The proposed Fiscal Year 2018 budget for the City of Somerville has been submitted to the Board of Alderman Finance Committee for review, debate and revision, continuing through Thursday evening.

By Jordan Deschenes

With three months remaining until the end of the current financial year, Mayor Joseph Curtatone has presented his 2018 budget for consideration. As a conservative and “near level-service” budget, the proposal calls for few new long-term financial investments. In the midst of a twenty-year commitment to the SomerVision Comprehensive Plan and unavoidable infrastructure improvements, the mayor’s proposition is certainly reflective of such vital obligations.

The proposal calls for a budget of slightly over $233 million and predicts an end-of-year income of the same amount, an increase of 4.9% from the current FY2017 budget. Locally sourced income has become especially important in past years and the new budget calls for necessary increases in fines, permits, and fees. As was planned in prior years, taxes and state aid continue to account for the bulk of city revenue.

Somerville’s obligation to its citizens and workers has not been lost in the 2018 proposal, with more than half of budgetary spending dedicated to municipal employees and annual pension payouts. The school department has particularly received special assistance in years past and accounts for the highest portion of spending in the new budget at over $68 million.

The new budget calls for several particularly noticeable changes in spending in comparison to the current year, although the changes are larger from a departmental standpoint. For example, the Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development is expected to increase its spending by just under $200,000 – this is a result of a 119% percent change in the office’s ordinary maintenance expenditure. Even more significant is a 150% increase in spending by the Communications and Community Engagement Department (CCE), with an increase of 112% in personal services and over 700% in ordinary maintenance.

These drastically large percentages correspond to the various community outreach programs instituted by the CCE over the past year, including information for parking during snowstorm plowing, proper waste disposal procedures, and improved multilingual services. Last year, the department successfully implemented the first early voting campaign in Somerville history, with an early turnout rate of over 30% – the highest in the Boston urban core.

Another significant item on the budget is a newly created department, the Fleet Management Division, which will oversee the maintenance and repair of city vehicles and other equipment. The department will also ensure that hybrid vehicles are integrated into the city’s fleet and that CO2 emissions are reduced according to the city’s 2050 goal of net-zero.

The City’s Finance Committee has been discussing the 2018 budget proposal at-large over the past two weeks and will continue to hold meetings tonight and on Thursday at 6:00 p.m.

CORRECTION – Representatives from the city have contacted The Times and requested that we publish the following correction to this article:

There is an overall increase of 14% in funding for the Communications and Community Engagement Department, not 150% as reported, which includes a 9.9% increase, not 112% as reported, in personal services and a 31% increase, not 700% as reported, in ordinary maintenance.Put into perspective with the correct totals, this is not “a noticeably high” increase or “drastically large percentages” relative to overall spending or other departments.

Full explanation can be seen on page 50 of the proposed budget

http://www.somervillema.gov/sites/default/files/fy18-budget-proposed.pdf