Medford committee reviews preliminary budget survey: residents cite schools, streets and after-school supports

Councilor Tsang presented preliminary results from a resident budget priorities survey to the Resident Services and Public Engagement Committee and recommended keeping the survey open for additional outreach and responses. The committee voted to keep the survey active, share access across councilors, and ask Councilor Tsang to prepare a summary for the full council.

Tsang told the committee the survey had received 92 responses and “skews a little bit” older and toward higher income than citywide demographics, but neighborhood representation appeared balanced. Schools and street infrastructure emerged as the top priorities, with frequent mention of after-school programs, climate resilience, accessibility and immigrant services.

Responses suggested various outreach methods to improve representativeness, including targeted distribution to renters, lower-income residents and organizations of color, printed copies at community centers and libraries, and broader sharing on social media and delegation mailing lists. Several councilors urged staff to broaden outreach to Facebook groups and other community channels.

Committee members agreed to keep the online form open to collect more responses and to share the raw data with all councilors. Councilor Lazzaro moved to keep the survey in committee and continue outreach; the motion passed. Councilor Tsang said he would create a summary of representative results for council review.

The committee also discussed format suggestions from respondents, including adding increase/decrease metrics and clearer timing for when budget input is solicited. Tsang asked councilors to help distribute the survey to constituencies that were underrepresented in the preliminary results.