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March 1, 2006 GAC Update
The City Council met on Monday and voted to renew the City Manager’s contract. The Council also received a report from the City Manager regarding the City’s bond rating from the three rating agencies.
Mayor Reeves addressed the February meeting of the GAC yesterday and discussed plans for his term as Mayor.
Please register for the March GAC/Women in Business Executive Speaker Luncheon with Lesley University President Margaret McKenna. President McKenna is going to be speaking on Lesley University’s role in the Cambridge community, the university’s future and its growth in Porter Square. This talk will be of interest to GAC members interested in the physical development of the area between Harvard and Porter Square and those interested in our Public Schools as Lesley has been along-time partner with the Cambridge School department. Register at http://www.cambridgechamber.org/chamber/viewevent.html?id=146.
February 27 City Council Meeting
City Manager Receives New Contract
On Monday the City Council approved a new contract for City Manager Robert Healy. The new contract will be in effect until August 2009 with the option for a one year extension. The Council had spent the past month evaluating the Manager’s performance based on a process the Council adopted in 2000. Council members met individually with the Manager during February and the Government Operations and Oversight Committee met on February 22 to hear public comment on the City Manager’s performance.
In discussions at the Government Operations Committee and at the full Council meeting Councillors focused on City Manager Healy’s effective fiscal management of the City, including the City’s AAA bond ratings, and commitment to providing high quality services to residents. The Managers more than 30 years of service to Cambridge, the past 25 as City Manager, were also noted.
A copy of the Committee report which included the order forwarding the Manager’s new contract and recommending approval is available at http://www.cambridgema.gov/cityclerk/CommitteeReport.cfm?instance_id=262.
City Receives AAA Bond Rating from Rating Agencies
The City Manager reported that Cambridge has again received AAA bond ratings from the three municipal rating agencies. These rating were done in conjunction with the City’s sale of $67.5 million in bonds for several capital projects. The true cost of the issue was 3.95%. The City Manager’s letter is available at http://www.cambridgema.gov/cityClerk/cmLetter.cfm?item_id=5876.
February 28 GAC Meeting
Cambridge Mayor Kenneth E. Reeves was our guest at the February GAC meeting and luncheon. The Mayor discussed a number of ideas he is looking to address during his term. He acknowledged that a two year term is a short-time and he is in the process of selecting which of these ideas can be substantially addressed in this term.
The Mayor mentioned several development ideas that are in early stages. He mentioned that he has been approached about a project that would create a “European Style” Piazza, housing and additional parking in Central Square. He also mentioned a possible development of owner-occupied housing marketed to public school teachers and noted that a project in Somerville has been developed that markets to teachers and others in the caring and teaching professions. He also discussed opportunities for improvements in Kendall and Harvard Squares.
During the previous Council term the Mayor served as Chair of the Councils Economic Development, Training, and Workforce Development Committee. Through that Committee the City sponsored a number of events in 2004 around the Democratic National Convention held in Boston and during the summer of 2005. Mayor Reeves would like to build on the success of events over the past two years through a concept he calls the “Cambridge Excitement Lab”. This entity would work to bring exciting events to Cambridge year round to encourage visitors to Cambridge.
Mayor Reeves also discussed the need to build on existing services that focus on improving scholastic achievement in the Cambridge public schools. He has a particular focus on the graduation rate of African-American men which is a national issue. The Mayor reported that a recent Schott Foundation study found that the on-time (after four years of secondary school) graduation rate for African-American boys is under 30% in all fifty states. The Mayor is working with the Superintendent of Schools to understand how this issue affects Cambridge and to identify policies and programs to improve the graduation rate here.
