Search ▸ Communication to the City Council
1. Summative Evaluation of CM 2. Office of the City Solicitor legal opinion about what is and is not public document in this process 3. CM Self Evaluation 4. CM Staff Feedback Survey Ratings 5. CM Staff Feedback Comments 6. City resident Survey.
November 14, 2025
To the Honorable, the City Council:
Cambridge is an incredible city, and through this year of challenges and uncertainty, I have felt even more
proud of all the ways that we are community together. As I write this, we are nearing the end of a
government shutdown where the federal administration appealed all the way to the Supreme Court to
withhold food benefits to our lowest income households, just months after pushing through trillions of
dollars of tax cuts to our wealthiest individuals and corporations.
Yet, we continue to do the work of local government. We are picking up trash, planting trees, building
affordable housing, reforming zoning, making our streets safer, housing the homeless, and so much more.
I am so grateful to the Mayor, Vice Mayor, and Councillors for their public service and their trust in me
and so many City leaders who are working hard every day to build a better community for everyone who
lives, works, studies, and plays in Cambridge.
We have done all this work in the public eye, and by the end of 2025, we will have held 36 City Council
meetings with community input on every facet of local government. We have released data, posted
analysis, discussed and debated, and made decisions through difficult disagreements. Our local
democracy is vibrant and healthy.
This is also the third year we have conducted a City Manager Performance Review, which is an important
commitment to transparency and accountability. This next step, submitting an annual report by November
15 will be followed by the City Council’s formal evaluation delivered at a Special City Council Meeting
in December.
There are always things to improve, lessons to be learned, and more work to be done. I’m looking
forward to the conversation and feedback.
Thank you to the City Council for this privilege and to our community for your trust.
Very truly yours,
Yi-An Huang
City Manager
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Summary of Goal Performance
The following goals were approved at the June 30, 2025 City Council meeting.
Area
Goal
Status
Leadership
Coordinate with the City Council on response to federal actions and funding
challenges, including addressing direct impacts to the City, community, and
affected organizations in the City
MET
Engage on regional priorities and advocate on behalf of the City to the state
administration and legislature
MET
City Council
Relationship
Collaborate with City Council to prioritize initiatives and programs aligned to
Council goals
MET
Continue to maintain an efficient process for awaiting reports and provide
summary report in early 2026
MET
Management
Contract with benefits broker to assess current City benefits and develop initial
recommendations on potential changes
MET
Conduct Class and Compensation study to address non-union compensation in
relation to the market as well as internal equity across departments
PARTIALLY
MET
Community
Engagement
Pilot new methods of improving communications and engagement with the
community
MET
Review boards and commissions and produce recommendations on strengthening
engagement with members who are serving
PARTIALLY
MET
Resident survey performance of >60% Excellent/Good on 2025 survey for overall
performance of City government
MET
Culture
Develop action plan based on the 2025 employee engagement survey and begin
implementation
MET
ADEI
Establish the American Freedman Commission as a new city department in line
with the 2023 ordinance
MET
Develop a citywide plan to enhance communication and foster engagement with
the community around the City’s core values of Antiracism, Diversity, Equity, and
Inclusion (ADEI)
PARTIALLY
MET
City
Operations
Achieve compliance with established service level agreements (SLAs) for
operating department requests in SeeClickFix at an 80% level or above in the top
30 request categories
PARTIALLY
MET
Provide preliminary framework for a comprehensive 10-Year Public Investment
Plan
MET
Fiscal
Management
Implement greater City Council engagement in the budget development process,
including Finance Committee meetings prior to formal submission of the budget
regarding: 1) operating budget, 2) capital budget, 3) police budget, and 4) ARPA
program
MET
Maintain strong fiscal position and AAA bond rating
MET
Finalize ARPA contracts and amendments with all funding obligated
MET
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Leadership
Effectively carry out the vision and direction set by the City Council including through development of
goals and strategies as well as work closely with the Council to lead the City through significant events
and crises.
