I
want to thank the Board of Aldermen for their prudent management of taxpayer
money in this year’s budget process. The Board spent long nights reviewing the
proposed fiscal 2014 budget, asking thoughtful questions with care and
seriousness, as they do every year.
This budget holds dear the values of patience, of analyzing
the facts, projecting the long-term effects and then modestly investing in the
growth of our city, while remaining ever-mindful that residents expect and
deserve for us to maximize every last tax dollar.
On their last night of budget deliberations, I told the
aldermen that I knew they, too, share those values, and that any savings they
proposed for our constituents would be based on fidelity to the facts and to an efficient, strategic and inclusive government
that always keeps its eyes firmly on the horizon.
The honorable Board did just that. In total, the aldermen
cut $834,215 from the City’s $181.8 million budget proposal for the coming
year, including:
·
$350,000 in building insurance, savings
available due to the City receiving and selecting an insurer’s bid lower than
what had been conservatively budgeted.
·
$236,366 in salaries across City
departments, savings available due to those positions not being filled
immediately on July 1.
·
$93,349 in debt service, savings
available due to the City receiving lower than conservatively budgeted interest
rates on borrowing.
·
$16,017 from the water and sewer
enterprise funds.
In fulfilling their obligation to our constituents, the
Board of Aldermen reaffirmed its belief in our city and our strategy of playing
the long game, not relying on short-term gimmicks for revenues or cuts now that
become a burden later. The Board and City Hall listened to our residents who
said they want more education funding, more efficient city services that reach every person in Somerville, and a long-term sustainable fiscal strategy for this city, all while identifying strategic savings where possible. This budget delivers that to our residents, both now and in the future.
Like the Board’s deliberations, every budget request sent
to the Board was carefully born of a fastidious
process based on our core values. We
are not satisfied with the status quo, but remain patient in a strategy
recently lauded by Moody’s Investors Service, which specifically cited our “conservative budgeting approach” and “ambitious
economic development plan” in reaffirming the City’s highest-ever credit
rating.
We continue to maximize every last tax dollar, spending nearly the least per capita in Massachusetts while
providing far more in services than most, and continuing to have a tax rate that,
accounting for the residential exemption, remains lower than all of our
neighbors save for the gigantic commercial base that is Cambridge.
This city has achieved so
much in the past decade, with the help of a Board of Aldermen that has supported boldness in the face of ever-dwindling
outside support, rising fixed costs and dwindling
state aid. But we believed in ourselves, and that’s why others believe in
Somerville today. We invested in ourselves, and that’s why others are investing
in our city.
I thank Ward 2 Alderman
Maryann Heuston for her steady leadership as chairwoman of the Finance
Committee and each alderman for their leadership and thoughtful debate: Board
President and At-Large Alderman Bill White; Vice President and At-Large
Alderman John Connolly; At-Large Aldermen Bruce Desmond and Dennis Sullivan;
and ward aldermen Maureen Bastardi (Ward 1), Tom Taylor (Ward 3), Tony Lafuente
(Ward 4), Courtney O’Keefe (Ward 5), Rebekah Gewirtz (Ward 6) and Bob Trane
(Ward 7).
With this budget and
the Board of Aldermen’s thoughtful, critical work,
we carry on that belief in ourselves. We reject the status quo. We believe that
good government can improve the lives of our residents and fulfill our vision
of an ever more prosperous future.
Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone
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