The City of Cambridge's FY17 Budget sets a bold agenda for the City that closely links with the priorities established by the City Council. Cambridge is a place where families should thrive – through creating and preserving affordable housing, offering diverse learning opportunities, and advancing sustainability efforts to ensure that our community remains equitable, vibrant, and resilient for generations to come.

The following key initiatives highlight the variety of exciting programs and services the City will continue to implement in FY17. A deeper understanding of the City's proposed FY17 Operating and Capital Budgets can be found the the Annual Budget 2016-2017 submitted by the City Manager.

Key Initiatives

AFFORDABLE HOUSING

The City strives to preserve the diversity of the community by offering a wide range of housing programs to meet the needs of very low, low, moderate, and middle-income residents. Rental and homeownership housing is made permanently affordable wherever possible, and built throughout the city with particular emphasis on units of appropriate size for families with children. The City has a long-standing commitment to support high quality housing that is well integrated into the community and that will remain affordable for future generations.

Through FY16, the City has appropriated a total of $124.4 million in Community Preservation Act funds for affordable housing initiatives. Since FY05, the City has created 1,176 units of affordable housing and preserved an additional 1,130 affordable units throughout Cambridge.

In FY17, the City will continue to support affordable housing by directly offering affordable rental and ownership opportunities to residents, working with affordable housing providers to advance plans for new affordable housing, planning for the preservation of affordable housing at-risk, and exploring new ideas on how the City can work with housing partners and other public and private funders to offer a range of housing and assistance to residents. A key component of the FY17 workplan will be to advance recommendations for changes to the City’s inclusionary housing provisions.

AGENDA FOR CHILDREN OUT OF SCHOOL TIME INITIATIVE

The Agenda for Children Out of School Time Initiative supports over 50 programs and 500 workers to build quality programming and a connected system for over 2,500 children and their families.

The Agenda for Children team has facilitated the growth of the out of school time field through a variety of programs, including a coalition to provide advocacy, networks to share practice and build systems, and professional development in the form of workshops, symposiums, communities of practice, coaching, assessment, and quality improvement at the classroom and organizational levels.

ALEWIFE BROOK AND CHARLES RIVER WATER QUALITY IMPROVEMENTS

Over the past 20 years, the City of Cambridge has contributed over $70 million to significant improvements to the water quality of the Alewife Brook and the Charles River through upgrades to its sewer and stormwater drainage system and by preventing combined sewer overflows (CSO).

The City’s sewer and drainage collection system consists of separated and combined systems. In separated systems, there are two pipes: one for sanitary waste and one for rainwater. The sanitary waste goes to the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority’s Deer Island facility for treatment; the rainwater goes to the Alewife Brook or the Charles River. In combined systems, a single pipe takes both sanitary waste and rainwater to the Deer Island Treatment Plant. During heavy rain storms, combined systems can fill up beyond their capacity with a mixture of sanitary waste and rainwater. A CSO acts like a relief valve, allowing sewage to discharge into waterways instead of backing up into homes, businesses, and streets.

Alewife Brook: Through many regional and local efforts, including sewer separation in the Whittemore Avenue area and the Huron and Concord Neighborhoods, the number of CSOs into the Alewife Brook has been dramatically reduced.

Charles River: The most recent report card issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in May 2015 gave the Charles River a B+, meeting quality standards for boating 91% of the time and for swimming 65% of the time. This represents a significant increase in water quality from the first report card issued in 1995 when the Charles River received a D, meeting water quality standards for boating 39% of the time and for swimming 19% of the time.

THE ARTS MEAN BUSINESS: NATIONAL ARTS & ECONOMIC PROSPERITY 5 INITIATIVE

In partnership with Americans for the Arts, the nation’s lead arts advocacy and research organization, and with financial support from the Barr Foundation, the Cambridge Arts Council will participate in the Arts & Economic Prosperity 5 initiative to conduct a comprehensive economic impact and audience study of the nonprofit arts and culture in the City of Cambridge.

