June 23, 2026

Items Recommended for Full Council

FY27 General Fund Operating Budget ($376,778,493) – Recommended 8-1

The committee, meeting as a committee of the whole for annual "cut night," recommended approval of the mayor's proposed FY27 operating budget. No cuts were proposed. Councilor Scott moved the question and cast the lone no vote, framing it as the council's only real leverage to force funding of six school positions (roughly $600,000, or close to $1 million with city-side costs) that the School Committee had voted to add but the mayor did not include. Councilors Davis and Clingan recused themselves from the school-related discussion and did not vote.

Several councilors explained their yes votes despite regret over the schools issue:

• Councilor Ewen-Campen said he would love to fund the positions but "the money doesn't exist" in a year with a roughly $5 million deficit, and he could not justify it after the city's first layoffs in his tenure

• Council President McLaughlin (14 years on the council) called it the toughest budget he'd seen, noting that if he "had a magic wand," he'd reinstate the 13 cut positions before creating new ones

• Councilors Link, Hardt, Sait, and Mbah expressed similar frustration but agreed voting down the budget would not produce the funding; Hardt urged working toward the school positions in next year's budget

Enterprise Funds, Infrastructure, and Stabilization Items – Discharged Without Recommendation

On Councilor Davis's motion, the committee discharged all remaining appropriation items without recommendation so they can be taken up at Thursday's full council meeting. These include:

• Water Enterprise Fund budget ($24.7M) and $2M transfer to Water Capital Stabilization

• Sewer Enterprise Fund budget ($39.6M) and $16M transfer to Sewer Capital Stabilization

• Kennedy School Pool and Dilboy Fields enterprise fund budgets and retained earnings appropriations

• $7.15M from free cash to the Street Reconstruction and Renovation Stabilization Fund

• $549,399 from free cash to the Traffic Safety Stabilization Fund

• Salary, OPEB, and compensated absence appropriations totaling roughly $4.1M

• $1M transfer from Community Benefits Stabilization to Housing Assistance Stabilization

Committee Discussion

Nonbinding Funding Resolutions – All Approved by Acclamation

Since motions to cut require citing specific line items but resolutions requesting additional funding are nonbinding, councilors offered several resolutions urging the administration to add or restore funding:

• Licensing Commissioner salaries (Strezo): Raise collective salaries to $15,180 ($5,180 for the chair, $5,000 for each of the other two commissioners). Strezo noted the commission has not had a raise since 2012 and was skipped when other boards received increases. Budget Director Mike Mastrobuoni said the administration wants to send all board and commission compensation to the municipal compensation advisory board for a comprehensive review.

• SomerBaby home visitor (Strezo): Reinstate funding for the cut home visitor position in the SomerBaby program, inclusive of postpartum care. HHS Director Karin Carroll said existing staff can meet demand, including language capacity; Strezo countered that need for postpartum support typically exceeds official estimates.

• Early release Wednesday programming (Strezo): Allocate $20,000 for additional out-of-school-time programming for teens on early release Wednesdays, citing teens being priced out of community spaces.

• Crossing guard raises (Link): Give crossing guards a 10% raise in FY27. Strezo welcomed the effort, noting years of prior discussion, and raised unanswered questions about union contracts, recruitment, and converting part-time positions to full-time.

• Small business spending (Mbah): Use the $1 million Small Business Stabilization Fund to direct city spending toward local small businesses and educate them—in multiple languages—on navigating procurement. Mbah cited purchase orders to Home Depot and an out-of-town nursery. OSPCD Director Thomas Galligani described the city's disparity study, a potential sheltered market program, proactive buying plans, and outreach efforts, while noting state procurement law constraints and gaps in local supply (e.g., no full-service hardware store in Somerville).

• Racial and Social Justice Department (Mbah): Restore funding for the five cut positions and the department's mission. Mbah argued the renamed "equity and belonging" unit within operations is too vague compared to the defined racial and social justice mandate created after George Floyd's killing.

Teen Empowerment Funding – Resolution Withdrawn

Councilor Link withdrew his agenda resolution requesting $400,000 for Youth Development Services grants after clarification that the funding situation has largely resolved. Chair Wheeler reported that two of three planned RFPs have closed with the Center for Teen Empowerment as the sole bidder on both (roughly $300,000 of the customary $400,000), with awards expected the next day and a July 1 start date. Mayor Wilson confirmed his understanding that significant funding should be in place at the start of the fiscal year. Councilor Scott criticized how the process was handled, saying breaking the funding into pieces created "corrosive" uncertainty for an organization that hires teens, and urged the administration to move the remaining ~$100,000 RFP forward quickly. The exact award amounts could not be disclosed until the bids are formally granted.

Budget Process Reflections

Chair Wheeler noted councilors submitted over 100 budget questions answered in the budget book, and that the multi-night hearing format remains a work in progress. Councilor Ewen-Campen credited the council's rigorous process for the near-absence of padding in recent budgets, contrasting it with earlier years when cuts seemed almost staged.

What's Next

• The FY27 operating budget goes to the full council Thursday with a favorable recommendation; a revised budget submission from the administration is expected before then (Scott noted resubmissions happen every year, though this year's corrections are reportedly smaller than in the past)

• All enterprise fund, infrastructure, and stabilization appropriations head to Thursday's council meeting without recommendation

• The school budget will be on Thursday's agenda, where the debate over the six additional school positions is expected to continue

• The approved resolutions will be packaged and sent to the administration as it finalizes the revised budget within 48 hours

• The administration signaled interest in a broader compensation review for all boards and commissions and offered to continue the local procurement conversation with the council during the year