May, 26, 2025
Dear Fellow Cantabrigians,
Here’s what’s happening at City Hall:
Budget Hearings: May 8-15
I was disappointed to learn that the City Council has less say and involvement in the final budget, as presented by the City Manager, than I had expected. There was little discussion, despite the damning economic news we hear daily. Outside of three councillors voting against the police budget and the body voting not to recommend the $183,000 Peace Commission allocation, the Council supported the $1.1 billion budget which we will formally adopt June 2. [Add link: https://www.cambridgema.gov/Departments/Budget/fy26submittedbudget0
The best part of the process was hearing from City staff.
More Pressure to Spend
The long-running conversation on new City funding for the previously ARPA-funded Transition Wellness Center (TWC) and Rise Up Cambridge continued. On May 12th the Council voted to commit $1 million for 25 municipal vouchers, possibly for the remaining tenants of the TWC, which closes June 30. In addition, the Council voted to allocate funding for a successor program to Rise Up Cambridge as soon as possible, reporting back in August.
I was the lone vote against this, not because I’m heartless, but because this is not the time to add to our budget obligations. Rather, it’s time to rethink our homeless shelter system, with the goal of creating smaller communities, more wraparound services and an end goal of helping residents transition to independent living. In FY26, Cambridge will spend about $48 million on affordable housing and $16 million+ on homeless services. Cambridge spends more overall on housing than than any other community in Greater Boston.
My major takeaways from the budget process:
*Overall: With its extraordinary staff and robust budget, the City accomplishes amazing things.
*Residential property taxes: Will increase by 7-8% annually for the next several years while commercial tax levies decline. Our lab and office vacancies are currently at about 18% overall.
*Health care costs: Will increase dramatically in FY26. They are a burden for our City, State and country.
*Technology: Cambridge is moving more forms online, while investing in cybersecurity. Legacy systems are being replaced and an AI Working Group is developing an AI policy for the City. The City’s IT Department is working to make public records more accessible via the Open Data Portal.
*Transportation planning: While CDD’s Transportation Planning Division focuses on bike lanes, the Transportation Department has a broader view and will begin a study of all transportation needs in FY26. The police and fire departments reassured us that they are both involved in street design.
*Inspectional Services (ISD): ISD noted that over the past 14-16 months, 18-24 houses have been converted from two family to single family. No buildings with inclusionary units have been permitted with the Multifamily Housing Ordinance. Instead, ISD is seeing projects stopped and redesigned to add more and bigger units.
*“Gift of the Wind” sculpture at Porter Square repair: This is an MBTA sculpture in MBTA airspace. That means it’s unlikely that we can use CPA (Community Preservation Act) funds to repair it.
*The Community Safety Department (CSD): The CSD, which is our alternative “police” department that mostly serves the unhoused, has a staff of 15 and has responded to only 350 calls over the past 9 months. They are underutilized.
*Our Schools: In 1998 the Cambridge Public Schools (CPS) budget was $90.2 million for 7,800 students. In FY26 we’ll spend $280.2 million for 7,200. Staffing has doubled to 1,700 (with 500 special ed teachers) and we’ve invested over $600 million in school building upgrades. Yet, our students are performing at about the same levels as 20 years ago. See MCAS data here: https://apps.bostonglobe.com/metro/2024/09/mcas-scores-schools-districts/database/?district=00490000#find-score
Why is there so little improvement? Acting Supt. David Murphy suggests: COVID, geopolitical instability, social media and cell phones. Concerning! We send 480 students to charter schools.
Capital Expenditures
Roads
*The City-wide road reconstruction will continue as we invest in Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) work, separating sewage from stormwater. Cambridge has made great strides in this area over the past decades. Our infrastructure is old, and the City is dense and constantly evolving. We are also between the Charles and Mystic Rivers and need to prepare for climate change. Like our municipal buildings, our water/sewer system requires regular upkeep. To minimize disruption, all projects are coordinated with regular meetings of Inspectional Services, Public Safety, Housing, DPW and CDD.
*The Complete Street programs must continue to replace aging utilities, streets and sidewalks and, per the Cycle Safety Ordinance, build separated bike lanes. The community process for Central Square Complete Streets program will begin soon.
Buildings
*In FY24 the City added a Capital Building Department to oversee ongoing maintenance. DPW manages most of the other work. Some work is done in-house, most is contracted out. In FY26, the City will invest in HVAC upgrades, garage repairs, and improvements to the Moses Youth Center. Also look for school renovations at the Kennedy-Longfellow, new roofs at the Cambridgeport and Longfellow, and a new rooftop playground at Fletcher-Maynard.
