I used my campaign bike to collect trash on the parkway.
If you are a property owner in Cambridge (only about 35% of residents are), you probably have noticed “CPA” as a line item on your tax bill. (On my last bill the amount was $188.85.) CPA stands for Community Preservation Act, and it is a 3% surcharge that has been in effect for the past 13 years, the result of a 2001 referendum in Cambridge to accept the state law. Seventy-one percent of Cambridge voters supported the CPA surcharge, and our 3% is the maximum allowed. Statewide only 42% of cities have adopted the CPA, and many add only 1% or 1.5% to their property tax bills. Brookline has not adopted the CPA, and Newton’s 1% rate barely passed (51% to 49%). See complete list of cities and their CPA rates.
On Tuesday night I went to City Hall to hear public comment on how the CPA funds, projected to be $11.7 million in 2016, should be allocated next year. By law at least 10% of the total must be allocated to each of three categories: affordable housing, open space and historic preservation. Some cities also allocate funds to a fourth category (outdoor recreation), but since a 2012 amendment CPA open space funds may now be used for recreational uses, too. Cambridge typically allocates 80% to affordable housing and 10% each to open space and historic preservation, and based on the public comment I heard there will be no change to that in 2016. No question, the need for more affordable housing is the most acute, but it is still hard to see the other categories shortchanged year after year when Cambridge has a very low percentage of open space per capita and significant deferred maintenance of our historic assets. The list of all the proposed uses for 2016 CPA funds includes many worthy projects — take a look to see how our money is being spent. I would be willing to pay an extra $15/month to double the amount I contribute toward CPA projects. Would a majority of property owners be willing to pay a little more in taxes to fund additional projects?
Speaking of $15, there is renewed interest in raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour in Cambridge. I attended an meeting last week organized by Councillor Nadeem Mazen to prepare for a September 8 committee hearing on the topic. Nadeem sponsored a policy order last year to consider a $15 minimum wage, but the City Manager asserted that it would be illegal for Cambridge to raise its minimum wage above the state’s without a home rule petition. The city has an official Living Wage of $14.95 per hour, which applies to public employees and city contractors, but not to fast food and retail workers who are no less deserving of living wage. The Fight for $15 is a national movement that is gaining traction in other high-cost cities. C’mon, Cambridge, let’s show we’re still the People’s Republic.
The Just Crust managers increased their minimum wage to $15.
A highlight of my week was attending the monarch butterfly release parade at Fresh Pond. Monarchs are close to being designated an endangered species, and Ranger Jean and the staff at Fresh Pond have been planting milkweed (the only plant monarch caterpillars will eat) to try to save the species. This year they raised 25 monarch from cocoons, and on Monday evening a good-sized crowd showed up to celebrate setting them free in lovely Lusitania Meadow.
Photo by Wicked Local, Sam Goresh
Monarchs ready for release
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