW YOU WERE GOING TO PAY FOR IT.
AND I THINK THAT'S AN IMPORTANT EXERCISE.
WE'VE GOTTEN INTO THE HABIT OF SAYING, WELL, I'D LOVE TO SEE THIS HAPPEN, AND THEN ASK THE CITY MANAGER TO GO INTO THE BASEMENT AND FIND THE MONEY.
I THINK IT MIGHT BE SOMETHING THAT WE MIGHT WANNA TRY ON, IS IF WE DO WANT SOMETHING FUNDED, WHATEVER THAT IS, I'M NOT GONNA SAY ANYTHING BECAUSE I DON'T, UM, HAVE A PRIZE PROJECT THAT I'M LOOKING TO FUND.
BUT IT, I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT IF YOU'RE GOING TO WANT THE PROGRAM, THEN WE FIGURE OUT HOW WE ARE GOING TO PAY FOR IT EITHER.
AND I, AND, AND I SAY HOW WE'RE GOING TO PAY FOR IT, AND LET ME UNDERLINE NOT THROUGH THE UNEXPECTED FUND BALANCE THE LAST THING, BUT LET'S TALK TO THE COMMUNITY THAT THIS IS IN, HAS SOME IMPACT.
WE ARE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY.
I DON'T KNOW HOW WE REACHED OUT TO THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE TO BE HEARD ON THIS, BUT AS WE HAVE THE CONVERSATION ABOUT THE BUDGET, AND I KNOW WE HAD TWO BUDGET WORKSHOPS, I DON'T KNOW HOW WELL
[01:20:01]
THOSE WERE ATTENDED, BUT I THINK IT'D ALSO BE IMPORTANT FOR US TO MAKE SURE, PARTICULARLY WITH OUR ELDER ELDER COMMUNITY, THAT WE REACH OUT AND LET THEM KNOW THOSE THINGS THAT WE ARE GOING TO DO THAT'S GOING TO HAVE AN IMPACT ON THEIR QUALITY OF LIFE AT YOGA FLOOR.AND AS WE SAID AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MEETING, UM, NOW IS DEFINITELY THE TIME WHEN, IF THERE'S THINGS ON THIS LIST THAT WE WANT TO BE INCLUDED, WHAT I'VE HEARD IS, IS ONE, SOME PERHAPS ALLOCATION TO THE COMMUNITY BENEFITS FUND.
JUST TO REMIND US, THE COMMUNITY BENEFITS FUND IS, HAS BEEN FUNDED THROUGH DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS, SO IT HAS NOT BEEN SOMETHING ALLOCATED FROM THE CITY, BUT WITH THE DEVELOPMENT SLOWING DOWN AND WITH LIKELY CONTRIBUTIONS TO THAT SLOWING DOWN, ALTHOUGH AS I UNDERSTAND IT, THERE'S STILL SOME IN THE PROCESS THAT WILL EVENTUALLY, UH, ROLL INTO IT JUST FROM PROJECTS THAT WERE, UH, PREVIOUSLY FUNDED.
BUT THAT WAS ONE SPECIFIC SUGGESTION TO SAY THAT WOULD BE ADDED IN.
UM, COUNCILLOR SIMMONS JUST SUGGESTED, UH, SOME KIND OF, UH, SENIOR FUNDING, WHICH PART OF THE LIST, I BELIEVE ON THE FOOD IS THAT WOULD COVER THOSE SENIORS.
THAT, IS THAT CORRECT? I'M SEEING SOME NODDING, BUT GIVEN A COUPLE OF THESE COMMENTS BEFORE I GO AROUND AGAIN, IF ANYONE ON THE, THE CITY STAFF WANTS TO COMMENT ON WHAT YOU'VE HEARD TO DATE, UM, THAT MIGHT BE HELPFUL BEFORE WE THEN FIGURE OUT HOW WE'RE GONNA THRASH THROUGH GETTING PRIORITIES, UH, THROUGH YOUR JOURNAL.
UM, I THINK HAPPY TO CONTINUE AND JUST CONTINUE HEARING FROM COUNSELORS, UM, BUT AGREE THAT, UM, THAT I THINK NOW IS A GOOD TIME TO BRING UP NEW IDEAS AND, UH, IF THERE'S THINGS THAT ARE MISSING HERE THAT WE SHOULD ADD THEM.
AND, AND AS, UH, COUNCILLOR SIMMONS REMINDED US, AND AS WE TALKED BEFORE, LONG TERM, SO SEVERAL YEARS OUT, THERE EVENTUALLY WILL BE SOME OF THAT ROOM, ASSUMING THINGS CONTINUE AS IS ASSUMING THE WORST CASE OF, UM, OF ASSESSMENTS DOESN'T HAPPEN.
AND AS I THINK COUNCILOR MCGOVERN REMINDED US, WE'RE ALREADY, EVEN WITHOUT ANYTHING NEW GOING TO HAVE A PRETTY DRAMATIC INCREASE IN SOME OF OUR TAXES.
DRAMATIC MEANING PROBABLY DOUBLE THE, YOU KNOW, COST OF LIVING, YOU KNOW, IN THE SIX OR 7% RANGE AND POSSIBLY HIGHER DEPENDING ON WHAT HAPPENS WITH ASSESSMENT.
SO, UM, I I THINK WE'RE ALL COGNIZANT OF THAT, BUT IT ALSO MEANS IF THERE'S WAYS THAT PEOPLE CAN IDENTIFY AS COUNCILOR SIMMONS SAYS, SOME, SOME SAVINGS OR PROGRAMS THAT MAYBE HAVE, HAVE, UH, RUN THEIR COURSE, THAT'S CERTAINLY OPEN TO US TO, TO DISCUSS.
BUT I'M GONNA GO, PARDON? UM, OKAY, I'LL, UM, START WITH, UH, COUNCILOR MCGOVERN AND THEN COUNCILLOR SIMMONS.
I JUST WANTED TO FOLLOW UP ON THE, YOUR LAST POINT ABOUT, UH, YOU KNOW, THE EVALUATION PIECE OF SOME PROGRAMS THAT MAY NOT.
I JUST, I DO ALSO WANNA, AND THIS IS WHERE WE WOULD NEED SOME, I, I THINK SOME GUIDANCE FROM, FROM THE CITY.
