2025 City Manager Performance Review

To the Honorable, the City Council:

Cambridge is an incredible city, and through this year of challenges and uncertainty, I have felt even more proud of all the ways that we are community together. As I write this, we are nearing the end of a government shutdown where the federal administration appealed all the way to the Supreme Court to withhold food benefits to our lowest income households, just months after pushing through trillions of dollars of tax cuts to our wealthiest individuals and corporations.

Yet, we continue to do the work of local government. We are picking up trash, planting trees, building affordable housing, reforming zoning, making our streets safer, housing the homeless, and so much more. I am so grateful to the Mayor, Vice Mayor, and Councillors for their public service and their trust in me and so many City leaders who are working hard every day to build a better community for everyone who lives, works, studies, and plays in Cambridge.

We have done all this work in the public eye, and by the end of 2025, we will have held 36 City Council meetings with community input on every facet of local government. We have released data, posted analysis, discussed and debated, and made decisions through difficult disagreements. Our local democracy is vibrant and healthy.

This is also the third year we have conducted a City Manager Performance Review, which is an important commitment to transparency and accountability. This next step, submitting an annual report by November 15 will be followed by the City Council's formal evaluation delivered at a Special City Council Meeting in December.

There are always things to improve, lessons to be learned, and more work to be done. I'm looking forward to the conversation and feedback.

Thank you to the City Council for this privilege and to our community for your trust.

Very truly yours,

Yi-An Huang
City Manager

Summary of Goal Performance

The following goals were approved at the June 30, 2025 City Council meeting.

Area	Goal	Status
Leadership	Coordinate with the City Council on response to federal actions and funding challenges, including addressing direct impacts to the City, community, and affected organizations in the City	MET
	Engage on regional priorities and advocate on behalf of the City to the state administration and legislature	MET
City Council Relationship	Collaborate with City Council to prioritize initiatives and programs aligned to Council goals	MET
	Continue to maintain an efficient process for awaiting reports and provide summary report in early 2026	MET
Management	Contract with benefits broker to assess current City benefits and develop initial recommendations on potential changes	MET
	Conduct Class and Compensation study to address non-union compensation in relation to the market as well as internal equity across departments	PARTIALLY MET
Community Engagement	Pilot new methods of improving communications and engagement with the community	MET
	Review boards and commissions and produce recommendations on strengthening engagement with members who are serving	PARTIALLY MET
	Resident survey performance of >60% Excellent/Good on 2025 survey for overall performance of City government	MET
Culture	Develop action plan based on the 2025 employee engagement survey and begin implementation	MET
ADEI	Establish the American Freedman Commission as a new city department in line with the 2023 ordinance	MET
	Develop a citywide plan to enhance communication and foster engagement with the community around the City's core values of Antiracism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ADEI)	PARTIALLY MET
City Operations	Achieve compliance with established service level agreements (SLAs) for operating department requests in SeeClickFix at an 80% level or above in the top 30 request categories	PARTIALLY MET
	Provide preliminary framework for a comprehensive 10-Year Public Investment Plan	MET
Fiscal Management	Implement greater City Council engagement in the budget development process, including Finance Committee meetings prior to formal submission of the budget regarding: 1) operating budget, 2) capital budget, 3) police budget, and 4) ARPA program	MET
	Maintain strong fiscal position and AAA bond rating	MET
	Finalize ARPA contracts and amendments with all funding obligated	MET

Leadership

Effectively carry out the vision and direction set by the City Council including through development of goals and strategies as well as work closely with the Council to lead the City through significant events and crises.

Goal	Status
Coordinate with the City Council on response to federal actions and funding challenges, including addressing direct impacts to the City, community, and affected organizations in the City	MET
Engage on regional priorities and advocate on behalf of the City to the state administration and legislature	MET

2025 has been an unprecedented year as we have sought to vigorously respond to challenges from the federal administration. We have conducted 15 federal updates at City Council through an ever-changing landscape of funding cuts, unconstitutional actions, and court cases.

