Councilor’s FY21 Budget Update

The City of Framingham is the 14th largest city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts by population and has an operating budget of approximately $300 million. As a member of the Framingham City Council, and a member of the City Council Finance Subcommittee, I have been carefully reviewing the proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21). The budget process this year is particularly challenging given that we are living through the worst pandemic the country has experienced in decades. Our City’s residents, my neighbors, and my family have all felt the impact of this pandemic in all aspects of our lives. All of us have lost the ability to move around freely without worrying about becoming infected. Many residents have lost all or part of their income, some struggle to pay for food and rent, and worse yet, many of us have lost loved ones.

In good times and bad times, one of the most important roles of the City Council is to make sure that we are managing your tax dollars properly by authorizing a budget that provides valuable services and the highest quality of life possible. We want you to get excellent value for your tax dollars. As we face uncertainty regarding the amount of revenue we expect to receive from the federal government, state funding, and local receipts, the pressure to reduce our planned spending has increased. The amount of time that the City Council has in order to review the proposed budget is limited because we have to approve a budget by a set date, which has been slightly extended this year. I am encouraging the Finance Subcommittee and I will also encourage the full City Council to focus on larger spending areas where additional reductions would help us reign in spending with the least operational impact on the City, so that valuable services can be maintained.

Since we began looking closely at the budget, I have made and supported proposals that fall within these parameters. I have voted to cut an additional 10% from all departmental operating budgets. Additionally, I have proposed deferring purchases of any vehicles and large equipment for a year and to remove cost of living adjustments (“COLAs”) wherever possible (including within the school budget). I also proposed defunding the vacant position of City Council Auditor, which has never been filledsince we became a city. I believe we can and should delay taking on new projects that can be postponed a year or two with minimal repercussions. As we finalize our budget deliberations, I will continue to do what I can to make sure that Framingham residents receive the quality services they pay for. I want our seniors, our children, all of our residents, and our businesses to know we are looking out for their best interests. I will also continue to focus our budget cuts to areas that will not hinder our long-term objectives for short-term gains that are insignificant to the overall budget.

The Finance Subcommittee will have one more meeting Monday night before taking the Committee’s budget recommendations to the full Council. I welcome and ask for input from all of my constituents so that I may best represent all of our interests.

Cesar Stewart-Morales (he/him)
Framingham City Councilor, District 2
cs@framinghamma.gov
http://about.me/cstewartmorales