[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6582212,"mediaKeyId","3142294-c1d11a5e29b8a998e95fabbc2c260a68","parentId",3142294,"title","Council accepts community safety department update; CARE team director to depart, co‑response questions referred to public safety committee","audioSeconds",2261,"startMs",7515000,"endMs",9776000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3142294-c1d11a5e29b8a998e95fabbc2c260a68&start=7515&end=9776","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3142294-c1d11a5e29b8a998e95fabbc2c260a68/thumbnail_7515000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6582212/Cambridge-City/Middlesex-County/Massachusetts/Council-accepts-community-safety-department-update-CARE-team-director-to-depart-coresponse-questions-referred-to-public-safety-committee","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6582212-e4cf40e05e071968659b069cca7109f4/orig.mp4?Expires=1771195175&Signature=IEMminhLQvx44dd7bZqq1ud366OxuBktawAOMnMjBQSFJE41rwCtMyu4qHc6IbYem-3ZfEk-gvvgY0jxHUU-iR7tFdTkGN9CL9qba10hiyFkxir32zdUDOquMp~QfjvgvK6fJ2hmx-kzyfrOefGIndowkRvn3818x4Ehb0kvHQWUTLM~1S4RHuHwuMA2W2X3EabRLoDUKiiKzhl7BperynC4JcszIlKgNL1UsmBHy~GBpI4ymyavTLV2FZcLOGjQQBmZbIP4OrdZMcgi1l269QBmUNnI7k40CtWa93UPS4uVqFqib10vtpxsYg5t4XZleqf~DiSh2A5wr20WIcgf3w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","City of Cambridge, MA","date","2025-04-28T17:17:00Z","article","The Cambridge City Council on April 28 received an update on the Community Safety Department and its CARE team, accepted the report and referred operational questions about co‑response and dispatching to the public safety committee by unanimous vote.

Leadership change: Director Liz Speakman told the council she will leave the city to join a regional crisis organization. \"If you're in a situation and you have a loved one who is really struggling... I would call this team every day,\" Speakman said in an emotional address summarizing the team's mission and why she fought to stand it up.

Operations and performance: Staff described the team's training and outreach and said dispatching and utilization have increased as the CARE schedule expanded. Program staff reported that as they expanded to more days and hours, the percentage of eligible calls they were dispatched to rose; Speakman told the council they had been \"averaging about 45% of the calls that we're eligible for\" earlier in the rollout and were seeing higher dispatch rates after expanding hours.

Co‑response and dispatch questions: Councilors pressed staff on instances when CARE and a police co‑response unit both arrived on the same calls. CARE leadership said they are dispatched through 911 on their own channel and that police co‑response units sometimes \"self‑attach\" to calls by listening to the public channel; CARE staff and emergency communications described ongoing education and coordination work with dispatchers to increase appropriate CARE dispatching and to build trust about safety protocols.

Council action and next steps: The council accepted the report and referred the item to the public safety committee (9-0) for further review, including questions about dispatch practices, call codes the CARE team can respond to, and evaluation plans for the program. Councilors and staff said they want clearer metrics and an independent evaluation partner; staff reported that an outside program evaluation partner had not yet been secured.