Our Law department has performed above and beyond. Cambridge has joined as a plaintiff in two cases, one over grant conditions and a second over federal attacks on sanctuary jurisdictions. Cambridge has filed amicus briefs in seven additional cases, including over international students at Harvard, indirect funding for research grants, national guard deployment, and sanctuary cities. We regularly update a litigation tracker for City Council that covers cases that we are involved in or that are directly affecting our community. Given the severity of federal overreach, our active engagement in the courts has been a critical way for us to stand up for our values and defend the programs that matter to us.

We also recognized early that we were likely to see federal funding cuts, both directly to the City and across our community. The City Council approved the allocation of $5 million of free cash to be used to mitigate the impact of federal cuts. We recognize that the City does not have the resources to replace federal funding, but this provides us with a structure in the budget to act and make a difference.

This reserve is what has allowed us to respond rapidly during the current SNAP crisis. Within a week of the federal government announcing its intention to cut off food benefits, the City Council appropriated $250,000. Together with the Cambridge Community Foundation which provided an additional $250,000 from its Urgent Needs Fund, we are distributing grocery gift cards to seniors, disabled residents, and students in our schools, as well as strengthening our food pantries through the Cambridge Food Pantry Network. Our forward planning and financial flexibility allow us to act quickly, and we expect more challenges in the year ahead.

We have also taken action to defend our immigrant community. The City Council has strengthened our Welcoming Cities ordinance to reinforce that our local police are focused on community safety and not civil immigration enforcement. Our Commission on Immigrant Rights and Citizenship has held Know-Your-Rights trainings for over a thousand people. And we continue to look for ways to engage our community. Just in this last week, the libraries hosted an event with Pathway for Immigrant Workers that helps low-wage workers navigate the sponsorship process to receive a green card, and bystander intervention trainings with the State's Office for Refugees and Immigrants to provide practical tools for providing community support, action, and de-escalation.

We are still facing significant uncertainty and threats. But we are committed to using all the tools at our disposal - legal action, funding, municipal ordinances, City programs and staff - to navigate these challenges. And we will do it together with the Council and our amazing community.

Finally, I'm proud that Cambridge is playing an important role in regional coordination and state initiatives. I continue to serve with Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn of Medford as co-chair of the Metro Mayors Coalition, a group of municipal leaders that represent the urban core of Metro Boston. We hosted a Climate Summit this past May at the Science Museum that recommitted the region to fight climate change and build greater resilience and environmental justice in our communities. We've spoken out against federal immigration actions, with a joint letter in June calling out the unconstitutional racial profiling and taking of collaterals that we see across our communities. And we have worked on policy proposals to strengthen the structure of municipal finances across the Commonwealth.

We have also continued to provide testimony at the State House on key legislation. Cambridge has spoken out in favor of legislation to improve energy affordability, climate resilience, real estate transfer fees to fund affordable housing, regional ballot initiatives to fund transportation, and greater empowerment and flexibility for municipalities. I appreciate our hard-working state delegation that has collaborated with the City to address key legislative priorities and bring forward home rule petitions on behalf of Cambridge.

City Council Relationship

Establish a collaborative and transparent working relationship with the City Council.

Goal	Status
Collaborate with City Council to prioritize initiatives and programs aligned to Council goals	MET
Continue to maintain an efficient process for awaiting reports and provide summary report in early 2026	MET

Over 2025, we have seen significant policy debates and decisions. I have sought to follow the direction of the City Council and provide the professional experience and expertise of City leaders and staff to inform our decisions and actions.

We have seen historic changes in zoning for multi-family housing, a policy debate that started in early 2024 and was passed in spring of this year. Throughout this process, we worked closely with the City Council, prioritizing our zoning agenda, developing multiple options, and providing deeper analysis. As we enter this fall, we are considering additional zoning changes to major corridors, as well as deeper policy proposals and debate over how to increase housing production. Just in the past year, we have seen several fully permitted housing projects canceled because of deteriorating financial projections. There is still so much work to do as we face the highest rents and housing prices in the Commonwealth.