Parks
*Danehy Park improvements will happen in phases. $100k will be invested annually in “heavy maintenance” through 2030 with larger improvements between FY28-FY32.
*The City will spend $7.5 million at Ahern Field now while the Kennedy-Longfellow is being renovated. The school renovations may take 1.5 years. There will be a community process about the park work.
*The controversial Linear Park (N. Cambridge) will happen. The City sees it as a transportation project, not as a parks project.
Water Department
Large ongoing expenditures are necessary to support our municipal water system, which includes three reservoirs, their watersheds, the Walter J. Sullivan Treatment Plant, the Payson Park Finished Water Storage Facility, transmission mains, a distribution system and MWRA interconnects—including 12.8 miles of pipe. If the City purchased MWRA water instead, the cost would double and we’d still need to maintain our infrastructure.
The City Manager has said that the City will reduce expenses as required. Having met more City staff and learned about their programs, I understand why the City Manager hesitates to cut programs, but I see many places where greater efficiencies are possible.
Upzoning at 320 Charles Street in East Cambridge
At the Ordinance Committee meeting on Tuesday, the Council voted unanimously to support BioMed Realty’s upzoning at 320 Charles Street. In exchange, the City will get public open space, trees, job opportunities, tax revenues, $20 million in community benefits for East End House, $1.2 million for other nonprofits and $10 million in affordable housing linkage fees. The community testimony in support for contributions going to East End House was powerful. This was a model process. The community provided tremendous feedback that BioMed listened to, and the East Cambridge Planning Team worked closely and cooperatively with BioMed to resolve design and community benefit issues.
First Floor Retail
The Council passed a Policy Order asking the Community Development Department to draft zoning language to protect legacy first floor retail in residential districts and at other places appropriate in the City. The Economic Development and Neighborhood & Longterm Planning Committees will meet first to discuss best practices vis-a-vis uses, locations and ownership. I recognize that neighborhood retail can make communities more vibrant and that we need to have robust discussion on this issue.
Inclusionary Zoning+ Study
Inspired by the slowdown in development and the fact that several big projects have now stopped due to financial uncertainties, the Council unanimously passed a request to have the City Manager explore the feasibility and potential impact of implementing additional development incentives to support the production of housing, with tax abatements, expedited permitting and changing inclusionary requirements. We’ve requested a preliminary update in October, and in early 2026, a full report taking changing housing needs into account.
New! Out of School Time (OST) Report & Community Benefits Study
Add link: https://www.agendaforchildrenost.org/
Cambridge hosts 70 OST (afterschool) programs, 18 in City-owned buildings. These employ 450 staff and serve 2,086 students, K-8th grades, many low income. Ongoing needs include greater access to classroom space, higher salaries, more assistance for students with special needs and non-English language speakers, a streamlined application process and better school and afterschool program connections. There are 369 students remaining on the waitlist, more than a third are low-income. Sadly, Cambridge currently doesn’t have the money or staff to expand this program.
Since COVID, the Community Benefits Advisory Committee distributed $7 million to four partnerships (led by Just A Start, De Novo, the Community Art Center and the Cambridge Community Center) to provide social services, serving 400 participants. This case management improved families lives and sense of well being. The Community Benefits Advisory Committee would like community benefits negotiated from upzoning to fund social services and not infrastructure. But many of our legacy nonprofits are located in failing facilities, lack endowments and need money for ongoing upkeep.
Around Town
It’s been a busy several weeks studying budget books. meeting with constituents about curb cuts and development, participating in the Historical Commission’s Jane Jacob’s walk on Observatory Hill, attending the CEOC and CCC street fairs, and celebrating Cambridge’s legacy businesses at City Hall and the reopening of Henry Bear’s Park Toy Store with Senator Markey. I also attended the premier of the locally produced “Where Do Black Men Live?” documentary, a fascinating and must see short film. It is playing at the Cambridge Main Library May 29, at the Brattle Theater June 19 and on Zoom June 26. See: https://www.theblackresponsecambridge.com/where-do-black-men-live-film.
If you like my approach to issues and my council votes, please share my letter with friends. They can receive my updates by e-mailing czusy@cambridgema.gov.
Attending to your interests,
Doing my homework and asking hard questions,
Cathie