Special to the Patriot-Bridge
Boston City Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata joined her colleagues in voting for an omnibus amendment package on the FY 25 Operating budget. Following the Council’s first of two votes on the amended budget, it goes to Mayor Michelle Wu for acceptance, rejection, or amendments. The Council will then vote again later in the month on a final FY25 Operating budget which will commence July 1, 2024. Additionally, the Council may only reject or pass the Boston Public Schools and the Capital budget without amendment power.
“With broad consensus, the Boston City Council has maximized its new budgetary authority, diligently and in a fiscally responsible manner, by only utilizing unspent funding sources. We have spent countless meetings analyzing every dollar of taxpayer money. The resulting amendments invest in basic city services and quality of life issues, community safety, housing, youth career and college readiness, and more,” said Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata. “I stand by the prudent process put forth by the Chair of the Ways and Means. The Council is utilizing its newfound authority to provide an independent check on the Mayor and invest directly in Bostonians.”
“These amendments invest in top city departments and ensure there will be no personnel cuts to community safety. The Council maintained the collective bargaining reserve hike while also calling attention to the numerous job vacancies across the city. Hundreds of job vacancies across City departments provide hundreds of millions of dollars to reallocate without any anticipated job or service losses.”
A portion of the Council’s amended FY25 budget omnibus package includes:
• $200,000 within the Inspectional Services Department (Personnel Services) to increase overtime for pest control inspections
• $65,000 within the Inspectional Services Department (Personnel Services) to increase Building Inspectors by 1 FTE to proactively prevent building collapses and hold short-term rentals accountable
• $700,000 within Boston Police Department (Personnel Services) to the Boston Police Crime Lab to increase the number of lab techs and to fill the director vacancy
• $300,000 within Boston Police Department (Equipment) to Boston Police Crime Lab to purchase new sexual assault testing equipment
• $230,000 within the Inspectional Services Department (Personnel Services) to increase Plans Examiners by 2 FTE to relieve a backlog of plans.
• $100,000 increase for trash containerization for rodent mitigation in Inspectional Services Department’s Supplies & Materials
• $50,000 increase for youth programming in district one Boston Centers for Youth & Families
• $125,000 increase for 2 additional housing crisis coordinator positions in Mayor’s Office of Housing
• $300,000 increase to support ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) parent classes across the city in Office of Immigrant Advancement Contractual Services
• $100,000 increase for route optimization – street sweepers in the Department of Innovation & Technology Equipment
• $9,999 increase for clean water pilot in East Boston and Mattapan in the Office of Food Justice Contractual Services
• $750,000 increase for Community Land Trust in the Mayor’s Office of Housing Special Appropriations
• $1,500,000 increase for City Housing Vouchers in the Mayor’s Office of Housing Special Appropriations
• $100,000 increase to provide seed money to create an emergency relief fund for residents impacted by disasters in Mayor’s Office of Housing Special Appropriation
• $500,000, within Boston Public Health Commission (Special Appropriation) to the Family Justice Center to support survivors of sexual assault
• $500,000 increase for Right to Counsel in the Fair Housing & Equity’s Contractual Services
• $75,000 increase for a Parks Administrator at the Christopher Columbus Park in the Parks & Recreation Department’s Contractual Services
• $50,000 increase for landmarks personnel in the Office of Historic Preservation Personnel Services
• $1,500,000 increase for Down Payment Assistance in the Mayor’s Office of Housing Special Appropriations
• $75,000 increase for a neighborhood traffic study in Office of Streets Contractual Services
• $200,000 increase to support workforce language training programs in the Office of Workforce Development Contractual Services
• $50,000 increase to create hybrid meeting locations throughout the city in the Department of Innovation & Technology Equipment
• $100,000 increase for small business mini-grants in the Office of Economic Opportunity & Inclusion Contractual Services
• $200,000 increase to support workforce training nonprofits for newcomers in the Office of Workforce Development Contractual Services
• $150,000 increase to support burial services for homicide victims in the Parks & Recreation Department Contractual Services
The Boston City Council commenced its budget hearings on April 22, 2024, and all hearings were led by Councilor Brian Worrel (D4), chair of the Committee on Ways and Means. This cycle is the third time the Boston City Council can reject, reduce, pass, or amend line items (i.e., accounts such as personnel, contracted services, equipment, etc.) in the City’s Operating Budget.
To prepare for the budget cycle, Coletta Zapata hosted a round of listening sessions and budget town halls across the district to gather feedback from residents about their priorities for the fiscal year operating and capital budget.