These are just some of the municipal meetings and civic events for the coming week. More are on the City of Somerville website.
Discussing nonunion salaries
Municipal Compensation Advisory Board, 2:30 p.m. Thursday. The board, established to find ways to hire and retain experienced city workers, discusses a nonunion compensation study comparing the compensation of Somerville’s nonunion municipal employees to that of similar cities such as Cambridge, Arlington and Brookline. The Mayor’s Office recently announced a new contract with unionized workers of the Somerville Municipal Employees Union, ending a nearly three-year stretch without one. Watchable via videoconferencing.
Scaling down tobacco use
Board of Health, 6 p.m. Thursday. Members of the board discuss drafts of a regulation on the sale of tobacco products, continuing talks about a policy aimed at creating a “nicotine-free generation.” The idea is to raise the age for the legal purchase of tobacco year by year, preventing current adolescents from ever buying the product as they grow into adulthood, while preserving access to tobacco products for a current generation of users. Watchable via videoconferencing.
Legal complaint for pro-shelter petition
City Council, 7 p.m. Thursday. Councilors consider requests for an update on immigrant rights under a new Trump administration and for MBTA bus signal priority in Union Square, allowing faster travel for mass transit; and look into whether newly installed water meters – the source of much trouble starting in 2023 – are falsely registering air pockets in residential cold water lines as leaks, leading to significantly inaccurate bills. Rodenticides also return as an issue after a February committee hearing; there’s a question whether bait boxes will be ridded of specific poisons “in light of multiple recent birds of prey deaths apparently related” it.
A woman is filing a legal complaint against councilors for signing a petition to Gov. Maura Healey allegedly without holding a public meeting to get residents’ feedback. In December, nine councilors signed a petition calling on Healey to reverse changes made to state rules around emergency homelessness shelters. The complainant, Laura Ortiz, claims councilors “were clearly representing the municipality … as a ward representative of completely unaware constituents,” and that a failure to notify constituents before signing a petition would be a violation of Open Meeting Laws. The council may enter a closed-door session to discuss the complaint. At Somerville City Hall, 93 Highland Ave., Central Hill, and watchable via videoconferencing.
Seniors group plans for 2025
Mass Senior Action, 11:30 a.m. Monday. Cambridge and Somerville residents are invited to a discussion about local and statewide priorities for 2025, including how the group can grow its power and improve its members communities. At the Citywide Senior Center, 806 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square, Cambridge.
Plans to replace aging schools
School Construction Advisory Group, 6 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday. Administrators, city councilors and financial experts convene to address the failing infrastructure of two Somerville public schools. Though the project is moving through Massachusetts’ funding process, in December the working group learned a new building likely won’t be completed for another six years. The group – following a state authority’s decision funding decision for one construction – is considering a combined school of more than 600 children. At Somerville High School, 81 Highland Ave., Central Hill, and watchable via Zoom videoconferencing.
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