WE DON'T KNOW
WE, WE HAVE OUR OPINIONS ON WHAT PROGRAMS WORK WELL AND MAYBE WHAT PROGRAMS DON'T WORK WELL, WHATEVER PROGRAM WE THINK WORKS WELL, SOMEONE WILL SAY IT DOESN'T, WHATEVER PROGRAM WE THINK DOESN'T WORK WELL, IT'S THE LIFELINE FOR SOMEBODY.
AND SO, UM, I DO THINK AS WE THINK ABOUT, UM, WHERE WE WOULD PROPOSE CUTS, I DON'T KNOW HOW SPECIFIC REALISTICALLY WE CAN REALLY GET, OR THAT I SPEAK FOR MYSELF THAT I WOULD FEEL COMFORTABLE REALLY GOING IN AND SAYING, OH, I HEARD THIS PROGRAM DOESN'T WORK.
WE SHOULD CUT IT AND PUT THAT MONEY OVER HERE.
I, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, WE DON'T RUN THE DEPARTMENTS.
AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I JUST WANT US TO SORT OF THINK ABOUT THAT.
AND THAT'S WHY I THINK THE CONVERSATIONS, EVEN WHEN WE GET TO THE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT HOW MUCH MONEY ARE WE TALKING ABOUT, THERE'S JUST, FOR US, MOST OF THESE CONVERSATIONS ARE MORE GENERAL, RIGHT? LIKE, WE KNOW SOME THINGS WE WANT TO DO, WE KNOW HOW MUCH MONEY WE SPEND.
WE, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, I WISH THAT THERE WAS, YOU KNOW, I KNOW WE HAVE TO PASS A BALANCED BUDGET, YOU KNOW, IN MAY OR WHATEVER.
IT'S RIGHT, WE HAVE TO PASS A BALANCED BUDGET.
BUT LEADING UP TO THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S SOME WIGGLE ROOM THERE.
I I, I WISH
YOU KNOW, AND, AND WHETHER THAT'S NEW PROGRAMMING OR SUPPORTING CURRENT PROGRAMMING, THAT WOULD BE SO MUCH EASIER.
AND I DON'T THINK THAT'S NECESSARILY, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT SURE THAT'S POSSIBLE.
UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST, THERE'S JUST, THIS IS GONNA BE A MUCH LONGER
[01:25:01]
CONVERSATION, AND I APPRECIATE WHAT YOU SAID MADAM CHAIR ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THIS IS SORT OF THE FIR THE FIRST STEP IN, IN HAVING THAT.BUT AS WE'RE THINKING ABOUT THESE PRIORITIES, UM, YOU KNOW, I JUST GO BACK TO, YOU KNOW, AS MUCH, AS MUCH AS WE CAN TIGHTEN UP THE CONVERSATION IN TERMS OF WHAT WE'RE, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT THE OPTIONS REALLY ARE, I THINK IT WOULD HELP US TO KIND OF THINK ABOUT THAT.
BUT JUST ON THE EVALUATION PIECE, I THINK IT'S HARD FOR US TO, YOU KNOW, AND WE'LL ALL EVALUATE IT DIFFERENTLY, YOU KNOW, SO WE'RE GONNA NEED SOME GUIDANCE FROM THE CITY AS TO, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT DO YOU THINK SHOULD, WHAT PROGRAMS DO YOU THINK SHOULD NOT CONTINUE? AND THEN WHAT HAPPENS TO THE PEOPLE WHO WORK FOR THOSE PROGRAMS AND WHAT HAPPENS TO THE PEOPLE WHO RELY ON THOSE PROGRAMS? AND I MEAN, THAT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT AN INDIVIDUAL COUNCIL, WE JUST, WE DON'T HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE BASE TO DO THAT.
AND I, I DON'T WANNA MAKE A MISTAKE.
I, I WOULD SAY FOR AN EASY EXAMPLE IS WHEN THIS BUDGET CRUNCH CAME, IT WAS, OKAY, WE'RE GONNA AT LEAST REVIEW AND LOOK AT OUT-OF-STATE TRAVEL.
THAT DOESN'T MEAN IT WON'T HAPPEN, BUT WE'RE GOING TO RECON AND CONSULTANT CONTRACTS.
THAT'S, AGAIN, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY PROGRAMS AND LAYOFFS, BUT THERE ARE AT LEAST SOME WAYS IN WHICH IT MAY BE HELPFUL TO LOOK, OR WAYS THAT NEW WAYS OF DOING THINGS.
YOU KNOW, FRANKLY, WHEN COMPUTERS CAME IN, YOU DON'T HAVE AS MANY PEOPLE HANDWRITING CHECKS AS THERE USED TO BE ON.
AND, AND, AND MADAM, I'M SURE, SORRY.
AND I WOULD JUST SAY, I MEAN, IF YOU LOOK AT, AND I APPRECIATE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE ON THE, ON MONDAY, YOU KNOW, WE'LL, WE'LL, WE'LL TALK AGAIN ABOUT THE, UM, THE, THE PARKING STICKERS, RIGHT? AND, YOU KNOW, HERE'S A, HERE'S A PROGRAM THAT COSTS $75 PER STICKER TO IMPLEMENT, AND WE'RE CHARGING 25.
WE COULD SAVE SOME MONEY BY JUST GETTING RE, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY BREAKING EVEN, RIGHT? UM, AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE MAY BE SOME THINGS LIKE THAT THAT, THAT, THAT WE COULD TALK ABOUT.
BUT BEFORE WE GET INTO THAT CUTTING PROGRAMS, I JUST THINK THAT'S GONNA BE REALLY DIFFICULT FOR US TO, FOR THIS, FOR THE COUNCIL TO DO.
AND YOU AND I WERE THERE, I THINK, ON SCHOOL COMMITTEE WHEN THERE WERE SOME OF THOSE TOUGH DECISIONS, UH, CM HUANG, UM, THROUGH YOUR CHART.
I THINK, UM, I THINK IT IS GOING TO BE MORE ON THE ADMINISTRATION AND DEPARTMENTS TO, UM, BE LOOKING AT OUR EXISTING SPENDING, OUR EXISTING BUDGETS, OUR EXISTING PROGRAMS, AND THINKING ABOUT EFFICIENCIES, DIFFERENT WAYS THAT WE MIGHT CHANGE HOW WE DELIVER SERVICES.
