On Wednesday May 7th I buzzed into Cambridge City Hall’s Sullivan Chamber to witness some of the 2009 Budget Hearings. Every Spring, the heads of City Departments - from Cable T.V to the Women’s Commission – make their plea to at least get level funded for the upcoming year. And what is the bargain – getting scrutinized by City Councilors.

By 10:30 am, Councilors Decker, Seidel, Davis and Brian Murphy were in attendance, politicking to & fro. But it was Councilor Craig Kelley who eloquently fired up “the Grill” peppering questions & comments towards Lisa Peterson, Commissioner of Public Works a.k.a. DPW. It was then that I was reminded why I voted for Kelley in ’05 & last November – He is a head-chef when it comes to dicing up the meat of matters dear to himself and his neighbors. Plus as a seasonal bike rider, Kelley’s eye is on street level yearlong and he is an expert at boiling down the ‘pessimistic potatoes’ of pedestrians, drivers & fellow bikers.

Some of the issues & questions that Councilor C.K. brought forth to DPW officials were: “Do a better job marking detours…” , the complaints of “seniors who have low vision issues”, snow removal can be lackadaisical , and by the way “Can you tell me what a ‘catch basin curb marker’ is?”
I marveled at the coolness of Commissioner Peterson’s & her associate’s answers, but I had to smile whenever Kelley got ultra-nuanced on a matter and the response in turn was ‘Um, councilor, um…’

Folks, (or geeks like me) I encourage you to check out the rest of the budget hearings – the next one is May 13th @ 6pm, if necessary May 14th @ 5pm , and the adoption will be on Monday May 19th 2008. WHY should you go? It is a great chance to see your favorite City Councilor inaction (or inactive); y’all can witness which councilor has done their homework; and you’ll definitely be made aware of what is & not so important to the lady or gent you gave your vote to last election.

And DO remember to thank Craig Kelley for firing up the grill – at the Budget hearings (and every Monday evening that he attends a City Council meeting)