Mass General Brigham is committed to world-class care backed by the latest advances in medical research. Innovation across our system delivers the best possible outcomes and enhances the patient experience.
Boston City Hall’s budget process is often a fraught affair, as the mayor and 13 councilors wrangle over spending.
In 2021, East Boston Councilor Lydia Edwards, who later won election to the state Senate, declared, “I think this budget will pass like a kidney stone, but it will pass.”
The budget did indeed pass. Pain thresholds likely varied by councilor.
Even when there isn’t a municipal election around the corner – as there was in 2021, which featured four councilors who were also mayoral candidates – it’s a tense business.
Fiscal storm clouds are causing additional issues in this non-election year, and the council is still feeling the fractures of a contentious fight for the presidency earlier this year. There’s a brewing battle as some councilors weigh voting down Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s $4.9 billion proposal for the fiscal year 2027.
The council’s rejection of a mayor’s budget used to be a run-of-the-mill vote. After the vote, backroom negotiations would lead to an increase in spending, and a newly resubmitted mayoral budget would pass with the additions.
But a 2021 change to the city’s charter allows councilors to craft amendments and add them, as long as they don’t increase the total budget, and they must take action by the second Wednesday in June.
Wu on Thursday sent a letter to councilors essentially saying rejection of the budget in order to boost the bottom line is a bad idea, and sought to steer them to the amendment process, limiting changes. Her proposed budget “represents the maximum revenue that can be responsibly budgeted for the upcoming fiscal year,” and she will not support an increase in spending levels, she wrote.
Wu noted that revenue projections for state aid – a key source of funds for the city – were based on Gov. Maura Healey’s state budget proposal, but the House and Senate have proposed lower unrestricted general government aid (UGGA) figures. Wu’s operating budget increases by 2.1%, the lowest growth rate since the Great Recession.
“Adding non-recurring fund balance to support ongoing expenditures—even in smaller amounts—in lieu of making difficult tradeoffs threatens our long-term fiscal sustainability and creates structural problems in the City’s budget,” she wrote. “Other major cities’ bond ratings or outlooks have been downgraded recently for this very reason.”
The possible battle over the fiscal 2027 budget comes as the Wu administration has moved to keep the current fiscal year’s budget balanced. In announcing a $48 million shortfall, the mayor has blamed inflation, booming health insurance costs and snowfall levels that dented the removal budget. A supplemental budget is expected to be filed next week.
But some councilors, as they face pressure from advocates who want to see more money put toward their priorities, may still feel an outright rejection gives them another bite at the apple, since amendments have a higher threshold for approval if they need to override a mayoral veto.
Brian Worrell, who previously served as Ways and Means Committee chair, declined to rule out a rejection of the budget. “We should explore all of our options to make sure we’re working in collaboration with all stakeholders to put our priorities and our values into the budget,” he said.
Yesterday’s trivia answered: Martha Coakley was the Mass. attorney general who received a Republican opponent, Jim McKenna, after he ran a successful write-in campaign in the 2010 Republican primary. Thanks to all those who wrote in, including McKenna himself! Always feel free to send along trivia suggestions, intel and scoops here: [email protected].
HAPPENING TODAY
9:00 | Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll will receive an honorary degree from Simmons University and give welcome remarks at their undergraduate commencement. | MGM Music Hall at Fenway, 2 Lansdowne Street, Boston
10:00 | Sen. Michael Rodrigues receives an honorary degree in public service and delivers the commencement address at Bridgewater State University’s graduation ceremonies. | Xfinity Center, Mansfield
12:00 | Sen. Ed Markey, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Councilor Ruthzee Louijeune plan to speak at the Haitian flag raising. | City Hall Plaza, Boston
1:30 | Mayor Michelle Wu delivers remarks at the ribbon cutting ceremony celebrating the opening of La CASA: The Center for Arts, Self-determination, and Activism. | 85 W Newton Street, Boston
5:00 | UMass Amherst holds its 156th commencement ceremony, where the Supreme Judicial Court’s Kimberly Budd will deliver the keynote and receive an honorary degree. Budd, the first Black woman to serve as chief justice of the SJC, has served on the court since 2016. More than 20,000 people are expected to attend as undergraduate degrees are conferred on more than 5,000 students. | McGuirk Alumni Stadium, UMass Amherst, Amherst
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AROUND TOWN: SENATE DEBATE, MASSINC BASH AND MORE
A U.S. Senate debate has been scheduled between Seth Moulton, a Democrat challenging incumbent Ed Markey in a Sept. 1 primary, and John Deaton, the GOP candidate. Jon Keller is set to moderate the debate, which will take place at WBZ’s studios on Tuesday, June 16, and broadcast that evening from 9 to 10 p.m. on TV38. Markey has been invited but has not yet responded, according to Keller.
Boston City Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata and her husband Sebastian welcomed a baby boy on Saturday. Joaquin Marcos Zapata arrived weighing 8 pounds and 13 ounces. “She had a wonderful Mother’s Day,” said Ellie Sanchez, Coletta Zapata’s chief of staff, who reported the councilor and her son are doing well.