As one of 300 partners across the country participating in this round of the study, the Arts Council will collect detailed financial and audience data about Cambridge’s nonprofit arts and cultural organizations in a broad array of focus areas, including theater, music, dance, visual art and museums, film, festivals, and arts education initiatives. The study provides an opportunity to understand and demonstrate the impact of Cambridge arts on jobs and employment, the purchase of goods and services from local businesses, local and regional tourism, and economic development.

According to the most recent Arts & Economic Prosperity report, the nonprofit arts industry generated $135.2 billion in total economic activity nationally and supported 4.1 million full-time equivalent jobs during 2010, resulting in $22.3 billion in federal, state, and local government revenues. The $135.2 billion total included $61.1 billion in spending by arts organizations and $74.1 billion in event-related spending by their audiences on items such as meals, local transportation, and overnight lodging.

BOOK BIKE PROGRAM PARTNERSHIP

In FY17, the Family Policy Council and the Department of Human Service Programs (DHSP) will partner with the Cambridge Police Department (CPD) to promote the Cambridge Book Bike Program. Part of the Agenda for Children’s "Let's Move, Let's Eat, Let's Read!" campaign, Book Bike activities take place at parks and playgrounds every weekday in the summer throughout the city.

Summer Food staff, CPD Patrol and Community Relations officers, and Agenda for Children Literacy and Center for Families staff will participate in Book Bike events by reading to kids, helping to foster a love of reading, and building positive and lasting relationships between Cambridge youth, their families, and City personnel. With two bikes and an additional $4,070 for books in FY17, the collaboration will continue to benefit Cambridge children and families.

BRING YOUR OWN BAG ORDINANCE

The Bring Your Own Bag (BYOB) Ordinance encourages the use of reusable bags at all retail establishments in Cambridge. Cambridge businesses no longer provide single-use plastic bags at the point of sale, but may offer paper, reusable, or compostable bags to customers at a minimum cost of $0.10 per bag. To avoid this charge, customers are encouraged to bring their own bag when they shop.

The purpose of the Ordinance is to reduce the number of single-use bags that are littered, incinerated, and discarded in order to protect marine life and waterways and reduce solid waste and greenhouse gas emissions. The City will provide technical assistance to businesses seeking clarification on the new regulations. Learn more about the BYOB Ordinance and find helpful information for businesses and residents at www.cambridgema.gov/byob.

CAMBRIDGE SAFETY NET COLLABORATIVE

Nationally recognized as a model for overall juvenile justice system reform, the Cambridge Safety Net Collaborative seeks to foster positive youth development, promote mental health, support safe school and community environments, and limit youth involvement in the juvenile justice system through coordinated prevention, intervention, and diversion services for Cambridge youth and families. Safety Net has evolved from a diversionary approach (diverting young people away from the juvenile justice system) to one that places greater emphasis on prevention and early intervention. Moving forward, CPD and its partners will try to engage young adults from the community to serve as mentors and role models for youth through the Safety Net program.

22-CITYVIEW AND CCTV PARTNERSHIP

In order to augment the amount of locally produced programming and cover more of the activities and stories that happen in the city, the Cable Television Department entered into a production partnership with Cambridge Community Television (CCTV) for $75,000, where one of CCTV’s production teams will regularly contribute content that will air on 22-CityView. This partnership will allow the Department to cover more of the city, highlight innovative municipal initiatives, and increase residents’ awareness of the day-to-day workings of the City.

22-CityView and CCTV’s collaboration will feature new Public Service Announcements (PSAs), such as the recent PSA explaining the BYOB Ordinance, as well as an “Ask the City” segment that explores residents’ questions about City government and services. The Department will solicit questions for City staff via social media, the City website, and on-street interviews with community members. The partnership will also include programs ranging from profiles on City staff working behind the scenes to expanded coverages of Cambridge events.

CITYWIDE PLANNING

In FY16, the City launched Envision Cambridge, a comprehensive, multi-year planning process to create a shared vision for the community, develop policy, and design goals and actionable recommendations to guide future changes in the city. This work will integrate and build upon existing policies, programs, and initiatives through an inclusive, wide-reaching process that looks beyond traditional planning efforts to engage the public, analyze information, and craft solutions. Residents, business employers and employees, property owners and developers, institutions, nonprofit organizations, and many other stakeholders will be active participants in this process and key components to ensuring that the citywide plan reflects the values of the entire community. $3.3 million has been appropriated for the Envision Cambridge process.

