Boston: A Letter from the Chair of Ways and Means

Trending...
June 6, 2025

True collaboration takes compromise and a collective will to do what's best for a higher cause. In this case, that higher cause is the people of Boston, and I'm proud to have worked with all 12 of my City Council colleagues to have delivered a unanimous $9 million amendment package this week that reflects the values of our residents, which we declared in our April 1 letter to Mayor Michelle Wu.

The package of Council-directed investments features a $3 million increase in housing investments, including $1.6 million more to expand the city rental voucher program, $450,000 to expand Access to Counsel for families facing eviction, $300,000 to expand the city homeownership voucher program, $100,000 to outsource a fair housing tester program, and $50,000 more to the city's tenant stabilization fund.

There's a $1.7 million increase in programs for youth, including $1 million more for youth jobs, $500,000 more for college and career readiness grants, and $75,000 more for teen programs on summer weekend nights.

The Council increased the mayor's community safety investments by $1.3 million, with $700,000 more to the Boston Public Health Commission for mental health support and emergency preparedness, $500,000 for increased traffic enforcement, and $100,000 for cancer screening for firefighters.

The Council also focused an additional $900,000 in Quality of Life Issues, including $200,000 more in senior programming, $200,000 to pilot a Private Way  grant program, $100,000 more for rodent control, $50,000 more for the street tree bank, $50,000 to open the city pools, and $75,000 for a Downtown Parks administrator.

The Council increased support for its most vulnerable residents with $800,000 on diversity and inclusion efforts such as increasing legal support services at the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Advancement by $350,000, $275,000 more for classes for English Speakers of Other Languages, and adding $100,000 to support LGBTQIA2s+ services.

More on Boston Chron
Increased investments in Government Productivity totaled more than $800,000 and included investments in the City Archives, Finance Commission, and an increased Participatory Budget award. Additionally, the Council directed $400,000 more in small business support, including expanding the storefront revitalization fund by $300,000 and adding capacity to the Licensing Board for the city's new liquor licenses.

While the debate on the floor lasted only an hour, there were more than 124 hours of public hearings, working sessions and public testimonies, and hundreds of more hours of behind-the-scenes work by staff and councilors that led us to the first unanimous (13-0) amendment package since the Council's new budget process began four years ago.

Our process has always been about more than shifting numbers on the page. It's about our residents and how our government can best serve them. This year's budget process was especially critical. With the real threat of federal funding cuts hanging over us, we were tasked with walking a tightrope: protecting vital City services while also preparing to respond swiftly to any financial shocks.

That's not an easy balance—but we did it. We've delivered a budget that doesn't just maintain the status quo—it pushes us forward. When there is more money for youth jobs, Boston wins. When we are able to provide more funds for housing, Boston wins.

When we are providing more funds for newcomers to learn English, Boston wins. When we are working together as a Council, Boston wins.

These amendments weren't submitted in a vacuum. My colleagues and I have held hearings and advocated for these important issues for years well beyond our budget process.

This year's pre-budget process on the operating budget reflected the early work we did on Boston Public Schools in Fiscal Year 2025. That work was expanded upon for BPS' FY26 budget, with the Council beginning its advocacy in November. The school budget that was rolled out in February and resubmitted in March reflected our body's advocacy in collaboration with Superintendent Mary Skipper. It included more support for social workers, inclusion, reading, libraries, pools, curriculum, and our paraprofessionals. There's no denying the effects of the pandemic and the learning loss our students suffered from it, and I'm hopeful to see the steps our system has taken in the past couple of years begin to pay off with progress in the classroom.

More on Boston Chron
One of our other votes on Wednesday was on the city's capital plan, and authorizing loan orders to move forward on many city projects including schools, libraries, parks, and community centers. When I first took office, I saw years of inequity in capital investments in my own district (District 4), which I sought to address. My district now receives its fair share (11 percent) of the capital budget, but our city is only at full strength when we all receive our fair share. I'm hopeful that continued advocacy from district councilors and increased transparency in the budget book and on our capital budget website will help us achieve that goal in the coming years. Our vote on the capital loan orders this week was the first of two, with the next one planned for June 25.

As I await Mayor Wu's response next week on the Council's operating budget, I look back at my work chairing this committee in the past 18 months with pride. We were able to engage the community, make real progress through our amendments, and put Boston in a fiscal position to succeed in the second quarter of the 21st century. The work isn't done yet. We know we have a long way to go in housing, education, and public health, but we've created the building blocks these past two years that will allow Boston to repair the inequities of our past, to keep moving forward together in the present, and to be strong enough to stand up for what's right in the future.

Councilor Brian Worrell

Chair of the Committee on Ways and Mean

Filed Under: Government, City
Show All News | Report Violation

0 Comments

Latest on Boston Chron