Budget Politics – Retail vs. Wholesale: What’s on Sale on the June 15, 2020 Cambridge City Council Agenda?
Here a few agenda items of note:
Charter Right #1. That the City Manager be and is hereby requested to report back to the Council on how some, or all, of the $4.1 million dollar increase in the Police Department budget between FY20 and FY21 may be redirected towards measures that promote public health and safety in other departments. [CHARTER RIGHT EXERCISED BY COUNCILLOR SOBRINHO-WHEELER IN COUNCIL JUNE 10, 2020]
Communications #2. A communication was received from Jae Storozum, 16 Whittier Street, regarding a response to Police Commissioner Bard’s statement.
Communications & Reports #1. A communication was received from Councillor Zondervan, transmitting Amendments to Policy Order 2020 #133 (a.k.a. Order #7 from June 8 / Charter Right #1 on current agenda).
The June 8-10 City Council meeting provided an interesting study in Retail vs. Wholesale Politics. Most local candidates are familiar with retail politics – the kind of person-to person politics that involves lots of questions, conversations, coffee, shoe leather, and door-knocking. In contrast, there’s wholesale politics which many of us still associate with TV commercials, billboards, and mass mailings. The fact is that wholesale politics is now more likely to take the form of social media campaigns, ginormous email lists culled from various sources within your tribe, and devices like the "political action network" or something similar that can engineer a mass email campaign or drive people to a website or (in the pandemic world we now find ourselves) to a public meeting hosted in Zoom. There is a fundamental asymmetry between how activists at either end of the political spectrum democratically participate versus how moderates participate. Suffice to say that it’s unlikely that you’ll ever see a flood of moderates inundating a public meeting or laying down in the middle of a highway – even if theirs is the more common point of view. They do, however, vote.
Whether you believe Cambridge Police are wonderful, are already making needed reforms, are in need of restructuring, or whether they should be outright abolished (a non-starter), it’s interesting to see how different people attempt to make their case. I won’t pretend to know where most people really stand on some of these policing issues – locally or elsewhere, but I do think it’s pretty clear that public opinion has been growing more firm in the belief that police departments everywhere need to be more accountable when it comes to the use of deadly force. The salient question in Cambridge is whether the Cambridge Police Department has been moving in a good direction and whether that should be supported. I believe that Police Commissioner Branville Bard and his department have been clearly moving in a good direction for some time now and that they should be supported. I would love to see a more broad discussion over this coming year on what other steps might be taken, including looking at overtime pay and the costs associated with police details, and not just on which functions might be outsourced. Commissioner Bard’s focus on "procedural justice" should absolutely be supported. I really would rather not see our elected officials carry out a "vote of no confidence" via a symbolic and purely political act of "defunding." If you want to cut budgets, look at the whole FY2021 Budget and don’t just single out the Police Department budget in the spirit of "Give us Barabbas" in order to placate the crowd.
Then there’s the matter of councillors continuing to engage in one-upmanship, but there’s not a hell of a lot we can do about that.
Manager’s Agenda #1. A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to an update on COVID-19.
Here’s one question that I hope someone will address: Now that the number of new cases of coronavirus per day has dropped considerably, is there any indication of how these new infections are most likely occurring? There recently was a chart circulating indicating relative risk of various activities. That was helpful in demystifying the threat. We could really use more information like that.
Manager’s Agenda #9. A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to a response to the City Council forwarding the ITD budget with an unfavorable recommendation.
Manager’s Agenda #10. Transmitting Communication from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to the appropriation of $50,000 from Free Cash to the Grant Fund Executive Other Ordinary Maintenance account which will be used to support the City’s digital equity efforts to support qualifying families during the COVID19 pandemic who do not have Internet access at home.
This is progress. I’m not convinced either way what the best course of action will be regarding municipal broadband vs. making the best of available resources, but maybe this analysis (and the counter-analysis) will convince me one way or the other.
Committee Report #1. A communication was received from Anthony I. Wilson, City Clerk, transmitting a report from Councillor E. Denise Simmons and Councillor Dennis J. Carlone, Co-Chairs of the Finance Committee, for a public hearing held on May 26, 2020, June 2, 2020 and on June 3, 2020 to discuss the General Fund Budget.
Committee Report #2. A communication was received from Anthony I. Wilson, City Clerk, transmitting a report from Councillor E. Denise Simmons and Dennis Carlone, Co-Chairs of the Finance Committee, for a public hearing held on June 2, 2020 to discuss the Water Fund.
Committee Report #3. A communication was received from Anthony I. Wilson, City Clerk, transmitting a report from Councillor E. Denise Simmons and Councillor Dennis Carlone, Co-Chairs of the Finance Committee, for a public hearing held on June 2, 2020 to discuss the Public Investment Fund.
Unfinished Business #5. Transmitting Communication from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, requesting the appropriation and authorization to borrow $6,500,000 to provide funds for the design and construction of various water pollution abatement projects, including but not limited to Sewer Capital Repairs Program and climate change preparedness efforts.
Unfinished Business #6. Transmitting Communication from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, requesting the appropriation and authorization to borrow $1,800,000 to provide funds for various Schools for repairs to electrical service, roof replacement, chiller replacement, floor replacement and replacement of bi-directional amplifier and antenna in various school buildings.
Unfinished Business #7. Transmitting Communication from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, requesting the appropriation and authorization to borrow $5,000,000 to provide funds for the reconstruction of various City streets and sidewalks.
Unfinished Business #8. Transmitting Communication from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, requesting the appropriation and authorization to borrow $16,000,000 to provide funds for the Municipal Facilities Improvement Plan which will support improvements at the Department of Public works Complex including the Ryan Garage, Lafayette Square Firehouse structural repair, and other municipal buildings.
Unfinished Business #9. Transmitting Communication from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, requesting the appropriation and authorization to borrow $9,000,000 to provide funds for the construction of improvements of the Lexington Avenue and River Street Firehouses.
Unfinished Business #10. Transmitting Communication from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, requesting the appropriation and authorization to borrow $237,000,000 to provide funds for the design and construction of the Tobin Montessori and Vassal Lane Upper School.
I suppose the only real questions re: the FY2021 Budget vote are (1) whether there will be a symbolic "defund the police" rescission; (2) whether the Council will "send a message" on the municipal broadband question; and (3) whether there will be any further gazing into the crystal ball about the continued impact of Covid-19 on residents, property values, rents, sustainability of businesses, tax revenue, and funding priorities. – Robert Winters