Goal
Status
Coordinate with the City Council on response to federal actions and funding challenges,
including addressing direct impacts to the City, community, and affected organizations in the
City
MET
Engage on regional priorities and advocate on behalf of the City to the state administration
and legislature
MET
2025 has been an unprecedented year as we have sought to vigorously respond to challenges from the
federal administration. We have conducted 15 federal updates at City Council through an ever-changing
landscape of funding cuts, unconstitutional actions, and court cases.
Our Law department has performed above and beyond. Cambridge has joined as a plaintiff in two cases,
one over grant conditions and a second over federal attacks on sanctuary jurisdictions. Cambridge has
filed amicus briefs in seven additional cases, including over international students at Harvard, indirect
funding for research grants, national guard deployment, and sanctuary cities. We regularly update a
litigation tracker for City Council that covers cases that we are involved in or that are directly affecting
our community. Given the severity of federal overreach, our active engagement in the courts has been a
critical way for us to stand up for our values and defend the programs that matter to us.
We also recognized early that we were likely to see federal funding cuts, both directly to the City and
across our community. The City Council approved the allocation of $5 million of free cash to be used to
mitigate the impact of federal cuts. We recognize that the City does not have the resources to replace
federal funding, but this provides us with a structure in the budget to act and make a difference.
This reserve is what has allowed us to respond rapidly during the current SNAP crisis. Within a week of
the federal government announcing its intention to cut off food benefits, the City Council appropriated
$250,000. Together with the Cambridge Community Foundation which provided an additional $250,000
from its Urgent Needs Fund, we are distributing grocery gift cards to seniors, disabled residents, and
students in our schools, as well as strengthening our food pantries through the Cambridge Food Pantry
Network. Our forward planning and financial flexibility allow us to act quickly, and we expect more
challenges in the year ahead.
We have also taken action to defend our immigrant community. The City Council has strengthened our
Welcoming Cities ordinance to reinforce that our local police are focused on community safety and not
civil immigration enforcement. Our Commission on Immigrant Rights and Citizenship has held Know-
Your-Rights trainings for over a thousand people. And we continue to look for ways to engage our
community. Just in this last week, the libraries hosted an event with Pathway for Immigrant Workers that
helps low-wage workers navigate the sponsorship process to receive a green card, and bystander
intervention trainings with the State’s Office for Refugees and Immigrants to provide practical tools for
providing community support, action, and de-escalation.
We are still facing significant uncertainty and threats. But we are committed to using all the tools at our
disposal – legal action, funding, municipal ordinances, City programs and staff – to navigate these
challenges. And we will do it together with the Council and our amazing community.
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Finally, I’m proud that Cambridge is playing an important role in regional coordination and state
initiatives. I continue to serve with Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn of Medford as co-chair of the Metro
Mayors Coalition, a group of municipal leaders that represent the urban core of Metro Boston. We hosted
a Climate Summit this past May at the Science Museum that recommitted the region to fight climate
change and build greater resilience and environmental justice in our communities. We’ve spoken out
against federal immigration actions, with a joint letter in June calling out the unconstitutional racial
profiling and taking of collaterals that we see across our communities. And we have worked on policy
proposals to strengthen the structure of municipal finances across the Commonwealth.
We have also continued to provide testimony at the State House on key legislation. Cambridge has
spoken out in favor of legislation to improve energy affordability, climate resilience, real estate transfer
fees to fund affordable housing, regional ballot initiatives to fund transportation, and greater
empowerment and flexibility for municipalities. I appreciate our hard-working state delegation that has
collaborated with the City to address key legislative priorities and bring forward home rule petitions on
behalf of Cambridge.
City Council Relationship
Establish a collaborative and transparent working relationship with the City Council.
Goal
Status
Collaborate with City Council to prioritize initiatives and programs aligned to Council goals
MET
Continue to maintain an efficient process for awaiting reports and provide summary report in
early 2026
MET
Over 2025, we have seen significant policy debates and decisions. I have sought to follow the direction of
the City Council and provide the professional experience and expertise of City leaders and staff to inform
our decisions and actions.
