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0 18 JANUARY3,2003NEWSANDFEATURESTHEBOSTONPHOENIX HALL BOSTON ahead hat's for B duced local aid, increased development, and a fresh-faced city council '•T SAMUEL R. TYLER • ILLUSTRATIONSBYBOBECKSTEIN EXT YEAR, Boston will struggle to priori- ablHeohuosuisnign.gBwuililldrienmgaainndamcaeinntrtaaliniisnsgueaffforord- ohapsmepnrtomipnttehdetLhoenBgRwAootdoMperdoipcoasleAirnetearim thecitynextyear.Themayoi’srecentattempt guidelinesforsuchexpansionoverthe tize the delivery of municipal services in a toinstituterentsta- next 18months,whileanewmasterplan bilization,whilenot fortheareaisfinalized.Transportation tight fiscal climate, even as planning intend- successful,sparked planstosupportthisnewdevelopmentare amuch-neededpo- completeandawaitdecisionsonthe ed to further enhance the city continues. Preparations liticaldiscussionof state’sshareofthefunding. theproblem.Busi- Waterfrontdevelopment. Meanwhile. will be made, for instance, for the 2004 opening of the ness,real-estate, Governor-electMittRomneyhasindicated new Boston Convention & Exhibition Center on the atuntdionnoanlplreoafdietrsinrsteic-- huirsbasnupdpeovretlfooprment i ognizetheserious- aspartofare- South Boston waterfront. Also, work is beginning on the nessofthehousingproblem mditseffecton gionalsmart- growingBoston'seconomy,andtheyseem growthplan. Fol- Democratic National Convention, which will take place willingtoplayamoreactiveioleinsolvingthe lowingthatposi- problem.Examplesofnewa]iproachescould tion, Romneyand in the FleetCenter, also in 2004. These two big events, includeemployer-assistedhousing,revisionof Meninomusten- thezoningcodetoencourageresidentialde- surethatthecity especially the Democratic Convention, will offer an op- velopmentdowntownorneartransitstations, andCommon- andas-yet-untriedmeasurestopreserveexist- wealthcollaboratenextyearinthecom- portunity to showcase Boston nationally. They can act ingaffordablehousing.Themayorisinapo- pletionoftheMunicipal Harbor Planto sitiontobringtogetherkeyplayerstoreach guidebuildingalongBoston’swaterfront as catalysts, bringing together public and business lead- consensusonstepsthatcanbetakenatthe areawhenthedevelopmentcycleim- localleveltoincreasehousingdevelopment. proves. ers to address a series of critical issues that will shape There’snodoubtthatpartofthesolutionwill Transportation. Fundingforthethird the city for generations to come, such as development of sneeessCiitnyteHralmlscohfapnegrimnigtttihneg,w:miayniatgdionegsbluasnid- pSthaatsieonofatnhdeSSoiulvtehrLinebetweenBoylston availability,streamlineddecision-making,and Stationmustbe the Surface Central Artery. Even so, the public’s atten- theextentofneighborhoodinvolvement. includedinthe Development.Planningforexistingand federalTrans- tion next year will be focused primarily on the weakened futuredevelopmentprojectsinBostonwill portationReautho- economy and its impact on city and state services. btieoncrciteinctaelrnesxctheydeualr.edWitothoptehneninew20c0o4n,ven- r3)izatthiaotnwiBlilllb(eTaEpA-- hotel-development provedin2003. By andtransportation theendofDecem- Projectionsofa$2billionstatedeficitin etforsportingandmusicalevents,andto planningwillhave ber2003, theSil- fiscal2004,whichstartson|uly 1,2003, implementanewparkingexcisetaxof1 tomoveforward. verLinesectionfrom SouthStationtothe willlikelybringasecondroundofeven percent.Anytaxdebatewillbelinkedtothe ’Whileinitialplan- SouthBostonwaterfrontareashouldbe deeperlocal-aidcutsthanthoseBoston Meninoadministration’srecordofcontrol- ningfortheRose openforservice.Theneedfordirectac- facedthisyear.Thesecutswillcreatethe lingexpensesandadoptinginitiativestopro- KennedyGreenway cesstothisareafromthe BackBayviathe biggestfiscalchallengeofMayorTom videservicesmoreefficiently. Districtprojectin- westboundlanesoftheMassachusetts Menino'snineyearsinoffice,duringwhich TheMeninoadministrationisalready volvingthe27acres Turnpikemeansthattheturnaround timehisadministrationhasenjoyedconsec- takingstepstomeetthefiscalchallenges oftheSurfaceCen- (slingshot) projectmustbeapriority. In utiveyearsofsteadyspendinggrowth.Are- ahead.Aprocesshasbeenunderwayto tralArterylandisbeingundertakenbythe themeantime, accesstotheSouthBoston ductionof10percentinstateaidtoBoston controladditionstothecitypayroll,andthe MassachusettsTurnpikeAuthority,thefinal waterfrontaswellasparkinglimitswill wouldconsti—tutealossofapproximately