On April 22, 2025, the City Council voted to approve funding for capital projects, heard from the City Manager about the City logo, heard about the re-organization plan, set limits for revolving funds, and supported a bill on Beacon Hill about Community Media Programming. 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 22, 2025. You can view the video recording of the meeting here.
President’s Report
The council president informed the council and the public that four visioning sessions have been held discussing what might be needed in designing the middle school which have been very informative.
He and other members of the school building committee will be touring three middle schools on Wednesday and Thursday this week for the purposes of reviewing potential designs.
Council supports An Act to modernize funding for community media programming
After receiving a request from Watertown Cable Access, the council voted unanimously to express support for H. 91 An act to modernize funding for community media programming. This bill in the Massachusetts legislature would place a fee on streaming services which mirrors the fee that cable providers pay to provide public access television. Currently, streaming services do not pay for public access. This presents challenges in funding given the decline in cable subscriptions which has taken place in recent years. The bill can be read here.
Before voting, the council emphasized its support for WCATV and gratitude for all that they have done to provide access to government, especially during and since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Council approves annual revolving fund limits
As is required annually, the council unanimously approved annual limits to its revolving funds, which are funds for the purpose of managing fees and revenues received by the city for specific programs. On Tuesday, the council approved the following limits for its eight revolving funds:
Commander’s Mansion: $290,000
Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force: $1,000,000
Senior Center: $35,000
Library Copier: $25,000
Faire on the Square: $65,000
Farmers’ Market: $60,000
Animal Control: $25,000
Public Arts: $90,000
Council approves transfer of funds from council reserve
The council voted unanimously to approve a transfer of $455,800 from the council reserve to various FY25 capital project accounts. These funds are to support the following infrastructure improvements:
Renovation of the auditor’s office to accommodate the new communications team space
Design process for the Parker Building
Replacement of overhead doors and operators at both the main and north fire stations
Replacement of the Zamboni room door at the John A. Ryan Skating Rink.
Manager introduces re-organization plan
The manager submitted a small reorganization plan which creates the Department of Human Services and organizes the community wellness and food pantry teams under the director. This was referred to the Community on Personnel and City Organization.
City logo not moving forward
The city manager shared with the council and the public that the city logo that had been discussed recently will not be moving forward. He noted that the demands on staff time moving forward in the process would be too costly given other priorities. He further stated that the city still benefited from the process and will be using the style guide with blue and green colors moving forward, such as what was used in the manager’s FY26 budget documents. The administration will also work to create higher resolution images of the city seal and update branding material such as business cards and new city vehicles. The city will also be installing wayfinding signs which are consistent with this branding.