We have seen historic changes in zoning for multi-family housing, a policy debate that started in early
2024 and was passed in spring of this year. Throughout this process, we worked closely with the City
Council, prioritizing our zoning agenda, developing multiple options, and providing deeper analysis. As
we enter this fall, we are considering additional zoning changes to major corridors, as well as deeper
policy proposals and debate over how to increase housing production. Just in the past year, we have seen
several fully permitted housing projects canceled because of deteriorating financial projections. There is
still so much work to do as we face the highest rents and housing prices in the Commonwealth.
We also saw continued debate over the implementation of bike lanes, and particularly the design of
Garden Street. Based on the Council’s direction, City staff provided options for preserving a separated
bike lane while returning Garden Street to two-way car traffic. We ultimately committed to a Summer
2026 implementation design that was voted through by a majority of the Council.
Finally, an important collective goal has been to update our payment-in-lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreement
with Harvard. This has been a continued conversation since the City provided notice to the university that
the City wanted a new agreement. The timing, however, has been difficult. 2025 has seen perhaps the
greatest financial uncertainty that Harvard has faced in a century. I’m appreciative of the collaborative
and practical agreement for a one-year deal that has raised the annual PILOT contribution from $4.7
million in 2024 to $6.0 million in 2025. While both the University and the City desired a longer-term
agreement, with significant financial uncertainties, a one-year deal has been the best option until there is a
more stable outlook.
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Throughout this year, I’ve sought to work closely with the Council on important priorities. The
underlying process for policy orders and awaiting reports is the backbone of debate and discussion for our
local government. I’m grateful to the Council for the changes that we have made this term. Over the last
two terms (2020-2021 and 2022-2023), the City Council has passed on average 87 awaiting reports and
the City responded to only an average of 52, with 40% never receiving an answer. This was a persistent
source of frustration, both for Councillors who never knew if they were going to get a reply, and City
staff who felt like there was no possibility they could complete all the work the Council was asking for
while also running the day-to-day operations of the City.
This term, we started from a clean slate and made a shared commitment – that the Council would
prioritize, and that the City would respond. I’m proud to say that we are on track. In 2024, 69 awaiting
reports were passed and all 69 have been responded to. In 2025, 65 awaiting reports were passed, and
while we still have 20 outstanding, our goal is to have almost all responded to by the end of the term.
This has been a tremendous improvement compared to the last two terms in transparency, trust, and
accountability. I’m grateful to the City Council for this healthier and more collaborative process. We will
provide a final summary after the end of this term and I’m looking forward to discussion with the next
Council to start the 2026-2027 term.
Management
Develop a strong City organization that has the people, processes, and systems to deliver on day-to-day
operations and existing and new initiatives.
Goal
Status
Contract with benefits broker to assess current City benefits and develop initial
recommendations on potential changes
MET
Conduct Class and Compensation study to address non-union compensation in relation to the
market as well as internal equity across departments
PARTIALLY
MET
The two goals we set on management have focused on core HR functions. We have not formally reviewed
our benefits, particularly our health insurance packages for many years. There have been major shifts in
the healthcare landscape including the merger of Harvard Pilgrim Health Plan and Tufts Health Plan to
form Point32Health. We have also seen tremendous growth in pharmacy costs and continued
consolidation of hospital providers.
Over the summer, we contracted with a benefit broker to assess our current benefits and explore
opportunities for savings and enhancements. This work is on track and expected to be completed in
December, which will provide us with options that can be implemented for the upcoming April 2026 plan
year. The benefits broker will continue to provide support as we put changes into place, and we are also
ensuring that we will communicate clearly and transparently with all City staff who may be affected.
We are making significant progress on conducting a class and compensation study for non-union jobs.
Over the spring, we conducted extensive internal engagement to review and update job descriptions, an
important step in creating consistent grades and benchmarks for each role. Market benchmarking was
completed over the summer, and we are now reviewing preliminary recommendations to address both
market and internal equity. In addition, our goal is to come out of this work with a more consistent non-
union compensation structure across the organization. While we are slightly behind our original schedule,
this work is still on track for implementation beginning in the FY27 budget.
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Community Engagement
Proactively communicate with the community and create a range of opportunities for all stakeholders and
residents to provide input and feedback, particularly communities whose voices are not typically heard by
City Hall.
