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Cambridge finance committee proposes $5 million stabilization fund as federal funding uncertainty grows

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Summary

City staff recommended using $5 million in one-time free cash to create a stabilization fund to backfill likely federal grant losses and preserve fiscal flexibility while council and staff set multi-year budget growth and tax levy targets.

Councilor Cher Nolan, chair of the Finance Committee, opened a discussion Tuesday on the city’s multi-year budget outlook and a staff proposal to set aside $5 million in one-time free cash for a stabilization fund to address expected federal funding shortfalls.

The stabilization-fund proposal was made by Claire Spinner, assistant city manager for finance, who told the committee the money would be “taken from our free cash and put into a stabilization” and would be intended to cover potential federal grant reductions in the coming year. Spinner said the $5 million is a one-time use of free cash and that, because items funded with the fund could create ongoing costs, the city would have to “find that $5,000,000 in '27, '28, and '29” within future operating…

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