Portland Loos are named after their birthplace, where they're a fixture around the city.

We've got another ambitious agenda for Finance this week, with 15 items to be taken up on Tuesday, February 8.

Here are some of the agenda highlights, as I see them:

Legal Items
We're starting out with Agenda Items 212883 and 212884, seeking to appropriate funds to fulfill the city's obligations under a new collective bargaining agreement. We had kept those items in committee last week while awaiting some requested documentation on that collective bargaining agreement and the new memorandum of agreement between the city and the union.

Note: It's possible we'll need to go into executive session if committee members have questions about bargaining strategy, as these questions can't be answered in a public setting. So if you join the meeting a little late and we're in recess, that's what's going on.

Beacon Street Punch List
Given all the attention the project has generated, I know a number of us on the committee are particularly interested in Agenda Item 212935, regarding funds to wrap up the Beacon Street Reconstruction project. Director of Mobility Brad Rawson will be on hand to discuss this one and answer questions from the committee.

Spending Medical Marijuana Proceeds
Agenda Item 212888 looks to spend some of the windfall the city is receiving from the sale of medical marijuana here. Matthew Mitchell of our Health and Human Services Department will be joining us to talk about some of the ways those funds are being spent to battle abuse and addiction. I'm particularly interested in two line items of this appropriation: $15,000 for overdose prevention and naloxone (Narcan) distribution and $435,000 for Portland Loos! As a parent who has had to ask for my kids to use private restrooms, I'm a huge fan of Portland Loos as a way to provide safe, durable public restrooms.

FY23 Budget Process
The final two items on the agenda concern increasing collaboration between the City Council and the Administration on budgeting. Agenda Item 212846 is an oldie but a goodie looking to formalize a process where the Administration would provide the Council with a sort of sneak preview forecast in February of what to expect come Budget Season. The Administration has indicated that February is slightly early in terms of providing solid forecasting. Agenda Item 213016 will give us an opportunity to discuss how best to request, compile, and ideally build consensus around the Council's budget priorities for Fiscal Year 2023.

Please join us Tuesday at 6:30 PM via GoToWebinar: 2/8 Finance Committee meeting

Jake Wilson

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Somerville City Councilor-At-Large (he/him/él)