Councilors and grassroots leaders convene at Grassroots Budget Briefing event
Grassroots organizer Khalil Howe presents budget demands to a room full of Boston City Councilors and residents at Democracy Brewing, May 22nd, 2024. Courtesy of the Better Budget Alliance.
BOSTON, MA - It’s budget season at Boston City Hall. On Wednesday, May 22nd, grassroots organizations rooted in Boston’s underserved communities presented a unified set of FY25 spending demands to City Councilors. In a packed room downtown, civic leaders shared their communities’ budget priorities during an event dubbed a Grassroots Budget Briefing.
This new chapter of solidarity between grassroots groups advocating for their collective priorities marks a revitalized interest in the budget since Boston’s racial justice uprisings of 2020.
Over a dozen grassroots organizations shared their priorities. This citywide formation, brought together by the Better Budget Alliance, included representatives from East Boston, Roxbury, Dorchester, Mattapan, Allston, Brighton, and other neighborhoods. Councilors Mejia, Santana, Weber, Coletta, and Worrell attended along with staff of Councilors Louijeune and Breadon.
“We know that communities are safe and thriving when everyone has access to high paying jobs… high quality education that is culturally relevant… when they have the resources that they need and a voice over how those resources are distributed in their communities,” said event MC Eliza Pared of Center for Economic Democracy.
This new chapter of solidarity between grassroots groups advocating for their collective priorities marks a revitalized interest in the budget since Boston’s racial justice uprisings of 2020.
Over a dozen grassroots organizations shared their priorities. This citywide formation, brought together by the Better Budget Alliance, included representatives from East Boston, Roxbury, Dorchester, Mattapan, Allston, Brighton, and other neighborhoods. Councilors Mejia, Santana, Weber, Coletta, and Worrell attended along with staff of Councilors Louijeune and Breadon.
“We know that communities are safe and thriving when everyone has access to high paying jobs… high quality education that is culturally relevant… when they have the resources that they need and a voice over how those resources are distributed in their communities,” said event MC Eliza Pared of Center for Economic Democracy.
Boston's civic leaders, City Councilors and residents packed a room downtown to learn about the budget priorities of community-based organizations from underserved areas of the city, May 22nd, 2024. Courtesy of the Better Budget Alliance.
The united grassroots budget agenda, unveiled at the event, included increased funding for truly affordable housing, youth jobs, mental health crisis response, participatory budgeting and multilingual education.
In 2021, Boston voters overwhelmingly ratified increased budgetary powers for city councilors via a ballot question, giving them the power to make amendments to the Mayor’s budget. Advocates are calling on city council to use that power to represent their priorities during the FY25 budget cycle.
In 2021, Boston voters overwhelmingly ratified increased budgetary powers for city councilors via a ballot question, giving them the power to make amendments to the Mayor’s budget. Advocates are calling on city council to use that power to represent their priorities during the FY25 budget cycle.
Youth leaders from Youth Justice and Power Union (YJPU) advocate for increased funding to create jobs for Boston's younger residents, May 22nd, 2024. Courtesy of Better Budget Alliance.
The City continues to channel money into the police budget while community priorities are ignored, advocates said. Civic leaders pointed to a trend in continued investment into the police budget while community needs are underfunded, noting that the current draft budget for FY25 includes a dramatic increase of $50M for BPD.
Advocates pointed to a pattern of unspent BPD funds and uncapped police overtime across recent fiscal years, urging councilors to reroute these funds directly into Boston’s grassroots budget agenda.
“Every year that the police budget increases, the council continues to underfund youth jobs, affordable housing, and other community needs,” said event MC Khalil Howe of Youth Justice and Power Union (YJPU).
Civic leaders left Wednesday’s event feeling they had planted seeds to positively align the coming fiscal year budget with the needs of underserved communities.
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Advocates pointed to a pattern of unspent BPD funds and uncapped police overtime across recent fiscal years, urging councilors to reroute these funds directly into Boston’s grassroots budget agenda.
“Every year that the police budget increases, the council continues to underfund youth jobs, affordable housing, and other community needs,” said event MC Khalil Howe of Youth Justice and Power Union (YJPU).
Civic leaders left Wednesday’s event feeling they had planted seeds to positively align the coming fiscal year budget with the needs of underserved communities.
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