Goal
Status
Pilot new methods of improving communications and engagement with the community
MET
Review boards and commissions and produce recommendations on strengthening engagement
with members who are serving
PARTIALLY
MET
Resident survey performance of >60% Excellent/Good on 2025 survey for overall
performance of City government
MET
Community engagement is at the foundation of how we make changes and improvements across our city.
I’m grateful for the investments we have made across major departments to support deeper engagement,
especially with people whose voices aren’t usually heard. Over the last year, we have worked to create
greater coordination and consistency across all our City efforts.
We have also piloted new methods of engagement. This fall, we launched a “New Resident Guide”
containing information on the most relevant City services for new residents and distributed this to
households that applied for a moving van permit over the prior months. We will assess the impact of these
guides over the winter. We have also launched a pilot of the Community Planning Academy in
partnership with Community Development. This effort brought 14 residents into a three-session, in-
person workshop series to demystify the processes, policies, and key actors in planning and development.
Pre- and post-program surveys showed a measurable increase in people’s understanding of the planning
process, sense of connection to the City, and desire to participate in future projects. Additionally, this
work has been valuable by bringing people who have traditionally been under-represented in City
planning. These interactions have helped us understand how we can do better to incorporate the diversity
of perspectives across our community.
We launched a Civic Outreach Squad (COS), a small, part-time team specializing in direct outreach,
including door-to-door neighborhood engagement, park and street canvassing, tabling at community
events, and targeted phone banking. During its first eight weeks, the team supported five City initiatives
across multiple departments. In that time, COS reached more than 7,400 properties, distributed more than
7,700 materials, and engaged with more than 300 residents. Initial results are promising, reaching deeper
and more directly into our neighborhoods to inform them of important events and City initiatives.
We are also committed to continued improvement in how we run our boards and commissions. We have
more than 50 bodies with over 440 residents participating regularly in the civic life of the City. Over this
year, we are strengthening the process of recruiting, onboarding, and engaging the residents who are
providing their time, voices, and expertise. This will ensure we have accurate data on who is serving;
clear processes and procedures for all steps in the boards and commissions lifecycle; improved
information systems supporting the management of these boards and commissions; clearly identified
process owners; and necessary training and support to ensure our boards are well run and our members
have the best possible experience from the time they submit their application to the time they exit service
to the City.
We have also begun discussing how to deepen connections with members across boards. One initiative is
an annual gathering for all active members, targeting April 2026 in conjunction with National Volunteer
Month. This gathering aims to recognize members’ contributions and foster stronger connections among
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members of different boards and commissions and City staff. There have been various iterations of this
type of event in the past, and we are looking to formalize this convening and hold it annually.
Finally, I’m excited to provide the results of the 2025 Resident Survey, which we are conducting
annually. This is the third year that we have used more standardized questions and benchmarked against
hundreds of other municipalities. We continue to see high marks for overall performance of City
government. For 2025, “Overall Performance of City Government” equaled the highest “excellent” rating
(22%) in the history of the survey program – dating back to 2000. This 22% “excellent” rating was
matched only by the 2023 survey. The combined Excellent/Good rating for the overall performance of
City government was 70%. I’m looking forward to discussing the data with the Council as we look at how
to better respond to resident priorities and concerns.
Culture
Define and establish a healthy culture across the City that fosters collaboration, trust, empathy, and
effective and efficient decision making.
Goal
Status
Develop action plan based on the 2025 employee engagement survey and begin
implementation
MET
2024 was the first year that we have done a comprehensive employee engagement survey that includes
benchmarking with other municipalities. While there were areas of strengths including communications,
empowering staff to solve problems, operational services, and being a welcoming community, we also
identified three key areas where we needed to improve: enhancing core HR functions, improving work
environments, and addressing internal inequities. In March, we hosted two employee forums to process
the survey results and share next steps. Over 350 staff joined these forums and participated in discussion
on the results.
