Thank you to my colleagues for electing me Council President, creating a new committee structure, and collaborating to release our comprehensive 2024-2025 Governing Agenda.

I entered 2024 with high expectations for the new City Council, as I know many Medford neighbors did, and I’m proud to say that we have delivered new leadership, modernized meeting agendas, and the most transparent and detailed governing plan I’ve ever seen a city council release in Massachusetts.

My new colleagues, Anna Callahan, Emily Lazzaro, and Matt Leming, joined with Councilors Collins, Scarpelli, and Tseng to elect me as President of the Medford City Council. I’m incredibly honored to be trusted with this role. At our first meeting, I gave a short speech (watch video or read transcript) outlining the principles that are the foundation of my work as president–collaboration, planning, and trust.

Alongside Vice President Kit Collins, I know that this Council will always reach out in good faith to work collaboratively with the Mayor and city staff. Collaboration is a first step, but it means nothing without real planning. The new committee structure and governing agenda adopted by the Council this month puts us at the forefront of planning in this community by setting clear expectations for our governing partners and every Medford resident along with concrete goals and timelines to deliver results.

Delivering results and getting big things done comes down to trust. We have huge projects ahead this term–implementing a new budget ordinance and process for our near-$200 million general fund budget; likely moving ahead with a plan for Prop 2.5 debt exclusions and/or overrides; a complete rewrite of the city’s Zoning Ordinance; and drafting a new city charter. We need as much trust as possible to get that work done. My commitment is to provide a clear, transparent plan, and to always tell the public the truth, even when the truth is hard to hear.

The 2024-2025 Medford City Council Governing Agenda (watch introductory video), along with our new Committee Structure (watch introductory video), is that clear and transparent plan. Together with all of my colleagues, we have outlined exactly what we plan to do during this two-year term. Each of our committees has a full plate of work, with room for the unexpected, and clear timelines for when we plan to pass ordinances, advance major projects, use our oversight powers, and better engage residents.

In addition to these structural reforms, we’ll also be working with our team in the City Clerk’s Office and at Medford Community Media to deliver a better “Council Meeting” product to residents. We’ve already updated the agenda format and begun to roll out our new online meeting portal for agendas, reports, documents and records. Soon, we’ll be installing audio, video, and streaming upgrades in the Council Chambers that will provide new tools for meeting management, improve audio quality, and make it easier to watch our meetings.

These first few weeks of our Council term have been so exciting, and I can’t wait to put our noses to the grindstone and implement this bold, transformative governing agenda to build a Medford that works for all of us!

Sincerely yours,
Zac Bears
President
Medford City Council