City staff are working with a community advisory committee and an interdisciplinary consultant team led by Utile Architecture + Planning. Together, they will develop a strategic framework that addresses a broad range of issues, including mobility, housing, land use, urban design, climate resiliency, social equity, economic development, and open space. The end result will be a shared vision on how Cambridge can remain livable, sustainable, and equitable for generations to come. The Alewife area was identified as a high priority for early action in the planning process.

COMMONWEALTH CONNECT

Cambridge has joined the statewide Commonwealth Connect program to receive non-emergency citizen requests, retiring its stand-alone iReport system. Cambridge residents are now able to report issues to any of the 70 participating communities across Massachusetts via this easy-to-use, GPS-enabled mobile app and online interface.

Commonwealth Connect allows residents to comment on and support requests to fix problems submitted by their neighbors. Residents can even create their own “watch areas” to receive notifications about all issues reported in their community, enabling them to follow the progress of all service requests in that area. Non-emergency reports can be submitted and tracked by the public on the City’s website at www.cambridgema.gov/commonwealthconnect or by downloading the Commonwealth Connect app for iPhone or Android.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TRAINING PROGRAM

With support from the Family Policy Council, DHSP’s Community Engagement Team developed a citywide outreach and engagement training program to make Cambridge a model for effective and culturally inclusive community engagement. Making Connections: A Community Engagement Training Program for Cambridge is an outreach and community engagement skills training program focused on 24 core skills necessary to effectively engage residents in activities and services available in the city. Making Connections is the result of collaboration across City departments and community agencies. Numerous City and community staff have gone through the training, which will continue in FY17, expanding Cambridge’s ability to engage its culturally diverse residents.

COMMUNITY PRESERVATION ACT

The Community Preservation Act (CPA) was created by a state law (MGL Chapter 44B) to help cities and towns preserve the character of their community. In 2002, Cambridge residents voted to adopt the CPA, which allowed a 3% surcharge on property tax bills to fund affordable housing, open space, and historic preservation projects.

Through FY16, the City has appropriated/reserved a total of $155.4 million for CPA projects, including $124.4 million for affordable housing initiatives, $15.5 million for historical preservation projects, and $15.5 million for open space projects. To date, the City has allocated $47.2 million in state matching funds, $91.3 million from local surcharges, and $17.0 million from the CPA fund balance.

In September 2015, the CPA Committee once again unanimously voted for an allocation of 80% for affordable housing projects, 10% for historical preservation projects, and 10% for open space projects. Total FY16 CPA funding was $11.7 million. All funds allocated for affordable housing are appropriated and managed through the Cambridge Affordable Housing Trust.

FY16 historical preservation projects include Kingsley Park overlook restoration, Longfellow Park staircase restoration, Lowell Park landscape plan and wall restoration, Old Burying Ground headstone and table tomb restoration, City Clerk vault construction, digitization of Cambridge newspapers, creation of a database of Cambridge Cemetery burials, and funds for the Historical Commission’s Preservation Grant Program.

FY16 open space projects include the Amigos School playground, design of the Morse School and Clarendon Avenue playgrounds, Cambridge Rindge and Latin School (CRLS) tennis courts structural study, and an accessible path and woodland restoration around Hell’s Half Acre.

CPD HOMELESS ENGAGEMENT & OUTREACH

• Quarterly Stakeholders Meeting: The purpose of these meetings is to improve outcomes for individuals by proactively addressing fractures across systems and disciplines. By breaking down silos, building relationships, and sharing information, CPD hopes to improve care coordination, reduce the likelihood that someone experiences a crisis requiring police intervention, and reduce the likelihood that an individual is introduced to the criminal justice system due to behavioral health challenges. These meetings have gained tremendous support from community partners, and over 40 agencies from across the city and state have participated.
• Cambridge Recovery Coach Program: This pilot program is a collaboration of CPD, Cambridge Health Alliance, Public Health Department, and Pro EMS, a company that provides 911 and non-emergency transport service to the Cambridge service area. The program will connect trained coaches at Pro EMS with people struggling with addiction, who are frequent users of emergency services and who are seeking recovery services. Recovery coaches will assist people in navigating Massachusetts’ complex system of recovery services, as well as advocate on their behalf.
• Homeless Courts: CPD is in the early stages of initiating a pilot homeless court program. Homeless courts are special alternative court sessions that aim to address the underlying issues that drive homelessness, such as substance abuse and mental health challenges. The sessions will help participants resolve outstanding misdemeanor offenses (principally “quality of life” infractions), enabling them to move forward with their lives.

