The City of Somerville FY22 Budget was formally presented to the City Council by Mayor Curtatone at a special meeting on June 3, setting the stage for the usual discussions, debates, and compromises to come.

By Joe Creason

On June 3, the City Council held a special meeting to discuss the 2022 fiscal year budget. Mayor Joseph Curtatone began the meeting with his budget presentation requesting the appropriation of $270,088,117 to the FY22 General Fund.

“It’s been a challenging year, we lost 86 souls, lives were turned upside down, businesses were disrupted, and the emotional distress of isolation took its toll,” Curtatone said.

In addition to the suffering at a human level, Somerville experienced significant losses from a financial standpoint with revenues from the state, fines and forfeits along with licenses and permits down 13%, 49%, and 7% respectively. Major losses can also be seen in parking meter receipts with a drop of 42% and excise tax with a drop of 23%.

“Things have started to improve over the course of the crisis with $10.3 million in new growth for FY21. In December, and this is very important, the Council passed a budget for the first time with no structural deficit and without using free cash,” Curtatone said.

He went on to highlight the performance of the Somerville Stabilization fund which constituted 15.8% of the operating budget in FY20, saying that this is a key indicator of financial health to any outside observer. The stabilization fund has steadily grown to $44 million over the course of Mayor Curtatone’s tenure.

“Our strong financial management has led Somerville to be assigned its AA+ rating by Standards and Poor, citing our dynamic economy and budget management capacity as the underlying reasons for this rating,” Curtatone said.

Curtatone said that low bond interest rates will allow Somerville to tackle long standing infrastructure and community development issues.

To address these various municipal needs, a portion of the proposed $270,088,117 FY22 budget will be allocated for hiring new positions including a including a deputy director of planning and zoning, a policy analyst for the City Council, a senior zoning review planner as well as two librarians to operate the newly renovated West Branch Library.

Curtatone said that Somerville’s record of being on the modernizing edge of government will continue in FY22 with the hiring of positions like a digital innovation officer and IT specialist.

“The creation of a budget division within the finance department will improve fiscal transparency, reporting and management,” Curtatone said.

A procurement manager will ensure that city departments can efficiently obtain the resources they need for the future with an ever growing and complexifying budget.

“This budget makes a significant investment to prepare this administration, this organization and this community, for its first change in leadership in 18 years,” Curtatone said.

Preparation for a smooth transition includes, two positions for the incoming mayor funded in November and December, a robust transition project along with trains for newly elected officials and new department heads.

“One thing is clear and I think all of you will agree with what I’m about to say, this organization – this city – will not succeed if racial and social inequities persist in our community,”

According to Curtatone, the FY21 budget made significant investments towards advancing racial and social equity.

“In the FY22 budget, we are doubling down on advancing our commitment to racial and social justice,”

The new budget will see a $1 million allocation to the new Racial and Social Justice Office with key initiatives including Equity Action Teams, a Racial and Social Justice cabinet and the reimagining of policing. The Office will also absorb ongoing initiatives from other departments such as the Women’s Commission and Human Rights Commission along with ADA coordination.

“Our work obviously will not stop there. We are also proposing an additional $700K in support to other departments that support equity work,” Curtatone said.

The money would be invested in preserving affordable housing and preventing displacement through the Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development (OSPCD) 2,000 Homes Program and expanding flex funds for OSPCD. New Hires will include an administrative equity manager and a senior planner for women and minority business support in OSPCD.

“This budget also proposes $1.6 million in equity investments for our public schools,” Curtatone said.

Free public transit access, social and emotional wellness, and a focus on multilingual instruction are among the planned improvements.

The incoming $60 million from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), will enable Somerville to fund community driven initiatives for social and economic recovery.

“The challenge is how to responsibly spend this funding in a planned for and community driven way that optimizes the use of these resources in a credible fashion,” Curtatone said. “We understand the historic meaning and gravity of this moment and we need to deliver.”

Somerville will collaborate with municipal partners to effectively plan the management of these incoming resources and plan for how cities will sustain the critical investments in their communities after ARPA.

“Thank you to the Council for the time and consideration you will give this budget,” Mayor Curtatone said, “Thank you also to the department heads and staff of this organization. You kept this city running under extremely difficult circumstances over the past year. You helped sustain me through many hard days, not to mention the impact you had on people’s lives in our neighborhood, thank you.”