We also saw continued debate over the implementation of bike lanes, and particularly the design of Garden Street. Based on the Council's direction, City staff provided options for preserving a separated bike lane while returning Garden Street to two-way car traffic. We ultimately committed to a Summer 2026 implementation design that was voted through by a majority of the Council.

Finally, an important collective goal has been to update our payment-in-lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreement with Harvard. This has been a continued conversation since the City provided notice to the university that the City wanted a new agreement. The timing, however, has been difficult. 2025 has seen perhaps the greatest financial uncertainty that Harvard has faced in a century. I'm appreciative of the collaborative and practical agreement for a one-year deal that has raised the annual PILOT contribution from $4.7 million in 2024 to $6.0 million in 2025. While both the University and the City desired a longer-term agreement, with significant financial uncertainties, a one-year deal has been the best option until there is a more stable outlook.

Throughout this year, I've sought to work closely with the Council on important priorities. The underlying process for policy orders and awaiting reports is the backbone of debate and discussion for our local government. I'm grateful to the Council for the changes that we have made this term. Over the last two terms (2020-2021 and 2022-2023), the City Council has passed on average 87 awaiting reports and the City responded to only an average of 52, with 40% never receiving an answer. This was a persistent source of frustration, both for Councillors who never knew if they were going to get a reply, and City staff who felt like there was no possibility they could complete all the work the Council was asking for while also running the day-to-day operations of the City.

This term, we started from a clean slate and made a shared commitment - that the Council would prioritize, and that the City would respond. I'm proud to say that we are on track. In 2024, 69 awaiting reports were passed and all 69 have been responded to. In 2025, 65 awaiting reports were passed, and while we still have 20 outstanding, our goal is to have almost all responded to by the end of the term.

This has been a tremendous improvement compared to the last two terms in transparency, trust, and accountability. I'm grateful to the City Council for this healthier and more collaborative process. We will provide a final summary after the end of this term and I'm looking forward to discussion with the next Council to start the 2026-2027 term.

Management

Develop a strong City organization that has the people, processes, and systems to deliver on day-to-day operations and existing and new initiatives.

Goal	Status
Contract with benefits broker to assess current City benefits and develop initial recommendations on potential changes	MET
Conduct Class and Compensation study to address non-union compensation in relation to the market as well as internal equity across departments	PARTIALLY MET

The two goals we set on management have focused on core HR functions. We have not formally reviewed our benefits, particularly our health insurance packages for many years. There have been major shifts in the healthcare landscape including the merger of Harvard Pilgrim Health Plan and Tufts Health Plan to form Point32Health. We have also seen tremendous growth in pharmacy costs and continued consolidation of hospital providers.

Over the summer, we contracted with a benefit broker to assess our current benefits and explore opportunities for savings and enhancements. This work is on track and expected to be completed in December, which will provide us with options that can be implemented for the upcoming April 2026 plan year. The benefits broker will continue to provide support as we put changes into place, and we are also ensuring that we will communicate clearly and transparently with all City staff who may be affected.

We are making significant progress on conducting a class and compensation study for non-union jobs. Over the spring, we conducted extensive internal engagement to review and update job descriptions, an important step in creating consistent grades and benchmarks for each role. Market benchmarking was completed over the summer, and we are now reviewing preliminary recommendations to address both market and internal equity. In addition, our goal is to come out of this work with a more consistent non-union compensation structure across the organization. While we are slightly behind our original schedule, this work is still on track for implementation beginning in the FY27 budget.

Community Engagement

Proactively communicate with the community andcreatea range of opportunities for all stakeholders and residents to provide input and feedback, particularly communities whose voices are not typically heard by City Hall.

