UH. >> UH. GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS BEN WEBER. I'M THE DISTRICT SIX CITY COUNCILOR AND THE CHAIR OF THE BOSTON CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS.
TODAY IS MARCH 10TH, 2026 AND THE EXACT TIME IS 6:10 P.M.. UH, THIS IS A PUBLIC TESTIMONY SESSION. IT IS BEING RECORDED. IT'S ALSO BEING LIVE STREAMED
ON BOSTON.GOV/CITY COUNCIL TV AND BROADCAST ON XFINITY CHANNEL EIGHT, RCN CHANNEL 82 AND FIOS CHANNEL 964. WRITTEN COMMENTS MAY BE SENT TO
THE COMMITTEE EMAIL AT SQUIRM@BOSTON.GOV AND WILL BE MADE PART OF THE RECORD AND AVAILABLE TO ALL COUNCILORS. UH UH PUBLIC TESTIMONY WILL BE TAKEN THROUGHOUT THIS SESSION
AND INDIVIDUALS WILL BE CALLED ON IN THE ORDER IN WHICH THEY SIGNED UP. IF YOU HAVEN'T SIGNED UP AND YOU WANT TO SPEAK, THERE IS UH ,SIGN UP LIST OVER THERE UM, OR UH, YOU KNOW, IN THE ORDER
THAT YOU'VE SIGNED UP ONLINE, EACH INDIVIDUAL WILL BE GIVEN TWO MINUTES TO TESTIFY. YOU CAN WATCH THE TIME ON THIS CLOCK BEHIND ME. UM, AND PLEASE WHEN YOU'RE WHEN YOU REACH TWO MINUTES, PLEASE
WRAP IT UP. BE RESPECTFUL TO THE OTHER PEOPLE WHO HAVE COME OUT HERE TONIGHT TO TESTIFY. UH, OKAY. AND UH, YOU KNOW, WE'LL JUST WORK TOGETHER ON THAT.
UM, WHEN YOUR NAME IS CALLED, PLEASE WALK UP TO ONE OF THE TWO MICROPHONES OVER HERE. UH, IN THE BACK YOU CAN GO TO EITHER ONE. THEY'RE BOTH THEY'LL BOTH BE ON UM AND I MAY CALL YOU CALL A
COUPLE PEOPLE OUT AT ONCE. YOU CAN GET IN LINE BEHIND EACH OTHER. UH, AND AGAIN HEAR THE MIXER OVER WHERE I'M POINTING. UM, IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN TESTIFYING IN PERSON, PLEASE ADD YOUR NAME TO THE SIGN UP SHEET.
UH, AND VIRTUALLY PLEASE, IF YOU WANT TO TESTIFY VIRTUALLY EMAIL OUR CENTRAL STAFF LIAISON MEGAN AT. MEEGAN.COM R U G IDO@BOSTON.GOV
FOR THE LINK AND YOUR NAME WILL BE ADDED TO THE LIST. TODAY'S PUBLIC TESTIMONY IS A IS A PRE-BUDGET UH PUBLIC TESTIMONY SESSION. UH USUALLY WE DO THESE AFTER
THE BUDGET COMES OUT WHILE THE CITY COUNCIL REVIEWS THE BUDGET. TODAY'S PUBLIC UH TESTIMONY SESSION IS A PRE-BUDGET UH SESSION SO WE GET COUNCILORS CAN HEAR WHAT PEOPLE WANT US TO
LOOK AT IN THE BUDGET. UH, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE ONE OF THESE TODAY AND WE'LL DO ANOTHER ONE ON MARCH 24TH AT 6 P.M. UH, SO IF YOU UH IF YOU KNOW ANYONE ELSE YOU THINK
WOULD LIKE TO TESTIFY, PLEASE TELL THEM ABOUT UH, THAT DAY WE'LL BE BACK HERE ON MARCH 24TH AT 6 P.M. AFTER WE RECEIVE THE BUDGET, WE'LL HAVE, UH, AT LEAST ONE OTHER PUBLIC TESTIMONY SESSION MAYBE TO WORK
ON THAT. UM, SO TODAY'S PUBLIC TESTIMONY SESSION IS ON THE, UH, THE IS ON TWO DOCKETS DOCKET NUMBER 201 IN ORDER FOR HEARING TO DISCUSS BOSTON'S FY 27
OPERATING BUDGET AND DOCKET NUMBER 0202 IN ORDER FOR A HEARING TO DISCUSS BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS FY 27 OPERATING BUDGET. THIS MATTER IS SPONSORED BY MYSELF AND THE VICE CHAIR
OF THE COMMITTEE, JOHN FITZGERALD. IT WAS REFERRED TO THE COMMITTEE ON FEBRUARY 4TH 2026 JUST UH TO UH LEVEL SET.
YOU KNOW, TONIGHT'S AGENDA IS FOCUSED ON THE RESIDENTS OF BOSTON. UM, YOU KNOW, WE'LL HAVE TWO OPPORTUNITIES TO HAVE THESE DISCUSSIONS BEFORE THE BUDGET COMES OUT. YOU BELIEVE UM UH UH WE'LL UH,
ALSO HOST PUBLIC UH, LISTENING SESSIONS UH, AFTER APRIL 8TH. UM, AND BEFORE WE GET STARTED, WE'RE GOING TO HEAR FROM MY COLLEAGUES, UH, WHO'VE SHOWN UP IN ORDER OF ARRIVAL, UH,
COUNCILOR DURKAN, COUNCILOR MEJIA, COUNCILOR CULPEPER, COUNCILOR PIPPEN AND COUNCILOR LOUIJEUNE. UM I'VE RECEIVED A LETTER OF ABSENCE FROM UH, COUNCILOR FLYNN.
UH, SO, UH, FOR FOR EACH OF MY COLLEAGUES I KNOW IT'S SAID TWO MINUTES. I'M GOING TO LIMIT IT TO ONE. YOU GET ONE MINUTE. UH, JUST UH AND SO, UH, COUNCILOR DURKAN, YOU'RE UP FIRST.
THANK YOU. CHAIR WEBER. UM, TODAY IS NOT ABOUT US. IT'S ABOUT YOU SO EXCITED TO LISTEN TO THE PUBLIC TESTIMONY WE HAVE TODAY. UM, ALSO, UH, CHAIR WEBER, YOU HAVE A PENCHANT FOR PICKING THE
MOST BEAUTIFUL DAY IN BOSTON FOR THIS HEARING. SO, UM, BUT SO FOR ANYONE WHO CANNOT JOIN TODAY, PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOU EMAIL IN YOUR COMMENTS. I IMAGINE THAT PEOPLE ARE RUNNING ON THE ESPLANADE AND
DOING OTHER BEAUTIFUL THINGS RIGHT NOW. AND SO I HOPE THAT ANYONE WHO IS NOT HERE WHO CARES ABOUT THIS YEAR'S BUDGET WILL ALSO, UH, EMAIL OUR CHAIR. THANK YOU. AND AND, UH, GOOD TO SEE ALL MY COLLEAGUES. OKAY.