DOOR-TO-DOOR OUTREACH

Over the past five years, CPD and DHSP staff have jointly conducted Door-to-Door outreach to various neighborhoods with a focus on Cambridge Housing Authority properties to listen to and learn from residents. Community participation has significantly increased over the last two years. As one example of Door-to-Door outreach, CPD met frequently with the Tenant Council and Youth Council at 808-812 Memorial Drive in FY16 to jointly plan community events and promote new initiatives. In FY17, CPD and DHSP will replicate this approach in other neighborhoods and will continue to reach out to various cultural groups within the city to build connections and trust.

EARLY CHILDHOOD TASK FORCE

The FY17 budget includes $1.3 million to implement the Early Childhood Task Force’s recommendations to the City Council and School Committee. The recommendations are built on a far reaching vision: “All children in Cambridge receive high quality early education and care from birth to third grade. As a result, all children enter school ready to thrive academically, socially, and emotionally and continue to do so through third grade and beyond.” The Task Force recommended a multi-year effort to build an effective early childhood system that would improve outcomes for Cambridge’s children. In FY17, with a fully developed strategic plan, DHSP and the School Department will collaborate to begin to build the system and to expand services to families and supports to early childhood providers.

EXPANDED PARKING PAYMENT OPTIONS

The Traffic, Parking & Transportation Department (TPT) will complete a $350,000 pilot implementation of a new pay-by-phone program that will allow people to pay for parking at metered spaces with a smartphone application. New smart parking meters that accept credit cards as well as quarters will be installed at some locations. The new meters will allow TPT to explore implementation of variable rates and time limits to help ensure that parking spaces are available during times of peak parking demand.

FAMILY ENGAGEMENT

Family engagement continues to be a centerpiece of DHSP programming. Some of the most meaningful family engagement occurs in the early childhood programs at the Center for Families and Baby University. DHSP staff intentionally and repeatedly invite immigrant and underserved families to participate in programming and teach techniques and strategies to support children’s learning and development. In addition, DHSP’s OST programs continue to increase efforts to partner more deeply with families to support young people's success.

FIBER OPTIC NETWORK EXPANSION

In FY17, the Electrical Department will continue to expand and strengthen the City’s fiber optic network. Expanding this network will ensure secure communications and data transmission to the many facilities and systems throughout Cambridge. This initiative will also contribute to regional support through collaboration with neighboring communities and public agencies.

GREATER BOSTON REGIONAL ECONOMIC COMPACT

In December 2015, six Boston area mayors and city managers jointly announced the formation of the Greater Boston Regional Economic Compact to facilitate regional planning and problem solving between Boston, Braintree, Cambridge, Chelsea, Quincy, and Somerville. Municipal executives will meet to strategize and solve common issues relating to housing, transportation, sustainability, and economic development. As part of the Compact, each participating city is committing funds to hire a full-time Regional Compact Coordinator in 2016 to work with all participants and develop regional strategies. In FY17, Cambridge will contribute $25,000 to this effort.

HISTORICAL DIGITIZATION PROJECT

The Cambridge Historical Commission (CHC) is undertaking a multi-year project to digitize materials in its public archive to improve access for researchers and to preserve fragile materials. The CHC’s archivist is working with a consultant funded by an E-Gov appropriation to identify key collections and establish priorities for digitization. A CPA grant will help support digitization of the CHC’s architectural inventory of 13,000+ Cambridge buildings. The project will include devising a template; creating metadata, tags, and a searchable database; and managing scanning of documents and photographs.