Across each area, we have been working to address improvements:
•
Enhancing core HR functions
o Increased central support for departments in hiring, launched a SharePoint site with
hiring guidelines, piloted new recruiting approaches with DHSP preschools
o Increased transparency and access to HR leadership through quarterly, all staff forums,
with between 200-250 attendees and live Q&A
•
Improving work environments
o Reduced overcrowding at 51 Inman Street by relocating departments to new space at 689
Mass Ave, prioritizing departments that had greater need
o Provided clearer written guidance and support for staff in challenging workplace contexts
such as first amendment auditors, protests, and potential ICE enforcement actions; this
included creating an on-call line during business hours for Law department support for
frontline staff
o Worked with leadership in departments with low survey results to develop and implement
tailored plans to improvement staff satisfaction, engagement, and retention
•
Addressing internal inequities
o Launched a Request for Proposal (RFP) to work with a consultant to help us update our
Employee Manual and associated HR policies, ensuring greater clarity and consistency
across the organization
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o Launched non-union Compensation and Classification Study, which will create more
standardized job descriptions and will provide market and internal benchmarks to address
pay equity concerns
While some of these areas of focus were known before the survey, having clearer data and benchmarked
helped validate our existing priorities. Data that we gathered also helped emphasize which initiatives were
needed the most. Appreciating the time that it takes to both implement deeper changes, our plan is to
conduct employee engagement surveys every 2-3 years.
Anti-racism, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Advance anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts across the City, including strategy,
organizational culture, HR, policy development, and service delivery.
Goal
Status
Establish the American Freedman Commission as a new city department in line with the 2023
ordinance
MET
Develop a citywide plan to enhance communication and foster engagement with the
community around the City’s core values of Antiracism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
(ADEI)
PARTIALLY
MET
The City of Cambridge has officially established the American Freedmen Commission in accordance with
Chapter 2.131 of the Cambridge Municipal Code. This Commission is tasked with exploring the historic
and ongoing harms experienced by Cantabrigian descendants of enslaved people and determining
appropriate reparations. To launch this important work, the City Manager’s Office issued a public call for
applications on March 1, 2025, with a closing date of April 7, 2025. The announcement was shared
through the City website, a news release, daily email updates, and other public postings. A total of 34
applications were received. After a thorough review and interview process led by a panel of City staff, 12
individuals were recommended for appointment in June 2025. I’m grateful for the collaboration with
Mayor Simmons and Councillor Wilson in this important work, as well as the leadership of the Office of
Equity and Inclusion.
The Commission convened in September 2025 and participated in Open Meeting Law training. The
selection of a chairperson is anticipated for November. The Commission’s first order of business will be
to establish sub-working groups focused on investigating the historical and systemic harms caused by
federal, state, and local governments to American Freedmen. These groups will also begin developing a
strategy and implementation plan for community outreach and engagement. The City remains committed
to transparency, equity, and meaningful dialogue as this work progresses. We look forward to continued
collaboration with the community as the Commission moves forward.
The Office of Equity and Inclusion (OEI), in partnership with the ADEI Advisory Council, has developed
a strategic plan to strengthen communication and deepen engagement with the Cambridge community.
This initiative is part of the City’s ongoing commitment to embedding the values of antiracism, diversity,
equity, and inclusion (ADEI) into the services and support provided by City departments. As part of this
effort, OEI is using the Community Engagement Framework to organize at least two community dialogue
sessions in collaboration with various departments.
The first session is planned for early 2026 and will provide residents with an opportunity to share their
perspectives, ask questions, and help shape the future of inclusive practices in Cambridge. These efforts
reflect a proactive and intentional approach to building a more equitable and connected city—one where
every voice is valued and every resident has a role in shaping our shared future.
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City Operations
Oversee effective delivery of resident services including day-to-day operations, maintaining city
infrastructure, and major capital projects.
Goal
Status
Achieve compliance with established service level agreements (SLAs) for operating
department requests in SeeClickFix at an 80% level or above in the top 30 request categories
PARTIALLY
MET
Provide preliminary framework for a comprehensive 10-Year Public Investment Plan
MET
The City is committed to proactively providing consistent, high-quality municipal services. These
services encompass a wide range of day-to-day operations and infrastructure maintenance: managing
solid waste, delivering clean drinking water, ensuring healthy parks and urban forests, maintaining
effective sewer and stormwater systems, supporting high-quality transportation infrastructure, and
keeping City buildings and fleet in the best condition possible. This important work is carried out by
hundreds of hard-working public servants, and I am extremely grateful for their efforts each and every
day to ensure Cambridge remains a wonderful place to live, work, and play.