UM, IF I THINK ABOUT THE LAST CONVERSATION, WE HAD A FINANCE COMMITTEE ON THE CAPITAL BUDGET AS AN EXAMPLE.
UM, THAT'S SORT OF AN AREA WHERE I THINK, UM, WE SORT OF, AS WE WERE LOOKING AT THE BUDGET, UH, YOU KNOW, PART OF WHAT WE WERE COMMUNICATING IN THAT MEETING IS, UM, OUR CAPITAL SPENDING HAS BEEN INCREASING SO MUCH.
AND WE FELT LIKE IT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT TO HAVE CLEAR FISCAL TARGETS AND TO BEND THAT CURVE.
AND A LOT OF THE WORK THAT'S BEEN HAPPENING ACROSS A NUMBER OF DEPARTMENTS, UM, THAT DEPUTY CITY MANAGER WATKINS, HAS REALLY BEEN CHAIRING, UM, UH, HAS BEEN TO LOOK OUT AT THAT CAPITAL PLAN.
AND I THINK WHAT WE SHOWED WAS HOW MUCH WE'VE ACTUALLY, UH, PRIORITIZED AND, UM, AND, AND, AND SORT OF COME TO A PLACE WHERE OUR DEBT SERVICE LEVELS ARE GOING TO BE MORE CONSISTENTLY, UM, INCREASING IN LINE WITH OUR BUDGET, NOT FASTER THAN OUR BUDGET, AND THEN SQUEEZING OUT OTHER OPERATING EXPENSES.
UM, SO I FEEL LIKE THAT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE, UH, WE WILL OWN AND, AND SAY, YOU KNOW, TO THE EXTENT THAT WE COLLECTIVELY DECIDE THAT WE HAVE A BUDGET PRIORITY, OR WE HAVE THIS PROGRAM THAT WE WANNA, UH, WE WANNA FIND FUNDING FOR, WE WILL FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO THAT.
UM, OBVIOUSLY AT CERTAIN LEVELS WE MAY PUSH BACK AND SAY, WELL, THIS IS GONNA TAKE US LONGER TO IMPLEMENT.
UM, AND I THINK MAYBE JUST AS GUIDANCE IN TERMS OF HOW WE THINK ABOUT PROGRAMS. I MEAN, THIS IS ACTUALLY THE CHALLENGE THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF COMPETING GREAT IDEAS, AND I THINK I'VE HEARD THAT TODAY AND IN ALL OF OUR CONVERSATIONS THAT THERE ARE SO MANY GOOD THINGS THAT WE WANNA DO.
UM, I DO THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO BE FOLLOWING THROUGH WITH WHAT ARE OUR GOALS? WHAT ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS FOR US TO WORK ON? WHAT ARE PROVEN STRATEGIES THAT ARE GONNA ACHIEVE THOSE GOALS? UM, AND SO ARE WE GONNA ACTUALLY GET THE OUTCOMES THAT WE CARE ABOUT? I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT ALSO THAT WE'D BE THINKING ABOUT WHAT IS THE CITY'S ROLE? AND SO THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT, IT MAKES SENSE THAT THE CITY IS THE ONE THAT'S TACKLING THIS.
UM, AND I THINK THAT'S A PIECE THAT SOMETIMES COMES UP IN TERMS OF WHICH THINGS THAT WE CAN ADDRESS AND WHICH THINGS, EVEN IF WE REALLY CARE ABOUT, UM, WE PROBABLY CAN'T SOLVE ON OUR OWN.
AND SO I THINK THESE ARE A BUNCH OF THE QUESTIONS AS WE START TO PRIORITIZE AND AS WE START TO ACTUALLY SCOPE THINGS OUT THAT WE'LL WANNA TALK MORE CLEARLY ABOUT.
[01:30:05]
DID YOU WANT WATERUM, I BELIEVE COUNCILLOR SIMMONS SET HER HAND UP, UNLESS IT WAS FROM BEFORE.
THANK YOU, UH, THROUGH THE CHAIR TO CITY MANAGER, UH, AT THE LAST TIME I SPOKE, I HAD ASKED WAS FUNDING FOR THE SENIOR MEALS PROGRAM.
THE, THE SENIORS ARE, ARE NOT LISTED IN THE BUDGET DOCUMENT.
IT DOESN'T MENTION THEM EXCLUSIVELY.
THEY'RE NOT PULLED OUT IN ANYWAY.
I WAS LED TO BELIEVE, I GUESS, UH, I BELIEVE BY A NODDING OF THE HEAD, WHICH I COULD NOT SEE NOR HEAR, UH, THAT THE SENIOR FOOD PROGRAM IS GOING TO BE FUNDED.
AND SO THROUGH THE CHAIR TO THE CITY MANAGER, TO THE DIRECTOR OF FINANCE, I'M JUST, I WANT TO KNOW IF, IF WE'RE HOLDING THE LINE AND MAKING SURE THAT THE PROGRAM IS STILL FUNDED AND THAT WE'LL STILL BE FEEDING SENIORS, PARTICULARLY AT THE COUNCIL ON AGING.
I KNOW IT'S VERY SPECIFIC ASPECTS OF SPECIFIC GROUP, AND I THINK THERE ARE, SENIORS ARE IMPORTANT TO ALL OF US, AND WE UNDERSTAND FOOD'S INSECURITY VERY SERIOUSLY.
SO I LIKE TO HAVE SOME ASSURANCES, UH, FROM THE CITY MANAGER, UH, THROUGH EITHER THROUGH THE BUDGET DIRECTOR FROM HIM HIMSELF, THAT WE WILL CONTINUE TO FEED THE SENIORS, OUR, OUR SENIORS, UH, THROUGH YOUR TURN NOLAN CONVERSATIONS ARE STILL ONGOING.
I THINK THERE IS A COMMITMENT THAT WE ARE, UH, WE ARE GOING TO CONTINUE TO SERVE, UM, SENIORS.
UH, AND I THINK THE ISSUE IS A LITTLE BIT THAT WHAT WE ARE SEEING IS ONE OF OUR NONPROFITS THAT WE WORK WITH VERY CLOSELY, UH, IS SAYING THAT FROM A FISCAL PERSPECTIVE, THEY CAN'T SUPPORT THAT PROGRAM ANYMORE.