KING OPEN AND CAMBRIDGE STREET UPPER SCHOOLS & COMMUNITY COMPLEX

The Cambridge Public Schools’ Innovation Agenda will result in the creation of four new upper school campuses serving students in grades 6-8. The King Open and Cambridge Street Upper Schools & Community Complex is the second new school construction project in this process and will cost approximately $159 million.

The project includes the complete demolition of all existing structures on the northern side of the site at 850 Cambridge Street and the construction of a new facility. The project boundary is approximately the walking path between the existing school building and Donnelly Field. Donnelly Field and the Frisoli Youth Center are not included in the scope of this project. While the community process remains ongoing, the recommended design scheme provides over an acre of new green space onsite with parking moved underground.

All programs currently on the site will be incorporated into the new building, including the King Open School, Cambridge Street Upper School, DHSP preschool, Extended Day and Community School programs, Valente Library, and Gold Star Pool. The district offices for Cambridge Public Schools will also be added to the site. The anticipated school opening is September 2019.

LIBRARY MOBILE HOT SPOTS

Mobile “hot spots” will extend the reach of the Cambridge Public Library by allowing library staff to bring services like library card signups, book checkouts, and research assistance outside the library walls to locations such as playgrounds, community festivals, schools, and T stations. This exciting new initiative will expand outreach to all residents, especially to those who might not know what valuable resources the Cambridge Public Library can offer them. The cost of implementing new mobile hot spots is $9,500.

MUNICIPAL FACILITIES IMPROVEMENT PLAN

In FY17, the City will begin Phase II of its multi-year facilities improvement program for 41 City-owned buildings comprising 1.4 million square feet. The program aims to provide and maintain high-performing municipal facilities for employees and the public. Phase I included stakeholder workshops to identify goals and priorities, occupant surveys to obtain feedback from building users, site assessments to examine more than 200 building elements, and development of a 2020 municipal facility greenhouse gas reduction target as well as a framework to compare and prioritize buildings across the portfolio.

FY17 work will cost $5 million and will involve preparation of a capital improvement plan to implement recommended projects. Prioritized improvements at the City Hall Annex and Kennedy Longfellow School will be designed in accordance with a whole building approach, which emphasizes interactions among building systems, and integrated design principles to serve as best practices for future projects. With the recent completion of the Cambridge Climate Vulnerability Assessment, the Municipal Facilities Improvement Plan will also investigate solutions for the City buildings identified as medium to high risk for heat and flooding associated with climate change.

A NEW SPACE FOR VETERANS

The Veterans’ Life and Recreation Center (VLRC) will be a trauma-informed space complementing the Veterans’ Services Department’s regular hours and services. A trauma-informed space responds empathetically to the needs of trauma survivors and ensures the presence of a physically and emotionally safe environment. With this informed environment in mind, the VLRC is being created for two purposes: first, to nurture a culture of healthy socialization and a sense of community and support for veterans and clients in a safe space; and second, to provide a space for scheduled health and life skills programming.

Veterans’ Services staff are collaborating with other City departments and conducting research on what programming is most successful to support, connect, and heal veterans, especially those who struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder and post-deployment reintegration limitations. Structured programming workshops being considered include creative writing, fitness and nutrition, financial literacy, life coaching, occupational and art therapy, and guided meditation sessions. Veterans may also organize activities like board game gatherings, a book club, discussion groups, and networking meetups.

OFFICE OF COLLEGE SUCCESS

The Office of College Success was created to lead the College Success Initiative, a collaboration between DHSP, community-based organizations, Cambridge Public Schools, and institutions of higher education that are committed to increasing the college completion rate of low-income, first generation, and minority students enrolled in CRLS, the Community Learning Center, and YouthBuild. The Office of College Success coordinates organizations offering college access services, works with CRLS leadership and guidance staff to support students in the transition to post-secondary education, and develops partnerships with local colleges to improve on-campus support for Cambridge students. In FY17, the Office will hire a part-time Transition Coach for $18,000.

OPEN SPACE NETWORK

In FY16, the Community Development Department conducted a telephone survey of Cambridge households to understand open space use, satisfaction, and priorities. The survey reported a high overall level of satisfaction with Cambridge open spaces: on a 1-5 scale, with 5 meaning “very good” and 1 meaning “not good at all,” 86% of respondents rated Cambridge parks as 4 or higher, an increase from 71% in a similar survey in 2008. The results of the survey will inform updates to the City’s Open Space and Recreation Plan.

