By Joseph A. Curtatone

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries of The Somerville News belong solely to the authors of those commentaries and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville News, its staff or publishers.)

If you attended either our Independence Day fireworks celebration on June 26 or Family Fun Day on June 28, you know that community spirit is alive and well in Somerville.  The fireworks display on Thursday was our biggest ever, and even though the police had to arrest a few teens who got violent with each other just over the line in Medford, the atmosphere that evening was overwhelmingly one of family-friendly celebration, as residents of all neighborhoods and backgrounds came together to enjoy a night out in a city they are proud to call home.      

On Saturday, my whole family came with me to Family Fun Day, where we were joined at Trum Field by nearly one thousand more kids of all ages to play games, enjoy a cookout, and share a festive summer day with their fellow residents.  I spent more time than I intended in the dunk tank (and I mean in the dunk tank), but even that couldn‚Äôt dampen my spirits. I wanted to revive Family Fun Day because I enjoyed it so much as a kid growing up in Somerville, and because I thought it would be a great way to build community spirit and bring families together.  It continues to be a successful event and a great way to kick off the summer: If you don‚Äôt believe me, bring your family to next year‚Äôs Family Fun Day, and judge for yourself.

When it comes to community spirit, however, the biggest event last week wasn‚Äôt the fireworks or Family Fun Day.  Last Wednesday night, our Board of Aldermen cast a unanimous vote to approve a $165 million budget that increases spending on education, expands the ranks of our Fire Department, extends branch library hours and avoids personnel and program cuts across the face of city government. That vote was a ringing affirmation of Somerville‚Äôs confidence in its people and in its future ‚Äì and it comes at a time when many other municipalities across the Commonwealth have been forced to make painful cutbacks that will make it hard for them to maintain the quality of life in their communities.

In Belmont, roads are going unprepared because voters rejected a Prop 2 ¬Ω override.  In Newton, they‚Äôre going to close branch libraries. In Beverly, they‚Äôre closing at least one school and maybe two ‚Äì not because there‚Äôs less demand, but because they‚Äôre out of money.  In Bridgewater, they‚Äôre laying off school workers. In Quincy, they‚Äôre laying off workers and cutting back on services.  In Winthrop, teaching, police and DPW jobs are on the chopping block. And the list goes on.

But here in Somerville, the growth in our commercial tax base, the relative strength of our property values, the quality and success of our schools, and our determination to run a lean, efficient, performance-driven city government are all paying off.

As Ward 2 Alderman and Finance Committee Chairman Maryann Heuston said on Wednesday night, ‚ÄúHealthcare costs and energy costs and decreased state funding are the bane of the existence of cities and towns across this country ‚Äì and certainly in the state of Massachusetts.  And despite that ‚Äì and I think that all of us know the stories that we hear and read in the newspapers of schools closing in the city of Lynn, of libraries closing, of athletic facilities closing ‚Äì . . . despite the challenges that cities and towns face in a very real and severe way, this city has been presented with a budget that does not cut staff, that does not lay off people, that does not sell off any major city assets or properties . . . We have made good decisions during the course of the last budget and during the course of this fiscal year that built a good foundation so that we can still meet the challenges [of rising costs] but still meet the basic goals of this city, move the city forward, and increase services wherever we could.‚Äù

Maryann‚Äôs words dramatically capture the difference between Somerville and other cities in this difficult year. I wish that more Massachusetts communities enjoyed our strong bond ratings and shared our ability to deliver municipal services with fewer tax dollars per capita.  (We‚Äôre still better at it than any city in the state with a population of 50,000 or more.)

I would be the first to acknowledge that we can, and we must, do even better in the year to come – and I would also be the first to recognize that the real heroes of this year’s budget process are the city workers that make the most of every dollar – and, above all, the taxpayers who provide those dollars because of their pride in their community and their commitment to its success.

Despite the challenges that surround us, our community spirit ‚Äì and our commitment to one another ‚Äì is helping us flourish even in uncertain times.