Leadership on Somerville's Budget

Leadership on Somervile'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. It has also been a challenge to navigate our current unsteady economic landscape. Our current fiscal year began July 1.

While many cities are scaling back, I’ve been able to stay the course and choose progress thanks to careful planning and fiscal strategy.

This budget protects core services—education & youth services, senior and veterans’ services, trash & recycling pickup, libraries, —while also delivering bold action on affordability, on rebuilding our aging infrastructure, on climate, increasing parks and green spaces, and escalating my war on rats. I’ve designed the budget to maintain essential services with-or-without new federal funding.

The FY25 budget included highlights such as:

  • Significant investment in schools: Including 36 new, net full-time-equivalent positions for Somerville Public Schools. I was able to increase the school budget, by 7.4%, totaling nearly $8 million in new investments. This makes a 34% increase in Somerville Public Schools funding since I took office.

Workforce Equity:

  • Funding for union contracts, addressing gender pay gaps, and ensuring fair and competitive wages for city workers

Core City Services:

  • Delivering on city priorities like infrastructure maintenance, road repairs, and waste removal.

Targeted investments:

  • In areas such as homelessness support, senior services, alternative emergency response programs, and climate action goals.

Even as rising costs and reduced new growth posed challenges, I have avoided layoffs and major cuts. Through a combination of careful reserve use, a partial hiring freeze, and department-level efficiencies, the budget closed a $4 million gap without reducing resident-facing services. The City Council passed my budget without a single cut.

I was able to do the same with the school budget, marking a 7.4% increase in school funding, totaling nearly $8 million in new investments. This makes a 34% increase in Somerville Public Schools funding since I took office. This fiscal discipline ensures that Somerville works and is the reason S&P Global Ratings has given us a Triple A bond rating for the third consecutive year, which helps keep our borrowing costs low.

We’re showing that with a steady, proven leader at the helm, and a bit of creativity, cities can lead even in tough times.