Regular City Council Meeting

• Governing Body: Cambridge City Council
• Meeting Type: Regular City Council Meeting
• Date: May 18, 2026
• Time: 05:30 PM
• Attendees: Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui, Vice Mayor Burhan Azeem, Councilor Ayah Al-Zubi, Councilor Timothy Flaherty, Councilor Marc McGovern, Councilor Patricia Nolan, Councilor Denise Simmons, Councilor Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler, Councilor Catherine Zusy.
• City Staff: City Manager Yi-An Huang, Deputy City Manager Kathy Watkins, Assistant City Solicitor Megan Bayer, Assistant City Solicitor LaPianca.

The Council heard from 53 speakers, primarily focused on the ShotSpotter system and parking permit fees.

• ShotSpotter Opposition: Numerous residents and representatives from Digital Fourth, DSA, and The Black Response (including Alex Marthews, Siobhan McDonough, and Andrew Kim) argued that ShotSpotter is ineffective, citing a 49% accuracy rate and 82% false positive rate. Speakers like Stephanie Durand and Gloria Coorsman emphasized concerns regarding ICE/DHS funding and the surveillance of Black and Brown neighborhoods. One resident, Sandra, stated via recording: "Get these microphones out of our neighborhoods; we do not want another layer of surveillance here."
• Parking Permit Fees: Seniors and advocates (including Valerie Bonds and Ed Henley of Mass Senior Action) protested the proposed $75 parking permit fee. Nancy Seymour noted, "This progressive tax creates yet another expense for many of us living on fixed incomes."
• Other Matters: John Hawkinson raised concerns about the rules package (COF 202673) and the proposed 9 PM meeting curfew. Young Kim spoke in support of the Project Breast Summer Yeats grant ($8,142 raised) and urged fiscal oversight on capital funding.

The Council took action on several administrative and financial items:

• Federal Update (Item 1): City Manager Yi-An Huang and Solicitor LaPianca provided updates on the Louisiana v. FDA abortion pill case and federal funding litigation involving Harvard and MIT.
• Watershed Land Acquisition (Items 5 & 6): The Council approved an appropriation of $450,000 and a $350,000 grant to purchase 52 acres of land in Lincoln, MA, for watershed protection. Vote: 9-0 (Adopted).
• Social Housing (Items 10 & 11): The Council placed a report on social housing on file and approved the appointments to the Social Housing Task Force. Vote: 9-0 (Approved).

• Extended Producer Responsibility (Order #1): Support for House Bill 968, House Bill 886, Senate Bill 647, and others to incentivize sustainable production. Adopted.
• Interim City Clerk (Order #2): Extension of the interim City Clerk's term. Adopted.

The Council debated Policy Order 2026-98, requesting the City Manager to end data collection by ShotSpotter devices.

• Discussion: Acting Commissioner Wells and City Manager Huang emphasized that ShotSpotter provided critical alerts in 11 instances where no 911 calls were made. Councilor Simmons and Councilor Flaherty argued for keeping the tool to assist in unsolved shootings. Councilor Al-Zubi and Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler argued the technology is unreliable and lacks community consent.
• Official Action: A motion to table the item failed (4-5). The Council then voted to adopt the order to discontinue ShotSpotter.
• Roll Call Vote:
  • YES: Al-Zubi, McGovern, Nolan, Sobrinho-Wheeler, Siddiqui.
  • NO: Flaherty, Simmons.
  • PRESENT: Azeem, Zusy.
• Outcome: Adopted (5-2-2).

The Council discussed reviewing policy options for the direct election of the Mayor.

• Official Action: Councilor Simmons introduced amendments to ensure the Collins Center review includes the role of the Mayor and the relationship between the Council and City Manager.
• Roll Call Vote:
  • YES: Azeem, Flaherty, McGovern, Nolan, Simmons, Sobrinho-Wheeler, Siddiqui.
  • NO: Zusy.
  • PRESENT: Al-Zubi.
• Outcome: Adopted as amended (7-1-1).

The Council considered increasing the parking permit fee from $25 to $75.

• Official Action: A substitute amendment by Councilors McGovern and Sobrinho-Wheeler was adopted. It sets the fee at $75 but includes a 'hardship' checkbox on the application. Any resident (including seniors) who checks the box will receive the permit for $0 (Free).
• Roll Call Vote:
  • YES: Al-Zubi, McGovern, Nolan, Simmons, Sobrinho-Wheeler, Zusy, Siddiqui.
  • NO: Azeem, Flaherty.
• Outcome: Adopted as amended (7-2).

• Community Benefits Advisory Committee (Item 19): The Council ordained the ordinance establishing the committee. Vote: 9-0 (Ordained).
• City Council Rules (Items 5 & 6): The Council amended Rule 23D to limit public comment to one minute if there are more than 61 speakers. The Council voted to table the remainder of the rules package, including the proposed 10 PM curfew and Tuesday meeting extensions. Vote: 6-3 (Tabled).