By Matthew McLaughlin

There is a limited amount of city dollars to go around, and not everyone can be satisfied, according to city officials. That is why Mayor Joe Curtatone, Ward 6 Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz and other city officials held a neighborhood meeting Monday at the TAB building on Holland Street.

 
The purpose of the meeting was to inform Davis Square area residents on how the city creates its budget and to give residents a chance to give input on how the city should prioritize staff time and money for the next fiscal year. 

The meeting was one of many budget meetings held by SomerStat and ResiStat, two groups the city is using to determine public interest. SomerStat studies information within city departments to improve services and to help implement new ideas. ResisStat works with ward aldermen to hold community meetings and to then bring SomerStat input from the community. The results of all the meetings will be combined into a resident report that will be tied directly to the city’s budget, said Ethan Field, ResiStat Analyst.

“Coming out and getting your input is a top priority,” Field said to a small audience of more than a dozen residents and city officials.

Curtatone echoed Field’s sentiments and said he felt the community meetings were a pro-active approach to get community input.

‚ÄúPeople usually only come to a meeting when there is something wrong,‚Äù he said.  ‚ÄúThis is a good opportunity for the city to get feedback from the community.‚Äù

At the end of the meeting, residents were given a list of potential projects for the city to invest money in. The list included increasing the police force, providing more open space in the city, providing citywide wireless internet and increasing affordable housing. Residents were also able to add to the list if an issue was not addressed.  They were given five stickers to choose their top priorities for the city. They were limited to five stickers to emphasize that the city doesn’t have money to spend on everything, Field said.

“Everyone gets a chance to experience what it is like to make difficult choices with limited resources,” Field said.

Although the goal is to give the people what they want, Field reminded residents that the city is operating on a tight budget.  Somerville spends less per capita than most big cities in the state. While neighboring Cambridge spends $3,232 per capita, Somerville spends $1,887 per capita. Much of that money is spent on mandatory costs such as public safety and education. Thirty six percent of expenses are fixed cost that the city is required by law or contract to pay. That leaves less than one percent of the total city budget available for new programs.

“All the modest increases we had,” in revenue for the city, Field said, “a big chunk gets picked off by these increases in fixed costs.”

The city also relies on state aid, federal aid and grants as revenue outside of taxes, he said.  If for an unforeseen reason the city loses that revenue, it will limit the amount of projects the city can take on.

“The state giveth and the state taketh away,” Field said.

Despite the tight budget, Gewirtz said the city wants to ensure residents get what they want for the community.

‚ÄúIt is important to get input from the community before it is too late,‚Äù she said.  ‚ÄúIt is a real opportunity for the community to have an impact.

The city will hold its final public budget meeting for the year May 21 at 7 p.m. at the Visiting Nurses Association on Lowell Street.