The Brookline Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Relations and the Town Administrator are excited to announce the launch of Inhabit, Brookline’s real-time newsfeed and community hub app, now making it easier than ever for the town’s diverse community of residents, small businesses, nonprofits and government departments to connect, share and engage — all in one place.

Inhabit delivers a new kind of Brookline experience – a community portal designed with residents at the center. The app is pre-customized to each resident by neighborhood and precinct, and enables those who join to further personalize their community by browsing neighborhoods and adding additional local businesses and organizations they love. The platform is town-specific, meaning no clutter, no algorithms and no promoted ads – just Brookline.

Inhabit will serve as the heart of Brookline’s local information network, empowering residents to access real-time news, events, and important updates in an intuitive and user-friendly interface. With this app, Brookline is taking a step forward in enhancing community connectivity and engagement and ensuring that every Brookline resident has the tools to be as informed, engaged and connected as their neighbor.

Town Administrator Chas Carey expresses excitement about this new resource, stating, “Inhabit represents a strong step toward fostering a more interconnected and informed community in Brookline. Our town has always thrived on the strength of its people, and this platform serves as a powerful tool to further enhance our bonds, share information, and collectively contribute to the growth of our wonderful town.”

To access Inhabit, simply download the app from the App Store or Google Play to start enjoying a personalized experience of the Town.

For more information, contact Caitlin Starr, Assistant Director of the Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Community Relations, by phone at 617-730-2345 or by e-mail at cstarr@brooklinema.gov.

Library Director Amanda Hirst and the Board of Library Trustees are pleased to announce that the Public Library of Brookline will no longer charge overdue fines on any borrowed materials, effective Saturday, July 01, 2023.

The new fine-free policy aims to promote discovery, connection, and opportunity for all residents by extending access to our diverse resources. Patrons will no longer collect daily overdue fines for late returns of books, DVDs, audiobooks, and other materials borrowed from the Public Library of Brookline.

Additionally, all accrued fines related to overdue items have been waived, allowing residents to start fresh with the library’s offerings. Charges due to lost or damaged materials still remain on patron’s accounts. Library materials go into “lost” status when they are four weeks overdue.

The library’s implementation of a fine-free policy aligns with a growing national trend among libraries seeking to break down barriers and improve equitable access to knowledge and resources.

“I believe that libraries are at their best when we are promoting community engagement and lifelong learning. By eliminating overdue fines, the library is reducing barriers that often prevent people from utilizing library resources and services,” said Library Director Hirst. “I want to foster a culture of accessibility and inclusivity, ensuring that everyone in our community has equal opportunities to benefit from all that the Public Library of Brookline has to offer.”

It is important to note that when residents check out materials from another library in the Minuteman Network, those materials are subject to that library’s policies, which could include late fees. Fees for lost or damaged items will still be applied to Public Library of Brookline patrons.

The responsibility of residents to return borrowed materials in a timely manner remains. To encourage prompt returns, the library will continue to send reminders and notifications to borrowers, highlighting the importance of returning items to ensure their availability for other patrons.

Those with questions regarding the fine-free policy should contact Library Administration at 617-730-2360 or brkadmin@minlib.net.

To support program costs, the Town of Brookline announces updated fees for trash collection services, including the collection of bulky items, for residents who participate in the town’s Hybrid Pay-As-You-Throw (HPAYT) Program.

To offset increasing annual program costs for municipal trash service and to support new state Department of Environmental Protection regulations, the Town will also implement a Pay-As-You-Throw fee for bulky and metal item pickups beginning July 01, 2023. These bulky item fees will accompany an increase in overall sanitation fees.

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Special bulky items: $10 each “White goods” (large home appliances like refrigerators, stoves, etc.) and electronics: $20 each Mattresses: $55 each In addition, rates for the HPAYT program are increasing on July 01, 2023 by approximately 8 percent for all cart sizes.

Pickups of bulky and metal items must be paid for in advance of pickup, which should be scheduled online. Please visit here to access the town’s online scheduling and payment portal.

Bulky and metal items are collected on a resident’s regular waste collection day, by appointment only. Appointments must be made one week in advance of your regular trash pickup and paid for in advance. If you require assistance, please email bulky@brooklinema.gov or call the Department of Public Works at 617-730-2156.

Construction and remodeling materials, automobile parts, and gym equipment are all ineligible for bulky item pickup. These items should instead be removed by a private waste hauler. Tires, electronics and small appliances (such as microwaves) can be brought to the Town’s Household Hazardous Waste Recycling Facility at Brookline’s Transfer Station (815 Newton Street) at no cost. The facility is open every Tuesday from May 02 to October 31, 2023, from 07:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

The Brookline Department of Public Works manages the comprehensive HPAYT program to meet the town’s refuse disposal and recycling needs. The program serves nearly 13,200 customers each week and provides a suite of options for residents to manage household recycling, refuse, special waste, and yard waste in a manner that is efficient, convenient, environmentally sound, and prioritizes public health and safety. The PAYT program relies on refuse fee revenue to offset a portion of the total program cost. The target cost share is 75 percent resident fee and 25 percent Town tax subsidy.

The Solid Waste Advisory Committee (SWAC) and Town staff continue to implement operational efficiencies and look for new ways to minimize waste to control costs and reduce the Town’s collective impact on the environment. The Town has increased its efforts to promote recycling, expanded special materials management, and established a partnership with blackearthcompost.com for residents to sign up for the curbside compost pick-up program. For more information about program services, please visit here or download the new We Recycle Brookline app.

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Town Administrator Chas Carey and Fire Chief / Emergency Management Director John F. Sullivan invite community members to review the 2023 Hazard Mitigation Plan Update.

Brookline’s Hazard Mitigation Planning Committee has developed a Hazard Mitigation Plan that identifies and prioritizes actions the Town can take to mitigate the impacts of natural hazards and climate change.

The Town asks that residents review the plan update and provide recommendations, thoughts, and comments to help the Town finalize the plan. The plan can be found here. To view a hard copy, please visit the Office of Emergency Management, 350 Washington Street, Brookline, MA 02445.

Residents can provide comments on the plan by filling out this digital form or by sending an email to oem@brooklinema.gov. The comment period will be open from June 01 to June 15, 2023.

When implemented, the Hazard Mitigation Plan will support the town’s resiliency against natural hazards such as flooding, snowstorms, high winds, and extreme temperatures. Town officials and local stakeholders developed this plan with support from the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA). Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) approval and Town adoption of the Hazard Mitigation Plan Update allows the Town to apply for pre- and post-disaster hazard mitigation grant funds.

Those with questions regarding this project should contact Cheryl Anne Snyder, Emergency Management Coordinator at 617-730-2656, or by e-mail at oem@brooklinema.gov.

The Hazard Mitigation Plan is available in various formats and languages upon request. For access to these documents, or for assistance with the feedback form, please contact Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Relations Specialist Sarah Kaplan at 617-730-2329, or be e-mail at skaplan@brooklinema.gov.