>> THANK YOU, COUNCILOR MEJIA. THANK YOU, CHAIR WEBER AND I. WANT TO THANK THE MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WHO ARE HERE. UM, WE ARE HERE TO LISTEN TO YOU. I INITIALLY HAD A LETTER
OF ABSENCE BECAUSE I DO HAVE A ANOTHER COMMITMENT THAT WAS ALREADY BOOKED, UM, BEFORE THIS. BUT OUT OF RESPECT FOR YOU, I WANT YOU TO SEE ME THAT I SHOWED UP. BUT THE GOOD THING IS IS THAT
THIS IS BEING RECORDED AND MY TEAM AND I WILL BE TAKING NOTES AND REPORTING BACK AND MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE TAKING THE MARCHING ORDERS FROM THOSE THAT WE SERVE AND NOT JUST HERE TO LISTEN BUT TO ACTUALLY ACT ON
WHAT WE HEAR BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT PEOPLE ARE ASKING US TO DO. THANK YOU. YEAH. >> THANK YOU VERY MUCH. COUNCILOR MEJIA. UH, COUNCILOR CULPEPPER ONE MINUTE. GOOD EVENING AND THANK YOU,
CHAIR WEBER, FOR CONVENING THIS HEARING AND PROVIDING THE PUBLIC AN OPPORTUNITY TO TESTIFY ON THE FISCAL YEAR OPERATING FISCAL YEAR 27 OPERATING FORCE AND PUBLIC
SCHOOLS BUDGET AT A TIME WHEN MANY RESIDENTS ARE FACING RISING COSTS AND ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO CAREFULLY EVALUATE SPENDING, IDENTIFY
PRIORITIES AND ENSURE THAT CITY RESOURCES ARE BEING ALLOCATED IN A WAY THAT DELIVERS MEANINGFUL SERVICES TO OUR COMMUNITY. AS WE MOVE FORWARD IN THIS BUDGET PROCESS, WE MUST CENTER EQUITY, ENSURE THAT OUR
DECISIONS STRENGTHEN NOT WEAKEN THE RESOURCE AVAILABLE TO STUDENTS, FAMILIES AND THOSE WHO DEPEND ON OUR PUBLIC SCHOOL. THANK YOU FOR BEING. OKAY. >> THANK YOU,
COUNCILOR CULPEPPER. UH. LET'S SEE. SORRY. UH, COUNCILOR PEPEN. THANK YOU, MR CHAIR. AND THANK YOU FOR EVERYONE FOR BEING HERE TODAY. IT'S VERY IMPORTANT WHENEVER WE
DO A PUBLIC TESTIMONY SESSION TO HEAR DIRECTLY FROM OUR RESIDENTS AND OR ADVOCACY GROUPS THAT ARE MAKING SURE THAT WE HEAR WHAT ARE YOUR PRIORITIES? THANK YOU SO MUCH TO THE BTU AND THE BOSTON EDUCATION JUSTICE LINES FOR FOR PROVIDING
THIS LETTER ALREADY. UM, JUST TODAY I HAD TO DO AT 2 P.M. UH, WE HAD ANOTHER HEARING REGARDING UH, BP'S BUDGET WHERE WE WERE ABLE TO ASK QUESTIONS. SO THIS IS I THINK IT'S A PERFECT DAY FOR IT.
WE'RE, UM, TIMING AND TIMING SO MAKING SURE WE'RE ASKING THE TOUGH QUESTIONS SO WE COULD GET SOME RESULTS IN THE NEAR FUTURE. SO THANK YOU EVERYONE. THANK YOU, MR CHAIR FOR ALL IN THIS SPACE. >> OKAY THANK YOU, COUNCILOR LOUIJEUNE. THANK YOU.
>> UH, AGAIN. THANK YOU SO MUCH, MR CHAIR. UM, I YOU KNOW, I IF WE HAD BET I WOULD HAVE LOST THE BET. I WAS GOING TO SAY THAT I SAID THAT FOR THE FIRST BUDGET
HEARING WE TEN UH A PUBLIC LISTENING SESSION WE TEND NOT TO HAVE, UH, A GREAT TURNOUT OF COMMUNITY AND TODAY WE HAVE A GREAT TURNOUT OF COMMUNITY. SO I STAND CORRECTED. UM, IT IS REALLY IMPORTANT THAT
WE DO LISTEN AND THAT WE DO, UM ,INTERNALIZE WHAT WE HEAR TODAY. I WANT TO ECHO WHAT COUNCILMAN PENN STATED AND THANK BE TO YOU AND BASIA FOR PROVIDING US ALREADY WITH THIS DOCUMENT. IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT, UH, FOR
US TO HELP US THINK ABOUT HOW WE'RE THINKING ABOUT THE BUDGET. UM, SO I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU TO EVERYONE FOR BEING INSIDE ON THIS GORGEOUS DAY. UM, AND I AND I JUST WANT TO SAY THAT I ALSO DO HAVE A, UM,
A TIME, UH, A CONFLICT. BUT I WILL STAY AS LONG AS I CAN, UH, SO THAT I CAN HEAR AS MUCH TESTIMONY. BUT I HOPE THAT WE'RE ALSO ABLE TO READ WRITTEN TESTIMONY AS WELL. SO THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. THANK YOU. OKAY. >> THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
OKAY. YOU KNOW I'M NOT GOING TO GIVE YOU ANOTHER MINUTE, COUNSELOR CULPEPPER. YEAH. YOU ALMOST YOU ALMOST FOOLED ME. UM. BUT YOU, UM. I'M NOT SURE.
NO, NO, I THINK WE'VE HEARD ENOUGH. YEAH. >> YEAH YEAH. UM. OKAY. WELL, SO I WANT I REALLY WANT TO THANK EVERYONE WHO WHO'S WHO WHO SHOWED UP TONIGHT AND
EVERYBODY WHO SIGNED UP ONLINE . UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT FOR FOR US AS A AS A BODY TO HEAR FROM THE PEOPLE OF BOSTON. THE CITY BUDGET IS REALLY LIKE
THE MOST IMPORTANT POLICY DOCUMENT THAT WE TAKE PART IN EVERY YEAR. AND IT'S HOW WE KIND OF TRANSLATE, YOU KNOW, OUR VALUES AND AND WHAT KIND OF CITY WE WANT TO BE INTO INTO
REALITY, YOU KNOW, INTO NUMBERS AND UM, SO I KNOW IT'S SOMETHING EVERYONE HERE AND ALL MY COLLEAGUES ON THE COUNCIL CARE DEEPLY ABOUT AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU. SO WHAT I'M GOING TO DO IS UH
FOR THE FOLKS WHO, UH, SHOWED UP, UM, YOU KNOW, I'M GOING TO PROBABLY GOING TO CALL ON THE FIRST FIVE AND THEN FOR THE FOLKS WAITING ON LINE, I'LL GO
TO THE FOLKS ONLINE AND THEN COME BACK UH, TO THE TO THE PEOPLE WHO WHO'VE SIGNED UP UH ,AND THEN WE'LL WE'LL JUST GO. UH, YOU KNOW, UH. IN ORDER.
SO FIRST I HAVE UP I KIYO MCCLAY UH THEN HANNAH OH. MY GOD, IS THIS SO. WHO THEN IS IT? OKAY, GOOD. I GOT THAT RIGHT.
UH, DOCTOR B.R. ORTIZ. UM, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT SAYS. MY READING IS. IT OKAY? OKAY. UH, THEN YOU AND THEN, UH, CORY'S MANANA. I'M SORRY.
UH. AFTER DOCTOR ORTIZ. UH, THEN IT'S, UH. ELLA HICKS FERNANDEZ. NYLA. >> OF COURSE, BECAUSE YOU JUST TESTIFIED.
UM, AND THEN CARLY'S MANANA. SO IT'S 123. 4 OR 5. >> SO, UH. KIYO HANNAH DOCTOR B OUR UH NYLA AND THEN CARLY'S. SO, UH UH. KYLE. >> YOU READY?
UM. >> OH, THIS IS LOWER THAN I THOUGHT. YES, I AM READY. YOU CAN ALSO YOU CAN ALSO THE NEXT PERSON CAN GO OVER THERE IF THEY WANT BUT THAT THAT'S TOTALLY FINE. SO KYLE YOU'RE UP YOU GIVE YOU
TWO MINUTES HERE ON THE. CLOCK OKAY? ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. UM, I DO NOT HAVE MY GLASSES, SO PLEASE BEAR WITH. ME WHILE I TRY TO READ THIS. OFF MY PHONE. UM. GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR AND MEMBERS OF. >> THE COUNCIL. MY NAME IS KEON MCCLAY.