Goal	Status
Pilot new methods of improving communications and engagement with the community	MET
Review boards and commissions and produce recommendations on strengthening engagement with members who are serving	PARTIALLY MET
Resident survey performance of >60% Excellent/Good on 2025 survey for overall performance of City government	MET

Community engagement is at the foundation of how we make changes and improvements across our city. I'm grateful for the investments we have made across major departments to support deeper engagement, especially with people whose voices aren't usually heard. Over the last year, we have worked to create greater coordination and consistency across all our City efforts.

We have also piloted new methods of engagement. This fall, we launched a "New Resident Guide" containing information on the most relevant City services for new residents and distributed this to households that applied for a moving van permit over the prior months. We will assess the impact of these guides over the winter. We have also launched a pilot of the Community Planning Academy in partnership with Community Development. This effort brought 14 residents into a three-session, in-person workshop series to demystify the processes, policies, and key actors in planning and development. Pre- and post-program surveys showed a measurable increase in people's understanding of the planning process, sense of connection to the City, and desire to participate in future projects. Additionally, this work has been valuable by bringing people who have traditionally been under-represented in City planning. These interactions have helped us understand how we can do better to incorporate the diversity of perspectives across our community.

We launched a Civic Outreach Squad (COS), a small, part-time team specializing in direct outreach, including door-to-door neighborhood engagement, park and street canvassing, tabling at community events, and targeted phone banking. During its first eight weeks, the team supported five City initiatives across multiple departments. In that time, COS reached more than 7,400 properties, distributed more than 7,700 materials, and engaged with more than 300 residents. Initial results are promising, reaching deeper and more directly into our neighborhoods to inform them of important events and City initiatives.

We are also committed to continued improvement in how we run our boards and commissions. We have more than 50 bodies with over 440 residents participating regularly in the civic life of the City. Over this year, we are strengthening the process of recruiting, onboarding, and engaging the residents who are providing their time, voices, and expertise. This will ensure we have accurate data on who is serving; clear processes and procedures for all steps in the boards and commissions lifecycle; improved information systems supporting the management of these boards and commissions; clearly identified process owners; and necessary training and support to ensure our boards are well run and our members have the best possible experience from the time they submit their application to the time they exit service to the City.

We have also begun discussing how to deepen connections with members across boards. One initiative is an annual gathering for all active members, targeting April 2026 in conjunction with National Volunteer Month. This gathering aims to recognize members' contributions and foster stronger connections among members of different boards and commissions and City staff. There have been various iterations of this type of event in the past, and we are looking to formalize this convening and hold it annually.

Finally, I'm excited to provide the results of the 2025 Resident Survey, which we are conducting annually. This is the third year that we have used more standardized questions and benchmarked against hundreds of other municipalities. We continue to see high marks for overall performance of City government. For 2025, "Overall Performance of City Government" equaled the highest "excellent" rating (22%) in the history of the survey program - dating back to 2000. This 22% "excellent" rating was matched only by the 2023 survey. The combined Excellent/Good rating for the overall performance of City government was 70%. I'm looking forward to discussing the data with the Council as we look at how to better respond to resident priorities and concerns.

Culture

Define and establish a healthy culture across the City that fosters collaboration, trust, empathy, and effective and efficient decision making.

Goal	Status
Develop action plan based on the 2025 employee engagement survey and begin implementation	MET

2024 was the first year that we have done a comprehensive employee engagement survey that includes benchmarking with other municipalities. While there were areas of strengths including communications, empowering staff to solve problems, operational services, and being a welcoming community, we also identified three key areas where we needed to improve: enhancing core HR functions, improving work environments, and addressing internal inequities. In March, we hosted two employee forums to process the survey results and share next steps. Over 350 staff joined these forums and participated in discussion on the results.

