Mayor Katjana Ballantyne today submitted Somerville’s Fiscal Year 2024 budget proposal, directing $337.4 million toward key investments in the provision of City services and programs and the advancement of community priorities.

The City of Somerville is partnering with community groups to raise awareness about black swallow-wort (BSW), a very aggressive and invasive, non-native weed that can be found throughout Somerville.

Why Black Swallow-Wort Is Unwelcome in Somerville

BSW displaces native plants and habitats, threatens butterflies and songbirds, and is toxic to deer. 

It is especially harmful to the monarch butterfly population because it resembles milkweed, where monarchs lay their eggs, and once the monarch larvae hatch, they die from eating the toxic BSW leaves.

Mayor Katjana Ballantyne and the Somerville Department of Racial and Social Justice invite Somerville community members to join an upcoming ADA Community Survey Focus Group session to make their voices heard as the City updates its Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Transition Plan. 

The City of Somerville will hold a virtual public hearing on the 2023-2024 One-Year Action Plan Draft on Thursday, May 25, 2023. Community members are invited to share their input on priority needs related to affordable housing, community development, and homelessness for grants funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) through the Community Development Block Grant Program, the Emergency Solutions Grant Program, and the HOME Program.

Mayor Katjana Ballantyne and the Somerville Arts Council invite the Somerville community to shake off the winter and join the SomerStreets: Carnaval street festival in East Somerville on Sunday, June 11 from 2-6 p.m. Returning for the 13th year, the Carnaval celebration will kick off the 2023 SomerStreets season, which includes a series of three neighborhood street festivals across the City.