Council Updates, Cold Weather, Charter Review, and More

School Committee Budget Meeting
On Monday night, the City Council held a joint roundtable meeting with the School Committee to discuss the upcoming budget proposal. I was happy to see that a goal from when I was on School Committee has finally been met: expectations for students are high across the board.  Emily Dexter, Laurance Kimbrough and I had tried to get the district’s goals on achievement to be equally high for all groups – and we couldn’t get 4 votes to pass that policy. Happy to see the current administration and School Committee embrace those goals! Consistent with my publicly stated priorities, I questioned why the goals for all 8th graders to successfully complete Algebra and all 3rd graders to be proficient readers were not front and center. I also noted a concern about the dip in middle school enrollment – suggesting that not all families are confident that the schools are delivering a quality education. The number of 6th graders is lower than 5th graders, then rises again for 9th graders – the families don’t leave the city; they leave for middle school. Fifteen years after the Innovation Agenda we should not see this dip – since the whole idea was to improve education. {disclosure: I voted for the plan, with concern, and the plan did not yield the desired benefits.}

Specialized Stretch Energy Code Adopted!
On January 23, the City Council adopted the specialized stretch energy code – which basically means that starting July 1 of this year, all new buildings and all substantial renovations will be required to either be all-electric or ready to become all-electric. The energy efficiency standards are also higher, which is necessary if we are to to meet our climate goals and have an electric grid that can handle the increased demand. Many groups have worked for years towards the goal of having a building code that is stringent and on getting Cambridge to adopt it. I am grateful to all the groups and people who got us to this moment and I was happy that the final vote was 7-1-1.

BEUDO
On January 24, the Economic Development and University Relations Committee held a continuation of the previous meeting on amendments to the Building Energy Use Disclosure Ordinance (BEUDO). We continue to work through concerns and questions about how to craft this update of the ordinance where we require reduction of fossil fuel use. Most property owners share the goal of wanting to contribute to the solution – and yet there are many concerns about cost and feasibility that still need to be answered. Those concerns are especially salient for condo owners and small property owners, many of whom did not know until recently that the ordinance, which was passed in 2014, applied to them. We will continue to work out the details of how best to get emission reductions in a thoughtful way, pushing for effective actual reductions, and be mindful of legitimate concerns – financial and technical – of property owners. I continue to support a 2035 timeline for all non-residential properties. Cambridge can take this meaningful step.

Finance Committee Meeting – Capital Budget
In an attempt to bring more transparency to the City’s budget process, my Finance co-chair, Councillor Carlone, and I held a committee meeting to review the City’s Capital Budget in anticipation of the FY24 budget proposal. The Capital Budget covers some large and long term expenditures that aren’t included in the City’s operational budget. This budget can cover items from sewer maintenance and improvement, tree planting and open space purchases, or large scale building improvements or purchases. The idea behind having this meeting early in the budget process is so that Council has an opportunity to weigh in and influence the budget before the official budget proposal in March. The meeting was helpful for the council and the community to understand how the capital budget fits into the overall financial picture of the city. And it was the first time such a hearing was held.