{"id":825,"date":"2026-05-20T23:03:33","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T23:03:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=825"},"modified":"2026-05-20T23:03:33","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T23:03:33","slug":"effort-in-boston-city-council-to-reject-wus-4-9-billion-budget-plan-fails-amid-deadlocked-vote","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=825","title":{"rendered":"Effort in Boston City Council to reject Wu\u2019s $4.9 billion budget plan fails amid deadlocked vote"},"content":{"rendered":"
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An effort by some city councilors to reject Boston Mayor Michelle Wu\u2019s $4.9 billion budget plan fell flat Wednesday after the body deadlocked on a vote, exposing deep divisions between councilors navigating how to push back on a series of Wu\u2019s proposed cuts. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Some councilors on Wednesday argued for rejecting Wu\u2019s spending proposal in a bid to pressure her to increase spending. Others countered that the body should focus on using its power to instead amend the budget at a time when Wu has warned the city is facing stagnant tax revenues and steep cost increases.<\/span><\/p>\n

The councilors ultimately were split, 6-6, defeating a motion to vote on and reject Wu\u2019s budget proposal. Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata, who gave birth to her first child earlier this month and is on maternity leave, was absent from Wednesday\u2019s meeting, leaving the 13-member body one person short.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The council could still vote to approve, reject, or amend the budget proposal before the end of June. But Wednesday\u2019s vote offered the first indication that a coalition, made up of the body\u2019s most conservative members and some progressive councilors, does not have the votes to turn back her spending plan. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cUsing our power means sending this budget back and asking for a stronger one that reflects the testimonies, the emails, the conversations we have [had] through this budget process,\u201d Councilor Brian Worrell, who has led the effort to reject Wu\u2019s budget, said Wednesday. He argued that rejecting the budget \u201cdoes not end collaboration,\u201d but a vote would give the council leverage.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI understand that this is a difficult fiscal year,\u201d he said, \u201cbut a difficult fiscal year cannot mean the public speaks for a month, and nothing changes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Worrell has pushed for the administration to increase the bottom line on the spending proposal, either by increasing revenue projections, or by dipping into the city\u2019s emergency reserve fund.Wu told councilors in a letter this week she will refuse to do either,arguing both options would be fiscally irresponsible.<\/span><\/p>\n

Wu already wants to pull $70 million from Boston\u2019s reserve funds to plug deficits in the city\u2019s and Boston Public Schools\u2019 budgets for the current fiscal year that ends next month.<\/span><\/p>\n

For months, Wu has warned the public and city officials that Boston is facing a painful budget season, pointing to higher-than-expected snow removal costs aftera historic storm and spikes in health insurance expenses.<\/span><\/p>\n

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But in recent weeks, some community advocates and city councilors have expressed outrage over her budget proposal, which includes cuts to some departments and grants, including one that funds a year-round jobs program for students.<\/span><\/p>\n

Other councilors argued that rejecting Wu\u2019s budget proposal would only put off the difficult decisions councilors will have to make about from where to pull money to restore funding for some of the cut grant programs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rejecting the budget plan outright would only be \u201ca gesture,\u201d said Councilor Ben Weber, who chairs the council\u2019s ways and means committee that oversees the budget process.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is our job, if we have a problem with the budget, to amend it and override her vetoes if we have nine votes,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are still going to have to sit down as a group and figure out whether we are serious about finding a way to restore these cuts in a way that puts the city on sound financial footing for the long run.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The debate put ongoing tensions between councilors on display, as accusations of political posturing over the budget flew back and forth. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere are political games being played here, and I\u2019m tired of it,\u201d said Councilor Henry Santana, a close Wu ally. \u201cRejecting the budget does not make money just appear. We have a job to do.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Councilors who are advocating to reject Wu\u2019s budget fired back, arguing the body needs to take stronger action to act as a check on Wu\u2019s administration. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we are doing is affirming the integrity of this body by demonstrating that we can actually push back,\u201d said Councilor Julia Mejia. \u201cIt is unreasonable to expect that we can fix all the harms caused by the proposed budget through amendments.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Democrats try to defeat candidate expressing antisemitic views in Texas runoff for US House<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The issue has exposed deep divisions between councilors as they navigate how to push back on some of Mayor Michelle Wu’s proposed department and grant cuts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":824,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nEffort in Boston City Council to reject Wu\u2019s $4.9 billion budget plan fails amid deadlocked vote - 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=825\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Effort in Boston City Council to reject Wu\u2019s $4.9 billion budget plan fails amid deadlocked vote - 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