Leadership on Somervile's Budget
Mayor Ballantyne is showing that with her steady, proven leadership, her experience and creativity allowed her to fund progress even in these uncertain economic times.
Even as rising costs and reduced new growth posed challenges, Mayor Katjana Ballantyne avoided layoffs and major cuts. Through a combination of careful reserve use, a partial hiring freeze, and department-level efficiencies, her administration closed a $4 million gap without reducing core city services. The City Council passed her budget without a single cut.
Mayor Ballantyne was able to do the same with the school budget, making a 7.4% increase in school funding, totaling nearly $8 million in new investments. This makes a 34% increase in Somerville Public Schools funding since she took office. This fiscal discipline ensures that Somerville works and is the reason S&P Global Ratings has given the city a Triple A bond rating for the third consecutive year, which helps keep borrowing costs low.
While many cities are scaling back, I’ve been able to stay the course and choose progress thanks to careful planning and fiscal strategy. I've increased funding for our schools, and I'm protecting benefits for our most vulnerable residents, seniors, veterans, youth and families. I’ve also designed the budget to maintain essential city services with-or-without new federal funding. -Mayor Katjana Ballantyne
Mayor Ballantyne has Made Big Reforms, With Big Results
- She has revolutionized the city's budgeting process by requesting city council and community input early. Her improvement was so popular that it was adopted into the new city charter.
- To improve fiscal management she added 7 finance managers to control spending and created Somerville’s first, first free cash policy.
- Mayor Katjana’s fiscal reforms and her strong financial management earned Somerville’s first AAA bond rating. This perfect credit rating has allowed her to tackle large infrastructure projects that were long overdue.
- She is also streamlining the permitting process by committing to a common software platform across all departments. She also requires teamwork, and concurrent reviews to reduce steps and time. Her reforms are saving process steps and review time.
Mayor Katjana's budget protects core services—education & youth services, senior and veterans’ services, trash & recycling pickup, libraries, —while also delivering bold action on affordability, on rebuilding our aging infrastructure, on climate, increasing parks and green spaces, and escalating my war on rats.
Mayor Ballantyne's FY25 budget includes highlights such as:
- Significant investment in schools: Including 36 new, net full-time-equivalent positions for Somerville Public Schools. I was able to increase the school budget, by 7.4%, totaling nearly $8 million in new investments. This makes a 34% increase in Somerville Public Schools funding since I took office.
Workforce Equity:
- Funding for union contracts, addressing gender pay gaps, and ensuring fair and competitive wages for city workers
Core City Services:
- Delivering on city priorities like infrastructure maintenance, road repairs, and waste removal.
Targeted investments:
- In areas such as homelessness support, senior services, alternative emergency response programs, and climate action goals.
