All:
Highlights this time of year in Cambridge are always the Harvard and MIT commencements. With so much chaos from the federal government and their attacks on higher education, it is especially important this year to celebrate the students who worked hard and will go on to do amazing things. I spent the morning on Thursday at Harvard spreading the word about a group of Harvard graduates, Crimson Courage, that has been working to support Harvard in standing up to federal overreach. I spoke on a panel for the group recently and my comments highlighted the economic impact that Harvard has on our city as the largest employer in Cambridge (by far). While these issues are being adjudicated in various courts, I will continue to do what I can to ensure Harvard is able to continue its work and that we can avoid the worst of the economic consequences in Cambridge.
Once again this semester I was lucky enough to host an intern from CCSC as part of their senior internship program. This week was their Senior Internship Exhibition Night. Over the course of her time with me, Leza spent learning about local policymaking: attending meetings, doing research, and ultimately centered her project on reduction of single-use plastics and specifically miniature liquor bottles. This issue is one that I have been working to move forward. While the city is not yet ready to do what we should – ban single-use plastic of all types starting with nips – for the first time in the updated Zero Waste Master Plan we state as a goal to find a path to eliminating single-use plastics of all kinds from our waste streams. I wish Leza luck at Mt. Holyoke College!
Another fun event was the 8th Grade Civics Showcase, where hundreds of CPS 8th graders shared their civic action projects. Several students reached out to my office via email for advice and guidance on their projects and I was happy to give them more information about recycling, environmental justice, cannabis, and more. Five student teams were selected to represent their schools at the statewide Civics Showcase next week.
This morning I attended a reopening ceremony for the Historic Harvard Square Kiosk, which has long been closed for reconstruction. The new Kiosk will act as a cultural incubator, community gathering space, and visitor information center. The reimagined historic space will host a wide range of free programming – from poetry open mics and arts workshops to rotating historical exhibits and intimate live music. Offerings will span visual arts, literature, local history, and more, creating a welcoming space for residents and visitors alike.
After several weeks of budget hearings, we are set to adopt the FY26 Budget on Monday night. It comes with a few changes from the submitted budget that I will outline below.
Below are comments on a few top line items and a few quick notes for Monday’s meeting. If you have questions or comments on these or anything else, please feel free to reach out at any time.
Patty
Council Updates
City Budget
On Monday night the Council will vote to adopt the FY26 Budget. The top lines of the budget are a $992 million Operating Budget and a $41 million Public Investment (Capital) Budget. You can see all the line items within the budget detailed in the FY26 Budget Book as well as in the Open Budget Data Portal. In addition to all the programing within the existing budget (a helpful section to understand spending priorities is the “Consolidated Spending” section – pages I-12 to I-18 of the budget book), the Council will also be authorizing the spending of an additional $1 million that would create new municipal vouchers and supportive services for people who are unhoused (“Municipal Supportive Housing Vouchers”). This spending will be reflected in an increase in the DHSP budget. This $1 million allocation will be funded from the tax levy. That addition will raise our likely tax levy increase to 8%, which is at the maximum of our stated long-term policy. Additionally, the Council will be authorizing the City Manager to create a Federal Grant Stabilization Fund of $5 million. This will be funded through a free cash allocation which would be available as we identify programmatic needs and respond to anticipated funding cuts due to the Trump administration. We expect to draw on this fund to help maintain continuity of services for vulnerable residents in the short-term while also working to identify longer-term funding options for affected programs. I encourage you to read the City Manager’s memo, as it outlines the anticipated impacts of federal cuts on essential housing and homelessness programs.
