Government Affairs Archive: January 30, 2008

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January 30, 2008 GAC Update

The Council met on Monday and discussed a variety of items including personal finance, potholes, parking, plastic bags and housing and received a Committee Report regarding “green jobs.” The School Committee met on Tuesday and voted to extend Superintendent Thomas Fowler-Finn’s contract. The Cambridge Nanomaterials Advisory Committee meets tonight to continue discussions on the Committee’s report to the City Manager.

Correction from last week’s Update: In reporting on attendees at Leaders 2008 Middlesex County Clerk of Court Michael Sullivan’s position was mentioned but not his name. Thanks to those who contacted the Chamber about this omission and apologies to Michael Sullivan.

The Chamber will host a GAC/Executive Speaker luncheon on Tuesday March 18, 2008. Our guest will be Suzanne M. Bump, Secretary, Labor and Workforce Development of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. More details to come.

The April GAC meeting and luncheon is scheduled for April 29 and our guest will be James Scafide from the Office of the Attorney General.

Upcoming GAC Events

The 2008 Government Affairs program is sponsored by Genzyme.

City Manager to Speak at February GAC
Cambridge City Manager Robert Healy will be our guest at the February GAC meeting and luncheon scheduled for noon, Tuesday February 26 at the Chamber Board Room. If you plan to attend please RSVP to Terrence Smith, Director of Government Affairs at tsmith@cambridgechamber.org or by phone at 617-876-4213.

March GAC/Executive Speaker Luncheon
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Guest: Suzanne M. Bump, Secretary, Labor and Workforce Development of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. More details to come.

April GAC Meeting and Luncheon
Tuesday April 29, 2008
James Scafide, Chief of the Business Technology and Economic Development Division of the Office of Massachusetts Attorney General, will be our guest at the April GAC meeting and luncheon. He will discuss Attorney General Martha Coakley’s initiatives around job creation and economic development and is interested in learning what issues are of importance to the Cambridge business community.

The meeting and luncheon is scheduled for Tuesday, April 29 at noon at the Chamber Board Room. Note that for this month we will be meeting the last Tuesday rather than the fourth Tuesday of the month. If you plan to attend please RSVP to Terrence Smith, Director of Government Affairs at tsmith@cambridgechamber.org or by phone at 617-876-4213.

January 28, 2008 City Council Meeting

The City Council met on Monday and received reports from the City Manager responding to Council Policy Orders regarding assisting individuals with personal finance and the City’s work to fill potholes. The Council passed policy orders regarding parking meters, plastic bags, fines for un-shoveled walks and the City’s housing policies. The Council also received a Committee Report from a hearing held last term regarding Green Jobs.

City Program Provides Personal Finance Education to Residents
In response to a Policy Order asking the City to review a program in San Francisco that assists residents understand personal finance and establish bank accounts the City Manager reported (City Manager Agenda Item 1) that the City has such a program in place. The Council learned that participants attend six classes covering a number of personal finance issues and graduates receive $25 from East Cambridge Savings Bank to open an account with the bank.

During discussion Assistant City Manager for Community Development Beth Rubenstein reported that the program serves about twelve people per session and sessions are held twice a year. She also reported that more than 500 people a year receive similar information through the City’s first-time homebuyer program.

Pothole Repair Work On-Going
In response to a policy order asking the City Manager to allocate an additional $300,000 to repair roadway hazards the City Manager reported (City Manager Agenda Item 3) that the City has budgeted $8.2 million for street and sidewalk reconstruction projects and that the Department of Public Works is constantly identifying and repairing potholes. He reports that he will not allocate additional funding at this time. The Manager also notes that in this time of year pothole activity increases due to fluctuating weather conditions. In discussion the City Manager stated that DPW crews are regularly filling potholes when weather permits and when they are not responding to other emergencies such as snow and ice.

30 Minute Parking Meters
The Council passed Policy Order 2 asking the Director of Traffic, Transportation and Parking to discuss phasing out 30 minutes parking meters and making all meters a minimum of one hour.

Increase Fines for Un-Shoveled Walks
The Council passed Policy Order 3 asking the City Manager to increase penalties assessed to property owners for not shoveling walks following snow. The proposal asks the City Manager to consider an increase in the fine assessed on owners of commercial properties and would assess a per-unit fine on non-resident owners of residential properties.

In discussion of the fine on residential properties the proposal was explained as requiring that the current $35 fine be multiplied by the number of units in a building. A ten unit building with an un-shoveled walk would be fined $350, for example. Under the current regulations the fine is levied without regard to the number of units.

Plastic Bags
The Council passed Policy Orders 4 and 5 which address the issues of plastic bags. The first order asks that the City’s Recycling program include plastic bags for curb-side pick-up. The second order asks the City Manager to provide a “Zero Waste” timeline regarding plastic bags. During the last term the Council asked the City Manager to look at ways the City could ban the use of plastic bags by commercial establishments.

Housing Moratorium Proposed
Policy Order 10 asks the City Manager to take appropriate steps to establish a moratorium on housing development until an evaluation of the City’s zoning ordinance requested in an order passed by the previous Council is completed and zoning amended as appropriate. The Council discussed concerns about density in specific parts of the City and parking and traffic issues were also raised. The City Council has scheduled a Special Meeting for March 5 to discuss the City’s overall housing policy.

Committee report on Green Jobs
The Council received a report (Committee Report 1) from a meeting of the Council’s Cable TV, Telecommunications and Public Utilities Committee meeting held last term regarding jobs created from environmental and energy efficiency investments. The Committee learned about the likely growth in demand for people with skills to install energy efficiency equipment and materials and work being done on this issue within the School Department, by building-trade unions and organizations working with youth.

School Superintendent's Contract to be Extended

The School Committee met on Tuesday and the major item discussed was the extension of Superintendent Thomas Fowler-Finn’s contract. Under his current contract, which expires in August of this year, the School Committee was required to address this issue by January 31. This vote begins the process for negotiating the extension of the contract. The vote was 4-3 with Mayor E. Denise Simmons, and School Committee members Fred Fantini, Joe Grassi, and Nancy Tauber voting for the extension and Committee members Marc McGovern, Patty Nolan, and Luc Schuster voting against extending the contract.

For a listing of public meetings, visit the Public Meetings link or the Public Meeting Notices area of the City of Cambridge Web site.