Residents are welcome and encouraged to request non-emergency services or to report concerns through
our request management system, SeeClickFix, which can be accessed via mobile phone application or
online at https://www.cambridgema.gov/SeeClickFix. SeeClickFix supports our ability to track requests,
plan work, communicate with requestors, engage in public discussion about issues, and develop data we
can use to hold ourselves accountable and work toward process improvement. Each request category has a
specified service level agreement (SLA) which sets a goal for the timeline to close out the request.
Straightforward requests have a shorter SLA (e.g., 48 hours for missed trash pick-up) while more
complicated issues take longer to resolve (e.g., repairing a manhole or piece of drainage infrastructure
might be expected to take up to a year).
It is the City’s goal to complete at least 80% of requests received within their designated service level
agreement (SLA). In FY25, the top thirty categories brought in a total of 11,788 requests, 79% of which
were closed within their agreed upon SLA. As shown in the chart below, steady improvements have been
made in the percentage of requests being closed within their SLA over the past four fiscal years
Improving the regular interaction and responsiveness of these requests is an important part of our day-to-
day operations, and we will continue to seek improvements as we seek to exceed our 80% target in FY26.
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Powered by a history of strong economic growth, Cambridge has consistently been able to budget and
execute our capital improvement plan. This success is reflected in robust investments, including three new
schools, extensive street and sidewalk repairs, new parks and playgrounds, and modern firehouses
incorporating infrastructure for a greener future. Improvements to our water, sewer and stormwater
infrastructure especially have made Cambridge significantly more resilient during a time of stronger
storms and greater risk of flooding, reduced sewer overflows, and made water main breaks less frequent.
We have constructed 10 stormwater holding tanks and seen much reduced flooding especially in the
Baldwin and Port neighborhoods.
While our existing priorities remain, the current economic cycle necessitates a refined approach to capital
investments. To that end, we are developing a new 10-year capital improvement framework designed to
strategically reconcile our ongoing goals for infrastructure maintenance and renewal with a focus on
prudent fiscal stewardship. This framework will establish clear financial guardrails. Along with our
targets for tax levy and budget growth, we will set targets debt service costs. These metrics will provide
the starting point for the capital plan and define the maximum ceiling for the amount of capital we can
responsibly deploy. The new framework will drive greater scrutiny on project budgets, timelines, and the
cost effectiveness of our investments.
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Fiscal Management
Provide effective financial management and oversight of the budget, ensuring fiscal stability while
allocating resources to meet community needs.
Goal
Status
Implement greater City Council engagement in the budget development process, including
Finance Committee meetings prior to formal submission of the budget regarding: 1) operating
budget, 2) capital budget, 3) police budget, and 4) ARPA program
MET
Maintain strong fiscal position and AAA bond rating
MET
Finalize ARPA contracts and amendments with all funding obligated
MET
The City’s budget is a core responsibility of the City Manager and the City Council. To promote
transparency and Council engagement in the budget development process, we collaborated closely with
Councilor Nolan as Finance Chair to hold a series of Finance Committee meetings throughout the year.
We started in fall of 2024 with a joint City Council/School Committee roundtable on October 28 to
review macroeconomic trends and set budget targets. We then held Finance Committees meetings on the
operating and capital budgets (Nov. 20 and Dec. 11), Council priorities and goals (February 26), ARPA
funding and the police budget (March 26), and capital and large-scale programs (April 16). The FY26
Budget was submitted on April 28, discussed at full-day public City Council hearings on May 8, May 14,
and May 15, and was adopted on June 2.
I’m proud that we have built a budget that reflects the goals and priorities of the City Council and the
community. We are investing $48 million toward affordable housing, $17 million toward addressing
homelessness and housing instability, $35 million on universal pre-kindergarten, $18 million toward our
Climate Net Zero goals, and $11 million toward Vision Zero and Traffic Safety. The Cambridge Public
Schools represent the single largest part of our budget at $280 million and include significant increases in
teacher salaries and support a longer school-day from our most recent contract negotiation. This has been
a long-time School Committee priority and creates more teaching time for our students.
