As chair of the Finance Committee, I hosted community meetings inviting input on how the city prioritizes and allocates its resources. I heard from a number of residents who were concerned that the City was not better utilizing current technology to engage residents in a simplified manner that also promotes transparency. While working to help our City embrace and become leaders in what is referred to as Gov 2.0, I chaired a finance meeting on this issue. I invited staff from Mayor Menino's office of New Urban Mechanics to share with us the innovative ways they have utilized technology to help residents access city services more conveniently. I invited smaller software companies that have a record of working with local government and a resident perspective on the city's current use of technology. 

As a direct result of this work, the City Manager is in the process of creating an "E-Gov Steering Committee" designed to develop a formal IT strategic plan. If you are interested in participating and sharing your ideas, please email me at mdecker@cambridgema.gov. I have also successfully secured the additional resources needed to develop the following three Mobile Applications that will allow the public to access City services via a smart-phone. 1. Pothole and Streetlight Outage Identification - complaints can now be identified and communicated to the City. Residents can take a photo using their smart phones and, through the application, send the pothole photo to the City where it will be entered into the work order system. 2. Citizen Complaints - Enhancements to the current CRS will allow the public to enter a complaint directly to the work order system and receive notification of the work order ticket, an estimate of when the problem will be resolved and notification when the problem is resolved. The Complaint System will include access to a website database that shows the ticket status. 3. An Optimized Search Function will enhance the search function on the City website by using Google search to return more relevant information.

For individuals interested in the City's efforts to address the unfunded Pension liability, you will be happy to learn the City is once again back on schedule following the 2008 economic collapse and ready to fully fund the Pension System's actuarial accrued (unfunded) liability, as required by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Based on a recent 2010 study and revised funding plan, a one-time allocation of $2.0 million was included in the FY12 Adopted City Budget. A revised annual appropriation in addition will allow the City to fully fund its unfunded pension liability by 2029, which is eleven years sooner than the required legal deadline. This secures the pensions earned by our city's workforce. 

OPEB (Other Post Employment Benefits) News

Staying ahead of the curve, in addition to the pension actuarial valuation and review, the City also conducts an actuarial study every two years to determine the liability of Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB), namely health insurance benefits for City retirees. In December 2009, the City Council approved the establishment of an OPEB liability trust fund. This fund is in an irrevocable trust and its assets can only be used to fund the OPEB liability. At the same time, the City Council approved an initial funding to the OPEB liability trust fund of $2 million. The City is currently collecting the necessary financial information to develop the updated OPEB actuarial liability as of January 1, 2011. The City continues to explore additional funding sources to address this future liability.

Stay tuned coming this Fall, I will chair hearings on a Council order that I submitted to create greater transparencies in the City's finances by making the "checkbook" viewable online.  

As you may have read in the previous newsletter, I chair the City's Blue Ribbon Commission on Early Childhood Education/Care. The BRC is making exciting progress with initiatives in collaboration with the City Department of Human Services, the Public Library, and the School Department to better support home daycare providers. The BRC is also in the process of briefing the larger community: we have meetings scheduled with various business groups and universities to brief them on the progress to date and to explore new partnerships. We are continuing to identify ways to provide support to family day care providers, including researching options for them to join a group insurance purchasing plan and group purchasing of arts and crafts supplies. This is just a snapshot of some of the Commission's work. Expect a full report with recommendations coming this Fall! 

Over the Summer, as Chair of the Public Health and Finance Committee, I will continue to meet with Domestic Violence Prevention stakeholders. I am revisiting the question asked a decade ago by the City's Women's Commission: "what is the role of government when one is not safe in their own home?" This Fall I will be chairing a summit with providers and stakeholders to address the questions and assess the impact of deep budget cuts over the last decade to prevention initiatives and partnerships.