The city’s taxpayers got a chance to voice their concerns and advocate for their causes at a Public Hearing concerning the FY19 budget before the Board of Aldermen’s Finance Committee last week.

By Jim Clark

After weeks of deliberation, debate, and compromise, the City of Somerville FY 2019 budget has finally been voted on and approved by the Board of Aldermen.

The process began on June 6 of this year, when Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone submitted his proposed budget to the Board for review and consideration. Along with that budget submission the mayor stated in part, “I hereby submit, subject to the approval of your Honorable Board, an appropriation in the amount of $225,971,887 to fund the fiscal year 2019 General Fund Operating Budget for the City of Somerville. The General Fund Appropriation is broken down into the attached departmental appropriations in the categories of Personal Services, Ordinary Maintenance, Special Items, and Capital Outlay.”

From that point onward, the Board’s Finance Committee was tasked with examining the proposed budget, seeking ways to streamline or supplement certain areas, and ultimately come to full agreement and a final figure to present for approval.

The process came to completion last week after many long and arduous meetings were held by the Committee, with a few running in excess of 7–8 hours.

On Tuesday, June 26, the people of Somerville had their chance to lobby the Committee during a Public Hearing held for this purpose.

Many individuals as well as those representing concerned groups weighed in on their hopes and wishes for municipal funding for the coming year.

Issues ranging from environmental concerns to funding for the arts, the settling of union contracts for city workers, and a plethora of other concerns were presented to the Committee in a session lasting just over five hours.

The following two marathon sessions conducted by the Committee on Wednesday and Thursday culminated in a final figure for the FY19 budget that managed to pare down the initial proposed sum by a reported $1,132,866.

Ward 5 Alderman Mark Niedergang expressed his satisfaction with the final budget saying, “I think it is a good budget for the city and I am pleased by the emphasis on equity and the additions in early childhood programs, out-of-school time staff, and another new position in the Transportation and Infrastructure Dept. to help with traffic calming and making our streets safer and better for all users.”

In the final iteration of the budget, Mayor Curtatone stated, “Somerville has been and continues to be a city of great aspirations. Together, we are striving for a community that is sustainable, transit-friendly, inclusive, and filled with opportunity for all. Through SomerVision, we set not ten or even twenty goals, but a total of 586 policy and action goals for Somerville. Each of these goals matter. Since 2012, this administration, community, and the Board of Aldermen have together steadfastly planned, budgeted, and worked to transform our intentions into action.”

Additionally, the mayor stated, “We are making significant strides towards the large-scale, community-envisioned development that is critical for the creation of the jobs, housing, open space, and transit access called for in SomerVision, and this development will continue to generate new commercial tax revenue needed to fund our community goals. As this development picks up pace, along with our ongoing efforts to update and expand our parks and open spaces, upgrade our aging underground infrastructure, and improve our walkways and roads, we must match our staffing to these expanding responsibilities. In short, as we advance our goals to create 30,000 new jobs, 6,000 new housing units, 125 acres of new open space, and more, we must carefully manage our investments with proper oversight. We must also mitigate the impacts of this historic

level of change on our residents be it by addressing housing stability or addressing and communicating construction impacts.”

The laborious process of refinement and finalization culminated in a unanimous vote of approval for the $241,741,947 FY19 city budget.

To view relevant documents and view videos of the various meetings, go online to https://www.somervillema.gov/fy19budget.