AND I'M NOT COMPLETELY CLEAR ON EXACTLY HOW THEIR FUNDING CIRCUMSTANCES HAVE CHANGED AND WHERE THE FUNDING IS GETTING SHIFTED TO.
SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE CONVERSATIONS WE'RE WORKING AT, AT A STAFF LEVEL.
UM, SO I THINK THERE'S BOTH A COMMITMENT FROM THE CITY TO OUR SENIOR COMMUNITY.
AT THE SAME TIME, I THINK WE'RE TRYING TO BETTER UNDERSTAND, UM, AT WHAT POINT DOES THE CITY STEP IN AND PROVIDE FUNDING? AT WHAT POINT ARE WE HELPING TO FIND A THIRD PATHWAY WHERE, YOU KNOW, WHERE THERE'S A MORE EFFICIENT WAY TO DELIVER SERVICES OR WHERE, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE, THERE ARE CERTAIN TWEAKS TO THE PROGRAM THAT WE COULD FIND, UM, AND AT WHAT LEVEL ARE, ARE WE ACTUALLY QUESTIONING, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THIS NONPROFIT SHOULD CONTINUE TO PROVIDE THAT FUNDING.
UM, AND SO I THINK, I THINK THERE'S, THERE'S SORT OF STUFF AND PROCESS, UM, THAT I KNOW, AND I KNOW THAT YOU'RE VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THIS.
UM, BUT THERE HASN'T BEEN A, A FINAL DETERMINATION AT THIS POINT, UH, THROUGH THE CHAIR, UH, TO THE CITY MANAGER.
UH, AS YOU PROBABLY KNOW, I RARELY ASK A QUESTION I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER TO.
SO I HAVE SEEN THE FINANCIALS.
I THINK YOU'VE SEEN THEM AS WELL.
AND SO YOUR ITERATION OF, OF, WELL, MAYBE THEY CAN FUND IT, I KNOW IT NOT, IS ABSOLUTELY NOT TRUE BECAUSE OF THE CONVERSATIONS THAT WE'VE HAD UNDER, AND THE CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER WHICH THEY ARE FUNCTIONING.
SO WHAT I WOULD, UH, HOPE THAT MY COLLEAGUES, UH, WOULD, WOULD DO IS TO STAND FIRMLY TOGETHER ON MAKING SURE, 'CAUSE WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT, I, I WON'T SAY THAT.
I AM HOPING THAT THE FINANCE COMMITTEE, WHICH IS ALSO THE COMMITTEE AS A WHOLE, WILL BE SURE THAT THE PROGRAM THAT SENIORS HAVE BECOME A, UM, DEPENDENT ON A NUMBER OF THEM, NOT ONLY FOR THE MEAL, BUT JUST THE ABILITY TO GET TOGETHER, UH, WILL NOT NOT HAPPEN.
BECAUSE THE FUNDING AGENCY THAT HAS BEEN FUNDING IT, AS WE ALL KNOW, ARE ALL OUR SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCIES HAVE BEEN HIT VERY HARD.
AND THEY'RE EITHER CUTTING, REDUCING, LAYING OFF STAFF A NUMBER OF THINGS JUST TO STAY SOLVENT.
SO, UM, I CAN CERTAINLY TALK TO YOU ABOUT THIS OFFLINE IF, IF IT, YOU'D BE MORE COMFORTABLE.
BUT I THINK WE CERTAINLY WALKED AWAY WITH A DIFFERENT ITERATION OF WHAT IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING.
AND I, I THINK THE WHOLE THING ABOUT, WELL, MAYBE WE CAN INSIST THEY PAY IS NOT SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DO BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT THEIR ORGANIZATION.
UM, THERE WAS ANOTHER POINT I HAD TO MAKE, BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS NOW.
I'M GONNA HAVE TO, UH, COME OFF THIS MEETING PERHAPS BEFORE IT LEAVES.
BUT, UH, I WILL TALK TO YOU, MR. CITY MANAGER, A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THIS.
'CAUSE IT IS OF GRAVE CONCERN TO ME.
[01:35:01]
I, I'M NOT GONNA SPEAK FOR MY COLLEAGUE WHO, UH, HAS WORKED ON THIS WITH ME.UH, UM, BUT I KNOW, UH, I CAN SPEAK FOR MYSELF.
THE COMMUNITY IS JUDGED BY HOW IT TREATS ITS CHILDREN AND ITS SENIORS AS, I WANNA LEAVE THAT THOUGHT WITH YOU.
UH, COUNCILLOR SIMMONS, ANY OTHER HANDS UP? SO WHAT WE'RE, SO WHAT WE HAVE SAID WE WOULD TRY TO DO AFTER THIS, GATHER SOME SENSE.
I THINK PEOPLE HAVE SAID IN GENERAL SOME PRINCIPLES THEY WANT AND SOME QUESTIONS.
I MEAN, IT, IT'LL SAY IT'S A LITTLE BIT MURKY BECAUSE WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE THIS OUT, BUT WE'RE ALSO TRYING TO DO IT IN A SYSTEMATIC WAY THAT'S NOT HAPPENED BEFORE, WHICH I THINK IS, REMIND US ALL THAT THIS IS REALLY POSITIVE THAT THIS IS HAPPENING, THIS POINT IN THE BUDGET BEFORE IT COMES DOWN.
AND THAT WE ARE TRYING TO, WITHIN OURSELVES AND ALSO WITH THE STAFF AND THE COMMUNITY, UM, THINK ABOUT THESE LONGER TERM BUDGET PRIORITIES IN A SYSTEMATIC FASHION THAT GETS US TO A POINT WHERE WE CAN MOVE FORWARD.
I, I, I'M NOT SURE IF IT MAKES SENSE TO, UM, FOR FOLKS TO SAY, WELL, I'M GOING THROUGH AND HERE'S KIND OF MY PRIORITIES.
'CAUSE IT'S ALMOST HARD TO ABSORB AND YOU ONLY GOT THIS LIST YESTERDAY.