I AM THE EXECUTIVE. DIRECTOR OF THE AUTHENTICATION JUSTICE ALLIANCE, A COALITION OF PARENTS, STUDENTS, EDUCATORS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS FIGHTING FOR A JUST AND EQUITABLE BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
I'M HERE TODAY WITH A SIMPLE MESSAGE STUDENTS IN BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS DESERVE BETTER. THE PROPOSED FISCAL YEAR 2027 DPS BUDGET IS 1.7 BILLION. ON PAPER THAT SOUNDS LIKE A LOT
BUT THE REALITY IS THE MONEY IS NOT REACHING CLASSROOMS. YES, ENROLLMENT DECLINE IS REAL AND SOME ADJUSTMENTS MAY BE NECESSARY, BUT THE VAST MAJORITY OF NEW BUDGET GROWTH IS BEING ABSORBED BY RISING STRUCTURAL COSTS LIKE HEALTH
CARE TRANSPORTATION BEFORE IT EVEN REACHES OUR SCHOOLS AND WHEN OPERATING DOLLARS DON'T MAKE IT TO THE SCHOOLS, THE POSITION IS THE POSITIONS THAT GET CUT ARE THE PEOPLE WHO WORK MOST CLOSELY WITH STUDENTS THE
TEACHERS, THE PARAS, THE COUNSELORS AND MENTAL HEALTH STAFF. THESE ARE THE ADULTS, OUR STUDENTS WHAT I WANT EVERY SINGLE DAY, MEHRU SAID IN HER STATE OF THE SCHOOLS ADDRESS THAT THE MISSION IS TO MAKE BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS THE FIRST
CHOICE FOR FAMILIES. IT IS TRULY THE GOAL THAT IF THAT IS TRULY THE GOAL, THEN WE CANNOT BE CUTTING THE VERY STAFF WHO MAKE OUR SCHOOLS SUPPORTIVE, SAFE AND STRONG LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS.
BOSTON IS ENTERING FISCAL YEAR 2027 WITH RESERVES WELL ABOVE ITS OWN POLICY MINIMUMS. THE CITY HAS THE RESOURCES TO STEP UP. WE ARE CALLING ON THE MAYOR AND THE CITY COUNCIL TO ALLOCATE
JUST 1% OF THE CITY'S OPERATING BUDGET TO COVER THESE RISING COSTS AND PREVENT CUTS TO STUDENT SERVICES, AND WE MUST PRIORITIZE OUR HIGH NEEDS SCHOOLS THE SCHOOLS SERVING THE GREATEST NUMBER OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES, ENGLISH
LANGUAGE LEARNERS AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS WHO ARE FACING SOME OF THE DEEPEST CUTS. THESE ARE THE SAME SCHOOLS WE ASK AND THESE ARE THE SAME SCHOOLS THAT WE ASKED TO IMPROVE AND IN ATTENDANCE TO IMPROVE IN READING SCORES AND
OTHER OUTCOMES. BUT IMPROVEMENT REQUIRES INVESTMENTS. WE ARE ESPECIALLY CONCERNED ABOUT THE IMPACT OF THE CUTS TO OUR ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS, STUDENTS AND STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES. BOSTON IS A MULTILINGUAL CITY,
ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNER AND ENGLISH LEARNERS DESERVE BILINGUAL EDUCATION AND CULTURE RESPONSIVE CLASSROOMS TO SUPPORT THEIR SUCCESS. CUTTING BILINGUAL STAFF UNDERMINES BOTH EQUITY AND ACADEMIC OUTCOMES AND AND ALSO
TO MENTION OTHER THINGS RAISED BY STUDENTS LIKE NATALIE HICKS AROUND TRANSPORTATION FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITY IN BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS. KATE Q CAN YOU CAN YOU WRAP IT UP. OKAY OKAY, GOOD.
OKAY. IF WE IF WE WANT. >> BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS TO TRULY BE THE FIRST CHOICE FOR FAMILIES, WE HAVE TO INVEST THE STUDENTS AND THE STAFF WHO MAKE LEARNING POSSIBLE A COMPLIANCE BUDGET IS NOT AN EQUITABLE BUDGET. OUR STUDENTS DESERVE BETTER.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH. UH, AND UH, SO SO NEXT IS HANA AND I WOULD SAY FOR ANYONE UH, JUST TELL US YOUR NAME UH, WHERE YOU LIVE. UH, WHAT ORGANIZATION? IF YOU'RE HERE WITH AN
ORGANIZATION YOU'RE REPRESENTING AND THAT JUST, UH ,HELPS US UH. UH I THINK KEEP TRACK OF EVERYTHING. SO. UH, IT'S HANA AND THEN, UH, DOCTOR PRIORITIES AND THEN NYLA AND THEN CARLY.
SO. >> YOU KNOW. GREAT. >> THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS HANNAH HOOVEN. I'M A TEACHER, UM, AT UP ACADEMY HOLLAND IN DORCHESTER. I'M ALSO A MEMBER OF THE B2 AND THE COPE COMMITTEE AND I'M HERE TO TALK ABOUT HOW THE PROPOSED
BUDGET CUTS WILL NEGATIVELY IMPACT MY SCHOOL UP ACADEMY HOLLAND IS IN DORCHESTER AND IT'S A SUPER SPECIAL PLACE TO WORK. OUR STUDENTS ARE AMAZING, THEY'RE VERY BRIGHT AND OUR STAFF IS RESILIENT. THEY'RE JOYFUL.
THEY'RE SOME OF THE BEST PEOPLE THAT I KNOW. WITH THE HELP OF DEDICATED TEACHERS, WE'VE ACTUALLY BEEN ABLE TO REVERSE OUR STUDENTS PANDEMIC ERA LEARNING LOSS. WE HAVE RECENTLY EXIT OUR
RECEIVERSHIP STATUS AS A SCHOOL SO WE ARE NO LONGER IN RECEIVERSHIP WITH THE SUPPORT OF THESE AMAZING SPECIAL EDUCATION INCLUSION TEACHERS, TEACHERS OF MULTILINGUAL LEARNERS, PARAPROFESSIONALS, SOCIAL WORKERS AND OTHER
SERVICE PROVIDERS WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO ACHIEVE REAL RESULTS FOR OUR KIDS KEEPING THEM HAPPY ,SAFE AND LEARNING. PROPOSED BUDGET CUTS MEAN THAT ALL OF THIS PROGRESS IS PUT AT RISK. WE HAVE ALREADY SEEN TEACHERS
BEING ACCESSED THE SAME WONDERFUL SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS AND TEACHERS OF MULTILINGUAL LEARNERS SERVICE PROVIDERS THAT I JUST MENTIONED. WITHOUT THE SUPPORT OF STAFF THAT CAN MEET THEIR NEEDS, I WORRY THAT STUDENTS WILL NOT BE
MAINTAINING THE PROGRESS THAT WE HAVE WORKED SO HARD TO MEET OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS AND WE KNOW THAT THEY DESERVE SO MUCH MORE IN A YEAR WHERE THE CITY IS UNDER FINANCIAL PRESSURE, I KNOW THAT OUR
STUDENTS AND MY STUDENTS ARE NOT THE ONES THAT SHOULD BE TAKING THE CUT AND PAYING THE PRICE FOR THAT. WE CALL ON THE CITY TO FULLY FUND OUR SCHOOLS AND GUARANTEE OUR STUDENTS A HIGH QUALITY LEARNING EXPERIENCE. THEY SHOULD BE SAFE, HAPPY AND
THRIVING WITH ADEQUATE STAFFING TO MEET ALL OF THEIR NEEDS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. OKAY. UM, A DOCTOR BERTIE'S I'M SORRY I DIDN'T PUT THE LAST NAME WIFE. WAIT. >> OKAY.
YEAH. >> UM. I'M GONNA HAVE TO LEARN HOW TO READ. NO, NO. IT'S OKAY. HANDWRITING AND, UM. OKAY. UH, YOU'RE. >> UP TO MAKE SURE. UH, MY NAME IS, UH. DOCTOR BIANCO. I'M A RESIDENT OF ROSLINDALE. I'M ALSO THE STRATEGIC.
STRATEGIC RESEARCHER FOR THE BOSTON. TEACHERS UNION. UH. >> TONIGHT I'M HERE. >> TO SPEAK. ABOUT THE IMPACT. OF THE PROPOSED. FY 27 BUDGET ON SCHOOL LEVEL STAFFING BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS IS. FACING REAL FISCAL. PRESSURES.
HEALTH INSURANCE, TRANSPORTATION AND SPECIAL EDUCATION COSTS ARE. RISING IN THE CITY AND. >> THROUGHOUT THE COMMONWEALTH . AT THE SAME TIME, ENROLLMENT IS DECLINING, REDUCING STATE AID UNDER THE CHAPTER. 70 FORMULA. HOWEVER.
