Government

Council to Discuss Watertown’s FY27 Budget at 3 Public Hearings

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Watertown City Hall

The City Council will hold three public hearings on the Fiscal Year 2027 budget on May 6, 11 and 12 at 6 p.m each day. The meetings will take place in City Hall, will be televised by Watertown Cable Access, and will be available by Zoom (click here for links). See more details provided by the City of Watertown, below. In accordance with the Watertown City Charter and the Council Rules, the Honorable City Council will meet, as the Committee of the Whole, for the purpose of holding public hearings on the City Manager’s Proposed Budget for the Fiscal Year 2027. The public hearings on the City Manager’s Proposed Budget for the Fiscal Year 2027 will be held as follows:

Wednesday, May 6, 2026 – 6 PM

Constituent Services

Information Technology

City Clerk / Elections

Community Development & Planning

Health and Human Services Departments

Public Safety Departments

Non-Department Appropriations (Debt, Capital Projects, Etc.)

Monday, May 11, 2026 – 6 PM

Human Resources

Public Buildings

Library

Recreation Departments

School Department

Department of Public Works

Water & Sewer Enterprise Budgets

Tuesday, May 12, 2026 – 6 PM

City Council

City Manager

Auditing

Procurement

Assessing

Treasurer / Collector

Parking Lots & Meters

City Attorney

Department Heads will be available for questions at the above scheduled hearings.

Food

Restaurants Won’t be Allowed to Automatically Include Plastic Utensils Under New Ordinance

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Restaurants in Watertown will not longer be able to automatically include packets of plastic utensils with takeout or deliver orders. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

A new ordinance approved by the City Council prohibits restaurants from automatically including plastic utensils with takeout orders, however customers can request these items when they order or pick up their food. The Council considered the Skip the Stuff ordinance at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. “Watertown Skip the Stuff ordinance is designed to reduce unnecessary plastic waste in our community,” said City Councilor Nicole Gardner. “Under this simple, common sense policy, restaurants and food businesses will no longer automatically include items like plastic utensils, straws and condiment packets with takeout or delivery orders.”

Government

City Councilor Caroline Bays Hosting Annual Public Meeting

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Caroline Bays

City Councilor At-Large Caroline Bays will host her annual meeting on April 27, 2026 at the Watertown Library

Bays provided the following announcement:

“I wanted to invite you to my Annual Meeting,” Bays said. “After hearing questions about what Watertown can do about ICE in Watertown and also curiosity about the Watertown Square Area Plan, I decided it was a good time to hold my Annual Meeting.” Bays’ annual meeting will take place on Monday, April 27 from 5:30-6:30 p.m. in the Watertown Free Public Library’s Lucia Mastrangelo Room. The Library is located at 123 Main St. in Watertown.

Government

After Recent ICE Detention in Watertown, School & City Officials Were Asked About Plans & Protections

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Following the detention of a Watertown man by federal immigration enforcement agents on April 10, School and City officials discussed actions being taken or planned by local officials. At about 9 a.m. on Friday, April 10, a man was taken from his vehicle on Rutland Road by ICE agents after they broke the window. Witnesses contacted the LUCE hotline, which got in touch with the Watertown Rapid Response Network (RRN) (a group of about 250 residents with “concerns about the current immigration enforcement”) who contacted the man’s wife. The man was taken to a detention facility in Plymouth, according to a member of the RRN. At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, a member the Rapid Response Network requested that City officials “issue an executive order that prohibits City resources from being used for immigration enforcement, prohibits immigration activities on City property, requires valid warrants before ICE enters City buildings, ensures transparency and community notifications regarding ICE activity, and protects every Watertown residents Constitutional and human rights.”

Government

See Why the City Council Narrowly Rejected a Nuclear Disarmament Resolution

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Tuesday night, a citizens group presented the City Council with a petition to support a resolution encouraging the federal government to seek nuclear disarmament in the United States and the other eight nations that have nuclear weapons. The proposal split the Council, which rejected it down by one vote. The resolution was signed by 500 residents, of whom about a dozen spoke in support for a variety of reasons, while a few residents spoke against mostly saying they did not think the issue was something that a local government could impact. The debate amongst the Councilors did not revolve around the content of the resolution, but rather about whether it was appropriate for the City Council to be taking up on their agenda. Originally, the resolution was proposed by a City Councilor, but City Council President Mark Sideris said he did not think it was appropriate discussion because it was not specifically City related, and the Council has many other issues to deal with.

Letters

LETTER: Councilor’s Statement on Nuclear Disarmament Resolution

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by Tony PalombaCity Councilor At-Large

At the City Council meeting tonight, February 10 there will be a public hearing on a Citizen Petition on a Request to Call on Federal leaders to Support Nuclear Disarmament. Below is the statement I hope to make at the Council meeting. I would like to thank the members of the Nuclear Disarmament Committee of Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice and the Environment for bringing this Resolution to the City Council via the Citizen Petition option as delineated in our Charter.  I am honored to have worked with them for nearly two years as they collected nearly 500 signatures, held numerous public forms, appeared on WCATV, wrote and distributed brochures and handouts, arranged for a presentation on this issue to Watertown HS students, sent a letter, materials and a copy of Annie Jacobsen’s book, “Nuclear War: A Scenario,” to all City Councilors and continued to reach out to you to arrange an in-person or zoom meeting to present their case for why they hoped you would pass the Resolution.  They are remarkable and dedicated folks committed to keeping the residents ofWatertown safe from the devastating effects of a nuclear exchange or an all-out nuclear war.  Thank you. I can’t do justice to the excellent statements they made this evening, but allow me to make four points. I may repeat a bit, but what I offer are the reasons why I hope you will support the Resolution.

Government

Council Roundup: Councilor Elected Head of Statewide Board, DPW Equipment Funded, Contracts Approved

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Watertown District B Councilor Lisa Feltner was elected president of the Mass. Municipal Councillors’ Association.(Photo by Krista Photography | Krista Guenin)

The City Council had a full agenda on Jan. 27, with votes to approve equipment purchases by the Department of Public Works, approval of contracts for multiple City unions, and a Watertown City Councilor was elected head of a statewide board. Also, the date for the Skip the Stuff Ordinance to be considered was announced. At the meeting, City Manager George Proakis announced that the City will be cancelling its contract with Flock Safety for license plate reading cameras.

Government

Watertown Cancelling Contract for Flock License Plate Reading Cameras

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Watertown will cancel the contract with Flock Safety to install license plate reading cameras in the City, and City Manager George Proakis told the City Council he wants to continue to have discussions about when it is appropriate for the Watertown Police to use technology in its investigations. The City signed a contract last year with Flock with plans to install eight cameras. Proakis announced the end of the contract at the Jan. 27 City Council meeting, but said he would like the City Council to discuss use of technology by the Watertown Police Department. The cameras became a topic of discussion in recent months as more communities install them, and others have removed them due to concerns about how the data collected by the cameras is being used, and who has access to it.