{"id":3512,"date":"2026-06-24T23:03:54","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T23:03:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3512"},"modified":"2026-06-24T23:03:54","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T23:03:54","slug":"with-new-fiscal-year-looming-boston-city-council-accepts-wus-amended-4-9-billion-budget-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3512","title":{"rendered":"With new fiscal year looming, Boston City Council accepts Wu\u2019s amended $4.9 billion budget plan"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

The Boston City Council on Wednesday accepted Mayor Michelle Wu\u2019s $4.9 billion budget proposal for the fiscal year that begins next week, adopting a tweak Wu made to the plan to avoid what she called potential layoffs in the transportation department. <\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Pentagon restores mandatory flu shots for all recruits as boot camp outbreak sickens nearly 300<\/a><\/p>\n

The decision put a relatively quiet coda on a tense budget season as the city juggled increasing costs and fierce pushback from community groups over budget cuts Wu pushed. The mayor has said the plan marks the smallest year-over-year increase the city has proposed in spending since 2009.<\/span><\/p>\n

Wu last week approved nearly all of the roughly $11.5 million worth of changes the council made to her spending plan, but effectively reversed a $1.4 million cut to the transportation department\u2019s personnel budget, saying it would lead to layoffs that would hurt operations and city services. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Instead, Wu proposed to pull the $1.4 million from the transportation department\u2019s budget for contracted services to replace the personnel funding. The move meant Wu preserved the council\u2019s decision to redirect that money to various grant programs Wu had moved to cut. <\/span><\/p>\n

Wu said the transportation department will absorb the alternative cutby changing payment schedules and adjusting \u201cservice levels.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

City Councilor John FitzGerald, who pushed the budget amendment with the original $1.4 million cut, on Wednesday said he supports the mayor\u2019s change, but blamed Wu\u2019s office for giving him conflicting information. FitzGerald claimed the administration told him the department\u2019s staff budget could absorb the cut, but that they walked that back and said it would cause layoffs only after it passed, citing a \u201cmiscalculation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur intent was always in the way of keeping as many jobs as possible for our city workers,\u201d FitzGerald said Wednesday.<\/span><\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the mayor\u2019s office did not directly respond to a request for comment on FitzGerald\u2019s claim. But in a letter to the council earlier this month, Ashley Groffenberger, the city\u2019s chief financial officer, warned that changes councilors had proposed could lead to layoffsin several departments, including transportation.<\/span><\/p>\n

The council meeting Wednesday was the body\u2019s last before the new fiscal year begins July 1. While the council did not take a formal vote on Wu\u2019s returned proposal, the body effectively adopted the spending plan because no councilor moved to override her change.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a statement Wednesday, Marcela Dwork, Wu\u2019s press secretary, thanked the councilors for their \u201cdue diligence.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Former Cranston mayor Allan Fung is running for the state representative seat his wife once held<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIn challenging economic times, we continue to prioritize city services for the highest quality of life in every neighborhood and protect the City\u2019s financial health through sound fiscal management,\u201d Dwork said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some city councilors on Wednesday expressed frustration that the council was not able to reverse all of the cuts Wu had included in her initial proposal. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe programs and the grants that were placed on the chopping block were not luxuries or extras, they were investments serving some of Boston\u2019s most vulnerable residents,\u201d said Councilor Miniard Culpepper. \u201cWe made it clear that those cuts were unacceptable, and as a result, the budget is stronger today than the version that was first presented to us in April.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The council already granted Wu\u2019s request to pull nearly $70 million from the city\u2019s emergency reserve fund to cover deficits in the city\u2019s and Boston Public Schools\u2019 budgets forthis fiscal year. It alsopassed a $1.73 billion budget for Boston Public Schools that would cut hundreds of staff jobs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since late last year, Wu has warned that the city would have to make tough budget choices as it grapples with inflation, higher-than-anticipated expenses related to health insurance and snow removal, and slower revenue growth. <\/span><\/p>\n

In April, she unveiled her $4.9 billion budget proposal which made cuts to city departments and grant programs that range from support for immigrant residents to money for food access. Wu framed the cuts as painful but necessary to keep the city\u2019s books balanced. <\/span><\/p>\n

