Leadership On Somerville’s Budget
One of my primary responsibilities is keeping our fiscal house in order. Doing so while the trump administration – which i am suing – threatens to withhold federal funding already allocated has been especially challenging. While many cities are scaling back, i’’ve been able to stay the course and choose progress thanks to careful planning and fiscal strategy. For more information read more here...
Making Somerville Affordable
In only three years my administration has made real progress on affordability. We’ve added 974 new affordable housing units to the development pipeline. I’ve also distributed over $9 million in rental assistance and housing vouchers to help families stay in Somerville. Learn more about Mayor Katjana's progress on affordability here.
Homelessness, Addiction & Public Health
I've focused on maintaining safe and accessible public spaces for all residents, while also providing support and resources to individuals struggling with addiction, mental health issues, and homelessness. My approach to address drug use and vagrancy in public parks is through a combination of public safety measures, and compassionate public health initiatives.
The first things that I did to address this crisis, beginning as soon as I took office, I opened Somerville’s first, overnight warming center, which provides meals and connects unhoused individuals with housing and other services. I also increased funding to the new Engagement Center to expand services for unhoused persons. The Engagement Center is thriving. For more information go here.
Combating Climate Change
My focus on results for Somerville residents is working. I’m happy to report that my administration has opened or expanded four public parks with green spaces and we’ve broken ground on the Dilboy Auxiliary Athletic Fields. We have planted over 1,800 new trees in accordance with the native species ordinance (that I sponsored as a city councilor).
And we’ve created and launched the Somerville Climate Forward dashboard so we can see progress against my goal to be carbon negative, not just carbon neutral, by 2050.
https://www.somervillema.gov/climatedashboard
