{"id":1301,"date":"2026-05-27T07:33:33","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T07:33:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1301"},"modified":"2026-05-27T07:33:33","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T07:33:33","slug":"boston-community-groups-protest-mayor-wus-4-9-billion-budget-proposal-over-cut-grants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1301","title":{"rendered":"Boston community groups protest Mayor Wu\u2019s $4.9 billion budget proposal over cut grants"},"content":{"rendered":"
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At least 200 people, representing around 30 community groups, marched around Boston City Hall Tuesday afternoonto protest Mayor Michelle Wu\u2019s proposal to cut certain city departments\u2019 budgets and eliminate funding for a number of grant programs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more US has deported thousands of Cubans and Venezuelans to danger in Mexico, Human Rights Watch says<\/a><\/p>\n

Wu has proposed the cuts in her $4.9 billion spending plan for the next fiscal year, as the city grapples with stagnant tax revenue growth and steep cost increases. <\/span><\/p>\n

Chanting \u201cFund us or fail us,\u201d and \u201cShame on you, Mayor Wu,\u201d the protesters called on Wu to restore funding for the grants, which range from programs that support food pantries and immigrant communities, to a year-round job program for high schoolstudentsand young adults. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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They also demanded that the Boston City Council reject the mayor\u2019s budget proposal to pressure her to increase spending to continue the programs. An effort by some councilors to do so failed after the the body deadlocked on a vote last week, with the councilors split on how to push back on Wu\u2019s plannedcuts. The council has the power to reject, reduce, or change certain line items in the mayor\u2019s budget proposal, as long as the amendments do not increase the total amount the mayor is proposing to spend.<\/span><\/p>\n

Following the rally Tuesday, around 100 protesters signed up to testify and speak out against Wu\u2019s spending plan at a council budget hearing that stretched into the late hours of the evening. <\/span><\/p>\n

Carliz Ma\u00f1ana, 18, a high school senior from Dorchester,said she got a job at the nonprofit Youth Justice and Power Union through the city\u2019s year-round youth jobs program, which now is at risk of ending next school year. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s honestly meant so much to me. . . . [Without it]I would be in a different crowd, I would be doing different things, I wouldn\u2019t know anything about what\u2019s going on in my community,\u201d Ma\u00f1ana said in an interview.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI want the mayor and all of the city councilors to know that if you don\u2019t fund the community (programs). . . you\u2019re disappointing all of us and we\u2019re not going to back off,\u201d she continued. <\/span><\/p>\n

Wu\u2019s office did not provide a statement in response to the Globe\u2019srequest for comment Tuesday. <\/span><\/p>\n

Wu and other city officials have warned for months that Boston, like many cities across the state, is facing a challenging and tight budget season, as it grapples with skyrocketing costs related to health insurance and snow removal, along with extensive state tax-caprestrictions on how municipalities can raise revenue. <\/span><\/p>\n

Wu is already seeking the council\u2019s approval to use $70 million from the city\u2019s emergency reserves to cover deficits in the city\u2019s and Boston Public Schools\u2019 current budgets. <\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Former US Attorney Rachael Rollins among slate of candidates qualifying for district attorney races statewide<\/a><\/p>\n

Some councilors have suggested that Wu\u2019s administration either use less conservative revenue projections, or dip into the city\u2019s so-called \u201crainy day\u201d reserves, to fund the programsin jeopardy. Wu has said she does not plan to do either, calling the alternatives \u201cfiscally irresponsible,\u201d to the outrage of some protesters. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is it still sitting there for? These are rainy days, these are storming days, that\u2019s what it\u2019s for,\u201d Teri Trotman, a 62-year-old Dorchester resident, told The Boston Globe. \u201cPeople need to be able to live, and if you\u2019re cutting all their programs, that means you don\u2019t care, you don\u2019t care about the city that you\u2019re the mayor of.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Protesters argued that many of the grant programs direct resources to marginalized communities \u2014 such as low-income residents, seniors, Black and brown students, and immigrants \u2014 who are already struggling to make ends meet, or facing attacks by the Trump administration. <\/span><\/p>\n

They also emphasized that Wu\u2019s move to end the year-round youth jobs program comes after the School Committee approved a plan to cut 300 to 400 staff jobs, citing significant cost increases and financial challenges due to declining enrollment. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur students only have one life. . . . They can\u2019t redo these vital years, and if we take [resources] away from them, we\u2019re going to see the impact later,\u201d said Lea Serena, vice president of the Boston Teachers Union. \u201cFind more money and put it where it belongs.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Wu has previously described her budget proposal as \u201ctough\u201d but necessary belt-tightening to protect essential city services amid surging costs. <\/span><\/p>\n

Wu\u2019s administration has also noted that her plan maintains funding for a number of initiatives \u2014 including a program that guarantees summer jobs for BPS students; new recruit classes for police, fire, and EMS; weekend and evening hours at libraries and youth and family centers; and free English language classes for adults through the Boston Public Library.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jaya Savita,29, executive director of the Asian Pacific Islanders Civic Action Network, said she understands the city is facing financial challenges, but she can\u2019t support a budget that increases the Police Department budget, but cuts funding for senior programming, youth jobs, housing support, food access, and immigrant communities. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI understand that [Wu is], in theory, between a rock and a hard place, but I\u2019m disappointed,\u201d Savita said. \u201cThis isn\u2019t the mayor I voted for.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Cornyn went to great lengths to avoid Trump\u2019s wrath. The Texas senator lost his seat anyway.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chanting \u201cFund us or fail us,\u201d and \u201cShame on you, Mayor Wu,\u201d the protesters called on Wu and the city council to restore funding for the cut grants.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1300,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nBoston community groups protest Mayor Wu\u2019s $4.9 billion budget proposal over cut grants - Boston Relocation Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1301\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Boston community groups protest Mayor Wu\u2019s $4.9 billion budget proposal over cut grants - 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