Tufts' agreement to provide extensive financial assistance to Medford and Somerville is a historic step forward for town-gown relations on the Hill. The agreement, which provides each city with $1.25 million over the next 10 years as well as $300,000 each in need-based financial aid to city residents, is the product of extensive negotiations between the Tufts administration and the leaders of the host communities.
As a non-profit institution the University does not pay property taxes to Medford and Somerville. In spite of this, Tufts makes extensive use of many municipal services on both sides of the Hill, from fire to public works. The agreement, announced in May by President Bacow, aims to address this discrepancy by providing an infusion of cash to each community.
Tufts will also continue to provide extensive services to residents of the area, from the use of University space for community events to community outreach programs that put Jumbos in local schools and parks at the service of our neighbors. Local residents can look forward to reduced fees for auditing classes: the agreement reached slashes the fee to $100 from the previous $600. All of this means that students and residents should be seeing more of each other in the future, paving the way for smoother relations.
The pledge of financial aid for local students will not only provide opportunities for community members to get a great education but will also lead to a greater understanding between those on the Hill and those who live around it. The hope is that these students will bring an understanding of the local communities to students from around the world while bringing an increased understanding of the world back to the local communities.
The formalized agreement comes on top of the already extensive economic stimulus that Tufts provides to local communities. According to President Bacow, the University purchases $1.35 million in goods and services each year from Somerville alone. Tufts students dine and shop in the neighborhoods while the University provides a wide range of employment opportunities to local residents.
With the new agreement in effect, it is important that the leaders of Medford and Somerville give due consideration to this community when they govern. On issues ranging from policing to off-campus housing to the construction of a new dormitory, Tufts must work with its neighbors in order to accomplish mutually acceptable outcomes. We have shown that we care deeply about the welfare of our neighbors; now it is time for them to do the same.
Responding to a generous overture with continued police harassment of students and obstruction of University goals would not only be rude, but it would be bad public policy. Statements by Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone implying that much more money will be expected from Tufts in the future are both inappropriate and irresponsible.
Tufts does not have infinite resources to spend on either itself or the host communities; Curatone should be reasonable enough to realize this and communicate it to his constituents. Although Tufts still does not pay taxes - no universities do - it certainly gives its fair share to the community, and we should expect nothing less than respect and cooperation in return.
