Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20) budget proposal passed the City Council unanimously on June 26.
The $3.49 billion budget reflects a $176 million increase over last year’s budget while simultaneously upholding the City of Boston’s strong record of proactive fiscal management.
“These important investments are a reflection of our shared priorities,” said Mayor Walsh. “Those who supported this budget, from creation to passage, played a critical role in increasing the funding that will allow us to deliver on the promise of expanding opportunity across the city, from new housing to school nurses, more pre-kindergarten seats for our young people and additional resources to look at unsolved homicides. Through this budget we are continuing to set Boston up for future success, moving forward with urgency on our long-term plans to address climate change, affordable housing, better transit, arts and schools.”
The FY20 budget includes $1.177 billion to support high-quality education at Boston Public Schools. The largest-ever school budget in city history passed the City Council by a vote of 10-3.
•Free, high-quality pre-kindergarten for all 4-year-olds living in Boston within five years
•Full-time nurse in every school
•Paraprofessional in every kindergarten classroom
•More licensed mental health professionals than ever before
•Free MBTA passes for all Boston students in Grades 7-12 in public, charter, private and parochial schools
• Free menstrual products for students in 77 BPS schools
Recognizing the need for immediate transportation investments, this budget finds new revenue that will allow the City to support the priorities outlined in Go Boston 2030, our long-term transportation plan.
•Accelerating the design and construction of Boston’s major bike corridors
•Expanding Blue Bikes, Boston’s bikeshare infrastructure
•Creating new dedicated bus lanes
•New traffic redesign projects to enhance safety and lower speeds
•Reconstructing sidewalks equitably throughout Boston
The City’s housing needs require a multifaceted approach and this budget represents a 45 percent increase in city funding dedicated to reaching the City’s housing goals of 69,000 new units of housing by 2030, for a total of $20.6 million.
•Creating 50 new units of permanent supportive housing each year, a critical component of Boston’s Way Home, the City’s plan to end chronic homelessness
•Connecting homeless youth with employment, rental assistance and supportive services
•Providing loans for income-eligible homeowners to create Additional Dwelling Units in their home
•Expanding the Intergenerational Homeshare Program, matching older adults with people looking to rent in Boston.
In order to continue to keep Boston safe, the FY20 budget dedicates over 20 percent of overall funds to support robust public safety initiatives and new funding specifically for violence prevention efforts in Boston’s neighborhoods.
•Growing the size of the City’s police force to over 2,200 officers, including a new unsolved homicides unit.
•Bolstering diversity recruitment efforts for police, fire and emergency medical services, including a new cadet class at Boston Fire.
•New funding to support violence prevention, intervention and trauma supports.
•Providing additional resources to investigate unsolved homicides.
•Creating a new transportation analyst position at Boston Police.
•Implementing the Body Worn Camera program, already deployed to officers assigned to District C-6 (South Boston), District C-11 (Dorchester) and the Youth Violence Strike Force.
•Adding an additional EMS Community Assistance Team (Squad 80) to respond to incident calls that do not require transport to a hospital.
Through this budget, the City will make meaningful steps towards essential environmental goals and climate resiliency efforts.
•10 percent of new City capital funds will be dedicated to projects that promote climate resilience.
•Additional investments in city and building energy efficiency, urban forestry, additional tree canopy support, additional park rangers, dedicated park maintenance funding and new in-house veterinary services.
•Doubling down on becoming a zero waste city with new investments in recycling services and waste removal.
The FY20 budget was signed by Mayor Walsh and went into effect at the start of the new fiscal year on Monday, July 1.