Cambridge Sets 3.5 to 4 Percent Budget Growth Target as Commercial Real Estate Values Decline

CAMBRIDGE — October 28, 2024 — Cambridge officials warn a decade of 7 percent annual budget growth is no longer sustainable. At an October 28 joint roundtable — described by several participants as the first of its kind — City Manager Yi-An Huang and Assistant City Manager for Fiscal Affairs Claire Sprenner presented scenario analysis showing Cambridge's excess property tax levy capacity could shrink from 25 percent to as little as 4 percent of the levy limit by fiscal year 2030 if spending continues at recent rates. Preliminary fiscal year 2026 projections call for a 3.7 percent operating budget increase and an 8 percent property tax levy increase, driven partly by a 15 percent jump in annual debt service — roughly $15 million more on a $101 million base — tied to ongoing school construction borrowing including approximately $70 million still to be bonded for the new Tobin school. All nine City Council members and five of seven School Committee members attended; public comment was barred under roundtable rules. Superintendent David Murphy told the joint session that the school administration "understands our responsibility to make sure that scrutiny is being employed" in its own budget, while School Committee Member David Harding urged both bodies to "be disciplined together" and to improve public communication about fiscal constraints.