The City completed four park and playground projects in FY16: improvements to James O. Dance Square at the intersection of Bishop Allen Drive and Main Street, and renovations to Elm and Hampshire Plaza, the Haggerty School playground, and Hurley Street Park. Improvements to the Cambridgeport School playground are in progress, and planning for renovation of Sacramento Field and the Morse School and Clarendon Avenue playgrounds is underway. In addition, the City will begin design processes for a number of open spaces in eastern Cambridge in 2016 in accordance with the Connect Kendall Square Framework Plan.

PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING

In FY17, the City will launch its third annual Participatory Budgeting (PB) process in which residents will decide how to spend $700,000 of the City’s FY18 capital budget. The third PB process will feature an extended idea collection phase from June 1 - July 31, 2016 to give community members more opportunities to submit ideas. In FY17, the City will also implement the seven winning projects from the second PB process, which include a food rescue freezer van, five water bottle fill stations, new chairs for four Cambridge Public Schools, three bike safety-related projects, and transit signal priority for the MBTA #1 bus. More details on these projects can be found in the Public Investment Section and at pb.cambridgema.gov.PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING

THE PORT SEWER SEPARATION AND STORMWATER MANAGEMENT

In FY16, Public Works began design work on a multi-year $45 million infrastructure program in the Port neighborhood. The program will rehabilitate existing infrastructure, construct two underground stormwater tanks with over 1 million gallons of storage, reduce flooding in the area, reconstruct the streets and sidewalks, and include a 1% for Arts component. The first phase of construction is scheduled to begin in early 2017; it will focus on the stormwater tank located in the City parking lot on Bishop Allen Drive. City staff will undertake a comprehensive community process to develop street designs that meet the needs of the community.

PUBLIC TOILETS

In February 2016, the City opened its first freestanding public toilet in Harvard Square at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Church Street. The toilet is a simple, sturdy, graffiti-resistant, flush-toilet kiosk that is open to the public 24 hours a day. The goal is to provide a clean, safe, and environmentally friendly restroom.

The next freestanding public toilet, funded through the City’s first Participatory Budgeting process, will be installed in Central Square. The FY17 budget includes $81,000 for daily cleaning and maintenance of the toilets.

STAR COMMUNITIES

In March 2016, STAR Communities awarded Cambridge a 5-star rating—the highest possible—for its excellence in sustainability. STAR Communities evaluates and certifies communities based on a triple bottom line sustainability framework that assesses social, environmental, and economic measures. The primary areas of focus are built environment; climate and energy; economy and jobs; education, arts, and culture; equity and empowerment; health and safety; and natural environment. Cambridge was the 50th community in the country to be certified through this process, and its score of 637.4 (of a possible 720) represents the highest level of achievement nationwide to date.

STEAM COORDINATION OFFICE

Given the importance of science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM) to the local and regional economies, Cambridge hired a STEAM Coordinator in FY16 to coordinate and support a coherent network of learning opportunities that expose students at all grade levels to STEAM. The Coordinator will work with City departments, Cambridge Public Schools, businesses, and higher education partners to expand meaningful opportunities for students to gain STEAM skills and exposure to STEAM-related careers. The Coordinator will also work with community partners and families to ensure diverse learners have access to a wide variety of educational, work-based, and enrichment opportunities.

CLIMATE CHANGE PREPAREDNESS

The City will embark on an 18-month process to develop a climate change preparedness and resilience plan to address risks from increasing temperatures, precipitation, and sea level rise. The plan will utilize the 2015/2016 Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment, which assessed the risks to the community from flooding and heat vulnerability and identified priority planning areas and issues. The preparedness and resilience plan will be coordinated with the Envision Cambridge process and will include strategies and actions at the building, neighborhood, city, and regional levels to increase the physical and social resilience of the community. In addition, Cambridge continues to participate in the Metro Boston Climate Preparedness Commitment, which involves 14 communities collaborating to make the Greater Boston area more resilient to climate change.

