Cambridge Civic Journal Forum

All Things Reconsidered… at the Sept 21, 2020 Cambridge City Council meeting

Here are a few items of note up for consideration (or reconsideration) at this week’s meeting:

Reconsideration #1. That the city council extend the current contract with city manager Louis DePasquale for a period of 18 months.
Reconsideration Failed 3-6 (Nolan, Sobrinho-Wheeler, Zondervan – YES)

Communications & Reports #2. A communication was received from Councillor Nolan, transmitting a memorandum on Filing for Reconsideration.
Placed on File 9-0

Communications & Reports #3. A communication was received from Anthony I. Wilson, City Clerk, transmitting a communication from the City Solicitor with a red-lined corrected version and a clean corrected version of the proposed contract that was before the City Council at its meeting of Monday, September 14, 2020.
Contract Approved 6-3 (Nolan, Sobrinho-Wheeler, Zondervan – NO); Reconsideration Fails 9-0

Reconsideration of a hasty vote is entirely proper. However, regarding taking a raise during a pandemic, there’s this (as of July 1, 2020 – during pandemic – according to Open Data Portal):

Councillor salary increased by $2,253 to $85,844 (2.7% increase)
Mayor’s salary increased by $3,365 to $128,194 (2.7% increase)
Council Aide increased by $14,890 to $67,831 (28.1% increase) – partially deferred due to COVID
plus benefits for all.

The rhetoric from Councillor Nolan and some activists suggests that there was great confusion associated with the final contract proposal introduced only very late and approved during last Monday’s meeting. It’s true that those details should have been available long before that – maybe even weeks before – but almost all of the proposed contract is the same as the previous contract, including the annual 2.5% raises on July 1 of each year – the same as other City employees, including city councillors (see above). The only deviations are (a) that there should be a 2.5% increase at the signing of the contract; (b) the end date of the contract is July 5, 2022 (just 5 days after the final 2.5% raise); and (c) the removal of the provision for annual evaluations – which is not surprising given the fact that all indications are that this is a terminal contract extension.

My sense, and I have not spoken with anyone about this, is that the additional increases are more like consolation for an incredibly qualified city manager who is receiving a terminal contract extension for the most superficial of political reasons. There will be another municipal election a year from now and we can only hope that (a) some better candidates emerge who are more than just single-issue revolutionaries; and (b) that Cambridge voters somehow come to realize that City government is about more than just a few predictable hot-button issues. Maybe a big jump in residential property taxes will wake some voters from their slumber, but that likely won’t raise even an eyebrow among other voters not actually writing the check to the City – even if the increases are factored into their rent.

Charter Right #1. A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 20-39 and 20-40, regarding contacting the new owners of Jerry’s Pond and discussing next steps in the potential restoration and improvements to Jerry’s Pond and its surrounding areas. [CHARTER RIGHT EXERCISED BY MAYOR SIDDIQUI IN COUNCIL SEPT 14, 2020]
Referred to NLTP Committee 9-0

Charter Right #2. That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to confer with the Traffic, Parking and Transportation Department, the Economic Development Department, the Harvard Square Business Association, the Harvard Square Neighborhood Association and Harvard University on the implementation of closing several blocks of streets in Harvard Square as soon as possible to vehicular traffic, with the exception of deliveries, using the attached map as one possible vision. [CHARTER RIGHT EXERCISED BY COUNCILLOR SIMMONS IN COUNCIL SEPT 14, 2020]
Adopted as Amended 8-0-0-1 (Toomey – PRESENT)

By the time any such changes might be implemented it will be late Fall or early Winter and any advantages for Harvard Square businesses will be moot. Maybe these might make sense in the Spring, but hopefully things will be better by then on the COVID front. Also, the particular plan proposed leaves a lot to be desired.

Applications & Petitions #1. A Zoning Petition Has been received from Cambridge Redevelopment Authority regarding a Zoning Ordinance to reflect the proposed changes to the KSURP.
Referred to Ordinance Committee & Planning Board 9-0

The proposed changes are related to the alternate site within the MXD District for the electrical substation that was the subject of much controversy over the last couple of years. In addition to the siting of the substation, the proposal also adjusts the timing for when previously planned housing will be delivered, increases permissible heights to 250 feet throughout the MXD District with the allowance of up to 400 feet for one residential building, plus other changes.

Order #2. Support for Extended Outdoor Dining PO.   Vice Mayor Mallon, Mayor Siddiqui, Councillor Simmons, Councillor Nolan
Order Adopted 9-0

This Order is about easing the permitting process for the use of outdoor heat lamps in order to allow restaurants to maintain their outdoor operations later into the season.

Order #3. That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to confer with Claude Jacob, Chief Public Health Officer, as to the feasibility of creating such a program [antibody testing for COVID-19] and report back to the City Council on this matter by Oct 12, 2020.   Mayor Siddiqui, Vice Mayor Mallon, Councillor Carlone, Councillor McGovern
Order Adopted 9-0

I’m not so sure what the added value of extensive COVID-related antibody testing will be at this point, but I look forward to the response from Claude Jacob. Information is great, but primarily if it can be used for a good purpose.

Order #6. That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to notify all tenants of abutting properties whenever property owners are notified, addressing them by name if known or as “RESIDENT” if not.   Councillor Zondervan, Councillor McGovern, Mayor Siddiqui, Councillor Nolan, Vice Mayor Mallon, Councillor Carlone, Councillor Simmons, Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Councillor Toomey
Order Adopted as Amended 9-0

I’m sure my tenants will be absolutely captivated by this information judging from all those copies of glossy City publications that go sight unseen into the recycling bin.

Order #7. That the City Council go on record in support for requiring large sources of stormwater pollution to obtain permits under the Clean Water Act.   Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Councillor Nolan, Councillor Zondervan, Councillor McGovern
Order Adopted 9-0

Good idea, but I think the main sources of pollutants that lead to cyanobacteria blooms are most likely upstream from Cambridge.

And then there’s this:

A Special City Council meeting is scheduled for this Wednesday, September 23 at 5:30pm "to discuss a charter review with representatives of the Collins Center." A number of Cambridge listservs are now actively commenting on the notion of possibly changing the city’s Plan E Charter. I have no idea if there are five votes on the City Council to pursue such a thing, but it does strike me as a strange pursuit based primarily on some city councillors simply not getting their way on every little thing.

I have some questions currently about whether our Proportional Representation election system is actually now producing a representative City Council and School Committee, but I lay the blame for that primarily on the laziness of voters rather than on the election system itself. It’s also a big problem that we typically get candidates for City Council and School committee who are more interested in inflammatory single issues or ideology than they are in helping to effectively guide city government or the public schools. This, of course, has become a problem here and elsewhere regardless of the election system.

Regarding the matter of having professionally managed government with the City Council setting general policies versus a "strong mayor" system, I will simply suggest that you should be careful what you wish for. Strong mayor systems, like Boston, inevitably mean even weaker city councils and if a mayor owes his or her election to a slim majority in a popular election it’s not at all uncommon that those who didn’t vote for the mayor may be entirely shut out. It’s also quite common that once elected, a mayor becomes "mayor for life" – in contrast with our tradition of having the Chair of the City Council and the School Committee turn over with some frequency.

In short, I think it’s good to have an occasional review of the pros and cons of our Plan E Charter, but I wouldn’t trust this current City Council, or the advocacy groups to whom some of them seem to be accountable, to decide on what, if anything, might preferably be changed. – Robert Winters