7 New Public Safety Initiatives

Dear Malden Residents,

The recent unrelated acts of violence serve to remind us that the issue of public safety needs our constant attention. I want to thank the Malden Police Department and other law enforcement agencies for working diligently to solve the recent crimes that have negatively impacted our city. I also want to re-assure you that the safety of our residents and businesses is a priority for me. From meeting weekly with Police Department officials to holding eight public safety awareness meetings around the city, I am working closely with the City Council to make sure that our community is safe. This week I announced a series of initiatives that will further assist our law enforcement officials to help prevent crime and improve public safety. They are as follows:

1.    Hire additional Police Officers – I remain committed to increasing the number of police officers. Currently, we have 74 Patrol Officers and we are in the process of hiring 4 additional officers which will bring us to 78. Tonight, I propose adding 3 more that will result in a total of 81 police officers. The funding will come from citywide positions in the budget that have yet to be filled.

 

2.    Assign more Officers to the Anti-Crime Unit – This Unit was formed in 2010 and has been tasked with working in the Malden Center Train Station area and surrounding neighborhoods primarily during the evening hours. Currently, there are 3 officers assigned to this Unit. I propose the use of overtime funding to assign 2 additional officers to this group resulting in a 5-member Unit.

 

3.    Continue surveillance camera expansion – Surveillance Cameras are an effective technique to detect and deter criminal activity. The cameras provide another means for Police Officers to have a visible presence in certain areas of the City. We presently have 18 cameras around the city. I want to expand this number by adding 12 more which will give us a total of 30 surveillance cameras. The cost of the High Definition cameras which can pan, tilt, and zoom is estimated at $5,000 per unit. I propose that the total purchase price of $60,000 be funded through the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) that I will forward to the City Council in September-October.

 

4.    Purchase additional License Plate Readers – License Plate Readers can rapidly identify and process thousands of license plates compared to manual checks that might only be in the hundreds. Presently, we have 5 stationary readers and 3 in our police cruisers. I want to purchase an additional 2 stationary readers and one more to be installed in our police cruisers. The cost per unit is estimated at $20,000. I propose that the total cost of $60,000 be funded through the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) that I will forward to the City Council in September-October.

 

5.    Purchase more unmarked cars – Unmarked vehicles allow police officers the considerable advantage of patrolling areas and carrying out surveillance efforts while not being seen. I want to purchase 2 additional vehicles. The cost per vehicle is estimated at $15,000. I propose that the total cost of $30,000 be funded through the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) that I will forward to the City Council in September-October.

 

6.    Install a secure, high performance wireless broadband network – This private network owned, operated and managed by the Malden Police Department would significantly enhance both emergency and normal daily public safety operations. Such a network would:

 

·         stabilize and improve the performance of  the current  Police radio system and extend its useful life;

·         expand  high performance  video surveillance into new areas of the City while retaining the existing deployed cameras;

·         provide reliable, HD quality video images that will improve investigation and crime reduction capabilities; and

·         become a platform for importing non-City video feeds from schools, retail centers, and other locations into the 911 center. This would not only assist with investigations, but also improve emergency and incident responses.

 

I propose that the cost for installing and maintaining this network, once it’s finalized, be funded through the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) that I will forward to the City Council in September-October.

 

7.    Reopen Residential Permit Parking Program – The benefits that such a program offers would assist in promoting public safety by preventing unwanted vehicles on city streets. Permit parking stickers would be free for those already paying excise taxes. What this program would allow us to do is collect taxes from those residents not currently paying their fair share. These new monies would then be dedicated to hiring additional Police Officers. I have asked Councillor Kinnon as the City Council’s Public Safety Chairman to begin holding hearings on this initiative.

 

More importantly than any of the initiatives outlined above is the fact that we need your help. Please notify the Police Department if you see or hear about anything that is suspicious. In the meantime, always feel free to contact me with any questions at 781-397-7000, option 6 or mayor@cityofmalden.org. 

Communication and Responsibility: Learning as a summer youth intern

Communication and Responsibility: Learning as a summer youth intern

Guest Blogger: Rumana Papia

Working as an intern at the Superintendent's office has taught me the importance of communication and responsibility. Whether it was communicating with others in the office, with teachers of the schools, or interdepartmentally with Human Resources, the Business Department, and the Mayor’s Office, communication is an important aspect of maintaining a healthy school system and city.

