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Committee advances Veterans Services budget; acting director highlights outreach, Purple Heart signs and housing work
Summary
The Finance Committee recommended the Veterans Services Department’s $1.2 million FY26 budget after the acting director outlined outreach, commemorations, signage and work to house unhoused veterans; members pressed on staffing and training for women veterans.
The Finance Committee voted to forward the Veterans Services Department’s FY26 budget — $1,200,000 with five full‑time equivalents — to the full City Council after Acting Director Cynthia Shelton Harris described recent programs, signage and housing placements.
Harris said the department installed 10 Purple Heart City signs around Cambridge and is planning additional signage, plus two flag disposal boxes (one at Cambridge Cemetery and one at City Hall, to be coordinated with Public Works). She described programming that included historical reenactments for Black History Month and Women’s History Month and an upcoming Army 250th birthday event on June 14, supported in part by a $250,000 grant application and a pending supplemental request.
The acting director reported staffing and demographic figures: roughly 60% of staff are persons of color in permanent positions and about 20% female (speaker gave the gender figure for permanent positions). She said Cambridge’s veteran census shows approximately 1,071 veterans in the city, with 520 receiving federal VA compensation and 136 female veterans.
Councilors asked about services for unhoused veterans and partnerships with HomeBase, the VA and local nonprofit and municipal partners. Harris said the department coordinates weekly with the city’s multiservice center and has permanently housed six veterans this fiscal year. Councilors also asked about mental‑health and training resources; Harris said the department draws on federal, state and nonprofit partners and has sufficient training funds at present.
Councilors also asked about the role of the department’s acting director title and how long the role has been interim; staff said the position has been acting for some time but offered no precise timeline for a permanent appointment.
The committee recorded the vote to forward the Veterans Services budget as affirmative (eight yes votes recorded) and one absence. The department will return to council as part of the FY26 adoption process.
