The City Council Committee of the Whole met on March 7, 2024, with the majority of Councilors present, except for Councilors Gentile, Krintzman, and Leary (see NewTV video). The meeting focused on the Mayoral Listening Session concerning Council Priorities for the 2024-2025 term and the FY2025 Budget. Mayor Ruthanne Fuller and Council President Laredo led a discussion that included an overview of the City’s financial situation and sought input from City Councilors on priorities for the upcoming term and budget.
Mayor Fuller’s presentation highlighted that 83% of the City’s revenue comes from property taxes, with the remainder from other sources. She emphasized the importance of using one-time funds for one-time expenditures and recurring revenue for ongoing expenses. The budget allocation was broken down as follows: 54% to Newton Public Schools, 30% to municipal expenses, 5% to debt service, and 11% to pensions and retiree health insurance. The presentation also outlined potential financial pressure points for the city.
Councilors raised questions on several issues, including handling inflation-related costs, the impact of inflation on road repairs and traffic calming measures, timelines for school renovations/rebuildings, options for renovating the police station, reinstating a part-time position in the City Clerk’s Office, upkeep of athletic fields, and strategies for promoting resiliency in the city. The Mayor provided responses, highlighting measures like increasing certain fees, utilizing ARPA funding for road work, the need for an override for major projects like school and police station renovations, and emphasizing team collaboration over hiring a Chief Resilience Officer for City resiliency efforts.