I CAN, UM, AND I THINK IN THE CONTEXT OF WHAT IT IS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO, WE ALL OWE IT TO OURSELVES TO SPEND SOME TIME ON THAT.
BUT THAT WOULD BE THE INTENT FOR US TO COME UP WITH SOME WAY TO HAVE, AGAIN, A NON-BINDING SURVEY TO, IT WOULD BE A VERSION OF THIS LIST WITH A COUPLE OF THE ADDITIONS THAT, THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT.
AND AGAIN, IF, IF THERE'S SOMETHING YOU DIDN'T SEE ON THIS LIST THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR US TO INCLUDE, NOW'S THE TIME TO SAY THAT.
'CAUSE THIS WILL AT LEAST INFORM OUR WORK GOING FORWARD AS A FINANCE COMMITTEE AND AS A CITY STAFF.
THAT'S OUR HOPE FROM THIS MEETING.
AND THEN I, I, I THINK WHAT WAS A LITTLE BIT CONFUSING CITY MANAGER WAS WE STARTED THIS OUT BY SAYING, THIS IS FOR FY 28 AND BEYOND, AND THEN IT'S, WELL, THERE MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT OF WIGGLE ROOM IN FY 27.
I THINK WE HAVE TO GET CLARITY ON THAT, AND THAT MIGHT BE IN THE ORDER OF, IF THERE'S A VERY SMALL NUMBER, BUT WE NEED, THAT'S THE KIND OF THING THAT MAKES IT CHALLENGING FOR US, THAT WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO BE REALLY DISCIPLINED AND WE'VE TOLD OUR COLLEAGUES, THIS IS FOR FY 28, AND THEN, WELL, MAYBE IT ISN'T.
AND I THINK PART OF IT IS WE'RE LIVING IN A CONTEXT WHERE IF WE GOT A NOTICE TOMORROW THAT THE CONTINUUM OF CARE GRANTS ENDED AND THEY'RE GONNA JUST JERK 'EM AWAY FROM EVERY SINGLE CITY, ESPECIALLY ANYONE THAT'S A SANCTUARY CITY, WE KNOW THAT'S GONNA HAPPEN.
AND I UNDERSTAND THE EXCRUCIATING POSITION, I THINK WE'RE ALL IN, AND WE DON'T HAVE A CRYSTAL BALL FOR THE ONGOING ECONOMICS, RIGHT? WE ARE A CITY WHERE THE TWO MAIN INDUSTRIES WE KNOW ARE HIGHER EDUCATION AND BIOTECH, AND THEY'RE BOTH UNDER EXTREME ECONOMIC PRESSURE AND UNLIKELY TO CONTINUE IN THE FORM THAT THEY'VE BEEN CONTINUING.
BUT I DO WANT TO JUST HEAR A LITTLE BIT, DOES THIS MAKE SENSE OF IF WE TRY TO COME UP WITH A WAY FOR PEOPLE TO HAVE KIND OF NON-BINDING SURVEY? I, I, AGAIN, I'M BEING HONEST OF INSTEAD OF SAYING, WELL, THIS IS WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO, IT'S REALLY, WE'RE WORKING THIS OUT AS WE'RE FLYING THE PLANE AS WE SPEAK IT.
SO I THINK, UH, COUNCILOR MCGOVERN MAY HAVE SOME WISDOM FOR US.
UM, OR AT LEAST SOME COMMENTS,
AND THEN THAT, THAT'S THE INTENT OF THIS MEETING IS WE, AND AS, UH, CHAIR ZUBIE KNOWS, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS FOR A WHILE, BUT IT IS, WE'RE EXPECTING TO END BY FOUR, SO THAT WE NEED SOME CLARITY GOING FORWARD.
UH, THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR THROUGH YOU AND I, I, YES, I THINK WE'RE ON THE RIGHT TRACK.
I, I, I LIKE, UM, WELL, I GUESS I'LL PREFACE IT BY SAYING THIS.
I MEAN, WE, I AM HOPING THAT IN A FEW YEARS WITH A REGIME CHANGE IN WASHINGTON, THINGS MIGHT GET BETTER, A LITTLE QUICKER THAN MAYBE NOT AS QUICKLY AS, AS THINGS ARE GETTING DISMANTLED.
BUT, UM, WE'LL START TO BOUNCE BACK A LITTLE BIT.
UM, AND THINGS MIGHT LOOK BETTER A FEW YEARS OUT.
UM, BUT UNTIL THEN, I THINK WE ARE GOING TO, WE ARE GOING TO CONTINUE TO BE FACING CUTS IN PROGRAMS THAT WE RELY ON TODAY.
I LIKE, IN SOME WAYS THE IDEA THAT COUNSELORS SUZI MENTIONED ABOUT PUTTING MORE MONEY INTO THE MITIGATION FUND AND THEN SPENDING THAT DOWN AS WE NEED IT.
'CAUSE WE KNOW WE ARE GOING TO NEED IT RATHER THAN SAYING, HEY, LET'S START ALL THESE NEW THINGS WHEN WE MAY NOT NECESSARILY HAVE THE MONEY TO SUPPORT THOSE THINGS.
SO THAT'S JUST SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT.
SO I DON'T KNOW ON THAT LIST IF PUTTING MONEY INTO THE MITIGATION FUND AND, AND KIND OF SEEING WHERE WE GO.
UM, AND THEN I WOULD JUST SAY ON A PERSONAL NOTE, UM, YOU
[01:40:01]
KNOW, THERE'S A FEW THINGS ON HERE THAT, THAT WERE SORT OF PRIORITIES THAT I PUSHED, LIKE ALBANY STREET, THE OVERDOSE PREVENTION CENTER, AND THE DAY CENTER.WHEN YOU DO THIS SURVEY, I WOULD LUMP THOSE TOGETHER JUST TO SORT OF SHORTEN.
I, I DON'T SEE THOSE AS THREE INDIVIDUAL PLACES.
THAT WOULD BE THREE INDIVIDUAL POTS OF MONEY.
I THINK THE WHOLE POINT OF REDOING ALBANY STREET IS TO PUT A LOT MORE SERVICES IN THAT SITE FOR VARIOUS REASONS.
SO JUST AS YOU, AS YOU DO THAT, I WOULD, I WOULD, IF THERE ARE THINGS HERE THAT CAN SORT OF BE COMBINED, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT MIGHT BE SOMETHING TO CONSIDER WHEN, WHEN YOU PUT THAT SURVEY OUT.
