Mayor’s Blog

Sweet Victory on Friday, Jazz and Blues All Week and a Super Summer Ahead

Posted on June 22, 2009 by Mayor Joe Curtatone
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I wish every resident of Somerville could have been with us in Tampa on Friday. Of course, in a very real sense, everyone was there, because our shiny new All America City Award truly belongs to all of the thousands and thousands of people who contribute every day to making Somerville rock.

This reminder of Somerville’s incandescent community spirit couldn’t have come at a better time. As we struggle with the worst state fiscal crisis in over a quarter century, we have some tough choices to make – but this award reminds us of the progress we’ve made.

We can be proud of the way this community has invested time, hard work and energy in developing a shared vision of what our future should look like, and in helping us get there. We can be proud of the way we have restored and expanded community services; the way we have invested in infrastructure and planning to enhance our economic future; the innovative ways we are working together to improve the educational opportunities and the health of our young people; and the ways we have fought hard to get more and better transit services for our community.

Above all, we can be proud of the way that our community spirit and shared identity is expressed through the annual events that bring us together: the Memorial Day Parade, ArtBeat; the Independence Day Fireworks and Family Fun Day; the Illuminations Tour; the Sunsetters; and the many, many other community traditions that set Somerville apart – and keep us rocking.

I was very happy to get back from Florida in time to join the crowd at the concert in Powderhouse Park that kicked off the newest big event on Somerville’s annual community calendar: The City’s Jazz and Blues Fest runs all week long with some great local bands playing at venues ranging from Third Life Studio and The Precinct in Union Square to the Nave at the Clarendon Hill Presbyterian Church, Arts at the Armory and, of course, Johnny D’s in Davis Square. You can find the complete schedule here.

And don’t forget that our Family Fun Day is scheduled for next Saturday, June 27th, with our largest-ever Independence fireworks display set for Thursday, July 2nd.

As for the fact that all of this summer fun is playing out against a backdrop of fiscal crisis, I’ll just say this: The state’s budget problems are a little like this wet June weather. They may put a few clouds overhead, buy they can’t put a damper on Somerville’s community spirit. It’s worth noting that almost all of the expenses associated with these events are supported by contributions from local businesses and individuals – and that no tax dollars were used to send our delegation to the All America City finals, either.

Besides, a summer full of great community events helps draw more visitors and economic activity to Somerville. So get out there and celebrate your All America City!

National Health Care – If Not Now, When?

Posted on June 5, 2009 by Mayor Joe Curtatone
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For anyone who, like me, is a strong supporter of national, single-payer health insurance, the discussion at last week’s meeting of the Board of Aldermen was an especially painful reminder of how badly broken and unsustainable our current health care system has become.

The Board ended up voting to preserve the City’s right to pay for more than 50% of retirees’ health care costs, clearing the way for me to change the retiree contribution level to 25%. City of Somerville retirees had been paying only 10 % of the cost for their coverage, so this change brings them into parity with most other Massachusetts municipal retirees.

It was a painful decision but not a difficult one. As of July 1, non-union city workers will also be paying 25 percent, and it is my long-term goal to work through collective bargaining to move every active city worker to that same contribution level. But acting now to achieve parity in the retiree contribution levels will save the City $2.8 million next year, helping us preserve core city services at a time when our budget is constrained by unprecedented cuts in state aid and rising fixed costs.

Despite our conservative financial management practices, strong bond rating, successful efforts to promote economic growth, and our success in improving the efficiency with which we deliver city services, we face a state-imposed FY21010 budget shortfall that could end up running as high as $13 million.

In order to preserve core services, we are going to have to make long-term, structural changes in the way we deliver services; we are going to have to raise fee and fine income; and we are going to have to cut wherever we can. Everyone will experience some pain: our goal is to spread it as thinly and evenly as possible while doing our best to maintain the current level and quality of city services, including education and public safety.

