The Cambridge City Commissioners approved a revised fiscal 2027 budget Monday night after a lengthy debate over whether a small reduction in the city’s property tax rate was worth the tradeoff in city spending flexibility.
In the end, the commissioners amended the budget to reduce general fund revenue and spending by $239,439, a change tied to their lowering the proposed real property tax rate to 80 cents per $100 of assessed value.
The change does not mean most property owners will pay less than last year. Because assessments have risen, many tax bills are still expected to increase, but not by as much as they would have under the initially proposed rate.
The commissioners grappled with whether Cambridge should keep more of the additional revenue produced by rising assessments, or lower the rate enough to limit real property tax revenue growth to about 3 percent.
Ward 1 Commissioner Brett Summers said the city needed to hold steady on tax rates. “I just feel like there has to be some fiscal restraint on our tax rate so that there’s not a disincentive for people to live here, because our tax rate’s already high,” Summers said.
Summers said the revised budget would still grow by about $1.8 million over the current year. “We ought to be able to provide the services with that type of increase and give our residents a slight break on the tax rate,” he said.
Ward 5 Commissioner Brian Roche also supported the reduction, saying the city could lower the rate while still funding operations and employee raises.
“This budget fully funds our city government,” Roche said. “It provides historic increases for our public employees.”
Roche said the reduction, though modest, was important. “We’re not gonna spend every dollar that we ever get,” he said. “It’s sending a message that we’re open for business.”
Mayor Lajan Cephas-Bey opposed the across-the-board reduction, arguing that the savings for many homeowners would be too small to justify tightening the budget. She said the city should instead consider targeted relief, such as a senior tax credit, rather than reducing the rate for all real property taxpayers.
“If we really want to make an impact on people’s lives, instead of doing it across the board, who is our audience?” she said. “Let’s target our audience.”
Cephas-Bey also warned that the reductions could affect city operations, especially with police staffing already under pressure.
“We’re short on police officers,” she said. “There are some nights when we have four officers protecting the city of Cambridge. Four officers.”
City Manager Glenn Steckman said staff had identified possible reductions after commissioners asked how the city could lower projected revenue by about $239,000.
Those changes included adjustments involving part-time staffing, professional services, equipment, training, fleet services, housing costs, and police overtime.
Steckman said the budget was getting tighter, but stopped short of saying the reductions would prevent the city from responding to emergencies.
“We are slowly tightening the budgets,” Steckman said. “Now, we’re not at the bottom.”
Ward 2 Commissioner Shay Lewis-Sisco said she supported saving residents money but was concerned about making significant changes late in the budget process. “I don’t think that it is fair to staff … or this body that we would have that discussion a week before we are having to take action on the budget,” Lewis-Sisco said.
She also cautioned residents that savings in one sector of city government could be offset by higher costs elsewhere, including future waste collection costs. “You’re going to see an increase somewhere else,” she added.
At one point, Cephas-Bey warned that she would veto a budget built around the broader tax-rate reduction. “If we’re thinking to just do it across the board, I’m going to veto it,” she said.
After further discussion, commissioners moved into closed session. When they returned, Lewis-Sisco withdrew an earlier amendment that would have implemented the full list of staff-proposed reductions used to offset the tax-rate change.
After returning from closed session, commissioners approved a revised amendment that reduced the general fund budget by $239,439 while restoring funding for police and planning and zoning that had been included in earlier proposed reductions.
The savings were instead shifted to other salary and benefit categories.
Commissioners adopted Ordinance 1272, the fiscal 2027 budget, as amended.
The new budget year begins July 1.