THAT'S, YOU, YOU DID PROVIDE WISDOM AND CAUTION, SO THANK YOU.
BROKEN CLOCK IS RIGHT TWICE A DAY.
SO I JUST, UM, AND I, I, I NEED, SO, UM, ONCE MAYOR NOW, CITY COUNCILOR SIMMONS AND I HAVE HAD FOUR MEETINGS WITH, UM, ELDER SERVICE PROVIDERS ABOUT CARING FOR THE, OUR, OUR ELDERS.
UM, I WILL TELL YOU THAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I LEARNED THAT I HAVEN'T HAD THE CHANCE TO CONVEY TO HER IS THAT, YOU KNOW, SO WHAT ONE OF THE THINGS I'VE LEARNED IS THAT MANY PEOPLE THAT AREN'T CAMBRIDGE RESIDENTS USE OUR LIBRARY USE, UM, OUR UNHOUSED SERVICES.
AND I REALIZE WE'RE, WE SAY ANYONE THAT SPENDS THE NIGHT IN CAMBRIDGE IS A CAMBRIDGE RESIDENCE, BUT, BUT ALSO AT THE SENIOR CENTER, A LOT OF THE USERS OF THE SENIOR CENTER ARE NOT FROM CAMBRIDGE.
AND APPARENTLY WE DON'T EVEN KNOW, UM, HOW MANY OF THOSE PEOPLE THAT ARE EATING THE MEALS.
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO HAVE NUTRITIOUS MEALS.
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO, UM, ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO GATHER, TO SHARE MEALS BECAUSE, UM, UH, WE'VE, ISOLATION IS PROBLEMATIC FOR SO MANY REASONS.
SO I, I FEEL LIKE IF YOU CAN SERVE A MEAL FOR $10, YOU'RE DOING A LOT OF GOOD.
BUT I I, I, I FEEL LIKE THERE'S SOME, THERE IS AN ISSUE.
I, UM, I KNOW, UH, SOMERVILLE, CAMBRIDGE ELDER SERVICES AND THE CAMBRIDGE HOUSING AUTHORITY ARE DOING MORE AND MORE MEALS SERVING THROUGH CAMBRIDGE HOUSING AUTHORITY PROPERTIES AND OTHER, UM, SENIOR HOUSING.
AND THEY'RE THINKING THAT THEY MAY BE REACHING, UM, MORE UNDERSERVED AND HUNGRIER PEOPLE ACTUALLY AT THOSE FACILITIES RATHER THAN AT THE SENIOR CENTER.
SO I THINK I TOO, THAT THIS IS WHY I'VE HAD FOUR MEETINGS WITH THE FORMER MAYOR, NOW CITY COUNSELOR, UM, SIMMONS, UM, AND WITH PROVIDERS, THE REASON I, I AM ALSO CONCERNED ABOUT OUR GROWING SENIOR POPULATION, IT'S THAT WE'RE AT ABOUT 16,000.
IT'LL BE GROWING DRAMATICALLY OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS AS OUR BABY BOOMERS AGE, INCLUDING SOME OF US HERE, MAYBE JUST A FEW OF US
BUT, UH, I, I THINK WE'VE GOT A, I THINK WE WERE ABLE TO, TO PROVIDE, UH, PUT A LOT OF ICING ON THE CAKE BEFORE.
AND I, I THINK WE MAY, THAT'S MAYBE PART OF THE PLACE WHERE WE'LL NEED TO PAIR SOME, LIKE, WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO FEED THE WHOLE WORLD IN CAMBRIDGE OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS, I REALIZED THAT WE'RE MORE AFFLUENT THAN MOST COMMUNITIES.
SO IN A WAY, IT SEEMS TO ME WITH TRICKLE DOWN, IT, IT SEEMS LIKE, UH, WE HAVE MORE MONEY.
SO IF WE'RE SERVING PEOPLE THAT DON'T LIVE HERE, UH, MAYBE THAT'S OKAY, BUT I, I DON'T KNOW.
I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING WE MAY NEED TO THINK ABOUT GOING FORWARD.
I ALSO JUST THINK I'M, I'M BACK TO THINKING ABOUT THE HALF A MILLION DOLLARS WE PAY TO OUR, I THINK OUR CRLS STUDENTS FOR TRANSIT PASSES.
AND, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF THEY'RE USING THOSE PASSES.
I, ONE OF THE THINGS I LEARNED FROM WHEN MIT WAS PRESENTING THEIR TRANSIT PROGRAM TO US IS THAT THEY HAVE A PROGRAM, THEY'VE NEGOTIATED SOMETHING WITH THE MBTA, WHERE THEY'RE ONLY PAYING FOR PASSES IF MIT FACULTY OR STAFF ARE USING THE PASSES.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF WE CAN NEGOTIATE SOMETHING LIKE THAT WITH THE MBTA, BUT I FEEL AS THOUGH IT'S GONNA BE, THERE ARE GONNA BE DIFFERENT WAYS THAT WE'RE GONNA NEED TO MAKE CUTS, UM, THAT MAY FEEL A LITTLE UNCOMFORTABLE.
THAT MAY JUST BE ESSENTIAL IN THIS NEW CLIMATE.
AND I APPRECIATE THAT ALL THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS HAVE, I THINK, CUT 2.3% FROM THEIR BUDGET, AND MAYBE THEY'LL NEED TO CUT A LITTLE MORE.
UM, YOU ALL WILL KNOW BEST, BUT I, I THINK, UM, UH, UH, WE'LL, WE'RE JUST GONNA NEED TO BE VERY STRATEGIC, TAKE CARE OF THE, THE MOST VULNERABLE.
BUT I, I, I THINK WE'LL JUST HAVE TO BE, UM, WE'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO DO EVERYTHING THAT WE DID BEFORE, UNLESS WE CAN FIGURE OUT OTHER WAYS TO CUT OTHER
[01:45:01]
EXPENDITURES.SO, UM, I THINK WE NEED TO GO INTO THIS WITH OUR EYES OPEN, REALIZING NOT EVERYONE'S GONNA BE HAPPY, BUT THIS MAY JUST, WE'LL JUST, WE HAVE TO DO, WE HAVE TO DO MORE WITH LESS THE NEXT FEW YEARS.
