Somerville residents urge council to redirect $3 million police increase to schools, services and alternatives

At a public hearing on the Somerville City Council Finance Committee’s proposed fiscal year 2026 budget on June 3, dozens of residents urged councilors to reject a proposed $3 million increase to the police budget and instead fund schools, alternative emergency response programs, capital repairs and social services.

The hearing, convened remotely by Councilor Jake Wilson, finance committee chair, drew multiple speakers from across Somerville who criticized what they described as a “disproportionate” rise in policing spending and pointed to cuts elsewhere in municipal programs.

Five Ward 3 residents led the initial testimony. Derek DuPont, a Ward 3 resident at 12 Craigie Street, said the police department budget now totals $21,000,000 and described the $3,000,000 increase from last year as the result of five years of inaction on alternatives to policing. “Five years of input and advocacy from the Somerville community for progressive ideas like policing alternatives and civilian oversight has…