Cambridge Finance Committee Reviews $57.4 Million Police Budget Ahead of City Manager Submission

CAMBRIDGE — March 10, 2026 — Cambridge Finance Committee reviews $57.4 million police budget, flags $8 million overtime overage. The committee met March 10 to conduct its required pre-submission review of the Cambridge Police Department's proposed FY27 budget, a $1.5 million, or 2.7 percent, increase over the current year, with salary and wages comprising 91 percent of the total. Commissioner Christine Elo and Director of Planning Angela Alford presented a 10-year comparison showing police budget growth of 57 percent from FY16 to FY26, well below the citywide rate of 87 percent. The most pointed exchange came when Budget Director Taha Jennings disclosed that the department budgeted close to $4 million for overtime in FY25 but spent over $8 million, with a FY26 overtime budget of $5.7 million. Multiple members, including Chair Councilor Nolan and Vice Mayor Azeem, pressed on the overlap between police functions and the city's community safety department, with Elo arguing that call codes are set by an independent medical professional and that a clean separation between the two departments is not operationally realistic. The committee also received news that the department achieved CALEA advanced law enforcement accreditation in November 2025 after demonstrating compliance with more than 460 standards, making it the largest Massachusetts law enforcement agency to hold that designation.