But it’s infuriating that the City of Somerville – or any other institution, public or private – should have to jump through so many hoops to make budget choices about what is, in the end, an underperforming and overly expensive privatized health insurance system. In every other advanced industrial nation on earth, local governments are spared the misery of debating how much to pay for what kind of health coverage. And in every other advanced industrial nation, life expectancy is longer, infant mortality is lower, people tell pollsters that they’re happier with the quality of their care – and the cost per person is significantly lower than here in the U.S.

For Massachusetts cities and towns, the situation is made even worse by the fact that, under state law, we have so little control over our health care costs. We aren’t permitted to negotiate with a single provider for a discounted plan; if we decide that it’s in our best interest to enter the state’s low-cost Group Insurance Commission plan, we must obtain agreement from a super-majority of our unions; we are required to provide certain plans and certain kinds of coverage, but we can’t control how much we pay for them.

America’s lack of a comprehensive national health care system is a massive and growing drag on our national competitiveness, on the strength and integrity of our public institutions and, above all, on the wellbeing of our people. It wastes time, money and human potential. It’s pushing costs well beyond the ability of our citizens to pay for coverage. As a nation, we must fix it – and soon.

All about the Budget

Posted on May 4, 2009 by Mayor Joe Curtatone
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Last week it seemed like three-quarters of my schedule was consumed by various kinds of budget meetings and events.

On Monday, I took part in a State House rally sponsored by the Stop the Cuts Coalition, a group of labor, human service and progressive advocacy groups that are pressuring the legislature to restore funding to crucial services at the state and local level. At the time, the House’s proposed FY2010 budget called for devastating cuts in a number of key areas that affect the lives of every Massachusetts resident – including aid to cities and towns. My message to the group was simple: we know that some cuts are unavoidable, but that new revenue sources are also needed. Personally, I am still strongly in favor of the targeted revenue proposals made earlier this year by Governor Patrick, including the closure of the telecommunications property tax loophole and the creation of local option hotel and meals tax to provide some diversity in revenue sources and ease the burden on residential property taxpayers.

But I also told the group that, if the legislature decided to adjust the sales tax in order to restore local aid, then my response – and the response of mayors across the Commonwealth – would be a heartfelt “Thank you.”

So here is that “thank you:” to Speaker DeLeo for his leadership, and to Representatives Provost, Sciortino and Toomey for a courageous vote in tough circumstances. Somerville and other communities still face hard choices in FY2010, but the legislature’s action means fewer cuts to core services and programs. (And thanks also to Rebekah Gewirtz and Harris Gruman for including me in the rally.)

The very next evening, I provided a briefing on the current fiscal situation and our planning process at a public forum on the budget. Held by the Board of Aldermen’s Finance Committee in conjunction with the School Committee, the forum was a valuable table-setter for the coming budget process, and served as one of several ways for the public to get more information about, and provide input on, city budget issues and priorities in the current fiscal crisis.

And last Wednesday, I met in Holyoke with my fellow mayors and other local officials to discuss – you guessed it – state budget policy at the Mass Municipal Association’s monthly session. My message there was that we have to keep fighting for the full range of revenue changes called for by Governor Patrick, and that we should push the legislature for renewed attention to cost-saving pension and transportation reforms at the state level. How can we convince the public more revenue if the Commonwealth doesn’t begin by making structural reforms that will save money and make government more accountable?

Here in Somerville, you can bet that we will start with cuts and savings before we look for enhanced revenue.

Oh, yes – one more thing. Here are the winners of “Snowed Under – the Contest:”

Jeannine
Valerie
Amy
Eunice Scarfo
Linda

In order to claim your “Somerville Rocks” t-shirt, please send an email message (from the same address you used to enter) to Jackie Rossetti at jrossetti@somervillema.gov. Be sure to tell her your t-shirt size. Congratulations, and thank you for playing – and for being right about getting through the rest of winter with no big storms!

(Sorry, Audi. You know what they say in all those sweepstakes disclaimers on TV: “Employees of the City of Somerville and Gatehouse Media are not eligible to participate in this contest.”)