In FY17, the City will complete a community-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory and develop a Climate Action Plan. The GHG inventory will identify and collect the most robust and reliable data available to calculate the city’s GHG emissions. The Climate Action plan will aggregate the expected impact of the City’s various initiatives that reduce energy use, leading to emission reductions; identify gaps in citywide efforts to reduce GHG emissions from all sources; propose actions to address those gaps; and set targets to measure progress towards citywide GHG reductions.

GEORGETOWN ENERGY PRIZE

Cambridge is one of 50 cities nationwide competing for the $5 million Georgetown University Energy Prize, which challenges towns, cities, and counties to rethink their energy use and implement creative strategies to increase electric and natural gas efficiency.

In FY17 the City will deepen its efforts to engage residents in energy efficiency by targeting multi-family housing and renters; getting additional public schools to implement the “e”-inc energy education program, and launching a residential solar campaign. To help win the prize, Cambridge residents have been asked to take specific action: get an energy assessment, tell others about the initiative, and share ideas for innovative energy-saving municipal and residential projects.

NET ZERO

Implementation of the 2015 Cambridge Net Zero Action Plan is well underway to set the City on a trajectory to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions from building operations after 2050. The Community Development Department (CDD) is encouraging energy efficiency in existing buildings through a multi-family pilot program, exploring increased green building requirements through the Zoning Ordinance, developing a Low Carbon Energy Supply Strategy ($40,000), and encouraging the use of solar photovoltaics through a rooftop ready solar requirement. Learn more about Net Zero at www.cambridgema.gov/cdd.

PLANNING FOR SUSTAINABLE TRANSIT AND THE GRAND JUNCTION PATH

Cambridge’s Transit Strategic Plan, created through a comprehensive two-year community process, seeks to improve quality and expand capacity of our transit system. The City continues to encourage people who live, work, study, and play in Cambridge to shift from drive alone trips to sustainable modes of transportation. Recent highlights include:

• On March 21, 2016, the Cambridge City Council unanimously passed a resolution to formally adopt Vision Zero, calling for the elimination of fatalities and serious injuries resulting from traffic crashes. Cambridge is the seventeenth city in the United States to commit to a Vision Zero policy.
• In FY16, CDD completed two key studies related to challenges for buses in the city—one looking at higher volume bus routes and the other focused on Central Square bus access, circulation, and passenger experience.
• In FY16, the City increased its stock of real-time TransitScreens, which let community members and City staff know when the next bus, train, or shuttle will arrive. TransitScreens also display the number of Hubway bicycles available at the nearest station. TransitScreens are located at City Hall, the City Hall Annex, Citywide Senior Center, Main Library, CRLS, Cambridge Hospital, and the Public Works building.
• The City continues to plan for the Grand Junction Greenway, a multi-use path along the railroad right of way, and has allocated $10 million for the next project phase from Broadway to the city line. MIT provided $500,000 to the Cambridge Redevelopment Authority for construction of a segment of the path between Broadway and Main Street, scheduled for completion in spring 2016. In FY17, CDD will begin to develop a path design that works with future transit options.

USING DATA TO ADVANCE SUSTAINABILITY EFFORTS

The 2014 Building Energy Use Disclosure Ordinance (BEUDO) requires larger non-residential and residential properties (approximately 1,100 buildings) to annually benchmark and report their energy and water use to the City. In FY17, the City will begin to publicly release this data to inform the real estate marketplace about the energy performance of Cambridge’s larger building stock. Cambridge was one of 12 entities selected by the U.S. Department of Energy to participate in the Standard Energy Efficiency Data Platform Collaborative, which is a web-based tool that enables the City to store and manage this data and leverage it to improve building energy performance. The FY17 budget includes $110,000 for the BEUDO program and public services.

YOUTH ENGAGEMENT & GLOCAL

In fall 2015, the City partnered with Education First (EF) to host the fourth annual Glocal Challenge. This contest brought together over 125 CRLS students to create proposals to decrease energy use in Cambridge’s municipal buildings and residences. After pitching their ideas to expert judges, five teams emerged victorious, winning spring/summer internships and seed funding. These five teams are now working for CDD to implement their projects. The two grand prize winners also traveled with EF to Iceland in March 2016 to participate in the Global Youth Leaders Summit.

