Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Public commenters and council press staff to scope municipal successor to Rise Up cash program
Summary
Public commenters urged Cambridge finance committee to include funding for a city-run guaranteed-income program after the ARPA-funded Rise Up pilot ended; staff said they will return with a legal and budgetary analysis and warned an exact replication of the ARPA model may not be possible with municipal funds.
Public commenters urged the Cambridge City Finance Committee on Feb. 26 to include funding in the FY26 budget for a municipal guaranteed-income program similar to the ARPA‑funded Rise Up pilot, which ended this month.
The appeals came during the meeting's public-comment period and were followed by council discussion about legal constraints and budget capacity. City staff said they will return with follow-up material: a legal response on whether city tax dollars can underwrite a program like Rise Up and options staff can scope for FY27.
Rise Up supporters told the committee the $500 monthly payments made a measurable difference for recipients. "We got to hear on an almost daily basis what a game changer the…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
