Highlights on the agenda for the Dec 18, 2006 City Council meeting:

City Manager's Agenda #16: Transmitting communication from Robert W. Healy, City Manager, relative to the transfer of $19,750 from General Fund Employee Benefits (salary adjustment) Salary and Wages account to the General Fund Mayor Travel and Training account to cover additional travel expenses related to the Congressional Black Caucus Conference, National Association of Black School Educators, U.S. Conference of Black Mayors, Gay and Lesbian Elected Officials Conference and visits to School Districts to observe closing the achievement gap initiatives.

What everyone should know is that there was already $20,000 in the Mayor's Office budget for travel expenses and His Majesty Kenneth E. “First Class” Reeves has used that all up and now wants another $20,000 - all in less than half the fiscal year. This is an outrageous extravagance on the part of our royal mayor - but completely in character. When Reeves was mayor between 1992-1995, he was famous for his fiscal irresponsibility, including routine abuse of a city credit card. Old habits die hard. Everyone should take note that many, perhaps most, of these trips were highly discretionary and relate to Mr. Reeves' personal identity and not to any role played by the mayor under the charter. Hopefully an accounting for these expenses will be forthcoming. At the very least, one of the councillors should demand an itemization of these costs. [I won't hold my breath waiting for one of the nine to challenge Reeves on this. This is not the first time this Council term that the electeds lavished themselves with perks at taxpayer expense.]

City Manager's Agenda #20. Transmitting communication from Robert W. Healy, City Manager, relative to the appropriation and authorization to borrow an additional $12,570,000 to the Public Investment Police Extraordinary Expenditures account to finance the Public Safety Facility project. [These funds will supplement the previous appropriations of $49,500,000 increasing the total amount authorized for this project to $62,070,000.]

When joined with the other loan orders to be finalized at this meeting for additional costs for the new library and the West Cambridge Youth and Community Center (see below), December 2006 is shaping up as one of the biggest borrowing months of the decade.

Unfinished Business #5: Transmitting communication from Robert W. Healy, City Manager, relative to the appropriation and authorization to borrow an additional $13,075,000 to the Public Investment Fund Library Extraordinary Expenditures account to finance the Main Branch Library renovation project. The question comes on adoption on or after Dec 18, 2006.

Unfinished Business #6: Transmitting communication from Robert W. Healy, City Manager, relative to the appropriation and authorization to borrow an additional $9,890,000 to the Public Investment Public Works Extraordinary Expenditures account to finance the West Cambridge Youth and Community Center project. The question comes on adoption on or after Dec 18, 2006.

Committee Report #1: A communication was received from D. Margaret Drury, City Clerk transmitting a report from Councillor Michael A. Sullivan and Vice Mayor Timothy J. Toomey, Jr., Co-Chairs of the Government Operations and Rules Committee, for a meeting held on Dec 4, 2006 for the purpose of finalizing the language of the priorities delineated at the Nov 13, 2006 roundtable for submission to the City Council to set its goals for FY 08-09.

The Council will approve its goals for the next 2-year cycle at this meeting.