On Friday, June 19, Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone submitted a proposed $262.7 million fiscal year 2021 budget to Somerville’s City Council that avoids the austerity measures being seen in cities and towns throughout the region. The FY21 budget preserves all City services and contains no layoffs or furloughs to City or School employees, while also making new racial and social justice investments.

Applications for this coming fiscal year’s Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds and the fiscal year 2021 Community Preservation Plan, which sets the funding allocations and priorities for the year, are now available. An estimated $630,000 is available for projects that preserve Somerville’s historic resources and/or expand and improve our parks and recreation land.

As part of a continuing conversation on systemic racism in Somerville, the City of Somerville is holding a virtual Town Hall Discussion on Race and Equity in Policing and launching a series of small group listening sessions for residents. Tackling systemic racism in Somerville requires input from diverse voices in our community, and both the Town Hall and listening sessions are meant to be ways for the City to get feedback, ideas, and suggestions from the community on how we move forward as well as to answer related questions.

This summer is predicted to be hotter than normal and COVID-19 is making it more important than ever to be able to safely cool down at home. Extreme heat can cause dangerous illness and in some cases death.

The Somerville Public Library will be offering contactless pickup for library patrons starting Monday, July 6. Patrons can request Somerville library materials online using their Minuteman account. Library staff will then notify patrons by either email or phone when their items are ready to be picked up.

With COVID-19 cases on the rise throughout much of the country, Somerville Phase 3 reopenings -- and implementation of gatherings guidance -- will proceed on a more cautious schedule than those outlined by the Governor. 

The festival is very much ON, albeit in a different form this year—over the course of 8 days, we’ll have some virtual performances as well as some safe real-life happenings, such as art installations popping up and poetry hitting the streets.

Phase 3 Step 1 business establishments in Somerville will be allowed to reopen on Monday, July 20, assuming all safety protocols are met. New indoor and outdoor gathering guidelines will also go into effect on July 20 with additional restrictions beyond those imposed by the State. The City is currently working in collaboration with area businesses to finalize enhanced safety requirements and guidelines, which will be issued next week.

Mayor Curtatone is seeking applications from Somerville residents to serve on the Mayor’s Commission on Energy Use and Climate Change (CEUCC). The CEUCC advises the City and the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability and Environment on climate change and energy policy issues and assists the City in program design and outreach related to these topics.