Voices of the Community

John DiGiovanni

As a property owner and manager for over twenty years, the reasons I believe in, and continue to do business in Cambridge, range from the practical to the ineffable.

Among Cambridge's many assets are its municipal offices, administrated by experts in large-scale city management who are wonderfully accessible. This leadership continues to embraces a spirit of growth and change, as evidenced by several capital projects. Guided under the leadership of the mayor and city councilors, the city manager's office is overseeing an extensive infrastructure and streetscape project in Harvard Sq., as well renovating the Main Library and CRLS High School, and building a new police station, West Cambridge Youth Center, the a War Memorial.

While other cities and towns in Massachusetts are struggling with Proposition 2 ½ overrides, layoffs and cutbacks, Cambridge's health is enduring and comprehensive:

* 92.5% of residential taxpayers in Cambridge saw a reduction, no increase, or an increase of less than $100 in their FY08 tax bill.

* Cambridge is one of only 19 cities in the United States that has a AAA Bond Rating from all three major rating services: Fitch, Moody's and Standard & Poor's.

* Cambridge police officers are among the highest paid in the state and our fire department is a class 1 fire department, a rating held by only 54 other communities in the United States (resulting in lower insurance premiums).

* In partnership with the Kendall Foundation, the city created the Cambridge Energy Alliance, a large scale energy efficiency implementation project designed to reduce peak power demand by all city (public and private) sectors by 50 megawatts.

* Cambridge was selected, for the second time, by America's Promise Alliance, as one of the 100 Best Communities for young people.

Despite today's economic challenges, Cambridge continues to thrive as a place where new -- and old -- ideas and businesses are nurtured. It is a cutting-edge community rooted in history and tradition, a city which has managed to keep its tax rate down, its bond rating up, its taxpayers reassured and its young people hopeful.

John DiGiovanni is president of Trinity Property Management and is president of the Harvard Square Business Association.