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A? ^ e s ch^ $a Annual Report 1992 City of Somerville MASSACHUSETTS ANNUAL REPORTS 1992 Laczk. (-/isto1 352 . S(0?5 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Mayor'sInauguralAddress 5 Board ofHealth 15 CityClerk'sOffice 21 Council onAging 27 ExecutiveOfficeofCommunications 35 Fire Department 37 HistoricPreservationCommission 41 DepartmentofInspectionalServices 45 LicensingCommission 47 Police Department 51 PublicLibrary 53 Recreation Department 59 RetirementSystem 67 Weights and MeasuresDepartment 71 VeteransServices 75 3 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from Boston Public Library https://archive.org/details/annualreportofci1992some Midterm Address January 4, 1993 Delivered by: Mayor Michael E. Capuano Thank you,Ihope everyone had a happy and safe Holiday Season. Before I begin my fourth "State ofthe City” address, I would like to take a momentto thank you,the residents ofSomerville, for givingme this opportunity to serve you. Yourtrust and confidence in me personally and in this Administration have sustained me duringthese difficult years. I only hope thatmy efforts on yourbehalfhave been sufficient in your eyes. My preceding addresseshave centered around onemajortopic, municipal finances. Since I took office three years ago, this one issue has consumed all ofourtime. It has caused virtually all ofthe pain in this community and it has limited ouragenda on every otherissue. This yearI am here totell you that our efforts are finallybeing rewarded. The cuts we have endured and the pain those cuts have caused were not in vain. Inthe past yearI can reportthatwewere able tomaintain the level ofmost municipal services,not much had to be cut from the prior year. Certainly there were some painful adjustments, but theyweren'tnearly as drastic as those suffered in the two prioryears. The least acknowledged success ofthis past yearhas been the abilityto continue providing all ofour basic services in a professional and reliable manner. Fire protection services are still the best in greaterBoston. Basic education in Somerville still compares favorablyto any other City in DPW Massachusetts. services are still performing above all reasonable expectations. Services and programs are still being delivered for ourveterans and our senior citizens - we even received anothernational award this year for our innovative programming for seniors. OurPolice Department is still providing as much protection as any in the Commonwealth. Ofcourse,wewould love to domore. But services cost money and in that area ourhands are tied. Giventhe limitations caused bythe fiscal realities ofthe early 1990’s, the continuation ofbasic services is no small accomplishment. Manyurban communities would love to claim similar successes. 5 Unlike prioryears, this yearI amhere totell you that the fiscal situation seems to have stabilized. Forthe firsttime in fouryears,the City's finances seem to be reasonablypredictable. We can look forwardto ayear withoutmore cuts inthe level ofour services. Ofcourse,there are caveats. Cities have so little control overlocal finances that no Mayorin Massachusetts canmake rock-solid promises on My these matters. optimism, however, isbased on the assumptionsthat local aidwill remain stable, that the cost ofhealth care will not explode again this' year and that no otherunforeseen catastrophe will hit the City (such as a renewed decline in the state’s economy ora large court-orderedpayment on an unexpected lawsuit). Because I expectthese uncontrollablemattersto develop favorably, I do expect arelatively stable fiscal picture forthe coming year. In light of these comments I can start onthe core ofmytalk tonight by announcing that this year’s "State ofthe City" speechwill be myfirst that focuses on the non- financial aspects ofour community. Iwould like to begin this speechwhere I left offlastyear. I am sure you know bynow that I do not make promises. Irefuse to insultyour intelligence orrisk abusingyourtrust. I have promised onlythree things since Itook office: an honest Administration, an open Administration and ourbest efforts to address the needs ofall the citizens ofSomerville. Ihope you feel that I have delivered on those promises. I knowwe have tried. Although I do notmake promises, I am well known for statingmy opinion. Some even claim that I state it a bittoo strongly on occasion. I am also well known for setting arealistic agenda and for committingmyselfto a specified course ofaction. Last yearImade one such commitment. I said "I for one, and I firmlybelieve thatmosttrue sons and daughters ofSomerville, will nottolerate bigotry against anyone who is simplytrying to improve their lives in apeaceful way. In particular, we will not tolerate any form ofviolence. .anyone,white orblack,who engages in aviolent act of . anykind, will be treated in the most severe mannerwe can arrange." 