capitalbudgethasbeentrimmedoverthe governance,planning,andfinancingstruc- continuetoraiseconcernsaboutthearea’s $50million about2.8percentofthis pastthreeyears.Anadequatereserveof turehasnotyetbeenresolvedandshouldbe future. year’sbudget.Withemployeecostsrepre- approximately$182millionhasbeenbuilt finalizedearlynextyear.Asofthiswriting, BostonCityCouncil. Finally, Felix sentingalmost70percentofthecity'stof»! upTi'omwhich!imit‘‘dfundsareav-ailabieto theTurnpike.Authority,theCityofBoston, Arroyo,whofinishedfifthintheai-largo operatingbudget,themayorwillneedtore- helpmitigatedeepcutsinbasiccoreserv- andtheBostonRedevelopmentAuthority councilracein ducework-forcelevelsinmostdepartments. icesin2003. (BRA)areclosetoagreeingonajoint-plan- 2000,willjointhe Aptrtorigtriaomnawinldlahenlpeairfltyh-ereatdimrienmiesnttr-aitniceonnteixveer- Thatsaid,thecityfacesanumberof noipnmgenprtocpeasrsc.elTshaensdep1l6aonspeinnv-oslpvaece15padrecveells- claorugneciclouwnictihloatr- cisesdisciplineinnotfillingvacantposi- distinctchallenges: thatwillcreateawholenew dynamicfor Francis“Mickey" tions,TheBostonPoliceD—epartmentisal- Publicsafety.Nextyear,thecitymustfocus downtownBoston. Roache’sdepar- readyfeelingthesqueeze themayorcan- onmaintainingBoston’sstrongrecordofpub- Meanwhile, Boston’sfirstbusiness-im- turetobecomethe celedthisyear’sclassof60Bostonpolice licsafetywithfewerpoliceofficersandadded provementdistrict(BID)willbecreatedin Suffolkregistrar recruits.TheSchoolDepartment,which,at law-enforcement 2003alongtheWashingtonStreetcorridor ofdeeds.Also,the 36percentofthebudget,isthebiggestde- responsibilities. betweentheTheaterDistrictandState DistrictNineseat partment,willprobabl—yberequiredtomake Regularpoliceserv- Street,pendingapprovalbyihelegislature leftvacantafterCouncilorBrianHonan’s thebiggestdollarcut acutthatcould iceswillneedtobe andgovernorandavoteofbusinessesinthe tragicdeaththissummerhasbeenfilledvia leadtotheclosingofafewsmallschools balancedwiththe district.TheBIDwillprovideadditional specialelectionbyJerryMcDermott.The andtoteacherlayoffs. ButnoCityof department’snew servicesbeyondthoseofferedbythecity, make-upofthecounciltodayisquitedif- Bostondepartmentwillbesparedthede- responsibilityof suchasambassadorservices,litterremoval, ferentfromwhatitwasjustafewyears mandtocutexpenses. preventingand, coordinatedmarketing,programming,and ago. It’syoung:sixmembersareintheir Addingpressuretothebudgetsituationis possibly,respond—- homelessassistance.Bostonisoneofthe 30s.'Whilethecouncilorswanttowork theneedforthecitytonegotiatenewem- ingtoterrorism fewmajorcitiesinthecountrythatdoesnot withthemayor,theyalsowanttoestablish ployeeagreementswithmostcityunions, effortsthatwillrequirefinancialsupport haveaBID,andthisretailaieaisconsidered theirownreputations.Thiswasseenmost includingthepoliceunions,whosecontracts fromWashington, DC,Meanwhile,prepara- thethirdmostimportantintheCommon- clearlywhenCouncilpresidentMichael expiredlastJune.Thecontractsforthe tionsandfundingforsecurityfortheDemo- wealth, Flaherty,aMeninoally,votedagainstthe teachersandfirefighterswillexpirethis craticConventionmustbeaddressed.Even Medicalresearch.Medicalresearchisa mayor’srent-stabilizationplan.Thisdy- comingsummer.Already,unionleadersare asthedepartmentfacesfurtherchallenges majordriverofthecity’seconomy,aswell namicshouldtranslateintoamoreinde- arguingforgeneroussalaryincreasesbe- nextyear,cancellationofthenewclassof asthestate’s,and pendentCouncilmajoritythat’swillingto causeofresidencyrequirementsandthe recruits,coupledwiththeretirementofmore ispositionedto exerciseitsvoiceinselectedpolicyand highcostofhousinginBoston. than30officersinJanuary,willleavethe growsignificantly fiscalmatters. Facedwiththeseprospects.Meninohas departmentshort-staffed.CommissionerPaul withnewfederal Bostonin2003willbeastudyincontrasts sentalegislativepackagetoBeaconHillthat Evansmustimplementhisreorganization researchdollars asitmeetsthecurrentfiscalchallengeand wouldletthecitycreatenewtaxsourceslo- planofmovingofficersfromadministrative fordefenseand preparesforanexcitingfuture. cally.Mostnotable:billstoincreasethe positionstostreetpatrol.However,thefour homeland-security mealstaxbyonepercent,establishanenter- policeunionspushingfornewcollective- purposes.Antici- SamuelR. Tylerispresidentofthe tainmentexcisetaxof50centsforeachtick- bargainingcontractswillresistthiseffort. patednewdevel- BostonMunicipalResearchBureau. tM