By Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries of The Somerville News belong solely to the authors of those commentaries and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville News, its staff or publishers.)

As we approach the end of another productive year, we have a lot to be thankful for, and a lot to look forward to in 2011. As you’ll hear more in my upcoming Mid-Term Address on Monday, January 3, the City of Somerville has seen a lot of progress in the last year, and we’re not looking back.

Despite another trying budget season, we worked together to develop and implement a FY 2011 municipal budget that maintains important services and programs for our community and our residents. While many other communities have seen closings of libraries and police stations, massive layoffs in schools and public safety staff, and cuts to recreation services, the City of Somerville will venture into a new calendar year once again at the top of the list of communities continuing to do more with less.

With the completion of several key infrastructure projects, most notably the Somerville Avenue reconstruction project, we not only hit a milestone in terms of our development projects, but also created a beacon for what our main thoroughfares can, should, and will look like as we continue to upgrade and renovate our existing infrastructure. And, by adding community-wide celebrations like the monthly SomerStreets initiative, we will reinforce our community spirit and pride, and our commitment to a community where people want to live, work, play and raise a family.

Along those lines, in 2011, we’ll also continue our commitment to and investment in our schools, especially as we celebrate the groundbreaking for the renovations at the East Somerville Community School. Though the school will not reopen next year, we are all eager to see the great progress that the next 12 months will bring at the ESCS, bringing us one giant step closer to welcoming the ESCS family back home, under one roof.

As we look toward the future, however, we must also reflect on some of the challenges we faced in 2010, and count ourselves lucky for the work of a few very brave public servants. In particular, we must reflect on the tremendous public safety officials we have in this City. The actions of our first responders over the last several months alone saved the lives of numerous Somerville residents, including the heroic rescues of a woman trapped in rising flood waters, and several Glenwood Road residents during a two-alarm fire in their home. Furthermore, after nearly losing one of our detectives in a fatal incident last month, it is clear that our firefighters and police officers will – and do – go the extra mile to protect and serve the City of Somerville.

To that end, in 2011 we will officially welcome the City’s newest Police Chief, Thomas Pasquarello, and under his leadership we will continue to shape and expand our Community Policing model, bringing more police officers out into the neighborhoods and squares.

Before we do so, I want to once again thank Acting Chief of Police, Michael Cabral, for his hard work, dedication, and leadership this year. Your work, and that of the entire department, has been tremendous, and we’re lucky to have you as a part of the Department, and the community.

We’ve made a lot of progress, and we have a lot to be proud of. That is not to say that 2011 will not bring it’s own challenges to overcome, but I am confident that, with my colleagues on the Board of Aldermen and School Committee, city staff and residents, we are prepared to weather any storm. I will end by thanking each and every employee, resident, business owner, and friend for another fun, successful year, and I am eager to work with all of you in 2011.