Notes From All Over

Posted on April 7, 2009 by Mayor Joe Curtatone
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Somerville Hospital is OPEN: Apparently rumors continue to fly that Somerville Hospital has ether closed or is about to do so. It’s just not true. I understand how the rumors got started, but I’m disappointed that they haven’t gone away. Certainly, budget cuts have forced the Cambridge Health Alliance to consolidate some services and close some facilities in its multi-community service area, but Somerville Hospital remains open. We preserved the hospital because your legislative delegation and I – with crucial help form Governor Patrick’s office – worked hard to hammer out a deal between the CHA and the state. The CHA consolidation could have been much worse than it turned out to be, but it simply isn’t as bad as the rumors continue to allege. For details about exactly what changed for Somerville, please go to the CHA website. And if you need emergency or primary care – or any of a number of other specialties, including day surgery, ophthalmology or radiology – go to Somerville Hospital.

Courageous Cops: We all know that our police officers are regularly called upon to take risks on behalf of the communities they serve. And we all know that occasionally, as in the recent case of Officer Steve St. Hilaire, their training and quick thinking allows them to save lives that might otherwise have been lost. But one of March’s biggest news stories anywhere in Massachusetts (I’m shocked it didn’t get more coverage outside Somerville) was the announcement we made on the 27th that, by a nearly unanimous vote, the Somerville Police Employees Association agreed to a one year contract that included a zero percent wage increase and a one-week pay furlough. That means that the officers get no pay increase this year and that, starting July 1, they’ll work a regular schedule but defer a week’s pay until Fiscal Year 2013. The combined effect of the freeze and furlough is estimated at over $190,000. It wasn’t easy to be the first municipal union to step up to the challenge of coping with the effects of state aid cuts and a sliding economy, but the patrol officers did it – and with no strings attached. It was a very classy move.

Did the Snow Go? I’m going to wait a little longer before I declare winter over and award prizes in the Snow Contest. But there are some pretty strong predictions out there and, if they hold, I reserve the right to give out more than the five t-shirts I originally promised. Watch this space.

Snowed Under - The CONTEST

Posted on March 4, 2009 by Mayor Joe Curtatone
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Are we done yet?

I am so ready for spring: for the Independent Film Festival, for the Spring Cleanup and SomerGreen Festival (May 9th), for the Memorial Day Parade. I want Stan Koty to get some sleep. I want Tom Champion to stop calling me. (Yes, I get those calls, too.) I want to stop shoveling. (Yes, I live on the even side of the street.)

After $3 million in cuts to our local aid from the state, I want our city to catch a break and save some money. Instead, what I have (what we all have) is a city buried in over ten inches of snow. This past Sunday and Monday, we dropped another $150,000 on snow and ice operations, bringing our total expenditures this winter to $1.14 million, more than twice what we budgeted for in the fiscal year ending June 30th.

I know it could be worse. Somerville is quicker than most communities to recover from a storm – and we get compliments all the time about the condition of our roadways from people driving into the city during and after a storm like this one. They tell us that even our narrow residential side streets are in better shape than those in nearby cities and towns.

I also know that there are plenty of communities that are in much worse fiscal shape than Somerville and are already cutting back on basic services – and even on things like salt and sand.

We can handle a tough winter. But I still want it to stop – at least until next year.

Of course, we know that history isn’t on our side. In the Boston area, we’re accustomed to significant snowfalls right up to and into April. But this winter has been anything but typical. And with Daylight Savings starting this Sunday, and with March 20th as the first official day of spring, we could get lucky.

What do you think?
1. Was this the last big storm (4+ inches) of the season?
2. If your answer to Question 1 is “no,” how many more snowstorms of 4+ variety are still headed our way?
3. When will the last snow (one inch or more) fall before Old Man Winter finally gives up for 2009?

Send us your predictions. Be sure to give the Journal your real email address. (Don’t worry, they won’t print it.) I’ll give a “Somerville Rocks” t-shirt to the first five people who answer any of these questions correctly. Of course, just to be safe, we’ll have to wait until after April 26th to figure out who wins. But you WILL get a t-shirt if you have at least one right answer – and it turns out that you were one of the first five people to send it in.

Happy forecasting!