The Framingham City Council met on Tuesday, March 17, 2026, in the Blumer Room. The meeting opened with approval of the February 3rd minutes, a moment of silence for troops requested by Councilor Alexander, and a proclamation declaring March 2026 as Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood (SUDC) Awareness Month. The council conducted public hearings on two zoning amendments, appointed a new financial analyst, voted to authorize hiring a CFO at the top of the salary range, extended the budget deadline by 30 days, and heard an update on the city's equity audit. All votes were taken in person.
The City Council is the sole legislative body of the city of Framingham and is therefore responsible for passing city ordinances. The City Council is made up of 11 members who exercise the legislative powers of Framingham. Two of these members are known as counselors at large, and nine members are known as district counselors. The city council serves as a link between the citizens of Framingham and their municipal government. Councillors help constituents by connecting them to resources, services, and city departments. And also serve as advocates for all Framingham residents. The following City Council coverage is brought to you by the Government Channel, a service of the City of Framingham. Welcome to the City Council meeting of March 17th, 2026. Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone. It gave me a good excuse to dress casually, but I feel a little bad looking at the well-dressed youth that have my picture taken, but uh happy St. Patrick's Day nonetheless. So the first thing we have on our agenda is minutes from February 3rd. Motional approval. Second. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor. And uh two things at the beginning, I'd like to know everyone is here, which is great. It will make the meeting go much faster than uh anything else. I also uh would like to at the beginning of the meeting to recognize Councilor Alexander for a brief uh remembrance that you suggested. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Uh, just wanted to um uh have us um do a brief moment of silence for um our soldiers and sailor ailment airmen and troops that are in harm's way. It doesn't matter what your political persuasion is, um, but this is a time for everybody just to uh rally um the rally for everybody uh for their families and all the sacrifices they make every day on behalf of us. So a moment of silence, please. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much, Councillor Alexander. Okay, next on the agenda, we have a joint proclamation by the Council of the Mayor recognizing March as sudden explained death in childhood month. Umcini from District Three requested this proclamation in honor of her brother and in recognition of those affected by a loss such as this. She and her family are in attendance this evening. And Councilor Feeney will read the proclamation. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um, I just want to thank Madison for bringing this to the council. I also want to point out that Madison is the team and teen ambassador for the Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood Foundation, and she is the first ambassador in the organization to receive an official proclamation from a municipality. So thank you. In recognition of sudden unexplained death in childhood month, whereas sudden unexplained death in childhood is a category of death in children over the age of 12 months that remains unexplained after a thorough investigation, including an autopsy. And whereas each year there are approximately 500 cases of U, I'm sorry, SUDC in the United States, including more than 200 younger children between the ages of one and four who die without any clear cause or explanation. And whereas, while less common than sudden infant death syndrome, SIDS, which occurs before the first birthday, SUDC is an important health health concern deserving of increased public awareness and research. And whereas SUDC is the fifth leading category of death among children ages one to four in the United States, and whereas there currently is no known way to predict or prevent SUDC as its causes are unknown. Whereas continued research and awareness efforts are vital to uncovering the causes and identifying ways to prevent these tragic losses in the future. And whereas we recognize the dedicated efforts of organizations such as the SUDC Foundation, medical professionals, uh metal legal, medical legal death investigators and volunteers who are working to better understand the causes of SUDC, improve the health of infants and children, and provide much needed hope and support for those families grieving and the heartbreaking sudden unexplained death of a child. And whereas sudden sudden unexplained death in childhood awareness month provides an opportunity to honor the memory of the young lives that ended too soon, show engagement and support, sorry, so show encouragement and support for the families and loved ones devastated by their loss, increased public awareness of SUDC, and the need for ongoing research efforts in a search for answers. Now, therefore, the mayor and the council of the city of Framingham to hereby recognize March 2026 as sudden unexplained death in childhood awareness month in the city of Framingham and encourage all residents to honor the memories of the children gone too soon, support affected families, and join efforts to raise awareness, advance research, and work towards a future free from SUDC. Signed by Mayor Sasitsky and all of the counselors. And so Madison, I believe, would like to say a few words. My brother Ryan passed away before I was born, so I never got the chance to meet him. His death was determined to be SUDC. He was 20 months old.