After the weeks of budget hearings, the only department I voted against, along with Councillors Siddiqui and Sobrinho-Wheeler, was the Police Department budget. CPD was one of the few departments to increase their budget, rising by 3% and four additional FTEs at a time when programmatic spending should be shifting more towards our non-police emergency response team, CARE, and through other non-profit support like HEART. The four additional FTEs are due to implementation of the Body-Worn Camera program. While I support the program and the initiative, my research into PERF recommendations and programs in other cities led me to believe we could implement the program with fewer additional officers – and further, we should have been informed earlier on in the process of program development about the full costs of implementation. I had concerns with other mid-year free cash appropriation requests from CPD as well, which I think should have been budgeted through the annual budget process, and the purchase of new firearms was not something I believe is needed at this time. The current guns are not at the end of their expected lifetime, and guns are so rarely deployed that is not the highest need for the department. Also, I was disappointed by the launch of a social work co-response team without informing the Council and without coordination with our existing Community Safety Department. The record showed there was not communication, despite me being assured there had been. We need trust and transparency, and that did not happen with this initiative. That fact raised concerns about transparency and communication. I will continue to work with Commissioner Elow, who has pledged to continue to improve transparency and work to improve coordination between CPD and CSD.
The final budget numbers reflect an increase of 3.8% from the FY25 Budget (compared to a 7% increase in previous years) and will likely result in an 8% increase from the FY25 tax levy, which is at the limit of our set internal policy, which we have discussed extensively in the Finance Committee over the last several months.
Human Services Committee Meeting on Sex Work
On May 28, the Human Services Committee met to discuss sex work and sex trafficking, with a focus on ongoing community efforts to support survivors, prevent exploitation, and improve the safety of sex workers, as well as to examine relevant proposed state legislation. This issue came up after a brothel ring was discovered to be operating in Cambridge. Once reporting confirmed that a Cambridge City Councillor was implicated in the case, I filed a policy order in order to have a community discussion on sex work in our community. I encourage everyone to watch the recording of Thursday’s meeting. The meeting included advocates on all sides of the issue, representatives from CRLS, and the Commission on the Status of Women. I left the conversation with many complicated thoughts and questions, and I was glad to have participated in this important conversation around sex work, objectification, workers rights, and more. It’s important to remember that these issues are close to home here in Cambridge and that we have an obligation to protect all our residents from objectification and harm, especially the most vulnerable. Wherever one stands with regard to legalizing sex work, we do need as a state to do more to provide safety for sex workers.
City Council Meeting - Monday, June 2, 2025
Welcoming City Ordinance
The Trump administration has made demonizing and attacking immigrants a priority. The Welcoming City Ordinance was adopted by Cambridge in 2020 in order to protect residents from undue persecution and ensure that the City of Cambridge does not assist in enforcing federal immigration law. Further, it ensures that all personas are treated equally by the City, without consideration of immigration status. This ordinance was adopted prior to recent and increasingly aggressive federal actions, and we need to consider ways of strengthening the ordinance to ensure the continued safety and protection of all Cambridge residents. I am cosponsoring a policy order this week along with Councillors Sobrinho-Wheeler and Siddiqui that asks for ordinance language that would strengthen our ability to protect residents and avoid inadvertently assisting ICE agents with dangerous or unlawful enforcement efforts. Additionally, please be aware that the City publishes extensive information on the Know Your Rights page and offers training to help residents and service providers better protect themselves and their neighbors and ensure that Cambridge remains a welcoming and supportive community for all residents. I want to note that the City does follow federal law, despite false claims by the federal government about our sanctuary city status as being in violation of federal law. What we don’t do is have our local officials do the job of the federal government. That fact often gets lost in the discussion. We believe, with strong police support, that such a policy keeps our community safer.
