Newton Finance Committee Unanimously Approves Nearly $900,000 in Expenditures

NEWTON -- March 24, 2025, Newton Finance Committee unanimously approves nearly $900,000 across three items in a brief Monday session. The eight-member panel, chaired by Councilor Greenberg, moved without opposition on all three docket items. The largest vote authorized $750,000 from the city's stormwater reserve to fund design and permitting for four phosphorus-reduction projects required under Newton's EPA-mandated MS4 permit, with a separate $17.5 million low-interest state revolving loan application pending for construction. The committee also accepted $122,834.30 from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to support Family Aid's newly opened family shelter on Washington Street, which is currently housing roughly 40 women and children and offering two-generation employment and education services. A third vote authorized a $20,592 recurring state grant to cover mandatory quality assurance review of approximately 936 emergency medical dispatch calls annually, handled by an outside contractor called Priority.