Committee endorses planning budgets; directors report on ferry terminal, Jefferson Avenue and capital needs

Tom Daniel, Director of Planning, told the Committee on Administration and Finance on June 2 that the planning department continues to manage long‑range planning, permitting, construction projects and a portfolio of grant funds the city administers. "We manage about $10 million in grant funds," Daniel said, and he noted a past one‑time $34 million federal award tied to an offshore wind terminal that was later terminated.

Daniel outlined several projects the department will continue or begin in FY27: the Jefferson Avenue corridor study (about three‑quarters complete), work on the ferry terminal building (design phase funding included in the capital plan), and open space and parks projects including Willows and Curtis Park. He said the department also supports the small business loan and housing rehab work administered through CDBG funds.

On budget details, Daniel identified an error in the personnel FTE count on H500: a reported increase of one FTE was clerical and the actual FTE count remains unchanged. Councilors and Daniel discussed contingency planning if CDBG funding were jeopardized; Daniel said the department had considered options but had not formalized a single plan‑B and that some programs might be sustained temporarily with stabilization funds or by shifting responsibilities across departments.

Councilors also asked about performance metric spikes recorded in FY25; Daniel explained the elevated counts for housing rehabilitation and business technical assistance reflected program delivery by an outside provider (North Shore CDC) funded through city CDBG allocations.

Motions from Council King to recommend approval of planning personnel and expenditures budgets, and to recommend approval of related board and general administration items, were seconded by Council Flynn and carried by recorded votes with five in favor. The committee record includes multiple department totals and capital items slated for future fiscal years including a FY28 allocation for ferry terminal construction design funding.

Next steps: Committee recommendations will be forwarded for final budget adoption; staff said they will continue to monitor grant dependencies and return with any necessary adjustments during the budget process.