AND IT'S GONNA BE TOUGH FOR, FOR SOME, IT'S GONNA IMPACT SOMEBODY.
UH, COUNCILLOR ZUZI, YOU RAISED SOME GOOD POINTS AND, UH, CO-CHAIR ZUBIE.
I, I PERSONALLY THINK THAT HAVING ANOTHER COMMITTEE HEARING ON THIS WOULD BE IMPORTANT, EVEN POSSIBLY ALONGSIDE THE SURVEY PROCESS, BECAUSE I'M SEEING, WE HAVE ABOUT 10 MINUTES, AND I'M HEARING FROM MY COLLEAGUES ON THIS CONVERSATION THAT THEY WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT WHAT ALREADY EXISTS AND THAT THERE HAVE BEEN QUESTIONS ABOUT THE TIMELINE ASPECT IN THIS PROCESS.
AND SO IF IT MAKES SENSE FOR THIS COMMITTEE HEARING WHERE WE DON'T NECESSARILY NEED CITY STAFF TO SPEAK TO MORE OF THE PRIORITIES PIECE, I, I THINK IT'D BE DEFINITELY IMPORTANT TO EXPLORE THAT.
I, I ALSO KNOW COUNCILLOR SIMMONS BROUGHT UP, UM, BRINGING MORE OF THE PUBLIC IN ON THIS.
UM, I, I THINK THAT BEFORE FOUR, IT'D BE GREAT TO JUST MAKE SURE WE HAVE THINGS THAT AREN'T ON HERE THAT, THAT ARE, THAT OUR COLLEAGUES HAVE BROUGHT UP.
LIKE THE ELDERLY SERVICES PIECE FROM COUNCILLOR SIMMONS.
I KNOW PERSONALLY FOR ME, UM, SOME OF THESE FEEL LIKE NON-NEGOTIABLES WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION, LIKE THE CONTINUUM OF CARE PIECE AND THE VOUCHER VOUCHERS IN, IN, IN SOME WAYS, THAT FEELS LIKE A BASIC RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT OUR NEIGHBORS AND OUR RESIDENTS FROM THESE CUTS AND, AND THINGS THAT ARE CONNECTED TO TOPICS LIKE ICE IN WHICH WE'VE SEEN WITH THE, WITH THE VOUCHERS.
SO IT'D BE GREAT TO HEAR ABOUT ANY THINGS THAT WE ARE MISSING, UH, BUT DEFINITELY DON'T THINK WE'LL, WE'LL COVER, UH, A LOT MORE IN THE NEXT 10 MINUTES.
UH, COUNCIL ZUBE, I THINK YOU'RE RIGHT THAT WE, WE WILL BE HAVING MORE CONVERSATIONS.
UM, MAYOR SIDIKI, THANK YOU, UH, APPRECIATE KIND OF THE, I ACKNOWLEDGE A LOT OF WHAT'S BEEN SAID AND KIND OF THE MOMENT THAT WE'RE IN AND SOME OF THE DIFFICULTIES.
AND I THINK THE WAY I'M LOOKING AT THIS LIST IS KIND OF SIMILAR TO WHAT'S BEEN POINTED OUT IS, UM, HOW DO WE HELP OUR MOST VULNERABLE? UM, AND THERE'S DIFFERENT WAYS TO DO THAT.
AND I THINK, UM, EACH OF US, UM, HAS THINGS THAT WE CARE ABOUT.
I THINK IT'LL BE NO SURPRISE TO SAY THAT I DO BELIEVE IN DIRECT CASH TRANSFER.
I THINK THERE'S CRITICS AND I HEAR THE CONCERNS.
I THINK, UM, AT THE SAME TIME, UM, EVEN IN ALL THESE, IT'S, THERE COULD BE A LOT OF PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS.
THE FIRST PILOT THAT WE DID, WHICH WAS COMPLETELY PHILANTHROPY, WAS ONE POINT, YOU KNOW, 1.7 MILLION.
UH, AND THAT WAS 130 SINGLE CARETAKERS WHO GOT 500 A MONTH.
UH, THAT WAS DIFFERENT OBVIOUSLY, WHEN WE EXPANDED IT AND USED ARPA, WHICH WAS 18 MILLION.
AND THERE'S A HUGE RANGE IN BETWEEN.
AND SO I DO THINK WITH SOME OF THESE, THE ADDITIONAL SCOPING CONVERSATION, SOME OF IT'S ALREADY HAPPENED.
UH, BUT FOR ME, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK, UH, GIVEN THE RISING COSTS GIVEN, EVEN WITH SNAP BENEFITS CHANGING, UM, AND HOW PEOPLE ARE GETTING, ARE GOING TO EVENTUALLY GET LESS MONEY, THERE'S A LOT OF NEED.
AND TO ME, IT'S ABOUT ECONOMIC STABILITY, UM, AND KEEPING, UH, FOLKS AS STABLE AS POSSIBLE BECAUSE IT AFFECTS ALL THESE OTHER DIFFERENT WINDOWS.
AND SO I ALSO THINK THAT THERE'S A LONG TERM AND A SHORT TERM APPROACH.
SO THE STABILIZATION PART IS IMPORTANT TO ME, BUT THE LONG TERM PART OF IT WITH OUR PRESCHOOL EXPANSION AND KIND OF THAT CHILDCARE PIECE, YOU KNOW, I THINK WHEN YOU ASK ABOUT EVALUATING, WE PROBABLY WON'T SEE THESE RESULTS IN MANY, MANY, MANY, MANY YEARS.
WE'RE BURNING THIS HUGE INVESTMENT IN IT.
IT'S IMPORTANT, AND WE KNOW WHAT THEORY AND RESEARCH SAYS.
UM, BUT I DO THINK, YOU KNOW, WE, WE FINALLY MADE THAT COMMITMENT, AND I THINK WE SHOULD HAVE THE, I THINK THERE'S THESE DUAL CONVERSATIONS AROUND CHILDCARE.
UH, BUT I DO THINK THESE ARE HUGE EXPENSES THAT PARTICULARLY, UH, A LOT OF FAMILIES ENDURE, AND THOSE WHO ARE THE MOST VULNERABLE, THAT JUST DON'T, EVEN THOSE WHO ARE DOING WELL ARE REALLY STRUGGLING WITH THESE COSTS.
