Government

State of the City: Manager’s New Goals, Charter Review & a Downtown Post Office

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The City of Watertown will have a new set of goals used to create the annual budget and make decisions about how municipal departments operate, City Manager City Manager George Proakis said during Tuesday’s State of the City presentation. During the address, he and City Council President Mark Sideris also discussed the Charter Review set to happen in 2026, and the possibility of having a Post Office in the center of town. This is the second story on the 2025 State of the City Address. See the first story, focused on the factors that could impact Watertown’s economic future, and in turn the City’s budget, by clicking here. New Goals

Proakis has been in town for three years, and has worked with the City Council to create the budget.

Elections

Candidates in Watertown Election Appearing at Town Democratic Committee Forum

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The following information was provided by the Watertown Democratic Town Committee:

Join the Watertown Democratic Committee for a Candidate Forum on Thursday, October 16, 2025 from 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Social Hall (downstairs) of the First Parish of Watertown, 35 Church St., Watertown, MA. The moderator will be State Senator William Brownsberger. Watertown is fortunate to have so many individuals committed to serving our city. To ensure a timely program, the forum will prioritize contested races. Please see the forum lineup below. 

2025 Candidate Forum Lineup

7:30 p.m. – Welcome! 

7:35 p.m. – School Committee (3 seats, 4 candidates)

8:10 p.m. – City Council President (1 seat, 1 candidate)

8:15 p.m. – Library Trustee (3 seats, 4 candidates)

8:45 p.m. – Councilor At Large (4 seats, 5 candidates)

9:30 p.m. – District C (1 seat, 2 candidates)

9:50 p.m. – Close

All candidates will answer the same opening question, then have 3 to 4 different questions, and end with a closing statement.  This event is free and open to the public.

Elections

Catch the Replay of the Library Trustee Candidate Forum

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A screenshot from the Watertown Cable broadcast of the Library Board of Trustees Candidate Forum. The four hopefuls for the Watertown Free Public Library Board of Trustees appeared at a live forum on Monday night co-sponsored by Watertown News and Watertown Cable Access TV. You can watch the replay of the forum on WCA-TV. The candidates include incumbent Leanne Hammonds, and three challengers, Fowler Brown, Xin Peng and Pia Owens. They answered a series of questions from moderator and WCA-TV anchor Maya Shwayder about issues including: what they’d like to see added at the library, how to fund programs if the budget gets tight, their favorite programs at the library, and how they would like to see the Summer Reading List created and vetted in the future.

Government

State of the City Remains Strong Even as Dark Economic Clouds May be on the Horizon

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City Manager George Proakis, left, and City Council President Mark Sideris presented the State of the City on Sept. 30, 2025. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

Despite an uncertain economic future, Watertown remains on solid ground, City Manager George Proakis said during Monday’s State of the City Address. He and City Council President Mark Sideris went into depth about the economic factors impacting the City during the annual address. Proakis concluded the presentation by saying, “Even as we face uncertainties, the State of the City remains strong.”

Government

Council to Weigh Changes to Rules for City Boards and Committees, City Departments

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Photo by Charlie BreitroseWatertown City Hall

The City Council will be weighing in on a 39-page document that sets the rules for how Watertown’s appointed committees and municipal departments operate. Some changes proposed include changing the length of terms for some committees, who appoints members of certain committees, and how to remove members of committees. The City has been working for many months with the Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center for Public Management at UMass Boston to create an Administrative Code for the City of Watertown, said City Manager George Proakis at the Sept. 23 Council meeting. He provided the Council with a draft Administrative Code, which he said is designed to “serve as a single, consolidated ordinance that outlines the structure and organization of city government that essentially covers boards and commissions and covers city departments.”

Elections

Hear from the Candidates in Watertown’s Election at Upcoming Forums

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As the Nov. 4 Watertown Municipal Election approaches, Watertown News and Watertown Cable Access TV will host a series of candidate forums for the local races, including the City Council and School Committee. The forums will be broadcast live, and two will be held in person, and all will be broadcast on WCA-TV’s Public Channel (Comcast Ch. 9, RCN Ch. 3, and online at http://vodwcatv.org/internetchannel/watch-now?site=1)

The first forum, held Sept.

Government

City Manager’s Reflection One-Week After the End of the Trash Strike

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Full trash bins during the recently-ended trash strike. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

Watertown City Manager George Proakis sent out the following piece on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025. As we end the first week of fall and reflect upon the summer that saw our regular trash and recycling services disrupted by the labor strike between Republic Services and their unionized workforce, I want to extend my sincere appreciation to the community for their continued understanding and the members of City staff for their hard work. Back when the strike began on July 1, 2025, and it became clear that Republic Services were not able to deliver services to our community, regardless of their prior assurances, our DPW Director Tom Brady, the Recycling Program Manager Matt Bacon, and our Communications Team began working together hour-by-hour to ensure effective messaging out to the community, and dedicating themselves to finding a creative solution to the problem facing Watertown.

Elections

LETTER from Candidate for Councilor At Large Tom Tracy

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Hello Watertown Residents,

My name is Tom Tracy and I am running for City Councilor at Large. I was born and raised in this wonderful community. For those of you who don’t know me, I proudly served Watertown as the Town/City Auditor for over 29 years. For the last seven years of my career, I was also the Assistant City Manager for Finance and then Acting City Manager following the retirement of Michael Driscoll until the hiring of George Proakis. I believe that I bring a unique experience to the job of being a City Councilor.