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As discussed in previous newsletters, I’ve been working on covid-19 emergency rental assistance in Newton because so many Ward 5 residents along and south of Route 9 are renters. The program is now up and running with a budget of $2.5 million in federal and Community Preservation dollars.
This program could be critical not just to keeping many Newton families affected by the pandemic or economic crisis in their homes during this precarious time but also to preserving our economic stability as a city. A sudden increase in vacancies could spell disaster for our local economy, already in a dire position.
You can find out about the details of the rental assistance program – including eligibility and how to apply at newtonma.gov/housingrelief. The deadline for initial applications is June 3rd, which is coming up quickly!
(There are also small business recovery grants too with a deadline of May 27.)
I spent last weekend and much of last week on foot in Ward 5 going door to door (with appropriate social distance and protective gear!) among some 400+ rental properties to drop off leaflets from the City of Newton to try to get the word out to as many constituents as possible.
While I was not knocking or ringing the bell, it was nice to get back out onto the streets of Ward 5 like I did so often last year, and I actually ran into quite a few people I know.
I would encourage all of you reading this newsletter to spread the word to your own email lists, to your Facebook pages and groups, and to other social media. And if you are a resident of one of the medium to large apartment complexes and can help distribute leaflets inside those buildings to your neighbors, please let me know.
Thank you to everyone who has already assisted in this time-sensitive effort.
Budget Season continues
As I outlined in my last newsletter, most of the work of the City Council right now is focused on reviewing the proposed FY21 city budget, which had to be scaled back sharply and quickly in light of the economic devastation related to the pandemic. We are expecting an even more alarming budget situation next year, but we can’t reliably project the situation far enough ahead to anticipate it now, so we’re hoping the revised budget proposal for this year at least carries us far enough to make a longer-term plan for how to handle next year when we have more information.
As a reminder from my previous newsletter note: “We [on City Council] can vote yes or no on the entire budget, we can reduce line items (but not increase them), and we can pass resolutions to the Mayor about specific ideas or recommendations we have, but they are not binding. We cannot add to the budget, unlike Congress or the State Legislature.”
So far, the committees on which I sit have reviewed the proposed budgets for the following departments: Historic Newton, Veterans Services, Health and Human Services, Parks Recreation & Culture, Assessing, IT, Purchasing, & Executive/Sustainability, Law, Senior Services, the Library, and the City Clerk's office.
The theme for most of these departments is small cuts or virtually no change and a lot of deferrals of projects or hiring for 6 months if not an entire fiscal year. A few departments (like Health and Human Services unsurprisingly) saw budget increases. Some departments would have seen decreases anyway, but many had to scramble to make changes in the weeks following the pandemic lockdown.
The two departments (of those above that I’ve reviewed so far in committees I’m on) that will likely have the biggest sting for the public will be the last-minute cuts to Parks Recreation & Culture and the closure of the Newton Free Library on Sundays for the whole year. The Library had been hoping to restore year-round Sunday hours after a period of Sunday hours only being gone during the summer season. Unfortunately, the course was reversed when the budget was re-drafted to account for the changed economic situation.
One bright spot, however: Start putting in your library item holds online now because we are going to start having curbside pickup (already being planned before this pandemic!) within a week or two, and library staff are expecting it to be very popular!
Finally, I have also been appointed to a working group to undertake a comprehensive review of the Council's standing rules. The other members are Councilor Brenda Noel, Programs & Services Chair Josh Krintzman, and Council President Emeritus Lisle Baker, who will chair the working group.
Memorial Day
This year is an exceptionally strange Memorial Day (especially without the traditional parade), and it is a particularly difficult one for many of our friends, neighbors, and relatives with some 100,000 deaths nationwide so far from this pandemic. Memorial Day holds a special resonance in places like Massachusetts because of its partial origins among African-American veterans and freed slaves honoring those in the Union Army who gave their lives in the American Civil War to end slavery; many of them, White or Black, came from Massachusetts, filled with a particular sense of purpose and sense of obligation to our fellow humans, even when not everyone in charge or in the ranks even agreed on the ultimate objective of the war. Today we still honor the many Massachusetts abolitionists who volunteered for the great war of liberation, giving their lives in the belief that we are not free until all of us are free. That sense of duty to one another, even at great cost and sacrifice, is a good reminder in a pandemic situation where the lives of those around us depend so heavily on our own actions from moment to moment and day to day, often at great cost to ourselves and our families.
In Lieu of Office Hours
Constituents are always welcome to call me (or email me) during this crisis when we can’t do in-person office hours. And I appreciate those of you who have reached out with questions, concerns, or ideas for what the city can be doing during this crisis. In some cases, I’ve been able to get individuals or businesses directed to various higher-level government officials who can tackle their cases. Let me know if I can help you, too.
I have also been continuing to sit in on the (virtual) meetings of the Upper Falls, Newton Highlands, and Waban Area councils each month.