After nearly six hours of deliberations spread over two meetings, the Lowell City Council on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, adopted the city’s Fiscal Year 2027 budget of $577,861,191. Although the council cannot increase the budget proposed by the city manager, I believe the final amount was higher than what was initially submitted by the city manager because of the rereversal of the initial plan to lay off six firefighters. Even though the council made a handful of cuts to the budget, the net change was an increased final amount.

As was the case last week, much of the council’s effort Tuesday night tried to prod the city manager into reversing several other layoffs, especially the historic board administrator, a 30-year employee within the Department of Planning and Development. Several councilors commented on all the communications they received from people, most notably developers, lobbying for the return of this employee. Councilors also questioned DPD Director Yovanni Baez Rose on the ability of her department to process historic board related development projects and to enforce historic construction standards without this employee. She responded that she would have preferred not to have cut anyone, but the fiscal realities dictated that a reduction had to be made. She said that the remaining employees can perform all the necessary duties. Although he made no promises, City Manager Tom Golden hinted several times that he hopes to find the means to bring back this employee and others sometime this summer.

The council’s unease with employee layoffs was like a chorus in a long concert performance. The same refrain was endlessly repeated. At one point, a clearly frustrated (with his colleagues) Councilor Dan Rourke moved that the council raise property taxes by 7.5 percent rather than the 4.5 percent that had previously been voted on. Rourke’s motion was ruled out of order, but his message, that if you want to hire back employees you must raise more money to pay for them, was quite clear to all but a few of his colleagues.

Councilor Rita Mercier also seemed to lose patience, at one point moving to forego additional department-by-department reviews in favor of adopting the budget as one lump sum. Others seemed receptive to that, however, several councilors interjected cuts they wanted to make as part of the lump sum vote. The resulting debate over the motion and the various amendments seemed to take longer than if the council had just continued its department-by-department pathway, an observation Mayor Erik Gitschier made several times.

At one point, an additional cut of $500,000 from the Department of Public Works was proposed. With the council poised to vote on that, someone suggested they find out what exactly they were cutting before cutting it. The DPW commissioner explained that money was used for repairs to schools across the district. He said, “That number was a million dollars this year and it’s down to the $500,000. So this would be awful. It would be awful to cut that.”

That dissuaded councilors from making that cut and from making a single lump sum vote, so they returned to the department-by-department review. Next, they focused on a $200,000 item that was primarily for a newly created but still unfilled Director of Plant Services position within DPW. City Manager Golden explained that people have applied for the position and the city is prepared to make an offer to someone pending the finalization of the city budget. It seems this position anticipates a combined maintenance department in which school custodians (now part of the school department) would be absorbed into DPW (which is responsible for repairs within the schools). Councilors have long expressed a desire to get this combined maintenance department up and running but the School Department and the unions involved have been less enthusiastic about the idea, which doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. Nevertheless, the city manager proposed this position now, partly because of past concerns expressed by this council that when the pricey new addition to Lowell High is turned over to the city, primary responsibility for operating and maintaining the sophisticated, state-of-the-art, mechanical systems that have been installed will fall entirely on the city and whoever filled this position could help with that. It’s true that the city’s track record of maintaining new buildings is not good which leads to repairs sooner than expected and the headache of unreliable buildings but given the pressure on this year’s budget, councilors deemed that new position to be a luxury and cut it.

Mayor Gitschier voted against several departmental budgets because they contained employees who had been hired under the ARPA program but were now being transitioned to full time city employees whose salaries come from the regular city budget. I believe Gitschier had made the point throughout the ARPA spending process that the money should not be used to create needs that would eventually be shifted to the city budget. By voting against these departments, he was consistent with his previous position, although the new positions were ratified by the full council despite his opposition.

The city council’s involvement in the annual budget process has evolved over time. Many years ago, councilors tended to make more cuts, but sometimes that was about score-settling more than strategic planning. Then for a while councils just took an up or down vote on the bottom line of the budget without reviewing each department. In explanation, they cited their confidence in the wisdom of the city manager and the ongoing communication between the city manager and the city council throughout the year rather than just at budget time. The current method of reviewing each department with councilors asking any questions they may have seems like a reasonable compromise between the two approaches.

Given the size, complexity and expense of city government, the budgetary approval process we witnessed over the past two meetings seems inefficient and a little performative, but it gives the public a chance to observe councilors asking questions and receiving answers to fiscal questions. In what might be a leap of faith, the public should have some confidence that if there was substantial waste in the budget, councilors would discover it during their review process.

Nevertheless, the only real control the council exerts over the budget process is when they hire a city manager. The day-to-day decisions on hiring, spending, and management made by the city manager have a much greater impact on the cost of operating the city of Lowell than whatever cuts councilors might make in their budget sessions.

****

This week in my Seen & Heard column, I reported on an Atlantic magazine profile of the controversial tech billionaire David Sacks; on coverage of Pope Leo XIV’s recent encyclical on artificial intelligence and technology; a Boston Globe profile of historian Jill Lepore, who just won the Pulitzer Prize in that field; a New York Times report on the ruler of Cambodia granting a pardon to an imprisoned rival; a story of the demise of Schlitz beer; and the obituary of the guy behind the famous “Where’s the beef?” ad from the 1980s.

****

On Tuesday, June 11, 2026, at 6pm in the Luna Theater (in the former Mill No. 5), students at Lowell Community Charter Public School will present a “Reading Frederick Douglass Together” event. In recent years, many communities have come together to perform public readings of Douglass’ historic speech, “What to the Slave is the 4th of July.” Professor Bob Forrant will open the program and then lead a discussion after the reading that will engage the audience in considering the speech’s historical and contemporary context and its enduring relevance.

