Communication from Finance co-chairs: Process for Identifying Future Budget Priorities, Part 3

Thank you for taking the time to meet in the Finance Committee both on February 25, 2026 and again on April 9, 2026 and your willingness to continue to collaborate on establishing future Budget Priorities. The purpose of this memo is to close the loop on the Council Prioritization Process and set expectations for how to work through these priorities over time.

Through the Finance Committee meetings earlier this year, we collectively worked to identify priorities, refine the list, and vote to prioritize 3 different items to scope in collaboration with City staff. The selection of these three priorities is not intended to preclude work on other initiatives; rather, this exercise was designed to provide direction and focus for staff capacity in the near term.

The Approach:

Step 1: Confirm the List of Initiatives (this was the February 25 meeting) We reviewed and discussed a longer list of initiatives identified by reviewing previous prioritization sessions, committee hearings, and policy orders, and through discussions with individual councillors, the Mayor, and City staff. This list, which was organized by Council Priority Areas, was further refined and amended based on the substantive discussion on February 25.

Step 2: Identify a Focused Set of Priorities (this was the April 9 meeting)

Through a phased approach, we worked through a collaborative process to identify within the list of initiatives, 3 initiatives to scope with City staff and the City Manager. We did this through a phased approach of submitting a list of 4 line items from the longer list to prioritize, which resulted in a tiered list that helped us refine.

At the April 9 meeting, after discussion and future refining the list to combine items related to Afterschool and Preschool, the Finance Committee identified 3 clear initiatives that were prioritized by the most councillors: Social Housing, Supportive Housing, and Childcare Expansion. The Finance Committee voted to adopt those items as the top stated council priorities.

Step 3: Define a Working Process (we are here)

Set up a clear process by which the Council and City staff can work through details and check in on the selected 2-3 priority initiatives. We need to ensure that program development and decision points are transparent, in line with Council priorities and that the City Manager is responsive to these priority initiatives. The process may include directing work through a specific committee or an Ad Hoc committee, as well as the Finance Committee, and/or the formation of a working group or task force. We will also be able to weigh in on progress on Council priority areas through the annual City Manager performance review process.

As we’ve discussed, these ideas and these priorities are not new. They represent ongoing work and initiatives years in the making, and so we are discussing these items in the current context. Some of that 1

context is outlined in the chart below under the “notes” section - this is a selection from the same chart we have been looking at for a few months now. Below are summaries of each of the three items we have prioritized and a projected path forward:

Social Housing

On May 18, 2026, the City Manager delivered CMA 2026 #141 and CMA 2026 #152 which were responsive to POR 2025 #131 and to a Housing Committee hearing on December 16, 2025 that brought together social housing stakeholders to discuss the potential for social housing. The Mayor and City Manager have appointed a task force that has been charged with evaluating and presenting a social housing model in Cambridge.

Supportive Housing

The Supportive Housing Expansion line item that Councillors determined to prioritize was an amalgamation of a number of related items including: Albany Street Shelter expansion, Day Center, Housing Voucher expansion, and Overdose Prevention Center. Analyzing the current state of supportive housing investment within the city and what goals the Council and the City would like to pursue will be an important backdrop for scoping. Possible next steps include a Human Services Committee meeting (or a joint meeting with another committee) to discuss the landscape of supportive housing and defining the scope of expanded investment.

Childcare Expansion

On April 27, 2026, the City Manager delivered CMA 2026 #92 which was responsive to POR 2026 #34 asking the City Manager to work to implement a process by which Cambridge can expand early childcare offerings. The report included information on current CPP programming, policy considerations for means testing future programming, opportunities for expansion, and recommendations for future work.

The Mayor is scheduling a Roundtable Meeting for the end of June to discuss this report with the City Council and the School Committee. The Office of Early Childhood is currently partnering with researchers at the Harvard Kennedy School and with a City-wide Infant-Toddler Working group to conduct a landscape analysis of the infant-toddler sector and will draft a set of policy recommendations based on the findings of this landscape analysis.

Thank you all for working through this prioritization process in the first part of this term. We believe it will provide important structure for how we approach staff time and future budget cycles. We look forward to continuing to pursue these priorities in a structured way that promotes collaboration between the City Council and the City administration.

With gratitude,

Patricia Nolan

City Councillor

Finance Committee Co-Chair

Ayah Al-Zubi

City Councillor

Finance Committee Co-Chair

2

Priority (Categorized

by priority area) Implications on

Capital Budget

Committee Path (all

eventually involve Finance) Project narrative examples and notes

Housing and Zoning

Social Housing

Revolving Fund

Capital Expenses

Housing Example: Funding the acquisition and development of a social housing portfolio.

Several policy orders including POR 2025 #131 and committee conversations including Housing Committee in December 2025. Could be included in a larger conversation around housing priorities and strategies of the Affordable Housing Trust.

Supportive Housing

Expansion

(combined / related items include: Albany

Street Shelter

expansion, Day

Center, Housing

Voucher expansion, or Overdose

Prevention Center)

Capital Expenses

Housing &

Human Services

&

Public Safety

Example: Creating additional housing and shelter capacity to create non-congregate and supportive shelter options, expanding the municipal housing voucher program, operating a Day Center or Overdose Prevention Center.

Committee conversations including the Mayor’s Task Force on Tenant Displacement, the Ad Hoc Working Group on Homelessness, and Human Services Committee on April 10, 2025 and policy orders including POR 2025 #50. Could be discussed in context of the Affordable Housing Trust and housing funding priorities. The City has recently supported the creation of 96 units of permanent supportive housing across three buildings, with $18 million of funding from the Affordable Housing Trust.