Be sure to add your name at the bottom AND hit send when your email app opens!Chapter 329 is a local-option state law. In Somerville, it takes effect only if the City Council votes to accept it and the Mayor approves it.
If accepted, it would allow the City Council — on the recommendation of the School Committee and by a two-thirds vote — to increase the total school appropriation above the amount requested by the Mayor, as long as the budget stays within legal levy limits.
In other words: when the elected School Committee says our schools need more funding, Chapter 329 gives the elected City Council a way to consider that request — instead of leaving the Mayor’s number as the ceiling.
This is not just about schools. It is about whether Somerville believes in checks and balances. When the votes of elected School Committee members and City Councilors can be overridden by one executive decision, power becomes more concentrated and public accountability is weakened.