Across each area, we have been working to address improvements:

• Enhancing core HR functions
  • Increased central support for departments in hiring, launched a SharePoint site with hiring guidelines, piloted new recruiting approaches with DHSP preschools
  • Increased transparency and access to HR leadership through quarterly, all staff forums, with between 200-250 attendees and live Q&A
• Improving work environments
  • Reduced overcrowding at 51 Inman Street by relocating departments to new space at 689 Mass Ave, prioritizing departments that had greater need
  • Provided clearer written guidance and support for staff in challenging workplace contexts such as first amendment auditors, protests, and potential ICE enforcement actions; this included creating an on-call line during business hours for Law department support for frontline staff
  • Worked with leadership in departments with low survey results to develop and implement tailored plans to improvement staff satisfaction, engagement, and retention
• Addressing internal inequities
  • Launched a Request for Proposal (RFP) to work with a consultant to help us update our Employee Manual and associated HR policies, ensuring greater clarity and consistency across the organization
  • Launched non-union Compensation and Classification Study, which will create more standardized job descriptions and will provide market and internal benchmarks to address pay equity concerns

While some of these areas of focus were known before the survey, having clearer data and benchmarked helped validate our existing priorities. Data that we gathered also helped emphasize which initiatives were needed the most. Appreciating the time that it takes to both implement deeper changes, our plan is to conduct employee engagement surveys every 2-3 years.

Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Advance anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts across the City, including strategy, organizational culture, HR, policy development, and service delivery.

Goal	Status
Establish the American Freedman Commission as a new city department in line with the 2023 ordinance	MET
Develop a citywide plan to enhance communication and foster engagement with the community around the City's core values of Antiracism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ADEI)	PARTIALLY MET

The City of Cambridge has officially established the American Freedmen Commission in accordance with Chapter 2.131 of the Cambridge Municipal Code. This Commission is tasked with exploring the historic and ongoing harms experienced by Cantabrigian descendants of enslaved people and determining appropriate reparations. To launch this important work, the City Manager's Office issued a public call for applications on March 1, 2025, with a closing date of April 7, 2025. The announcement was shared through the City website, a news release, daily email updates, and other public postings. A total of 34 applications were received. After a thorough review and interview process led by a panel of City staff, 12 individuals were recommended for appointment in June 2025. I'm grateful for the collaboration with Mayor Simmons and Councillor Wilson in this important work, as well as the leadership of the Office of Equity and Inclusion.

The Commission convened in September 2025 and participated in Open Meeting Law training. The selection of a chairperson is anticipated for November. The Commission's first order of business will be to establish sub-working groups focused on investigating the historical and systemic harms caused by federal, state, and local governments to American Freedmen. These groups will also begin developing a strategy and implementation plan for community outreach and engagement. The City remains committed to transparency, equity, and meaningful dialogue as this work progresses. We look forward to continued collaboration with the community as the Commission moves forward.

The Office of Equity and Inclusion (OEI), in partnership with the ADEI Advisory Council, has developed a strategic plan to strengthen communication and deepen engagement with the Cambridge community. This initiative is part of the City's ongoing commitment to embedding the values of antiracism, diversity, equity, and inclusion (ADEI) into the services and support provided by City departments. As part of this effort, OEI is using the Community Engagement Framework to organize at least two community dialogue sessions in collaboration with various departments.

The first session is planned for early 2026 and will provide residents with an opportunity to share their perspectives, ask questions, and help shape the future of inclusive practices in Cambridge. These efforts reflect a proactive and intentional approach to building a more equitable and connected city-one where every voice is valued and every resident has a role in shaping our shared future.

City Operations

Oversee effective delivery of resident services including day-to-day operations, maintaining city infrastructure, and major capital projects.

Goal	Status
Achieve compliance with established service level agreements (SLAs) for operating department requests in SeeClickFix at an 80% level or above in the top 30 request categories	PARTIALLY MET
Provide preliminary framework for a comprehensive 10-Year Public Investment Plan	MET

The City is committed to proactively providing consistent, high-quality municipal services. These services encompass a wide range of day-to-day operations and infrastructure maintenance: managing solid waste, delivering clean drinking water, ensuring healthy parks and urban forests, maintaining effective sewer and stormwater systems, supporting high-quality transportation infrastructure, and keeping City buildings and fleet in the best condition possible. This important work is carried out by hundreds of hard-working public servants, and I am extremely grateful for their efforts each and every day to ensure Cambridge remains a wonderful place to live, work, and play.