MassINC, the nonprofit that publishes research and CommonWealth Beacon alongside a polling unit, celebrated on Thursday its 30th anniversary in style at 60 State Street. The New Bedford Symphony Orchestra’s string quartet provided live music before Barr Foundation CEO Ali Noorani and Marty Baron, the former Washington Post and Boston Globe editor, offered remarks. Spotted in the crowd: Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, Joe Kennedy III, former Charlie Baker economic development chiefs Mike Kennealy and Jay Ash, Sen. Michael Barrett, Eastern Bank’s Bob Rivers, former Sen. Eric Lesser, former Baker labor chief Rosalin Acosta, We Are ALX’s Eneida Roman, former Rep. Marty Walz, former treasurer Steve Grossman, homeland security expert Juliette Kayyem, WBUR’s Dan Mauzy, GBH’s Dan Lothian, former CommonWealth Magazine editor Bruce Mohl, Geri Denterlein and Katherine Adam, Terrence Burke, Peter Howe, and Mike Schiano, Lizzy Guyton, Eileen O’Connor and Will Keyser, Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts’ Rahsaan Hall, Nate Mackinnon and Sarah Yunits of Massachusetts Association of Community Colleges, journalist Yawu Miller, former Rep. Brian Dempsey, Jennifer Nassour, attorney Paul Ayoub, Gustavo Quiroga of LISC Massachusetts, MASSterList/State House News Service’s George Donnelly and Dylan Rossiter, Axios Boston’s Mike Deehan, and too many others to list…
Top state House Democrats are putting together a fundraiser for Treasurer Deb Goldberg, the incumbent Democrat who is facing a GOP challenger. There is some conflicting information from sources on who reached out to whom about it, but planning for the event is underway. Elizabeth Dionne, the GOP candidate, has touted fundraising numbers that showed her pulling in more than Goldberg in 2026, and three of the year’s first four months. Filings show Dionne has loaned herself $25,000. A Goldberg spokesman said the treasurer, in office since 2015, has been engaging Democrats on fundraising, as well as independents and Republicans who agree with her policies. “She’s more than happy to have Democratic leadership’s help with fundraising,” he said.
Correction: Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s reelection campaign paid $50,000 for the gathering of nomination signatures. While publicly available filings noted in yesterday’s newsletter showed double that number, that included an overpayment that has since been fixed, per a spokesman.
Private investment in battery storage projects is expected to save consumers billions of dollars and support a reliable electric grid.
FROM BEACON HILL
ICE VS. RMV: The Healey administration said it would not allow the RMV to issue special registrations and undercover license plates to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) unless they see certifications that show the vehicles will be used only in criminal investigations. – GBH News
PRIOR AUTHORIZATIONS: Gov. Maura Healey announced reforms to prior authorizations – advance approvals sometimes required by insurance companies. The move should lead to shorter waits for care, the Healey administration said. – WBUR
NEWS NEXT DOOR
ATTRACTING TALENT: At a gathering in Cambridge, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said city officials are diving into which industries Boston seeks to recruit, and whether they’re sectors that Boston is leading in or newer industries. Another meeting is in the works for June, inside WHOOP’s headquarters. – Boston Business Journal
QUINCY CREDIT RATING: Moody’s downgraded the city of Quincy’s credit rating to A1. The agency pointed to $1.8 billion in debt and shrinking reserves. – Patriot Ledger
SECRET TRAFFIC STUDY: A traffic analysis prepared for the MBTA on a controversial overhaul of Blue Hill Avenue, touching on whether it would slow drivers’ commutes and save time for bus riders – was never released to the public. – Boston Globe
STATE POLICE SCANDAL: A judge okayed prosecutors sharing information about the 2023 fatal crash that involved State Police Sgt. Scott Quigley. The information on Quigley and the investigation into the handling of the crash is being turned over in at least 141 cases tied to Quigley. – MassLive
NEW BEDFORD BUDGET: New Bedford is facing a $32 million budget deficit, and considering tax bill hikes that could hit residents in the “thousands, not hundreds,” one councilor said. The grim outlook came at Mayor Jon Mitchell’s annual budget address. – New Bedford Light
MORE HEADLINES
THE SUNDAY SHOWS
KELLER AT LARGE: 8:30 a.m., WBZ-TV. Political analyst Jon Keller's guest is Senate President Karen Spilka. They discuss local aid levels in the state budget, controversy over Senate proposals for a new unrestricted aid distribution formula, and the legal battle over the state auditor's push to audit the Legislature.
@ ISSUE SIT DOWN: 9:30 a.m., NBC 10. Reporter Matt Prichard interviews Eric Paley, Gov. Maura Healey’s economic development chief.
ON THE RECORD: 11 a.m., WCVB. The guest is Michael Cox, the Boston Police commissioner.
JOB BOARD
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Communication & Engagement Coordinator, Town of Andover
Digital Communications Specialist, Town of Andover
Campaign Coordinator, Committee to Protect Cannabis Regulation
Organizing Director, Committee to Protect Cannabis Regulation
Director of Conservation & Policy Communications, Mass Audubon
Legal Counsel, Office of Campaign and Political Finance
Chief Financial Officer, Massachusetts Technology Collaborative
Director of Planning and Development, City of Newton
Assistant Attorney General, Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General
Account Coordinator, Tenax Strategies
Assistant Treasurer/Collector, City of Newton
