Agenda Summary
title
Conveying budget priorities and requests for FY 2025.
body
Official Text
Dear Mayor Ballantyne,
Please find enclosed a list of several funding requests that represent the concerns of our shared constituency. You are likely to notice that a number of these requests, such as funding for an alternative emergency response program to deal with non-violent crisis intervention, have been requested annually during your mayorship without allocation. I hope that you will take this time to put the weight of our City’s finances behind the oft-repeated requests of residents and take this opportunity to collaborate with the Council to design programs that meet their needs.
Thank you.
Budget Priorities:
That the Administration allocate $1,370,000 for the creation of an alternative emergency response program to serve the community’s need for non-violent crisis intervention, mediation, and wellness under a new division within Health and Human Services (see attachment for program details and cost breakdown)
That an additional $66,000 be allocated to the Office of Housing Stability for the creation of supplemental Housing Case Manager position
That $250,000 of ARPA funds be allocated for the elimination of millions of dollars worth of medical debt for thousands of low-income Somerville residents, as passed unanimously by the Council via resolution in FY 2023, agreed to by multiple area hospitals, and supported by CAAS (see attachments for project scope and costs)
That $92,006.73 be allocated to Infrastructure and Asset Management for the creation of a School Building Energy Strategy and Sustainability Project Manager to oversee decarbonization efforts in Somerville school buildings (see attachment for job description)
That $100,000 be allocated to Infrastructure and Asset Management to conduct a Decarbonization Assessment of Somerville Public School buildings (see attachment for scope of work)
That the Administration include cost-of-living increases for all positions within the City Council Department, including elected officials, and work with this council on an amendment to the salary ordinance that reflects those changes
That the Administration allocate funds for free COVID-19 masks and rapid tests for distribution through Somerville Public Libraries
That $65,000 be allocated to Mobility to create a planner position that will work on transit-related RFPs, including one to create municipal North-South microtransit routes in Somerville, similar to the microtransit used in Salem (the Salem Skipper)
That the necessary funds be allocated to the Office of Sustainability and Environment to implement a citywide curbside composting program
That the necessary funding be allocated to the Office of Sustainability and Environment to create a Invasive Species Manager to spearhead outreach, education, and citywide invasive plant species removal, as was passed by the Council last year via resolution (item 23-1600)