Residents are welcome and encouraged to request non-emergency services or to report concerns through our request management system, SeeClickFix, which can be accessed via mobile phone application or online at https://www.cambridgema.gov/SeeClickFix. SeeClickFix supports our ability to track requests, plan work, communicate with requestors, engage in public discussion about issues, and develop data we can use to hold ourselves accountable and work toward process improvement. Each request category has a specified service level agreement (SLA) which sets a goal for the timeline to close out the request. Straightforward requests have a shorter SLA (e.g., 48 hours for missed trash pick-up) while more complicated issues take longer to resolve (e.g., repairing a manhole or piece of drainage infrastructure might be expected to take up to a year).

It is the City's goal to complete at least 80% of requests received within their designated service level agreement (SLA). In FY25, the top thirty categories brought in a total of 11,788 requests, 79% of which were closed within their agreed upon SLA. As shown in the chart below, steady improvements have been made in the percentage of requests being closed within their SLA over the past four fiscal years.

Improving the regular interaction and responsiveness of these requests is an important part of our day-to-day operations, and we will continue to seek improvements as we seek to exceed our 80% target in FY26.

Powered by a history of strong economic growth, Cambridge has consistently been able to budget and execute our capital improvement plan. This success is reflected in robust investments, including three new schools, extensive street and sidewalk repairs, new parks and playgrounds, and modern firehouses incorporating infrastructure for a greener future. Improvements to our water, sewer and stormwater infrastructure especially have made Cambridge significantly more resilient during a time of stronger storms and greater risk of flooding, reduced sewer overflows, and made water main breaks less frequent. We have constructed 10 stormwater holding tanks and seen much reduced flooding especially in the Baldwin and Port neighborhoods.

While our existing priorities remain, the current economic cycle necessitates a refined approach to capital investments. To that end, we are developing a new 10-year capital improvement framework designed to strategically reconcile our ongoing goals for infrastructure maintenance and renewal with a focus on prudent fiscal stewardship. This framework will establish clear financial guardrails. Along with our targets for tax levy and budget growth, we will set targets debt service costs. These metrics will provide the starting point for the capital plan and define the maximum ceiling for the amount of capital we can responsibly deploy. The new framework will drive greater scrutiny on project budgets, timelines, and the cost effectiveness of our investments.

Fiscal Management

Provide effective financial management and oversight of the budget, ensuring fiscal stability while allocating resources to meet community needs.

Goal	Status
Implement greater City Council engagement in the budget development process, including Finance Committee meetings prior to formal submission of the budget regarding: 1) operating budget, 2) capital budget, 3) police budget, and 4) ARPA program	MET
Maintain strong fiscal position and AAA bond rating	MET
Finalize ARPA contracts and amendments with all funding obligated	MET

The City's budget is a core responsibility of the City Manager and the City Council. To promote transparency and Council engagement in the budget development process, we collaborated closely with Councilor Nolan as Finance Chair to hold a series of Finance Committee meetings throughout the year. We started in fall of 2024 with a joint City Council/School Committee roundtable on October 28 to review macroeconomic trends and set budget targets. We then held Finance Committees meetings on the operating and capital budgets (Nov. 20 and Dec. 11), Council priorities and goals (February 26), ARPA funding and the police budget (March 26), and capital and large-scale programs (April 16). The FY26 Budget was submitted on April 28, discussed at full-day public City Council hearings on May 8, May 14, and May 15, and was adopted on June 2.

I'm proud that we have built a budget that reflects the goals and priorities of the City Council and the community. We are investing $48 million toward affordable housing, $17 million toward addressing homelessness and housing instability, $35 million on universal pre-kindergarten, $18 million toward our Climate Net Zero goals, and $11 million toward Vision Zero and Traffic Safety. The Cambridge Public Schools represent the single largest part of our budget at $280 million and include significant increases in teacher salaries and support a longer school-day from our most recent contract negotiation. This has been a long-time School Committee priority and creates more teaching time for our students.

