Cambridge Finance Committee Reviews $88M ARPA Spending and Police FY25 Budget

CAMBRIDGE -- March 27, 2024, Cambridge Finance Committee reviews $88 million ARPA portfolio and an $80.9 million police budget request. City Manager staff, led by Matt Nelson, told the committee Wednesday that all ARPA funds are obligated across more than 500 grant agreements, with roughly $44 million paid out and the remainder under active contracts; a federal rule change now gives the city until December 31, 2024 to finalize all contracts and until December 31, 2026 to spend them down. Commissioner Christine Elo presented a proposed FY25 police budget of just over $80.9 million, up $2.5 million or 3.2 percent, with the entire increase driven by non-discretionary salary and benefit costs; sworn headcount has not grown since 2020 and the department is short roughly 30 officers. Body-worn cameras are projected to cost approximately $800,000 in year one, with full implementation targeted for FY25 pending union negotiations that councillors including Azeem called overdue. Chair Pickett scheduled a follow-up ARPA update hearing for July 2024.