The event is free but there are limited seats in the Luna Theater so you must sign up in advance. You can do that at this link.

****

Yesterday was the 82nd anniversary of the invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944. Better known as D-Day, the operation was a critical step in the defeat of Germany in World War II, but it came at a high cost. At least ten servicemembers from Lowell were killed in action in the invasion or in the fighting in Normandy immediately after. Here are their names and their stories:

Donald E. Axon – Born in Lowell in 1923, Donald Edward Axon lived at 15 Seventh Avenue with his widowed father and four siblings. His father worked in a cotton mill and Donald worked for the Daggett Chocolate Company in Cambridge. A Private First Class in the U.S. Army, Donald was assigned to the 507th Port Battalion. During the invasion of Normandy, his unit landed on Omaha Beach during the initial D-Day assault. Tasked with establishing a supply line under heavy German fire, Donald was killed in action during the chaotic struggle for the beachhead. He was 21 years old. He is buried it the Normandy American Cemetery in France.

Calvin Curtis – Born in Lowell in 1921, Calvin Warren Curtis grew up at 21 Cambridge Street with his widowed mother and six siblings. He eventually moved to Wakefield and worked for First National Stores in Somerville. A medic in the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division, Calvin parachuted into Normandy on D-Day and was killed in action on June 6, 1944, at age 22. He is buried in the Normandy American Cemetery in France.

Edward Desmarais – Born in Lowell in 1911, Edward Desmarais lived at 40 Wilbur Street with his wife, the former Doris Coullard, and worked for Canada Dry Ginger Ale Company in Chelmsford. A Machinist Mate 2nd Class in the U.S. Navy, Edward was assigned to Construction Battalion Detachment 1006 (a “Seabee” unit) and landed in Normandy on D-Day. He was killed in action days later in Cherbourg, France, on June 15, 1944, at age 33. He is buried in Normandy American Cemetery.

John W. Harding – Born in Lowell in 1926, John William Harding lived at 4 L Street with his parents. A Seaman 2nd Class in the U.S. Navy, John was assigned to the landing ship USS LST-376. On June 9, 1944, off the coast of Normandy, France, John’s ship was sunk by a German torpedo boat. He was lost at sea. His name is inscribed on the Tablets of the Missing at the Normandy American Cemetery in France.

John J. Keter – Born in Lowell in 1923, John J. Keter grew up at 16 Merrill Street with his parents and two siblings. His parents were born in Syria and his father worked in a worsted mill. A Private in the U.S. Army, John was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division. He was killed in action on June 8, 1944, at age 20, in Normandy. John is buried in the Normandy American Cemetery. In 1947, Lowell dedicated the intersection of Walker and Branch Streets to his memory as John Keter Square. Ten months later, his brother Thomas was killed in action in Luxembourg.

Joseph J. Lachance – Born in Quebec in 1908, Joseph Jacques Lachance lived at 485 Moody Street with his widowed mother and his brother. Both Joseph and his mother worked in a shoe factory. A Private First Class in the U.S. Army, Joseph was killed in action in France on June 12, 1944, at age 36. He is buried in St. Joseph Cemetery in Chelmsford. In 1948, Lowell dedicated the intersection of Merrimack and Suffolk Streets to his memory as Joseph Lachance Square.

Alphege L. Laporte – Born in Lowell in 1922, Alphege Louis Laporte lived at 66 West Fourth Street with his mother and three siblings. A Private in the U.S. Army, he was assigned to the 4th Infantry Division. He was killed in action at Normandy on June 14, 1944, at age 22. He is buried in Normandy American Cemetery. In 1947, Lowell dedicated the intersection of West Fourth and Albion Streets to his memory as Alphege Laporte Square.

Nicholas F. Moumousis – Born in Lowell in 1911, Nicholas Fred Moumousis grew up at 177 Adams Street with his parents and seven siblings. His parents were both born in Greece and his father worked in a cotton mill. In 1935, Nicholas, also known as Nicola Nargo, moved to New York City and worked as a ballet dancer with the Metropolitan Opera Company until he enlisted in the U.S. Army in January 1942. A Private in the 82nd Airborne Division, Nicholas parachuted into Normandy on D-Day and was killed in action there on June 24, 1944, at age 32. He is buried in Westlawn Cemetery.

John J. Shaughnessy – Born in Lowell in 1917, John Joseph Shaughnessy lived at 1091 Gorham Street with his parents and his two siblings. His father worked for the railroad. John worked at Magowan Educator Food Company on Jackson Street. A 1st Lieutenant in the U.S. Army, John was assigned to the 1st Infantry Division. He was killed in action at Omaha Beach on D-Day, June 6, 1944, at age 26. He is buried in St. Patrick Cemetery. In 1957, Lowell dedicated the John J. Shaughnessy Elementary School on Gorham Street to his memory. The original school was demolished and reconstructed in 1991 with the new school retaining his name.

Frank Sousa – Born in Lowell in 1922, Frank Sousa, also known as Frank Souza, lived at 49 Auburn Street with his parents and five siblings. His parents were born in Portugal and his father worked in a cotton mill. A Coxswain in the U.S. Navy, Frank was killed in action at sea on D-Day, June 6, 1944. He was 21 years old. He is buried in Normandy American Cemetery.

These biographical sketches are taken from my recent book, Regret To Inform You: The Human Cost of World War II in Lowell, Mass., which is available as a free ebook on my website. A paper copy may also be ordered at this link.