Communication doesn’t just stop at the end of the school day when the bell rings. Parents and guardians are encouraged to stay engaged in their children’s school life. In one occasion a concerned parent began asking me questions about the High School considering her 13 year old daughter was going to be attending the following month. It was clear to me that education was incredibly important to her. In order to provide parents and children the best possible education experience they can receive, the Superintendent’s Office consults with constituents, keeps teachers’ files maintained, and makes sure each faculty member is properly equipped with appropriate skills so that the students have the opportunity to learn to be active progressives in the modern world. It is often said “children are the future,” but in order to obtain a successful and prosperous future, teachers, parents, and most importantly, students have to work together.

My supervisors, Jo Ann and Marie, taught me important lessons through my first job experience. They work closely with Superintendent David DeRousi, and their motivation has always been and will always be the children. These respectable women taught me that it is okay to ask questions, that it is alright to be curious, they explained to me how each person and each department is responsible for a specific task and that in order to keep Malden and its residents satisfied, one must make sure everyone contributes their part.

I am very thankful to have this job experience, the lessons I learned have given me a new perspective into the school system and will stay with me forever.

Growing from Summer Youth Program

Guest Blogger: Annie Feng

My name is Annie Feng, I came from China when I was 13 years old and shortly after, I went to Malden High School. In the fall I will be a freshman in college attending the University of Massachusetts Boston. 

Through the last five weeks’ working at My Little Best Friends Daycare, I have learned a few important lessons. Patience is the most important asset to have when taking care of kids. I always love kids and playing with them. But to be a babysitter, patience is something I have increasingly gained, along with a close eye for detail. Previous to my job, I knew how to change a diaper from taking care of my sister, but at the ELC I have learned to change more than one child. It was hard for me to become accustomed to, but I gradually learned how to balance multiple tasks and pay careful attention to everything. I have also learned what to do after a child finishes a meal, and to watch the kids carefully to ensure their safety.

Another important concept at work is to teach the children what to do and what not to do in the classroom. It has been difficult adjusting to this, but as the weeks went on, I grew confident and now I feel comfortable teaching the children life lessons. One instance of this was when we took the children to the park to play. We lined up and began walking; on the way to the park I was standing in the back of the line to make sure all the kids were safe and together. One child was looking back and not where he was walking and almost hit a tree, I quickly pulled him out so he would not get hurt. I told him that he needs to pay attention where he walks. Circumstances like this happen frequently when taking care of kids; we have to be very careful. I felt grateful that I was able to help this child stray from danger.

I am very happy to have this opportunity to work at My Little Best Friends and to grow from this experience. And I believe the lessons I learned here will help me in the future no matter what kind of career I would choose.

Walkability of the City of Malden

Dear Malden Residents,

As you may know, Malden was recently ranked as the 74^th most walkable city in Massachusetts.

Working together, I believe we can increase Malden’s walkability ranking. To that end I have appointed long-time Malden resident Sharon Santillo to lead the charge on this issue. I have also recently invited enthusiastic walkers in Malden to join the Committee to make recommendations to me about better signage and improvements to our crosswalks.

Since becoming Mayor, I have walked to City Hall many times and have seen firsthand that improvements must be made, particularly along the Route 60 corridor. My hope is that the Committee will submit their report and recommendations during the next few months so we that may consider potential cost implications as we continue to build our Capital Improvement Program.  I’m confident that Sharon and the Committee will help Malden to become more pedestrian friendly and will increase our city ranking!

If you would like to join Sharon in this important effort, please email Kathleen Manning Hall in my office at kmanninghall@cityofmalden.org or mail a letter of interest to the Mayor’s Office, Attn: Kathleen Manning Hall, 200 Pleasant Street, Room 627, Malden by next Tuesday, August 14^th.

Thank you and I look forward to our work together on this important issue!

Working at the Mayor’s Office as an Intern

Guest Blogger: Robert Desantes

In my first three weeks of experience as an intern at Mayor Christenson’s Office, one lesson has become overwhelmingly clear to me. That is, teamwork is essential not only on the athletic field, but also it makes up the framework of any effective company. Although the Mayor’s Office is not a typical company so to speak, its teamwork can be compared to only that of the New England Patriots. Mayor Christenson exhibits leadership skills throughout the office analogous to those of Tom Brady, and we interns assist our supervisors much like the players on the practice squad aid the stars like Brady and Welker. Furthermore, just as every player on the Patriots contributes to winning a Super Bowl, everyone in the Mayor’s Office plays his or her own role in effectively managing and leading City Hall.