BOSTON IS IN A DIFFERENT FISCAL POSITION THAN MANY DISTRICTS CONFRONTING THESE CHALLENGES. AS OF. >> FY 24. THE CITY'S UNASSIGNED GENERAL FUND BALANCE STOOD AT $1.3 BILLION APPROXIMATELY 30.1%
OF GAAP GENERAL FUND OPERATING EXPENDITURES. THAT'S DOUBLE THE CITY'S 15% POLICY MINIMUM AND WELL ABOVE THE GOVERNMENT FINANCE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION'S RECOMMENDED BENCHMARK.
CERTIFIED FREE. CASH HAS RANGED BETWEEN 440 MILLION TO 500 MILLION IN RECENT YEARS. THESE INDICATORS POINT TO A CITY WITH SUBSTANTIAL FISCAL CAPACITY AND FLEXIBILITY IN
DETERMINING HOW CURRENT COST PRESSURES ARE ADDRESSED IN THE FY 27 BUDGET PROPOSAL, RISING COSTS ARE LARGELY ABSORBED THROUGH REDUCTIONS IN SCHOOL BASED STAFF, WHILE THE PROPOSED
BUDGET INCREASES TOTAL DISTRICT SPENDING TO $1.71 BILLION. THE BUDGET BALANCES THOSE INCREASES BY ELIMINATING APPROXIMATELY 531 STAFF POSITIONS ACROSS THE DISTRICT,
MORE THAN 400 OF WHICH ARE AT SCHOOLS THAT WILL REMAIN OPEN. MAINTAINING CURRENT SERVICES WOULD REQUIRE ROUGHLY $48 MILLION IN ADDITIONAL SCHOOL LEVEL FUNDING. INSTEAD, THOSE COSTS ARE
ABSORBED THROUGH SCHOOL CLOSURES AND REDUCTIONS IN STAFFING AT SCHOOLS THAT REMAIN OPEN. IN A WHITE PAPER THAT THE BOSTON TEACHERS UNION WILL BE PUBLISHING NEXT WEEK CONCERNING THE PROPOSED FY 27. BUDGET. >> OUR ANALYSIS SHOWS THAT
STAFFING LOSSES FALL DISPROPORTIONATELY ON SPECIAL EDUCATION PARAPROFESSIONALS, BILINGUAL SUPPORT STAFF AND SCHOOLS SERVING THE HIGHEST CONCENTRATIONS OF HIGH NEED STUDENTS AT THE SAME TIME,
SPECIAL EDUCATION SPENDING OVERALL IS PROJECTED TO INCREASE BY 30.3 MILLION ACROSS ALL FUNDS, MEANING THAT MORE MONEY IS BEING SPENT ON CONTRACTED SERVICES OUT
OF DISTRICT PLACEMENTS IN CENTRALLY BUDGETED COSTS WHILE IN SCHOOL STAFFING CAPACITY DECLINES. I'LL WRAP UP RIGHT NOW OKAY. >> THANK YOU. BOSTON HAS THE CAPACITY TO PROTECT CLASSROOMS. THE QUESTION IS WHETHER IT WILL
THE DECISIONS MADE IN THIS BUDGET WILL DETERMINE WHETHER THE CITY'S FUNDING CHOICES ALIGN WITH ITS COMMITMENT TO PROVIDING EVERY STUDENT WITH A HIGH QUALITY EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
UM, OKAY. UH, FOR EVERYONE WHO JUST GOT HERE, NYLA HAS BEEN HERE SINCE 2:00 AT LEAST AND UH, DID AN AMAZING JOB ON UH, EDUCATION PANEL THAT WE HAD.
SO, UM UH, NYLA YOU'RE UP. GOOD EVENING EVERYONE. MY NAME IS NYLA. FERNANDEZ AND I AM A SENIOR AT KASH HIGH SCHOOL. >> AND THE. VICE PRESIDENT OF BOSTON'S STUDENT ADVISORY COUNCIL. THANK YOU TO THE MEMBERS OF THE
. BOSTON CITY COUNCIL FOR THIS. OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TODAY. I'M HERE BECAUSE OF THE DECISIONS YOU MAKE ABOUT THE 2027 BUDGET WILL DIRECTLY IMPACT THE LIVES, OPPORTUNITIES
AND FUTURES OF STUDENTS AND YOUNG PEOPLE ACROSS BOSTON. FROM A STUDENT PERSPECTIVE, MANY OF OUR SCHOOLS ARE ALREADY OPERATING WITH LIMITED RESOURCES. WE FEEL IT IN OUR CLASSROOMS AND THE PROGRAMS AVAILABLE TO
US AND IN SUPPORT STUDENTS RELY ON EVERY DAY WHEN RESOURCES ARE STRETCHED THIN, STUDENTS FEEL THE IMPACT IMMEDIATELY. THAT'S WHY. CONVERSATIONS ABOUT DEFICITS AND POTENTIAL CUTS ARE SO
CONCERNING FOR US STUDENTS. IT CAN FEEL LIKE WE CONSTANTLY SORRY OKAY. IT CAN FEEL LIKE WE'RE CONSTANTLY BEING ASKED TO DO MORE WITH LESS IN A SYSTEM THAT IS ALREADY STRUGGLING TO MEET THE NEEDS OF YOUNG PEOPLE,
STUDENTS SHOULD NOT HAVE TO SUCCEED IN SPITE OF UNDERFUNDED SCHOOLS. BOSTON'S YOUNG PEOPLE DESERVE STRONG SCHOOLS, REAL OPPORTUNITIES AND A SYSTEM THAT IS FULLY EQUIPPED TO STUDENT TO SUPPORT OUR SUCCESS. IF WE WANT BETTER OUTCOMES FOR
STUDENTS, THEN BOSTON HAS TO MAKE A STRONGER COMMITMENT TO INVESTING IN OUR. EDUCATION AS A SENIOR GETTING READY TO GRADUATE I'M ASKING THIS COUNCIL TO TAKE LONG VIEW AND PRIORITIZE THE FUTURE OF BOSTON STUDENTS.
PLEASE INVEST IN OUR EDUCATION AND WORK WITH BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS TO ADDRESS THIS DEFICIT WITHOUT TAKING AWAY THE PROGRAM SUPPORTS AND OPPORTUNITIES WE ALREADY HAVE. BUT SUPPORTING STUDENTS CANNOT STOP AT THE CLASSROOM DOORS.
MANY YOUNG PEOPLE IN BOSTON ARE BALANCING WHAT SCHOOLS BUT SCHOOL BUT WITH REAL CHALLENGES LIKE FOOD INSECURITIES AND HOUSING INSTABILITY. WHEN STUDENTS ARE WORRIED ABOUT BASIC NEEDS, IT BECOMES MUCH
HARDER TO FOCUS ON LEARNING AND PREPARING FOR OUR FUTURE. THAT'S WHY STRONGER INVESTMENT IN YOUNG SUPPORT MATTERS PROGRAMS THAT PROVIDES FOOD ASSISTANCE, YOUTH EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES AND COMMUNITY
SUPPORT HELP CREATE STABILITY FOR OUR YOUNG PEOPLE WHO ARE TRYING TO STAY FOCUSED ON SCHOOL AND BUILD OUR FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES LIKE YOU JOBS GIVE YOUNG PEOPLE WORK EXPERIENCE, FINANCIAL SUPPORT
AND INDEPENDENCE EXPANDING THESE OPPORTUNITIES AND INCREASING INCREASING WAGES FOR YOUNG WORKERS WILL BE A MEANINGFUL INVESTMENT IN BOSTON'S YOUNG PEOPLE. ONE LAST THING BECAUSE AT THE
END OF THE DAY, A CITY'S PRIORITIES ARE REVEALED BY WHAT IT CHOOSES TO PROTECT AND BOSTON STUDENTS ARE YOUNG AND YOUNG PEOPLE SHOULD NEVER BE THE PLACE WHERE WE CHOOSE TO FOR REAL, CHOOSE TO FALL SHORT
THAT THE 2027 BUDGET WILL SHOW BOSTON STUDENTS WHAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT WHETHER WE ARE THE AFTERTHOUGHT OR WHETHER WE ARE TRULY A PRIORITY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. >> MISS FERNANDEZ.
