Government Central
Legislative Affairs Update by Terrence F. Smith
MassDOT Secretary Address
Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation Richard Davey addressed the September 27, 2011 Government Affairs Executive Speaker luncheon at the Royal Sonesta Hotel. Davey was making his maiden address in his current role before a business audience.
Davey discussed changes since most of the Commonwealth’s transportation agencies merged under the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), challenges and successes, and his focus as Secretary. He said that MassDOT is undertaking the State’s largest investment in public works projects ever that most of the work addresses a backlog of projects. Innovation is necessary given budget constraints and he referenced the recent Fast 14 Project that replaced 14 bridges over 10 weekends. Under the Accelerated Bridge program, the state will invest $8 billion to reduce the backlog of bridge projects
MassDOT invests in projects that have economic development benefits and the state is working to leverage private investment. The state faces challenges to maintain the transportation system and he said the MBTA faces a $161 million deficit which grows to $1.62 billion with debt service. Almost half of Massachusetts transportation funds go to debt service and paying for projects done in the past, rather than being available to meet future needs.
Davey said the State is addressing five critical areas: safety, service, employees, fiscal responsibility and innovation. The accelerated bridge program is an investment in safety. MassDOT has made customer service a priority and make it clear to all staff that the system moves people. He is working to empower employees to make decisions and innovation is important particularly in improving the customer experience. The MBTA has made it easy for application developers to build applications to help riders use the system.
During Q&A Davey reported that the Longfellow Bridge reconstruction is under federal review, the MBTA is investing $50 million in Red Line improvements, and that the uses for the Grand Junction rail line are being evaluated. He said that MassDOT has instituted Green DOT to address sustainability and that his successor will continue initiatives he started as MBTA General Manager to increase interaction with customers.
Council Considers Assessing Mitigation/Community Benefits for Zoning Relief
The City Council has passed a number of orders over the past year asking the City Manager to propose a policy for assessing a fee on property owners who request zoning changes to increase the allowable development on a site. The City Council received a report from the City Manager with a framework for assessing mitigation/community benefits payments. The Council’s Government Operations and Rules Committee held a hearing on this matter on August 29 and the Council received a report from that hearing and discussed the matter on September 26.
The framework proposes assessing a fee of $10 per square foot of development over that allowed under existing zoning when zoning changes requested by a property owner are approved by the City Council. The City Manager would appoint a committee to determine how these funds are spent with half of the money going to the neighborhood directly abutting the development and half going to citywide projects.
At both the Committee hearing and the full Council meeting the discussion was largely focused on use of funds collected once this framework is established with little discussion about whether such a policy is necessary. The Chamber submitted comments on this matter and they are included in the attachments to the Committee Report.
Property Tax Rate Approved
On September 26, 2011 the Council approved the tax rate for the current fiscal year (FY12). The FY12 property tax levy of $299,090,641 reflects a $15,128,942 or 5.33% increase from last year, which is lower than the increase projected earlier this year.
The residential tax rate will be $8.48 per thousand dollars of value, which is an increase of $0.32, or 3.9% from FY11. The commercial tax rate will be $20.76, which is an increase of $0.86, or 4.3%. Both increases in the tax rate are less than FY11. Commercial property owners will pay 65.4% of property taxes.
Council and School Committee Elections November 8
Local elections for City Council and School Committee are scheduled for Tuesday November 8. All incumbents are running for re-election.
2011 Cambridge City Council Candidates
• Leland Cheung*
• Henrietta Davis*
• Marjorie Decker*
• Craig Kelley*
• David P. Maher*
• Charles Marquardt
• Gary Mello
• Gregg Moree
• Matthew Nelson
• Jamake Pascual
• Kenneth E. Reeves*
• Sam Seidel*
• Denise Simmons*
• Tom Stohlman
• Tim Toomey, Jr.*
• Minka vanBeuzekom
• Larry Ward
• James Williamson
2011 School Committee Candidates
• Alfred B. Fantini*
• Bill Forster
• Joyce Gerber
• Richard Harding*
• John J. Holland
• Marc McGovern*
• Patty Nolan*
• Mervan Osborne
• Charles Stead
• Nancy Tauber*
• Alice Turkel
* Indicates incumbent
Thank you to Genzyme Corporation for sponsoring the 2011 Government Affairs Committee programming. For more info, contact Director of Government Affairs Terrence Smith at
tsmith@cambridgechamber.org or (617) 876-4213.
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