AND I THINK THAT GOES TO, UM, A LOT.
I, I DO THINK, UM, THE, THE FOOD ACCESS PROGRAMING, AGAIN, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE KNOW IN A FEW YEARS THERE WILL BE A SITE BECAUSE THEY'VE COMMITTED TO THAT, THAT TIME THAT, SO THAT'S MORE TIME LIMITED OF, AND AGAIN, IT'S NOT JUST GONNA BE US.
MAYBE IT'S A PUBLIC-PRIVATE TYPE OF PARTNERSHIP.
SO THERE ARE THINGS THAT WE'VE ALREADY SAID, THERE'S, IT'S NOT JUST GONNA BE THE CITY, AND THEN THERE'S JUST GOING TO BE THE CITY.
[01:50:01]
UH, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT SOME OF THESE, LIKE ISN'T, IT'S DEFINITELY GOING TO BE SOME OPERATING IN CAP CAPITAL EXPENSES, UH, AND THERE'LL BE IMP UM, IMPLICATIONS.BUT, YOU KNOW, WITH ALBANY STREET AND MIT, WE ARE BANKING ON SOME OF THIS WHERE WE WILL HAVE TO DEFINITELY GET SOME PARTNERSHIP AND HELP.
AND SO, UM, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING TO CALL OUT.
SO I THINK, AGAIN, IT'S ABOUT PRIORITIZATION, AND I THINK THAT'S GOING TO BE DIFFICULT, BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT AND WE'LL, LAND WILL RE LAND, BUT MY GUIDING POST IS, UM, THINKING ABOUT, UM, THE FOLKS WHO ARE VERY LOW INCOME IN THIS REALLY EXPENSIVE CITY.
WE SAW THE MEDIUM INCOME NUMBERS, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, IN THE GLOBE AND BY CITY.
AND, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE HAVE A GOOD NUM MANY, MANY RESIDENTS WHO, UM, ARE REALLY BEING IMPACTED DURING THIS REALLY DIFFICULT TIME.
WE'RE, WE'RE APPROACHING THE END OF AT LEAST OUR ALLOTTED TIME.
AND I'LL ALSO ADD THAT WHAT'S, WHAT'S ALSO NOT ON THE LIST E EVENTUALLY WE'LL BE HAVING A MEETING ABOUT CITY OWNED BUILDINGS AND CITY OWNED LEASES.
AND DEPENDING ON WHAT WE WOULD DO AND HOW WE WOULD DISPOSE OF THOSE, CERTAINLY A FEW YEARS AGO WHEN THAT WAS FIRST STARTED, IT WAS THE IDEA AS WELL, THE CITY MAY BE ABLE TO DO A LOT WITH THAT.
AND I THINK NOW WE'RE THINKING THAT MAY BE A LONGER TERM PROJECT.
AGAIN, IT DOESN'T MEAN IT WON'T HAPPEN, BUT IN TERMS OF THE NEXT, YOU KNOW, TWO TO FOUR YEARS, IT, IT, IT IS PROBABLY NOT SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GONNA BE DOING MAJOR PROJECTS ON THAT.
HOWEVER, WITH PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP, IT MIGHT WELL BE THAT WE WOULD BE, WE WOULD BE DOING THAT.
I BELIEVE WE'RE HAVING IN RESPONSE TO THAT POLICY ORDER, THE MEETING SET UP TO TALK ABOUT THAT.
AND AGAIN, TO REMIND US, THAT'S ANOTHER PART OF OUR BUDGET, THE OPERATING BUDGET, BUT THAT'S ALSO OUR CAPITAL ASSETS, THE EQUIVALENT, YOU KNOW, FOR THE CITY, WE OWN A FAIR NUMBER OF BUILDINGS THAT WE ARE THINKING ABOUT.
WE OWN A LOT OF LOTS IN CENTRAL SQUARE.
WE HAVE THE WHOLE CENTRAL SQUARE LOT STUDY, AND WE ALSO HAVE SOME BUILDINGS THAT WE'RE PAYING RENT ON THAT WE MAY BE ABLE TO TRANSFER INTO SAVING RENT BY MOVING INTO OUR CITY BUILDING.
SO THAT'S ALSO, JUST TO LET YOU KNOW, THAT HAS BEEN PART OF THE FINANCE DISCUSSION AS WELL, I THINK.
DID YOU WANNA, UM, I, I, AS COUNCILOR ZUBE SAID, I THINK WE WILL EVENTUALLY BE NEEDING ANOTHER MEETING ON THIS.
WE WILL, UH, CONFER AS, UH, WE DID BEFORE THIS AS, UH, FINANCE, UH, CO-CHAIRS AND WITH, UH, THE MAYOR'S OFFICE.
AS THE MAYOR SAID, MINDY'S BEEN REALLY GREAT BECAUSE SHE'S COORDINATED A LOT OF THE WORK GOING ON ACROSS THE CITY AND ALSO THE, THE CITY STAFF TEAM TO THINK ABOUT NEXT STEPS TO TRY TO QUICKLY GET SOME ASSESS OF THIS NON-BINDING SURVEY.
WE THOUGHT WE COULD AT LEAST HELP MOVE THE CONVERSATION FORWARD.
SO WE'LL BE WORKING ON THAT AND THEN FIGURE OUT NEXT STEPS AS, UM, CO-CHAIR ZUBIE SAID TO HAVE SOME OTHER KIND OF MEETING, HOWEVER THAT GETS FASHIONED.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? IS NEXT STEPS? IT MAY FEEL A LITTLE AMORPHOUS, BUT I'M NOT SURE WE CAN, UH, PROMISE ANYTHING MORE AT THIS MOMENT IN TIME, UNLESS SOMEONE IS A CRYSTAL BALL FOR WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN AT THE FEDERAL, STATE AND LARGER MACROECONOMIC LEVEL.
WITH THAT AN A MOTION BY MAYOR SIDIKI TO ADJOURN.
AND YOU HAVE SEVEN MEMBERS RECORDED IN THE AFFIRMATIVE.
ONE RECORDED IS, OH, I'M SORRY.