UM, OKAY. UH, SO JUST BECAUSE WE'RE WE'RE DOING WELL, I THINK WE'RE GOING TO I'LL CALL ON A COUPLE MORE PEOPLE WHO ARE IN THE ROOM AND THEN THEN WE'LL GO ONLINE. SO CARLY'S YOU'RE UP AND THEN
UH, SIMEON UH, DAN TO US AND THEN UH IS IT GENESIS CORNEJO UH, AFTER. THAT WE WILL. UM UH OKAY. SO, UH, CARLY'S HERE TWO MINUTES. OKAY.
>> HELLO AND GOOD AFTERNOON, BOSTON CITY COUNCILORS. MY NAME IS CARLOS MANANA. I'M 18 YEARS OLD. I LIVE IN DORCHESTER. >> I'M A SENIOR AT MARGUERITA MUNIZ ACADEMY AND I'M A PART. OF YOUTH. JUSTICE EMPOWER UNION.
BOSTON SPENDS $477 MILLION. >> ON THE ON THE POLICE BUDGET . THAT'S ALMOST. >> HALF $1 BILLION. AND ABOUT. >> A QUARTER AND. >> ABOUT. A QUARTER OF OUR. DISCRETIONARY BUDGET. WHILE HOUSING RECEIVES $54 MILLION AND.
YOUTH PROGRAMS. REALLY RECEIVE 20 TO. >> $22 MILLION. WE'RE GETTING. >> CRUMBS AND THAT'S NOT PUBLIC . >> SAFETY, THAT'S PUBLIC NEGLECT. SO HERE'S WHAT I'M GOING TO. UM HERE'S WHAT I'M DEMANDING. PLAIN AND DIRECT FIRST FREEZE.
BPD BUDGET GROWTH. NOW AND RELEASE AN INDEPENDENT AUDIT OF OVERTIME AND EQUIPMENT SPENDING WITHIN 90 DAYS. SECOND, CUT. >> THE POLICE BUDGET. BY 10% THIS YEAR AND PUT THOSE FUNDS STRAIGHT INTO MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS RESPONSE TEAMS.
I PERSONALLY I'VE PERSONALLY SEEN HOW COPS CAN ESCALATE WHAT'S REALLY A MENTAL HEALTH MOMENT. A CRISIS RESPONSE TEAM IS. SIMPLE PEOPLE WHO HAVE MENTAL. HEALTH TRAINING NOT. WEAPONS TWO PEOPLE A. COUNSELOR AND A.
COMMUNITY, TWO PEOPLE A COUNSELOR AND A COMMUNITY MEMBER. SENT 1911. GETS A MENTAL HEALTH CALL WITH NO WEAPON OR THREAT INVOLVED. THEY DE-ESCALATE SUCH THEY DE-ESCALATE AND STABILIZE
SITUATIONS AND THEN LINK FOLKS TO MENTAL HEALTH CARE SUPPORT CITIES RUNNING THIS MODEL HANDLE MOST CALLS WITHOUT ARREST OR ANY VIOLENCE OR FORCE AND THAT'S THE ALTERNATIVE WE
NEED WE NEED MENTAL HEALTH RESPONSE FOR MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS. UM THIRD STRIP BPD OF MENTAL HEALTH AND NONVIOLENT UM UH
NONVIOLENT I'M ON ONE CALLS AND HAND THAT WORK TO TRAIN CIVILIAN RESPONSE RESPONDERS WITH FUNDING MOVED BY THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR. WE CAN SEE IT BUT Y'ALL THINK WE CAN'T. OUR COMMUNITIES ARE BEING UNDERFUNDED AND OVERPOLICED A
CHANGE NEEDS TO HAPPEN NOW. IT'S UNACCEPTABLE. OKAY. >> THANK YOU. UM. >> SO, UH, SIMEON DANTE'S OF THAT RIGHT? UH, NOW HOW DO YOU PRONOUNCE
IT? IS SOMAYA OKAY. UH, SO MY UM SO YOU GET TWO MINUTES. YOU READY? OKAY. >> THANK YOU. HELLO. >> CITY COUNCIL. MY NAME IS. SOMAYA AND I'M. >> FROM ROSLINDALE. FIRST I WANTED TO SAY THAT YOU SHOULD.
FUND YOUTH JOBS AND DEFUND THE POLICE YOUTH JOBS JUST TO GET 27. >> MILLION AND. NOW THEY HAVE DECREASED TO. 22 MILLION. >> WHILE THE POLICE ARE FUNDED. MORE THAN 400 MILLION. THE POLICE AROUND SCHOOLS LIKE MINE DUE TO SCHOOLS. >> HAVE. BEING MAJORITY.
BLACK AND NOT ONLY THAT THEY HANG AROUND A BUS. STOP BY MADISON PARK AND PATROL . KIDS BECAUSE THEY BELIEVE THEY ARE BAD OR INSUBORDINATE. SECOND, IF THE POLICE AND CITY. WERE THAT WORRIED ABOUT KIDS SAFETY, THEY SHOULD PROVIDE. MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUTH.
TO WORK AND BUILD. GOOD RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE COMMUNITY. GIVING CHILDREN STABILITY IN THEIR. LIVES HELPS CREATE MORE MONEY. STABLE ADULTS SO THAT THEY CAN HAVE A BETTER FUTURE. LET'S FIX OUR DEMEANOR AS A. COMMUNITY TOWARDS.
KIDS AND FUND YOUTH JOBS AT LEAST 50 MILLION AND DEFUND THE POLICE. THANK YOU. >> THANK YOU VERY MUCH. UM. >> MISS COURTNEY, HELLO. UH, HOW DO YOU PRONOUNCE YOUR FIRST NAME? UM, GENESIS. OKAY, GREAT. UH. TWO MINUTES.
OKAY. >> UM. >> HELLO CITY COUNCIL. MY NAME IS JEN AND THE PAY THAT YOU WOULD RECEIVE FOR THEIR HARD WORK SHOULD BE INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY. WE NEED YOUTH JOBS TO BE WAY MORE ACCESSIBLE.
AND IT SHOULDN'T BE SO HARD TO FIND THE STABLE JOB, THE YOUTH AND JOBS THAT PREPARE THEM FOR THE FUTURE AND GIVE THEM LIFE SKILLS AND HIGHER POSITIONS.
AND 19 TO 24 YEAR OLDS ARE GETTING PAID 20 AN HOUR AND WE WANT THAT TO INCREASE TO 24 AN HOUR. PEOPLE WHO GO ON A WEBSITE SEES A LOT OF JOBS WITHOUT ANY
OPENINGS. THERE NEEDS TO BE MORE JOBS SO MORE PEOPLE CAN ACCESS THEM. OKAY. >> ANYTHING ELSE? YEAH. NO. OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
UM, OKAY. WE'RE NOW JUST GOING TO TAKE A BRIEF INTERLUDE TO, YOU KNOW, ZOOM. UM. >> SO IS UH LET ME SEE. SO. UH.
>> WE I HAVE WE HAVE FIVE PEOPLE SO FIRST UP WILL BE LORI RADWAN, THEN PURNA LAKSHMI, THEN ZEBA CRANMER, ELLA JAMES AND DAVID DAMIAN.
SO, UH, LORI IS NOT ON. OKAY. SO UH, PURNA UH, LAKSHMI, YOU ARE UP. UH. >> OKAY, APARNA, WE CAN CALL ON YOU LATER.
UH, DO YOU WHAT YOU WOULD PREFER THAT OR UH YEAH. YEAH YEAH YEAH WE'LL JUST COME WE'LL COME BACK LET ME KNOW WHEN, UH, A PRINT IS AVAILABLE .
ZEBA, MY CONSTITUENT UM. UH-UH. >> HI. >> CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES, UH CAN I I DON'T KNOW, I'LL GIVE YOU TWO MINUTES.
I'LL LET YOU KNOW WHEN IT'S UP. UH. YEAH, I'LL SPEAK FAST. OKAY. READY? THANKS. >> OKAY. >> HI. >> MY NAME IS ZEBA CRANMER AND I'M. HERE TO SPEAK ABOUT. HOW THE. PROPOSED BUDGET CUTS. >> WILL NEGATIVELY IMPACT. MY SCHOOL.