This was evident to me from day one in the office when my supervisor, Mr. Kevin Duffy, assigned me my first project. He was collecting raw data about the businesses located in downtown Malden, Medford, and Melrose in order to create a future presentation to the City Council comparing the three. In order to make this presentation a success, he assigned another intern and I to walk around the square and write down the names and addresses of every firm located in Malden Center. We then took this data and entered it into an Excel Spreadsheet to be used in his presentation. Although this raw data entry seemed tedious, it actually served a larger purpose. Not only did it create lots of face of face interaction between real businesspeople and me, a representative of City Hall, but it also allowed me to significantly contribute to an actual presentation in front of the Malden City Council.

Being an aspiring businessman myself, this project proved to be both interesting and enlightening. As an intern at the Mayor’s Office, I have been presented with the opportunity to begin building my resume before I graduate from high school. Ultimately, in just three short weeks, I am already aware that all my experiences in the Mayor’s Office will enrich all of my future working endeavors, whether they lie in the business field or not.

Summer Youth Jobs Program

I can’t think of a better way to start the new fiscal year than with our Summer Youth Jobs Program. As many of you may know, this program has been a top priority of mine and I am proud to say that as of today, we have 335 teens working for the City, nearly triple the number from last summer!

Additionally, we’ve revamped the hiring process. Applicants are now required to submit a personal statement which includes their strengths and interests and must include letters of recommendation or references. They are also required to attend an orientation to understand the City’s expectations of them. The focus of orientation is to review Job training skills, work ethic, responsibility, professional behavior, and dress code. To help prepare for a successful career, teens are encouraged to advocate for themselves by working with their supervisors to iron out scheduling issues, to turn in timesheets weekly and to take responsibility for their performance.

The results have been great! The young participants are working in various positions in City departments, schools, parks, non-profit organizations and, new this year, private businesses in Malden, Medford, Cambridge and Boston! Kids working in City Hall departments are answering phones, entering data and performing other various clerical duties. Those assisting the DPW and Cemetery are providing landscaping services as well as assisting in cleaning the inside of our public schools. We have students at Malden High providing one-on-one tutoring for students in need of academic help and assisting in PACE programs which help prepare students with various special needs to function to their potential in the community. Others are working in various after school camps and mentor programs.

Malden youth are gaining invaluable experience that will benefit them with support and guidance that will extend beyond their paychecks to develop essential job skills that will enhance their career paths. None of this would have been possible without the support of the City Council and a number of staff and volunteers. Many have worked late into the night to get this restructured program off the ground and I am truly grateful for their help. Finally, I want to thank Malden residents and local businesses for believing in this program.

I look forward to the possibility of expanding the program in an effort to keep kids working during the school year as well. Stay tuned!


Sincerely,
 
GARY CHRISTENSON
Mayor of Malden

Passing My First Budget

We are now open for business! The City Council passed my proposed budget four days before the new fiscal year began on July 1. The budget grew 1 percent outside of the School Department and it contained a lot of restructuring, consolidation, and priorities, including a heavy emphasis on our youth. Best of all, we did not use any of our reserves which today stand at $5.3M. To view the budget, please click here. I would like to thank everyone involved in helping us through the annual budget process in particular City Controller Charles Ranaghan, Human Resources Director Eleanor Cushing, Online Services and Communications Director Ron Cochran, and Human Resources Specialist Melissa Smith.


No sooner than the ink dried on the city budget we held our Annual Independence Day Celebrations around Malden. I made it to every park and I could not be prouder of the Councillors who led the events. There were games, rides, and lots of red, white, and blue. For photos from all the events, click here. The best thing about the 2012 July 4th Celebrations was that I was off the hook from going in the dunk tank! What my newfound freedom did allow me to do is be on scene for a captured red tail boa constrictor that got loose in Malden. To see the story, click here.

On a more serious note, I want to thank the Police and Fire Departments for their great response to serious incidents that occurred within the past week. Police and Fire responded to a shooting that we believe emanated from the business located at 287 Salem Street. As the Police continue to investigate, I have directed the Problem Properties Unit to issue a Cease and Desist order to the business since they did not have the proper permit to operate so they are shut down until further notice. I also want to commend the Fire Department for dousing two house fires within days without injury or loss of life. These two departments continue to make Malden proud!

Now going to try and take a little time in July and August to recharge the batteries in anticipation of what I believe will be a busy fall. We will be submitting a Capital Improvement Plan to the City Council and a plan to address Post Employment Benefits which is a financial issue affecting all cities and towns.


Sincerely,
 
GARY CHRISTENSON
Mayor of Malden