But youth activists and community groups fiercely protested Wu\u2019s move to eliminate funding for a series of grants, particularly one that funds a school-year jobs program for Boston students and young adults. <\/span><\/p>\n

The advocates also pressuredthe City Council to reject Wu\u2019s budget proposal and push her to increase overall spending to restore the funding for the programs in jeopardy. The council ultimately deadlocked on a vote to reject the plan, and earlier this month voted, 12-1, to approve about $11.5 million in amendments to Wu\u2019s budgetthat were largely aimed at redirecting money to the programs on the chopping block. <\/span><\/p>\n

On Wednesday, the council also voted to opt in to a state law that allows municipalities to expand eligibility for the senior property tax exemption by annually increasing the income and asset limits based on inflation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Rent control\u2019s survival on Beacon Hill \u2018diminished\u2019 after high court tosses ballot question<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The decision put a relatively quiet coda on a tense budget season as the city juggled increasing costs and fierce pushback from community groups over budget cuts Mayor Michelle Wu pushed. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3511,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3512","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nWith new fiscal year looming, Boston City Council accepts Wu\u2019s amended $4.9 billion budget plan - 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=3512\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"With new fiscal year looming, Boston City Council accepts Wu\u2019s amended $4.9 billion budget plan - Boston Relocation Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The decision put a relatively quiet coda on a tense budget season as the city juggled increasing costs and fierce pushback from community groups over budget cuts Mayor Michelle Wu pushed.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3512\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Boston Relocation Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-24T23:03:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3512#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3512\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e\"},\"headline\":\"With new fiscal year looming, Boston City Council accepts Wu\u2019s amended $4.9 billion budget plan\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-24T23:03:54+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3512\"},\"wordCount\":845,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3512#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/1c0b35d726bfeda70db666ea94f995e3.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3512#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3512\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3512\",\"name\":\"With new fiscal year looming, Boston City Council accepts Wu\u2019s amended $4.9 billion budget plan - Boston Relocation Insider\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3512#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3512#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/1c0b35d726bfeda70db666ea94f995e3.avif\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-24T23:03:54+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3512#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3512\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3512#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/1c0b35d726bfeda70db666ea94f995e3.avif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/1c0b35d726bfeda70db666ea94f995e3.avif\",\"width\":1440,\"height\":960},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3512#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"With new fiscal year looming, Boston City Council accepts Wu\u2019s amended $4.9 billion budget plan\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Boston Relocation Insider\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"With new fiscal year looming, Boston City Council accepts Wu\u2019s amended $4.9 billion budget plan - Boston Relocation Insider","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3512","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"With new fiscal year looming, Boston City Council accepts Wu\u2019s amended $4.9 billion budget plan - Boston Relocation Insider","og_description":"The decision put a relatively quiet coda on a tense budget season as the city juggled increasing costs and fierce pushback from community groups over budget cuts Mayor Michelle Wu pushed.","og_url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3512","og_site_name":"Boston Relocation Insider","article_published_time":"2026-06-24T23:03:54+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3512#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3512"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e"},"headline":"With new fiscal year looming, Boston City Council accepts Wu\u2019s amended $4.9 billion budget plan","datePublished":"2026-06-24T23:03:54+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3512"},"wordCount":845,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3512#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1c0b35d726bfeda70db666ea94f995e3.avif","articleSection":["Politics"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3512#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3512","url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3512","name":"With new fiscal year looming, Boston City Council accepts Wu\u2019s amended $4.9 billion budget plan - Boston Relocation Insider","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3512#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3512#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1c0b35d726bfeda70db666ea94f995e3.avif","datePublished":"2026-06-24T23:03:54+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3512#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3512"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3512#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1c0b35d726bfeda70db666ea94f995e3.avif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1c0b35d726bfeda70db666ea94f995e3.avif","width":1440,"height":960},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3512#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"With new fiscal year looming, Boston City Council accepts Wu\u2019s amended $4.9 billion budget plan"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/","name":"Boston Relocation Insider","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com"],"url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3512","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3512"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3512\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3511"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}