Tom Golden, City Manager, City of Lowell

Over the past year, what have been some of the most significant developments in the City of Lowell, particularly in advancing the goals of the Lowell Forward 2040 master plan?

So far, 2024 has been an incredibly exciting year for the City of Lowell. There is a flurry of economic activity on the immediate horizon and many noteworthy developments. This activity is coupled with an historic level of capital investment in the city’s infrastructure and a once-in-a-lifetime investment of federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (“ARPA”) in such areas as: neighborhood parks, sewer infrastructure, and a $9.8 million replacement program for the city’s fire apparatus. The Lowell Innovation Network Corridor (“LINC”) project at UMass Lowell’s east campus is perhaps the most significant development project in the last decade in Lowell and will represent approximately an $800 million investment in Lowell. The project is slated to generate $3.7 billion in economic activity in the city and will create 1,300 construction jobs & 2,000 permanent jobs. 

The Lowell City Council and the City Administration have engaged the community through the master planning process to arrive at the goals set forth in Lowell Forward 2040. The priority goals and actions from the Master Plan, such as a strategic focus on economic development, housing, arts and culture, and parks and open space, among other areas, have been at the forefront of the city’s finances, administration, and operation over the past year. For example, in 2024, the City Council and the Community Preservation Committee utilized $1.5 million in Community Preservation Funds to purchase a permanent conservation restriction, transforming “Rollie’s Farm” into the Pawtucket Farm Wildlife Sanctuary. This is directly tied to the goal in the Lowell Forward 2040 Master Plan to strengthen social resilience, equity, access, and maintenance to and of parks, open spaces and trails. 

How are you balancing the need for fiscal responsibility with the ambitious economic development plans outlined in the Lowell Forward 2040 master plan?

Fiscal responsibility is at the foundation of any successful municipal operation and the City Administration can achieve the delicate balance by carefully monitoring expenditures throughout the year and developing budgets with conservative revenue estimates. By using long-term financial forecasting and examining new revenue sources outside of the tax levy, which is limited in Massachusetts by Proposition 2 ½, the Administration has been able to expand the budget at a moderate pace to incorporate many of the initiatives needed to achieve the goals set forth in the Master Plan. 

The City of Lowell has had great success in the past securing state and federal grants available to assist in the development efforts and ease the burden on the property tax levy. This financing plan will afford the city the opportunity to pursue some of the more ambitious goals of the master plan with zeal, as grant funding becomes available.   

With the LINC project expected to bring thousands of jobs to Lowell, how are you ensuring that local businesses and residents are prepared to take advantage of these opportunities?

The City Council and the City Administration have worked tirelessly to develop a strong relationship with the business community and through the department of planning and development and their office of economic development, city staff are in constant contact with businesses regarding opportunities for growth and development.

One area of focus is in training the workforce of tomorrow by investing in education, specifically in STEM fields, which will prepare students with the skills necessary to take advantage of well-paying jobs in the emerging tech sector in Lowell. The city has made several such grants using the ARPA funds to advance this initiative. 

With public safety being a top priority and the city’s plan to hire eight new firefighters and up to 13 additional police officers this year, how is the city ensuring that these new hires are integrated effectively into the community?

The City of Lowell is fortunate that many of its native sons and daughters continue to pursue careers in public safety by taking the Civil Service exam and applying for positions in the Lowell Police Department (“LPD”) and Lowell Fire Departments (“LFD”). Because of this pipeline of new recruits drawn straight from the community, the workforce begins their careers in their hometown. Therefore, the process of streamlining the integration of police officers and firefighters into the community is seamless.

Community policing is the foundation of the mission of the Lowell Police and the city has been recognized, nationally, as a model of success in police work. The LPD is ingrained into the neighborhoods and within the community. The LFD likewise employs a community minded approach to their operations through the fire training office and through their partnership with the Lowell Public Schools and other organizations. 

Having a presence in the public school system, as well as through efforts by the current City Council and Administration to introduce a new Cadet Program and further expand community policing through youth services with programs such as boxing and other partnerships with area nonprofits, further opportunities are available for the new police officers and firefighters to integrate effectively into the Lowell community. 

Lowell is becoming a regional hub for innovation and economic growth. How is the city collaborating with neighboring towns and regional bodies to maximize the benefits of these developments for the broader Merrimack Valley?

Lowell’s role as a regional economic center dates back to the industrial revolution, but its recent renaissance has provided the opportunity for the City to rebrand itself to the metro-north Boston area. The City is currently developing a new marketing campaign to promote all of the significant economic development occurring in the city, as well as to revive the city’s image as a “destination city.”

Through the Greater Merrimack Valley Chamber of Commerce, Mass Hire, and other local business consortiums, the City and the University have been laying the foundation for the economic impact of the LINC project and development in the Hamilton Canal Innovation District (“HCID”) to reverberate to the greater region. The partnership with the City of Lowell and the Lowell Regional Transit Authority (“LRTA”) is another key component to connecting the economic impact of the city’s development to the Merrimack Valley.    

What are the city’s key fiscal priorities for the next two to three years, and how are you ensuring that investments in public safety, education, and infrastructure are supported while managing budget constraints?

The Administration’s key fiscal priorities are to maintain fiscal stability by building reserves and addressing our outstanding liabilities. In the next two to three years, the City will absorb the debt service for the Lowell High School building project and will maintain the current strong management practices and policies and continue to support steady budgetary performance and maintain budgetary flexibility to absorb expenditure growth. 

By managing the debt service budget in such a way to incorporate new debt for ongoing capital projects, as older debt is fully retired, the Administration will employ a capital financing strategy, so as to minimize the budgetary impact while continuing to invest in repairs to roads, bridges, and other key infrastructure. This strategy includes managed growth to the education budget, which is funded in large part by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ Chapter 70 education funding, and other strategic investments in public safety and quality of life.