"We do do recruitments. We do encourage people to take the exam," Healy added. "But you have to go with the top people who are qualified on the list."
Other councillors came to the manager's defense.
Councillor Timothy J. Toomey Jr. noted that several recruits originally lived in Cambridge but moved since taking the exam. Council member Kathleen L. Born said that many officers may have been born or lived in Cambridge but left due to the city's high living costs.
"If we're really serious about police officers living in the community, we have to do something about affordable housing," Born said. The councillor suggested that the city set aside certain affordable units for police officers.
Economic Development
Councillors passed several ordinances yesterday dealing with economic growth in Cambridge, as political debate begins over the city's 1996 fiscal years.
A number of council members asked Healy to be more aggressive in finding a grocery store for residents in Cambridgeport and Riverside.
Residents in the two neighborhoods were left without a market within walking distance after the Stop and Shop chain vacated its Memorial Drive building last summer. The council had denied the chain a zoning adjustment that would have allowed it to build a new superstore. The building is now occupied by a computer-supply store.
Councillors said they had hoped that a recently vacated building on Memorial Drive owned by Harvard Real Estate, Inc. (HRE) would serve as a new neighborhood market, but HRE has announced plans to instead grant a short-term lease to a plant nursery.
Assistant City Manager for Community Development Susan B. Schlesinger said last night she had met with officials from HRE, a University subsidiary, but that HRE does not want a long-term tenant. HRE has previously declined to specify its plans for the building.
"They indicated that since they have plans for the site, it wouldn't make sense for someone to invest a lot to build there," Schlesinger told the council.
The council unanimously passed an ordinance calling of Healy and Schlesinger to report on their efforts to encourage food markets to locate in Cambridgeport.
Councillor Michael A. Sullivan also sponsored a resolution calling on Healy to "establish a more competitive and aggressive economic development" plan, which was passed without dissent by the nine-member council.
Stride-Rite, the shoe chain, and the camera company Polaroid recently announced their plans to leave the city. Councillor Francis. H. Duehay '55 said more accurate information about the city's efforts to recruit business and chains is needed.
"Too often we are talking about fears and rumors and estimated projections," Duehay said.
Sullivan also proposed a resolution ordering Healy to meet with HRE to insure that the recently announced allotment by HRE of several units for affordable housing does not result in a decrease in the city's property tax revenue.
Reeves also proposed extending the contracts of City Clerk D. Margaret Drury and City Auditors James P. Lindstrom through May, 1998.