Newton committee advances $1.885 million in police pay, holds parking ban review

NEWTON -- June 17, 2026, Newton committee unanimously clears $1.885 million in police pay and holds a parking ban study for further work. The Public Safety and Transportation Committee voted 6-0 on both dockets at its June 17 meeting, advancing $1.175 million for fiscal year 2027 wage increases and $710,000 in retroactive pay covering three bargaining units, Newton Police Association, parking control officers, and crossing guards, to the Finance Committee ahead of a full council vote targeted for July 13. City CFO Maureen Lemieux said both amounts had been pre-loaded in the city's wage reserve accounts over several budget cycles as the Newton Police Association's contract went unsettled for five years; the agreement includes 3 percent raises in each of fiscal years 2025 and 2026, compounding to roughly 9.18 percent by fiscal year 2027, plus a new lateral transfer credit provision and a codified fit-for-duty committee. The committee separately heard a two-hour update from the Overnight Parking Ban Working Group, chaired by former Councilor Chris Markowitz, which flagged more than 3,000 ban-violation tickets issued in the winter of 2024-25 generating roughly $75,000, heat maps showing most of Newton's approximately 58,000 registered vehicles are not within walkable distance of a municipal overnight lot, and a long list of areas the group recommends excluding from any trial, including college-adjacent streets, large apartment complexes, and high-traffic arterials, with a final report expected by July 8 and a public comment session planned for September ahead of the December 1 ban start date.