#SomervilleMA City Council thread. Let's start with some drama. The $250k taken from SPD was redirected to Social Racial & Justice. A executive office project. Later, it was moved to City Council. But now...

https://twitter.com/DerrickAndADog/status/1282076261330952192

1/?

Now that it's been moved to the City Council, it is revealed that it only needs to be $120k. (my read of the budget pdf)

Let's be clear. It was $250k under @JoeCurtatone 's control, but $120k when sent to City Council.

Cool. Cool cool cool.

2/?

Item 1: A public hearing on construction. TC Systems submitted plans to trench through an ADA-compliant crosswalk, which @JTforWard2 notes isn't a simple repair. (Many of our ADA crosswalks *aren't* compliant due to them being installed wrong.)

Won't be approved tonight.

3/?

Finance committee reports are being approved. An annoying process thing: meeting minutes cannot be posted publicly until the city council approves them. Which means that up until this point, the public hasn't seen the minutes.

4/?

@JTforWard2 takes the opportunity to highlight how this budget season stood out:

- Finance largely tackled in committee, not all as-a-whole.
- Huge public engagement (that's us!)
- Other praise for how hard the councilors worked.

(As a reminder, S'Ville CC is part-time)

5/?

Now the revised budget (really just the original budget plus a memo) is before the councilor. @JTforWard2 says it looks all in order. (no mention of the reduction of $250k to $120k for civilian oversight committee)

6/?

@Maryjorossetti has some questions out to Health and Human Services Director Kress that hadn't yet been answered. D. Kress isn't here.

Apparently the numbers don't add up, and - with no explanation - Mary Jo intends to get to cutting.

7/?

Apparently, H&HS and/or budget can't get their story straight. Conflicting explanations, including directly from Mr Mastrobuoni (budget director) vs a memo from the very same day vs the explanation from H&HS previously.

@Maryjorossetti is not having it. Moves to cut.

8/?

The demand for accuracy in budgeting and the expectation that folks answer - with clarity - when City Council has questions... is bumping up against the discomfort of making cuts from Health & Human Svcs.

9/?

3 Councilors vote in favor of the cut -- with the intention of holding the administration accountable to precision and correctness -- and 8 vote against it -- with the intention of supporting H&HS during a pandemic.

10/?

@Ward5Mark praises the administration for their participation in the budget, putting it in contrast with prior years which were far worse (more combative and less engaged.)

It's nice to be reminded of slow but incremental progress by those who've been around a while.

11/?

@lancedavis joins the thanks for the adminstration. And highlights that City Council will have a budget. $250k he says.

Uhm. Uh oh. Either I'm wrong, or he hasn't yet seen that it's only $120k.

This is what can happen when details are shared less than 24 hours ahead.

12/?

Everyone is thanking @JTforWard2 (finance cmte chair), other councilors, and the administration.

Budget season is hell. I can understand the victory lap. Everyone (so far) seems very happy with the result. I'm curious to see if anyone speaks with a different tone.

13/?

Apparently it's "amazing" that the city reinvested budget cuts into the services that the City Council recommended.

(again, perspective of how bad it had been in the past)

14/?

@KatjBallantyne kindly takes her colleagues aside and encourages them to be more patient when working with the administration. Kindly. I read this as an authentic desire to take the high road, and to steer the administration/city-council relation towards more collab.

15/?

@somershade1 and @mmastrobuonii clarified the $250k vs $120k thing.

$120k is the estimate of what the administration intended to do. The actual budget to City Council is $250k.

Phew. I am SO GLAD to be wrong. Being wrong is nice.

16/?

Also, the revised budget was passed, and we're quickly doing all the procedure *stuff* of actually passing the stuff necessary.

17/?

This mostly consists of the clerk having to read each item. "Requesting the appropriation of $_____ to fund ____"

18/?

Now that all the finance stuff is done, back to normal business.

19/?

@KristenEStrezo put a resolution forward for the Director of Inspectional Services to report on it's implementation plans for enforcement of Tenant Notification Law (new to 2020, and relevant to upcoming mass evictions).

20/?

A flurry of resolutions and requests for information from the administration on a variety of community services concerns (incl. diversity and pay disparity in E911 and 311 services) by @KristenEStrezo .

21/?

Today I learned about https://www.somervillema.gov/childrenscabinet

22/?

I was half listening and if I heard correctly, Councilor Davis *(jokingly) moved a resolution for Mary Jo to "give 'em hell", related to eversource being non-cooperative (SHS building related?)

CC is about to go to summer recess, so special permits will be hard to get.

23/?

Oh look, the Mayor still hasn't come to explain what it means to have a declaration of racism as a public health emergency.

(hint: it's symbolic and good PR. It doesn't mean anything in practice)

24/?

Several committee reports (and verbal recaps) including an issue on the Appointments & Personnel Committee related to irregularities or lack of transparency in who gets put forward for promotions and whether it opens the city up to labor law risk.

25/?

@JesseForWard4 puts forward a resolution for city council & mayor to jointly draft a letter to the Constables: decline any request to aid in an eviction.

As a reminder there's an upcoming wave of mass evictions. It'd be nice if our appointed officials didn't partake.

26/?

@KatjBallantyne wants to know what's up with @TuftsUniversity re-opening (in person) in September. Particularly given Somerville's objection to lots of the reopening that's happening right now.

Several other councilors agree: "WTF?"

27/?

Final bit of business: City Council summer recess.

"People can use it in any way they like. I already have a bunch of community meetings lined up." @MattForWard1 uses his vacation to do more work.

oh wait.. one other weird thing.

28/?

Apparently it's routine (or ritual) to take a vote to RECONSIDER all financial items previously voted on. They all vote yes to reconsider, and then they later vote no to change their vote.

I believe this preempts any possible later intent to reconsider.

29/?

fin.

30/30.