In FY17, CDD will further increase youth engagement by hiring 50 young people through the Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program to implement the Glocal winning projects, survey people in Cambridge about travel to retail establishments, conduct outreach for the Cambridge Energy Alliance, and host youth focus groups for Envision Cambridge. The FY17 budget includes $40,000 to continue supporting the Glocal Challenge. Photo credit: Education First.

VETERANS’ APPRECIATION DAY

In FY17, the City of Cambridge will inaugurate its first services-focused Veterans' Appreciation Day. Following the annual Veterans’ Day observance at the WWI Monument at the Cambridge Cemetery, the Veterans’ Services Department will host a public event in Central Square to offer thanks to veterans and their families. Veterans, their families, and community members will be invited to City Hall and the Citywide Senior Center to enjoy music, activities, refreshments, and giveaways. Veterans’ Services representatives will also be on site to take applications for benefits and answer questions about benefits and services. We look forward to celebrating the veterans of Cambridge and personally thanking them for their service.

VOTER PRE-REGISTRATION & EARLY VOTING

Pursuant to new state election laws, voter pre-registration will be allowed as of August 1, 2016. Massachusetts residents who meet all other enrollment requirements except age, but who are at least 16 years old, will be able to complete a voter registration application. In addition, beginning with the November 2016 State Election, early voting will be permitted. Voters will have the opportunity to vote prior to Election Day at the Election Commission office and at additional designated locations in the city.

WATER DEPARTMENT INITIATIVES

The Water Department continues to implement a multitude of projects to protect the Fresh Pond Reservation and provide a safe, uninterrupted water supply of the highest quality to community members. Key FY17 projects are part of the Department’s $5 million capital allocation and include:

• Implementing the final phase of the energy efficiency and clean energy improvements to the Walter J. Sullivan Water Purification Facility. Work will include installation of variable frequency drives, motors, hydraulics, and valve improvements to the raw, finished, and backwash water systems, which will save over 1 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually.
• Undertaking a drainage and community garden project that focuses on improved drainage and landscape restoration.
• Beginning to evaluate the water treatment facilities and control structures to determine their resiliency to flooding, based on the City Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment,
• Implementing proactive water quality initiatives such as the corrosion control program, free water quality testing program, and the lead water service replacement program.
• Developing an online meter reading system to allow customers to access their usage activity and consumption in late FY17.

WHAT WORKS CITIES

The City is working with Results for America and Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Government Excellence on the What Works Cities initiative. This study is funded by the Bloomberg Family Foundation, Inc. The goal is to assist Cambridge in becoming a national leader in using open data to engage with the public and to transparently track progress on citywide goals and initiatives. Departments will explore ways to use data and evidence to improve day-to-day operations and departmental decision making. The new goals and performance measures will be reflected in the FY18 budget book.

WHITE RIBBON PLEDGE

Each March, the City participates in White Ribbon Day, an international campaign that asks men and boys to stand up and speak out against gender-based violence by making a personal and public commitment to promoting equality, respect, and non-violence in their relationships and all aspects of their lives.

Last fall, the Public Health Department and the Domestic and Gender-Based Violence Prevention Initiative invited a group of men from City government and the community to form a leadership team to engage other men in reimagining masculinity and ending gender-based violence. City staff and the newly formed men’s group, Mending Cambridge, have joined together to host several White Ribbon Day Cambridge awareness events.

21ST CENTURY POLICING

The City remains committed to making Cambridge a safe and desirable place to live, work, and visit. In 2015, crime in the city reached a 50-year low, thanks to the dedicated men and women of the Cambridge Police Department (CPD). CPD has been recognized as a national leader in promoting police legitimacy and procedural justice, and has been invited by the Commonwealth to develop a training curriculum to be used across the state. CPD is also incorporating a trauma-informed approach to its internal training, which will focus on enabling officers to manage their own stress and trauma, as well as learn how to promote self-care, wellness, and resiliency in others who have experienced trauma.

Publication of the City of Cambridge

City Manager's Office

795 Massachusetts Avenue

Cambridge, Ma 02139

2016