We also remain committed to many important programs built over the years in collaboration with the
Council. These ongoing initiatives include services and support for the unhoused, job training and
continuing education programs, urban composting that is expanding to serve both residents and small
businesses, an amazing urban forestry program dedicated to establishing a resilient tree canopy in our
dense city landscape, and so much more. I’m especially proud of major projects that were completed this
year, such as 116 Norfolk, a partnership with the Cambridge Housing Authority that received $10 million
of funding from the Affordable Housing Trust (AHT). This project created 62 studio apartments for
people transitioning out of homelessness and included long-term operational funding for onsite case
management, clinical, and supportive services. This kind of housing not only provides a safe and
dignified home, but also the resources to help people thrive and succeed.
I recognize that the budget process requires difficult trade-offs, especially as we face greater economic
constraints. This year, the planned closure of the Transition Wellness Center (TWC), a 58-bed adult
emergency shelter that was established during the pandemic with ARPA dollars became a late but
important point of debate. The TWC closure had already been extended almost two years with additional
ARPA funds to summer 2025. City staff and partnering nonprofits worked hard to transition people at
TWC to other housing options. We have also opened 96 new permanent supportive housing units,
including the 62 units as part of 116 Norfolk, and another 34 permanent supportive housing units as part
of two projects that received $8 million of AHT funding. Throughout these conversations, it was clear
that there was a desire from the Council to do more to address our housing crisis, and so we built an
additional $1 million into the FY26 budget to establish municipal housing vouchers for the unhoused.
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This program is rolling out quickly with resident screening starting over the summer, and vouchers being
prepared to be issued soon.
We have met our goal of maintaining a strong fiscal position and AAA bond rating, which we achieved
from all three major bond rating agencies. A high bond rating is not just a financial advantage that
provides us with lower borrowing costs, but also a sign that our fiscal policies and management are
secure, and that the City will have the financial strength to accomplish our long-term goals.
We also continue to be on track to finalize our ARPA contracts and fully expend the dollars we have
available. We have made strong progress since our last report to City Council in March when we reported
to the City Council that 80% of ARPA funds had been expended. As of September 30, 90% of the total
allocation has now been spent. This 90% represents just under $79 million, with approximately $9 million
remaining spread across 44 projects and most balances under $100,000. About half of these projects sit
with nonprofit community organizations and we have until September 2026 to fully expend these final
funds. The City prioritized using ARPA funds to support our most vulnerable residents, with the largest
funding categories representing public health funding during the height of the pandemic, the Rise Up
program, housing and homelessness, small business support, food insecurity, direct support for
nonprofits, sustainability efforts, education and job training, and arts and culture.
It is this final note that underlines the challenges ahead of us. During the pandemic crisis, we were
working closely with the federal government and provided financial resources to protect our community
from the worst impacts. Today, it is the federal government that is causing the financial uncertainty we
face – from layoffs of federal workers to the threat of unconstitutional terminations and conditions on
federal grant dollars. The government shutdown is another stark example of how the federal
administration is fighting to pull resources from the most vulnerable in our community – and we will need
to be attentive, proactive, and judicious about how we mitigate those impacts and deploy City resources.
We cannot ultimately fill the full gaps that are left, but we will, as a community, be making these
decisions together.
Closing Thoughts
During this time of so much distrust in government, my commitment remains the same – that Cambridge
stands out in our commitment to democratic government, that we communicate our decisions and
deliberations transparently, that we demonstrate that we can make decisions even through disagreements,
and that we make real progress on our most challenging problems.
I have great hope, even in these times. We have amazing City leaders and staff who are going above and
beyond to serve residents and build innovative programs. We have partners throughout Cambridge scaling
nonprofit organizations, building businesses, and educating the next generation of leaders. And we have
residents who show up, provide feedback, and are engaging in their local government. I’m grateful for our
City Council, that continues to stand out as one of the most representative, transparent, and effective
elected bodies in the Commonwealth.
We can make this beautiful community better, each and every day. Thank you for the opportunity to serve
and for the work we do together.