MY UNDERSTANDING THAT MY CHILD'S SCHOOL, THE CURLEY IS FACING A 10% CUT. UM. >> ABOUT APPROXIMATELY 1.6 MILLION. I AM A NEW PARENT. TO A NINE. >> YEAR. OLD WHO. >> JOINED OUR FAMILY AT THE END OF JUNE OF LAST YEAR. HE PREVIOUSLY ATTENDED A SCHOOL
IN DORCHESTER. WHERE DESPITE INCREDIBLE AND INCREDIBLE TEACHING AND SOCIAL WORK TEAM HE DID NOT HAVE THE CAPACITY WOULD THEY DID NOT HAVE THE CAPACITY TO DEAL WITH HIS TRAUMA. AS A RESULT, HE HAD 16 SEPARATE
DISCIPLINARY INCIDENTS ACROSS THE SPAN OF ONE YEAR. I STRUGGLED WHEN HE CAME INTO MY FAMILY TO NAVIGATE THE REGISTRATION SYSTEM HAVING MISSED THE FIRST THREE ROUNDS OF REGISTRATION, MANAGING
SHARED CUSTODY WITH DCF ETC. BUT THANKS TO PERSISTENCE AND HELP I WAS ABLE TO SECURE A SEAT FOR HIM AT THE CURLEY SCHOOL. SINCE JOINING THE CURLEY MY CHILD HAS HAD NO DISCIPLINARY
INCIDENTS AND AT THE SCHOOL AND HE IS THRIVING AND THE REASON HE'S THRIVING IS BECAUSE HE IS A SOCIAL WORKER WITH A MANAGEABLE CASELOAD SO SHE HAS TIME TO PUSH HIM RECESS AND A GYM CLASS AND OTHER LEARNING
ENVIRONMENTS. HE IS ALSO BENEFITED GREATLY FROM THE CO-TEACHING MODEL, WHICH IS A KEY FEATURE OF THE CURLY'S INCLUSION MODEL. WHAT IS IT A BIT GENTLER IN THE OTHERS A BIT MORE STRICT.
I CALL THEM GOOD COP BAD COP BUT THE COMBINATION OF THE TWO IS EXACTLY WHAT HE'S NEEDED. I'M TERRIFIED THAT REDUCTIONS TO THE BUDGET WILL HAVE AN ADVERSE EFFECT ON MY CHILD, EVEN THOUGH HE IS IN ONE OF THE
MOST PRIVILEGED SCHOOLS IN THE DISTRICT WITH AN ACTIVE AND EMPOWERED PARENT ASSOCIATION THAT IS CONSTANTLY FUNDRAISING AND ADVOCATING FOR THE NEEDS OF TEACHERS AND AND AND STUDENTS AND PARAPROFESSIONALS.
THE CURLEY IS THE LARGEST K-8 SCHOOL IN THE DISTRICT WITH NEARLY 1000 STUDENTS AND I UNDERSTAND IT ALSO WAS ONE OF THE FIRST INCLUSION SCHOOLS AND IT PLAYS MY UNDERSTANDING A UNIQUE ROLE IN THE DISTRICT.
I'M EVEN MORE FEARFUL THAT THE IMPACT OF THESE CUTS WILL HAVE ON OTHER STUDENTS BECAUSE I KNOW FIRSTHAND THE IMPACT THAT A LESS RESOURCE SCHOOL HAD ON MY CHILD'S ABILITY TO SUCCEED. I DON'T CLAIM TO EVEN BEGIN TO
UNDERSTAND ALL THE DIFFERENT FACTORS DRIVING THE BUDGET CUTS OR HOW IT COULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED. WHAT I DO KNOW IS WE HAVE TO FIND A SOLUTION. IT'S THE BEHAVIORAL SPECIALISTS ESPECIALLY THE SOCIAL WORKERS, THE READING SPECIALISTS, THE
ENRICHMENT PROGRAMS UH, MY CHILD LIVES FOR MUSIC, ART AND GYM AND MATH READING READING SPECIALISTS. ARE HELPING. >> HIM LEARN TO LOVE READING AND THESE ARE ALL AREAS WHERE WE ARE LIKELY TO SEE CUTS.
BUT THESE ARE ALSO THE RULES THAT MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR MY CHILD TO SUCCEED. I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW A $58 MILLION CUT COULD HAVE BEEN A SURPRISE AND ESPECIALLY ONE WE COULDN'T PREPARE FOR. I DON'T UNDERSTAND IF THE
ENROLLMENT DECLINES ARE PROJECTED TO BE PERMANENT OR TEMPORARY. BUT AT A. >> TIME WHEN FAMILIES ARE MOVING OUT OF THE DISTRICT LEADING TO ENROLLMENT DECLINES ,THE LAST THING WE SHOULD BE DOING IS TAKING STEPS THAT WILL FURTHER DEGRADE OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM.
WE NEED TO LOOK AT OTHER PLACES WHERE WE CAN SAVE MONEY FROM THE RENT A RAINY DAY FUND IF WE HAVE ONE TO THE THE POLICE BUDGET AS THE YOUTH POWER AND JUSTICE UNION UM YOUNG PEOPLE
MENTIONED SO THAT WE CAN URGENTLY MEET THE NEEDS OF OUR CHILDREN AND TEACHERS. THANK YOU. >> OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH CIBA. UM OKAY THAT WE HAVE TO DO IS L.A. ONLINE ANYONE WHO'S JUST
WALKED IN RECENTLY AND YOU WANT TO TESTIFY AND YOU HAVEN'T SIGNED UP THERE IS A SHEET OVER HERE. UH, AND SO, UM. YOU KNOW. >> YOU CAN TAKE THE TIME. TO SIGN UP. UH, SO ELLA UH, JAMES AND THEN.
DAVID DO. >> UH. >> HI. CAN YOU HEAR ME? I CAN, UH ARE YOU READY? YEAH. >> I'M READY. OKAY. >> UH, TWO MINUTES WHENEVER YOU WANT TO START.
OKAY. >> HI. >> MY NAME IS ELISSA MOEN. UM. >> I'M A SENIOR. >> AT. DEARBORN STEM ACADEMY AND. >> I WORK WITH JP. I'M HERE TO TALK. >> ABOUT THE EXPERIENCES YOUTH ARE. HAVING IN OUR COMMUNITY. YOUNG PEOPLE NEED JOBS OPPORTUNITIES THAT KEEP US BUSY AND HELP US BUILD FOR OUR
FUTURE JOBS TEACHERS RESPONSIBILITY GIVE US REAL LIFE SKILLS AND FOR SOME YOUTH HELP THERE HELP SUPPORT THEIR FAMILIES. RIGHT NOW. >> THOUSANDS OF YOUTH APPLY. FOR SUMMER JOBS. BUT DON'T GET THEM AROUND 4500
YOUNG PEOPLE WHO APPLY STILL DON'T GET A JOB. LAST YEAR THE CITY SPENT ABOUT 27 MILLION ON NEW JOBS BUT NOW THE BUDGET IS CLOSER TO 22 MILLION. AT THE SAME TIME, SCHOOL YEAR. JOBS THROUGH.
COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS HAVE BEEN CUT BY ABOUT 40% OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS. WE'RE ASKING THE CITY TO INVEST MORE IN NEW JOBS AND RAISE THE PAY TO ABOUT 20 TO $24. >> AN. HOUR SO YOUNG PEOPLE CAN ACTUALLY SUPPORT THEMSELVES AND
THEIR FAMILIES. BUT WHILE YOUNG PEOPLE ARE ASKING FOR OPPORTUNITIES, WHAT MANY OF US ARE ACTUALLY ENCOUNTERING IS SURVEILLANCE AND POLICING MANY OF US ARE BEING ARE CONSTANTLY BEING STOPPED OR SURROUNDED BY POLICE WHEN WE'RE NOT DOING ANYTHING
WRONG. FOR EXAMPLE, ONE OF MY FRIENDS WERE JUST WALKING TO HIS AUNT'S HOUSE WHEN OFFICERS FROM THE GANG UNIT STOPPED HIM. FIVE OFFICERS SURROUNDED HIM AND PATTED HIM DOWN ASKING IF HE HAD A WEAPON WHEN THEY REALIZED HE DIDN'T HAVE
ANYTHING ON HIM AND THEY JUST LEFT. THERE'S NO REASON WHY YOUNG PEOPLE SHOULD HAVE TO EXPERIENCE. A TRAUMATIC MOMENTS. LIKE THAT. >> SYSTEMS LIKE THE BOSTON REGIONAL INTELLIGENCE CENTER ALSO KNOWN AS BREAK, WHICH WORK WITH THE BOSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT, SHOULD NOT BE
TARGETING YOUNG PEOPLE IN WAYS THAT LEAD TO EXPERIENCES LIKE THAT. YOUNG PEOPLE SHOULD FEEL SAFE IN THEIR OWN NEIGHBORHOODS NOT LIKE WE'RE BEING TREATED AS SUSPECTS OR SIMPLY EXISTING. INSTEAD OF FOCUSING ON POLICING
YOUTH, OUR COMMUNITY SHOULD INVEST MORE IN YOUTH JOBS AND PROGRAMS AND OPPORTUNITIES THAT HELP YOUNG PEOPLE GROW AND SUCCEED. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
UH, DAVID. HELLO? >> CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES. >> UH, SO TWO MINUTES WHENEVER YOU'RE READY.
OKAY. >> HELLO. >> MY NAME IS DAVID DAMIANI AND I HAVE SERVED AS A SUPERVISOR OF ATTENDANCE FOR THE PAST THREE YEARS. I'M FROM THE ROSLINDALE NEIGHBORHOOD. I'M TESTIFYING BECAUSE I CARE
DEEPLY ABOUT THE STUDENTS AND FAMILIES THAT WE SERVE. AND I'M VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE PROPOSED FY 26 BUDGET CUTS TO OUR DEPARTMENT. THE PROPOSAL WOULD REDUCE OUR
TEAM BY NEARLY HALF. OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS HAS MADE A STRATEGIC INVESTMENT IN ATTENDANCE. WHEN SUPERINTENDENTS MARY SKIPPER ARRIVED IN 2022, THE
DISTRICT ONLY HAD SIX SUPERVISORS OF ATTENDANCE SUPPORTING MORE THAN 49,000 STUDENTS ACROSS 119 SCHOOLS. THE DISTRICT CREATED THE REGIONAL MODEL AND EXPANDED OUR
TEAM TO TEN SUPERVISORS OF ATTENDANCE. THIS INVESTMENT ALLOWED OUR WORK TO BECOME COORDINATED, DATA DRIVEN AND MORE RESPONSIVE TO THE NEEDS OF SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES AND THE RESULTS
FOLLOWED. SO CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM HAS THIS INCREASE EVERY YEAR SINCE THAT INVESTMENT WAS MADE. MID-YEAR DATA SHOWS THE
DISTRICT AT ABOUT 25% AND THAT EXCEEDS THE DISTRICT'S GOAL AT THE TIME AT THIS TIME. ATTENDANCE IS CURRENTLY ONE OF THE ONLY QUALITY SCHOOL PLAN METRICS MEETING ITS TARGET.
THIS PROGRESS DIDN'T HAPPEN BY ACCIDENT WHEN BOSTON WE OFTEN TALK ABOUT EQUITY AND OPPORTUNITY GAPS. BUT THE FIRST THAT OPPORTUNITY IS BEING PRESENT IN SCHOOL AS
ENROLLMENT AND CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM HAS BEEN REDUCING. SUPERVISORS OF ATTENDANCE ARE WORKING TO BRING STUDENTS BACK TO SCHOOL. PLEASE DON'T CUT THIS STRATEGY THAT'S FINALLY WORKING.
WE AS SUPERVISORS OF ATTENDANCE WORK DIRECTLY WITH STUDENTS AND FAMILIES WHO FACE THE GREATEST BARRIERS TO GETTING TO SCHOOL. WE CONDUCT HOME VISITS, COORDINATE WITH SCHOOL TEAMS,
WORK WITH AGENCIES LIKE DCF AND SUFFOLK JUVENILE COURT AND HELP FAMILIES NAVIGATE CHALLENGES SUCH AS HOUSING INSTABILITY, TRANSPORTATION AND LANGUAGE BARRIERS. IN MY YEARS OF DOING THIS WORK
I'VE KNOCKED ON MANY DOORS. SOMETIMES A PARENT OPENS THE DOOR WORRIED, OVERWHELMED AND UNSURE ON HOW TO GET THEIR CHILD BACK ON TRACK. AND SOMETIMES THE STUDENT
ANSWERS THE DOOR THEMSELVES. THE PRIDE THAT SOMEONE FROM THEIR SCHOOL CAME LOOKING FOR THEM. THAT MOMENT MATTERS BECAUSE FOR THAT STUDENT IT MEANS SOMEONE NOTICED THEY WERE MISSING.
IF WE CUT THE SUPERVISORS OF ATTENDANCE THERE WILL BE FEWER PEOPLE KNOCKING ON THOSE DOORS AND MORE STUDENTS WHO NEVER HEAR THAT KNOCK. PLEASE DO NOT TAKE THAT SUPPORT
AWAY FROM BOSTON STUDENTS. THANK YOU. >> OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. UH, NEXT. YEAH. UH, NEXT UP, UM, WE'LL GO BACK TO IN-PERSON TESTIMONY. IT'S GOING TO BE I APOLOGIZE IF
I'M BUTCHERING NAMES HERE. UH, JENNY AND LEE. UH, JOAQUIN ATALA GUTIERREZ AND LEONARD LIEB AND, UH, THEN JACK.
OH MY GOD, IT. STARTS WITH AN F, BUT I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT'S AFTER THAT. UM. >> UH, I THINK IF. HE IS AN F U T I I DON'T KNOW YOU'RE YOU'RE THE ONLY PERSON WHOSE HANDWRITING IS WORSE THAN MINE. UH, BUT, UH.
OKAY, SO. UM SO, UH, JENNY AND LEE JOAQUIN, UH, ATALA GUTIERREZ EUROPE. UH, GREAT. UH, AND THEN IT'S LEONARD JACK.
UH, THEN THE NEXT ONE IS MALCOLM UH, SHERMAN GODFREY. SO LET'S, UH, START. WITH YOU. >> OKAY. YOU READY? YES. OKAY. >> TWO MINUTES. >> HI. >> MY NAME IS SHANAYA. UM. >> I RECENTLY GRADUATED FROM B.A. TO THE CLASS OF 2025.
UM. >> WITH MY. >> GPA. >> THE CITY KEEPS ON PUTTING MONEY. INTO POLICING. BUT HASN'T PUT A. >> LOT OF MONEY INTO COMMUNITY. YOU WOULD THINK THAT THEY OPERATE. PER PERSON. PER ALL TIES. OR COMMUNITY MORE THAN PUTTING.
MONEY INTO POLICING THAT'S OBVIOUSLY NOT HELPING. IF IT WAS. OUR COMMUNITY BEEN UH REALLY. WONDERFUL BUILDING. BEAUTIFUL DIAMOND. >> COMMUNITY WHICH. >> IT ISN'T. BEVERLY HILLS PEOPLE.
THINGS LIKE HOUSING GIVE JOBS, FOOD AND COMMUNITY RESOURCE WE SHOULD HELP BOSTONIANS. A LOT OF US ARE MOVING OUT CITY. >> BECAUSE WE DON'T. HAVE A. >> LOT OF MONEY IN OUR HOUSING. WHEN PEOPLE.
GO OFF SCRIPT. ANYWAYS UM LIKE I'M SAYING IS WE KEEP ON PUTTING MONEY MONEY INTO POLICING BUT NOT MONEY MONEY INTO OUR COMMUNITIES. OUR COMMUNITIES. >> ARE NOT THRIVING. WHEN WE HAVING POLICING IF IT WAS MOVING A THRIVING
COMMUNITY. SORRY I'M NOT. SORRY I JUST ADDRESSED THIS BUT. THAT'S ALL. >> I HAVE.
>> FOR RIGHT. NOW BUT YEAH. OKAY WELL THANK YOU VERY MUCH. FOR BEING HERE TONIGHT. AND I KNOW WE ALL APPRECIATE IT. UM, OKAY. UH. ARE YOU READY? YEAH.