Why it matters: CARE is Cambridge's unarmed crisis-response and outreach program. Councilors and staff framed the update as an early-stage report for a program that has expanded rapidly and will require further operational decisions on call routing, co‑response protocols and performance measurement.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Cambridge - Apr 28, 2025 5:30 PM - City Council - Regular Meeting - Apr 28, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","The City Council accepted a status report on the Community Safety Department and the CARE team, learned that Director Liz Speakman is leaving, and referred remaining operational questions — including coordination with police co‑response and dispatch practices — to the council's public safety committee.","taxTitle","Cambridge City, Middlesex County, Massachusetts","taxId",3771,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6582216,"Advocates urge council to fund municipal vouchers, Rise Up cash program and keep transitional wellness center open",306,1059000,1365000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3142294-c1d11a5e29b8a998e95fabbc2c260a68&start=1059&end=1365","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3142294-c1d11a5e29b8a998e95fabbc2c260a68/thumbnail_1059000.jpg","/articles/6582216/Cambridge-City/Middlesex-County/Massachusetts/Advocates-urge-council-to-fund-municipal-vouchers-Rise-Up-cash-program-and-keep-transitional-wellness-center-open","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6582216-d40c72752a01f8afb469fcc8c0d5154e/orig.mp4?Expires=1771195175&Signature=OJT2FGwXDFsGIaCLe5qm05lm8w8YSgHvHS~nCxaAYzaFuU2kviPz6UIEBFyf4VWKFbf-hoWviAKR6-YfZDYbbQ5lQejXmQ7g5OzbCPZGQVogK2e6~XIGxCQojFoBGRMU7-B-KU~wq7183pIQ7qdHyJsSq2stNxIkx3sto3JK2zRcZD49OiOReO9RB9~eQuBSQKDnDkijLLop3Ofcy1b60Dv4g8E48XoB05sy8l~MmxaAPH1zEgLRbNwf76T~K~2Kge~Q8XSRoLD05W4YyrCxhHVnLc3lWrZivnDsKAyKhVGyJjjLUGiTg4RlyRsmsTJSOrjJ3-7QvwcAb7uFrMMTog__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Public comment at the April 28 Cambridge City Council meeting was dominated by housing advocacy: speakers asked the council to use local funds to shore up programs threatened by federal cuts, arguing the city can afford modest tax adjustments to preserve services.

Speakers and requests: A series of speakers, including tenant advocates and student groups, asked the council and city manager to protect four specific programs and populations: emergency housing vouchers for formerly homeless residents, 42 mixed‑status families in Cambridge Housing Authority housing, the Transitional Wellness Center shelter beds, and Cambridge Rise Up cash assistance serving roughly 1,923 low-income families.

Popular pitch and cost estimate: Several speakers urged modest property tax increases to cover the gap. Alexandria Durant told the council, \"A modest increase in property taxes, costing homeowners only $76 extra on their tax bill per million dollars could generate $9,000,000 to fully fund Cambridge Rise Up and the Transition Wellness Center.\" Other speakers repeated similar estimates and said a municipal voucher program could be seeded to protect households losing federal support.

Why it matters: Advocates described an urgent need stemming from federal funding changes that could displace vulnerable residents and close low‑threshold shelter beds. They urged the council to treat these as budget priorities and to consider forming a municipal voucher program to respond quickly to emergent housing loss.

Council response and next steps: Public comment closed on a 9-0 vote. The council heard related budget deliberations that evening; several members said they were open to discussing revenue scenarios during upcoming finance hearings. The public's appeals set the stage for budget committee testimony and staff follow-up. The council did not adopt a funding appropriation during the April 28 meeting.