Linear Park Access on Westley Ave
The City of Cambridge is undertaking the redesign and reconstruction of Linear Park this year (project page). I had issues with the scope of a full redesign given financial costs and impact to substantial trees, and worked with neighbors and members of the Committee on Public Planting to improve the plan and ensure all efforts are being made to protect and work around existing old growth trees during construction and prioritize regular maintenance after construction. Given the redesign is happening, it is essential that we use the redesign as an opportunity to make the park more accessible to the entire community. Linear Park is an important open space, off-street transportation corridor, and cool respite for walkers, joggers, dog-walkers, and everyone in between. That is why I am sponsoring a policy order asking the City Manager to prioritize an additional community access point at Westley Avenue. Community access to Linear Park should be broadened as it makes the park more accessible to more people and facilitates safe off-street transportation for users of all ages including the school bike bus and allows residents and visitors to take advantage of valuable open space within the city. There is currently an 8-block stretch with no southern connections, compared to four northern connections (visual included in the policy order). This extra connection point would make the park far more accessible to residents of the area south of the park. This connection was specifically supported by many residents, in both survey responses and comment submissions on the project website. More and easier access to all of our outdoor spaces is essential to support our community and individual residents’ health and increase awareness and support for our urban forest. I recognize that people who live on Westley Avenue do not want the opening. I believe their fears of too much riff-raff are based on negative experiences from many years ago and are not enough to persuade me to allow a public street to become a private cul-de-sac permanently.
Opposition to Offshore Drilling
I am sponsoring a policy order this week which asks the Council to go on record in opposition of all new offshore development or leases for oil and gas programs. We will be submitting this resolution to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management as part of a public comment period as the federal government considers new offshore leasing areas as part of the 11th National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program. In addition to the impact of burning fossil fuels, offshore oil and gas exploration, development, and drilling carry inherent risks, including oil spills, leaks, habitat destruction, and pollution, which could cause significant, long-term harm to the people of Cambridge and greater New England as well as local businesses, and cause irreparable harm to our natural environment.
Institutional and Religious Uses in Zoning
With Councillor Azeem and Vice Mayor McGovern, I am sponsoring a policy order requesting a legal opinion on the ability of Cambridge to regulate institutional and religious uses. The issue came up during discussion of a currently pending zoning petition and recent passage of the multifamily zoning amendments, which impacted existing regulations related to institutional and religious use.
Local Events/Notes
Recycling Advisory Committee Free Store
One of the most important initiatives of the Zero Waste Master Plan 2.0 Update is a commitment to reducing waste created through move-in and move-out season. Cambridge’s Recycling Advisory Committee (RAC) is organizing a Free Store on Sunday, June 1, at the Cambridge Community Center, 5 Callender St. to help reduce move out waste. Dropoff hours are 10:30am – 12:00pm and shopping hours are 11:00am to 1:00pm. At the Free Store, you’re invited to drop off and/or shop for clothing and shoes, household goods, small electronics, books and media, office supplies, and toys. Learn more about what items to donate or shop for (and how to volunteer) here.
“The Costly Gas Trap: A Burden to Consumers, an Obstacle to Our Clean Energy Transition”
Mothers Out Front Cambridge invites you to join them for “The Costly Gas Trap: A Burden to Consumers, an Obstacle to Our Clean Energy Transition” a Zoom event on June 11, 6:30pm, RSVP here. Join to learn about affordable electrification and thermal network alternatives and hear how we, as a community, can accelerate the clean energy transition. Join Dr. Dorie Seavey, energy transition and climate economist, and Massachusetts State Representative Steven Owens, 29th Middlesex District, Cambridge and Watertown, sponsor of key gas transition legislation. Please find an Event information sheet and Flyer. This promises to be a great conversation.
“Where Do Black Men Live?” Film
The film, Where Do Black Men Live?, exhibits the powerful stories of Black men navigating housing insecurity in Cambridge, MA. Based on ethnographic interviews, the film functions, in part, like a truth commission. It illuminates lived experiences of those often overlooked in conversations about housing in an affluent place like Cambridge, MA. The film explores the realities of incarceration, housing transience, and the daily challenges of navigating social life and the criminal legal system while being un- or under-housed for prolonged periods. Cambridge Day published a review of the film. I would encourage anyone to register to attend one of the local screenings. Check out The Black Response website for more information.
Thank You
Thank you to everyone for reading. If there are any topics you want me to cover in future newsletters, I’m always happy for the input! As always, please feel free to reach out to my aide, Patrick (phayes@cambridgema.gov), or me for any of your City Council needs.
You can find all previous newsletters on my website. Please share with anyone you think would be interested: https://pattynolan.org/news/