Chelsea expands public Wi‑Fi pilot in housing authority units, cites security and cost savings

Chelsea City information technology officials described an expanded pilot to provide public Wi‑Fi in Chelsea Housing Authority (CHA) units and said the project will roll into a second phase funded with Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) resources.

City Deputy Finance Manager Michael Mason and IT Director Ramon Garcia presented the information during the City Council’s FY26 budget hearing May 20. Mason said the IT budget is roughly flat overall while noting the city is investing in capital projects and personnel across departments.

Garcia said the CHA pilot in Prattville is connecting residents’ devices and will expand to additional properties. “A few weeks ago, we received a good news that right now in our pilot in Prattville, we have over 700 devices connected to the Wi Fi, which is provided by the city,” he said. Garcia described the program as a public‑private partnership involving MBI, MAPC and private vendors and said years two and three will draw on identified MBI funds rather than the department’s general fund.

Garcia and Mason said IT operating costs fell after staff consolidated vendor contracts. “We say, OK. This is the deal. Let’s centralize. Let’s collapse contracts and get a better deal,” Garcia told councilors, and Mason said operating reductions offset small increases in personnel costs.

Councilors asked about security and ongoing management. Garcia said “70% of my time is about security,” describing a commercial‑grade enterprise security agreement and daily security events the team investigates. He added that the city runs a security program that handles about 3,000 security events daily, with roughly 50 daily incidents flagged as critical. Garcia said the city is developing AI use policies and coordinating with the state on future AI infrastructure rather than building a municipal AI system himself.

Councilors also asked about how the housing units are retrofitted and when other properties will be brought online. Garcia said IT work is coordinated to follow unit retrofits already underway and that the city will use state contract internet service providers to obtain business‑class connectivity. Councilor Taylor praised the decreased operating costs and asked how long it will take to roll out the next phase; Garcia said the IT work is the last step in each retrofit and the timing depends on the housing authority contractors and procurement steps.

Mason said that some capital IT investments — conference rooms, senior center displays and a cloud‑based phone system for schools — are funded in separate capital lines, which is why general IT operating lines fall despite added projects.

The council did not take formal votes on IT items during the presentation; the department’s FY26 budget will proceed through the council’s budget adoption process later in the week.