6 Tonight, I report toyouwhatyou already know - our efforts thus far have been successful. Ourinnovative system ofidentifying and prosecuting local thugs, the so-called fast-trackingprogram, is beingtouted across the Commonwealth as amodel forother cities andtowns. It is proofthat cooperation among all facets ofa community can make a difference. Our "Count onMe" campaign raisedthe consciousness ofthe entire community and has helped guide us on ourpath toward tolerance. The expansion ofthe Neighborhood Crime Watch program helpedbringpeople together and provided the community support that ourPolice force needs in orderto operate effectively. The creation ofaHuman Rights commission in 1993 will be the beginning ofthe nextphase in our effortto insure a tolerant and peaceful community. This declaration ofsuccess does not come from me alone. It comes from all comers ofthe City. It comes from the Police Department, who workedwith the community, not separate from it. It comes fromthe School Department, who sharedtheirknowledge ofthe kids involved, who stood tall in fundingthe mediation program andwho expelled students bringing weapons to school. It comes from the District Attorney’s Office andthe District Court, who fulfilled every commitment made to the citizens of Somerville. It comes from the local newspapers who covered ourproblems fairly and withouthysteria. And it comes from you, the people ofSomerville. None ofthese accomplishments couldhave beenpossible without the support ofthe entire community. It's the community, notthe government, whomust fulfill any commitmentto tolerance andnon-violence. Government can only set the tone. You fulfilled the commitment and you deserve the recognition. Thanks to all those whotruly care aboutthe actions behind the words. Certainly we all knowthat ourjob is not over. We havemore to do in ourfight against intolerance and violence. Therefore, tonight, as a community, werenew our commitment to the peaceful co-existence ofall people of goodwill, andwe pledge our continued effort inthis ongoing struggle for respectbetween all citizens ofSomerville. Youknow, as I write these speeches, there is a constant desire to simplylist all ofour accomplishments duringthe past year. Ihave to fight this 7 urge out offear ofsoundingtoo arrogant - and we all knowthat I could never be accused ofarrogance. Oh what the heck, maybejust afew. In the past yearthe City ofSomerville has hadmanyvictories ofwhich we are rightfully proud. Ourhandicapped and infirm citizens can now enter their CityHall with the respect they deserve - through the front doorwith the aid ofournewramp. We won the largest settlement in the state fromAetna Insurance Companyforourpension fund (over $2.6 million) andthatfund is now inhealthy condition. We received the City' s firstpayment into the Affordable HousingTrustFund ($50,00 fromHome Depot, with another $250,000 due overthe next several years). We have begun the process ofinsuringthat mostmunicipal workers live in Somerville. Though some don't like our commitment to the residency requirements, those who oppose our efforts will find ithard to argue with the people of39 Berkley Street. Simplyput, those people were fortunate enough to live across the street from a Somerville firefighter. He was there to utilize his training and skills to save them from a deadly inferno. Because he lived in Somerville, those fourresidents are alive today. I believe that every Somerville resident deserves the same type ofcoverage from theiremployees. That can only happen ifthose employees live here. We pioneeredthe Youthworksprogram where young people earned a living and prepared for a career. Aneighborhood was improvedby fixing up a run-down house and back taxes will be repaid when the newly improved home is sold to amoderate income Somerville family. We piloted aHome BuyerTrainingprogram forthe State - where over 300 low and moderate income families have learned how to purchase a home. Ofthose, more than 75 have already boughthomes in Somerville. This program costs the Citynothing, it qualifies people formortgages which they couldnot otherwise obtain and it stabilizes ourneighborhoods with owner- occupied homes. We planted over 700 trees thisyear and thousands offlowerbulbs. We completed the reconstruction of11 City streets. We opened the City’s first teen center, new soccerfields and a new first class tot-lot that gets as much use as anypark inthe City. We completed the removal ofmore than 30 billboards across the City. We instituted anew rape information policythat is 8