Supporting the passage of H.3802 and S.1489, An Act Creating a Municipal and Public Safety Building Authority.

WHEREAS: The City of Somerville faces a crisis of crumbling infrastructure and aging municipal and public safety buildings, which inconveniences municipal employees and interferes with the provision of services to constituents; and, WHEREAS: Critical municipal infrastructure has not seen significant renovations in decades, and in the case of city hall not since 1924; and, WHEREAS: The City of Somerville, like other municipalities in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, has limited funding available due to state law restrictions on property tax and other forms of local revenue; and, WHEREAS: Additional state support for funding municipal infrastructure projects would permit the city to pursue a more ambitious repair and rehabilitation program for municipal buildings without compromising efforts to improve local schools and other critical infrastructure; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED: That the Somerville City Council supports the passage of H. 3802 and S. 1489, An Act Creating a Municipal and Public Safety Building Authority.