Context: Commenters included tenants, community organizers, students and members of Cambridge Housing Justice Coalition and CHOW (Cambridge Housing Affordability Organizers). They cited prior council goal statements prioritizing affordable housing and asked the council to align the FY2026 budget with those goals.","Dozens of residents and student groups used public comment to press the council to protect low-income households at risk from federal funding cuts, asking the city to fund municipal housing vouchers, continue the Cambridge Rise Up cash assistance program and keep the transitional wellness center open.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6582221,"Council refers FY2026 budget to finance committee; loan authorizations sent to second reading",2047,3671000,5718000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3142294-c1d11a5e29b8a998e95fabbc2c260a68&start=3671&end=5718","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3142294-c1d11a5e29b8a998e95fabbc2c260a68/thumbnail_3671000.jpg","/articles/6582221/Cambridge-City/Middlesex-County/Massachusetts/Council-refers-FY2026-budget-to-finance-committee-loan-authorizations-sent-to-second-reading","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6582221-857fc5f0e0710606a84f2ae787c75359/orig.mp4?Expires=1771195175&Signature=fl1Z~keWohOcvJ-HipZ802x~qZWoS7oxLHFSlJetz2VTItI-kI8JWkE596RMQSVxEN5O93rd917JrV17ZKEgB8qjukRgm9qzbhmwXV0246QbUqXUQIqCiidx1WIXsAVPlwuyFEsuxK0TI4ncUScjl~21zrQn~BCcDFZ00hYrhBdHAY5mr-uLBdQoObSwAwZwVsDFsAsByfCS1RPyqEAAGLDOStTUbO5zZ~DCfhWvqEBZiU0bcDOHqO25yY9UpHd0rkUe8hNjyNHsF6nvDEEKK93FX4y~qVce1DmDJFb~HIuPLNm~OgvBhBx3SeLSBSnzvWvNMmNRbDrsikrbV5NdSg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Cambridge City Council on April 28 referred the city manager's proposed fiscal year 2026 operating and capital budget to the council's finance committee and passed a group of loan authorization orders to a second reading, the council said in a unanimous roll-call vote.

Councilor S. Nolan, chairing the discussion, told colleagues the items would be the focus of the finance committee's hearings and urged councilors to submit department questions in advance. \"We will be passing the idea is to pass all of the loan orders to a second reading tonight and refer them to the finance committee,\" Nolan said during the meeting.

Why it matters: The FY2026 package includes the city's operating budget and a five-year capital plan. Taken together with proposed borrowing, the budget and loan orders will shape city investments for streets, parks, facilities and sewer work and will determine tax levy needs that staff estimate will require a roughly 7.8% increase in property tax revenue to support the proposed spending.

What the council acted on: On a 9-0 roll-call vote, the council referred the city manager's overall FY2026 budget (city manager item 2) to the finance committee and moved loan authorization orders (items 3–11) to a second reading and referral to finance. The loan orders include, among others:
- $7,500,000 for Hearn Field open space design and construction (item 2 in materials)
- $16,500,000 for city street and sidewalk reconstruction
- $27,500,000 for surface, sewer and drainage improvements
- $3,000,000 for combined sewer overflow work
- $15,250,000 for lead service line replacement
Councilors said the second‑reading step is procedural: it allows public notice and sets the items up for detailed review at the finance committee meetings scheduled for May 8, May 13 (schools) and May 14 (capital/public investment and remaining departments), with a final council vote expected June 2.

Budget staff and process notes: City staff and budget office leaders described a slower growth rate than in recent years and highlighted sections for council review: the city manager's message, consolidated spending charts, financial policies, and section 6 (public investment/capital). Staff also noted a change in how employee benefit costs are shown: those costs were centralized in the employee benefits budget rather than allocated to each department to improve tracking.

Next steps: Councilors were asked to send specific questions to the finance chair and staff before the committee hearings so departments can prepare. The finance committee will hold multi-day hearings in May; the school department hearing is scheduled for May 13 in the evening.

Votes at a glance: The council voted 9-0 to refer the FY2026 budget to the finance committee (city manager item 2). On the same 9-0 vote the council passed items 3–11 to a second reading and referred them to finance for public hearings and further review.

Context and sources: The meeting was recorded and broadcast; councilors and budget staff discussed the budget book and capital projects during the April 28 session. The council's vote does not approve spending; it moves the items to the committee stage for detailed review and public input.","The Cambridge City Council voted unanimously to send the city manager's FY2026 budget to the finance committee for review and to move a set of proposed loan authorization orders to second reading, setting up detailed hearings next month.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Council accepts community safety department update; CARE team director to depart, co‑response questions referred to public safety committee

Advocates urge council to fund municipal vouchers, Rise Up cash program and keep transitional wellness center open

Council refers FY2026 budget to finance committee; loan authorizations sent to second reading