We also remain committed to many important programs built over the years in collaboration with the Council. These ongoing initiatives include services and support for the unhoused, job training and continuing education programs, urban composting that is expanding to serve both residents and small businesses, an amazing urban forestry program dedicated to establishing a resilient tree canopy in our dense city landscape, and so much more. I'm especially proud of major projects that were completed this year, such as 116 Norfolk, a partnership with the Cambridge Housing Authority that received $10 million of funding from the Affordable Housing Trust (AHT). This project created 62 studio apartments for people transitioning out of homelessness and included long-term operational funding for onsite case management, clinical, and supportive services. This kind of housing not only provides a safe and dignified home, but also the resources to help people thrive and succeed.

I recognize that the budget process requires difficult trade-offs, especially as we face greater economic constraints. This year, the planned closure of the Transition Wellness Center (TWC), a 58-bed adult emergency shelter that was established during the pandemic with ARPA dollars became a late but important point of debate. The TWC closure had already been extended almost two years with additional ARPA funds to summer 2025. City staff and partnering nonprofits worked hard to transition people at TWC to other housing options. We have also opened 96 new permanent supportive housing units, including the 62 units as part of 116 Norfolk, and another 34 permanent supportive housing units as part of two projects that received $8 million of AHT funding. Throughout these conversations, it was clear that there was a desire from the Council to do more to address our housing crisis, and so we built an additional $1 million into the FY26 budget to establish municipal housing vouchers for the unhoused. This program is rolling out quickly with resident screening starting over the summer, and vouchers being prepared to be issued soon.

We have met our goal of maintaining a strong fiscal position and AAA bond rating, which we achieved from all three major bond rating agencies. A high bond rating is not just a financial advantage that provides us with lower borrowing costs, but also a sign that our fiscal policies and management are secure, and that the City will have the financial strength to accomplish our long-term goals.

We also continue to be on track to finalize our ARPA contracts and fully expend the dollars we have available. We have made strong progress since our last report to City Council in March when we reported to the City Council that 80% of ARPA funds had been expended. As of September 30, 90% of the total allocation has now been spent. This 90% represents just under $79 million, with approximately $9 million remaining spread across 44 projects and most balances under $100,000. About half of these projects sit with nonprofit community organizations and we have until September 2026 to fully expend these final funds. The City prioritized using ARPA funds to support our most vulnerable residents, with the largest funding categories representing public health funding during the height of the pandemic, the Rise Up program, housing and homelessness, small business support, food insecurity, direct support for nonprofits, sustainability efforts, education and job training, and arts and culture.

It is this final note that underlines the challenges ahead of us. During the pandemic crisis, we were working closely with the federal government and provided financial resources to protect our community from the worst impacts. Today, it is the federal government that is causing the financial uncertainty we face - from layoffs of federal workers to the threat of unconstitutional terminations and conditions on federal grant dollars. The government shutdown is another stark example of how the federal administration is fighting to pull resources from the most vulnerable in our community - and we will need to be attentive, proactive, and judicious about how we mitigate those impacts and deploy City resources. We cannot ultimately fill the full gaps that are left, but we will, as a community, be making these decisions together.

Closing Thoughts

During this time of so much distrust in government, my commitment remains the same - that Cambridge stands out in our commitment to democratic government, that we communicate our decisions and deliberations transparently, that we demonstrate that we can make decisions even through disagreements, and that we make real progress on our most challenging problems.

I have great hope, even in these times. We have amazing City leaders and staff who are going above and beyond to serve residents and build innovative programs. We have partners throughout Cambridge scaling nonprofit organizations, building businesses, and educating the next generation of leaders. And we have residents who show up, provide feedback, and are engaging in their local government. I'm grateful for our City Council, that continues to stand out as one of the most representative, transparent, and effective elected bodies in the Commonwealth.

We can make this beautiful community better, each and every day. Thank you for the opportunity to serve and for the work we do together.