On April 8, 2025, City Council heard the City Manager’s FY26 budget presentation, recognized a hometown hero, heard updates on BERDO, the referral of the Demolition Delay Ordinance for review, and met the new Watertown Police dog. See the highlights of the meeting provided by Municipal Policy Analyst Doug Newton
City Council Newsletter
Please see below for the city council’s newsletter for its meeting on April 8, 2025. You can view the video recording of the meeting here.
Mary Barry Honored as a Hometown Hero
Mary Barry, a lifelong resident of Watertown who served as a volunteer in the food pantry for over thirty years, a Parent Teacher Association member for twenty years, among many other roles such as Town Meeting Member, Brownie Girl Scout Leader, and Election Worker in Precinct Three, was honored with a proclamation at Tuesday’s council meeting as a Hometown Hero.
Mary spoke after receiving the proclamation and expressed that she wishes the rest of the world could be more like Watertown. The full proclamation can be read here.
Manager Presentation of FY26 Budget
The significant majority of Tuesday’s meeting consisted of City Manager George Proakis presenting his FY26 budget to the council. The presentation given by the manager can be viewed here, and his full FY26 budget can be accessed here.
The submitted budget contains expenditures totaling $223,660,433. The manager repeatedly highlighted that Watertown, along with the rest of the nation, is entering a period of economic uncertainty. This includes uncertainty from a cutback in grants at the federal level as well as risk of a recession, reduction of federal support for Watertown’s strongest industry sectors such as life sciences, and increased costs of materials which could slow growth on construction of housing and commercial buildings.
However, Watertown is working to maintain stability in uncertain times with strong budgeting fundamentals. This includes full funding for the pension system, funding OPEB by 2031, and supporting key stabilization accounts such as affordable housing, open space/acquisition of land, and Watertown Square.
In closing, the manager re-emphasized that these are uncertain times but that Watertown has strong budget fundamentals and has made strategic investments in our buildings and our people. He also noted that while the budget adds a net zero new staff positions, Watertown will continue to strive to be an employer of choice where people want to come to work and give the best work they have ever given in their careers. The manager also described how he worked to implement the council’s budget policy guidelines and noted in the budget where he did so.
New Procurement Director Hired
The manager also announced that Watertown has hired Julie Knight as Procurement Director. Julie will begin serving on April 28th. She comes to Watertown from Somerville where she has served as served as Director of Administration & Finance for the DPW.
Update on BERDO
The manager shared that he is working on setting up meetings with large building owners in Watertown to discuss a strategy of implementing a BERDO ordinance with their particular buildings. BERDO (Building Emissions Reduction & Disclosure Ordinance) is an ordinance which requires large building owners to disclose and reduce their carbon emissions over time.
He also noted that there will be a community meeting at which residents can offer input. After both steps have taken place, an adjusted BERDO ordinance will be drafted and presented to the council.
Update on City Grant Efforts
The manager gave a brief update on Watertown’s grant pursuits in light of uncertainty at the federal and state level. One grant which it seems likely the city will not be receiving which we had hoped for is the Explore: Citizenship Corner grant from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC). This is a $4,000 grant for the library to update its citizenship materials and establish a “citizenship corner” both at the library and online.
Conversely, it seems promising that Watertown may still receive a Safe Streets and Roads for All grant of $806,192 to fund traffic calming measures and increase road safety. The manager noted that the Massachusetts Department of Transportation recently released its FY25 Notice of Funding for the program, which is a positive sign that the funding may continue.
Demolition Delay Ordinance Referred to Committee
The manager submitted a request for a referral to the Economic Development & Planning Committee for a demolition delay ordinance. This is in response to a request from the council.
The ordinance will be discussed in greater detail at a future meeting of the Economic Development & Planning Committee.
Police Department Introduces Facility Dog, Wyatt
Officer Kyle Rooney of the police department introduced Wyatt, a two and a half year old black lab/golden retriever mix who is serving Watertown as a facility dog in the police department. Wyatt’s responsibilities are widespread and include providing comfort to residents on a variety of calls the department receives. He is trained in over forty commands by Guide Dogs of America, several of which were displayed at the council meeting.
Contact the City Council:
Email all city councilors: citycouncilors@watertown-ma.gov
Municipal Policy Analyst Doug Newton: dnewton@watertown-ma.gov
Council Clerk Brendan McCarthy: bmccarthy@watertown-ma.gov