>> UH GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYONE. UH, MY NAME IS JOAQUIN. UM. >> I'M 17 YEARS OLD AND I LIVE IN HYDE PARK AND DORCHESTER AND I WORK WITH YOU JUST AS A POWER UNION. AS A YOUNG PALESTINIAN MEXICAN-AMERICAN IN BOSTON, THE
AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT GOES INTO POLICING AND NOT THE COMMUNITY UH, NOT THE WHAT THE COMMUNITY NEEDS IS DISCUSSING. MANY PEOPLE HAVE COME TO CITY COUNCIL DEMANDING THAT MONEY GOES FROM THE POLICE BUT POLICE
BUDGET TO YOUTH HOUSING AND TO HOUSING, YOUTH JOBS, PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING AND MENTAL HEALTH THE POLICE BUDGET GETS IT GETS $477 MILLION FROM THE CITY WHILE YOUTH JOBS GETS
$22.1 MILLION. MAYOR WU PROMISED EVERY SINGLE YOUNG PERSON IN THE CITY A SUMMER JOB AND IN THE SUMMER OF 2024, 15,000 YOUTH APPLY TO
YOUTH JOBS AND ONLY IN FOR 4500 YOUNG PEOPLE DID NOT GET JOBS. YOUTH JOBS ARE VERY IMPORTANT, UH, TO THE COMMUNITY IN BOSTON AS IT CREATES A SAFE SPACES FOR YOUTH TO BE IN RATHER THAN GETTING WRAPPED UP IN THE WRONG
CROWD WHICH IS EASY WHEN LIVING IN SPACES WHERE MONEY IS NEEDED WHICH ALSO LEADS WHERE YOUTH WHERE YOUTH JOBS UM GIVE MONEY TO YOUTH WHICH UH IS NEEDED AS THEY PROVIDE IN THEIR HOMES FOR
THEIR FAMILIES AND MUCH MORE. UH YOU JOBS ALSO PREPARE YOUTH FOR THE FUTURE. UH IN WORKING SPACES AND UH, LIKE PRACTICING UH, RESPONSIBLE WAYS TO SPEND MONEY.
UM, POLICE HAVE, UH, $57.7 MILLION IN OVERTIME MONEY UM, WHICH IS ALMOST TRIPLE AMOUNT THAT UH YOUTH JOBS GETS IN TOTAL. POLICE DON'T ACTUALLY BRING SAFETY THIS COMMUNITY AND INSTEAD OF PREVENTING UH CRIMES
THEY PUT PEOPLE IN CAGES. AS A COMMUNITY WE SHOULD FOCUS ON MORE OF A RESTORATIVE PROCESS TO MAKE OUR COMMUNITIES SAFER RATHER THAN HAVING PEOPLE WITH GUNS SHOWING UP AND PUTTING PEOPLE IN HANDCUFFS. THE PEOPLE ARE THE POLICE ARE
BUILT OFF A RACIST SYSTEM THAT DATES BACK TO SLAVERY AND CATCH YOU RUNAWAY ENSLAVED PEOPLES. THE RACIST BIAS THAT POLICE OFFICERS HAVE TOWARDS DIFFERENT PEOPLE IS HIGHLIGHTED IN THE WAY THEY TREAT DIFFERENT PEOPLE
BASED ON THEIR SKIN COLOR, ECONOMIC STATUS, GENDER, ETC.. THE COMMUNITY NEEDS TO BE A SAFE ENVIRONMENT AND NOT HAVE RACIST COPS WALKING AROUND WITH GUNS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. OKAY. >> THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
UH, SO. UH, LEONARD LEE. BEN THEN. JACK. UH, SORRY. UM. >> UH. MALCOLM SHERMAN GODFREY. THEN PATRICK. ANOTHER BOW BELOW. >> I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU
PRONOUNCE THAT. AND THEN SOPHIA. UH. BORKOWSKI. >> SO, UH. LEONARD. YEAH. HI. >> MY NAME IS LEONARD LIBERTO. I'M A RESIDENT OF EAST BOSTON. UM, AND I'M HERE WITH BOSTON DSA TO TALK ABOUT PUBLIC RESTROOMS.
UM, BOSTON. IS SEVERELY LACKING IN PUBLIC RESTROOMS ACROSS. >> THE CITY. UM, SPECIFICALLY IN EAST BOSTON . UM. >> THERE THERE'S ACTUALLY A MAP, UM, THAT THE CITY HOSTS ON THEIR WEBSITE. UM. >> AND FOR THE ENTIRE NEIGHBORHOOD OF EAST BOSTON,
THAT MAP LISTS A TOTAL OF NINE PUBLIC RESTROOMS. UH, PUBLIC RESTROOMS ARE IMPORTANT. UM, YOU KNOW, NOT JUST FOR PEOPLE THAT ARE, UH, TRYING TO WALK, YOU KNOW, BETWEEN PARKS
OR IN PUBLIC SPACES BUT ALSO JUST ANYONE WHO WANTS TO GO OUTSIDE. UM, AND WANTS TO HAVE ACCESS TO USE THE RESTROOM WITHOUT NEEDING TO USE ENTER A BUSINESS. UM. >> WE BELIEVE THAT THESE PUBLIC RESTROOMS WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, BENEFICIAL IN PLACES OF HIGH
TRAFFIC SUCH AS, UH. TEA STATIONS. UM, BUT ALSO IN PUBLIC PARKS, UM, AND OTHER PLACES THAT UH, ALLOW PEOPLE TO EASILY ACCESS THE CITY ON FOOT UM, BY BICYCLE
,UM OR BY USING THE T. UH WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE VARIOUS PUBLIC RESTROOMS ACROSS THE CITY, UM, THAT ALSO DO NOT MEET UH, REGULAR AVAILABILITY.
UH, MANY OF THEM ARE CLOSED DURING, UH, SEASONAL NEEDS. UH, MANY OF THEM ARE CLOSED, UM ,OUTSIDE OF BUSINESS HOURS EVEN IF THEY ARE NOT RELIANT UPON A BUSINESS. UM, AND WE WANT TO ADVOCATE FOR
KEEPING AT LEAST THESE RESTROOMS OPEN FOR LONGER AND BETTER MAINTAINED. UM, AND THEN TO EVENTUALLY OPEN MORE PUBLIC RESTROOMS. THANK YOU. OKAY. >> THANK YOU VERY MUCH. OKAY. UH, JACK AND THEN MALCOLM,
PATRICK AND SOPHIA. SO. UH, UM HELLO. CITY COUNCILORS. MY NAME IS JACK FIRST AND I AM A MEMBER. >> OF THE. BOSTON DSA LIVING IN ALLSTON. I'M HERE TODAY TO STATE THAT I WOULD LIKE IMPROVED PUBLIC
RESTROOM SERVICES TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THE CITY BUDGET, PARTICULARLY AROUND MAJOR TRANSIT HUBS. THIS INCLUDES NEW PUBLIC RESTROOMS OPENED IN HIGH TRAFFIC AREAS, MAINLY AROUND T STATIONS. AND IMPROVEMENTS. TO EXISTING RESTROOMS IN THESE
AREAS SUCH AS EXTENDED HOURS MAINTENANCE MORE READILY AVAILABLE INFORMATION ON WHEN BATHROOMS ARE OPEN. AND ACCESSIBILITY UPGRADES. I, ALONG. >> WITH OTHER BOSTON CITY RESIDENTS THAT I'VE SPOKEN WITH, HAVE FOUND THE EXPERIENCE OF TAKING PUBLIC TRANSIT TO BE LACKING.
IN THIS REGARD. I BELIEVE NEW AND IMPROVED PUBLIC RESTROOMS WOULD MAKE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION MORE EQUITABLE AND ACCESSIBLE FOR ALL RESIDENTS OF BOSTON. I ADDITIONALLY BELIEVE THAT ANY AND ALL IMPROVEMENTS TO THE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
EXPERIENCE WILL HAVE. POSITIVE DOWNSTREAM ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS BY HELPING TO ALLEVIATE DEPENDANCE ON CARS FOR PEOPLE WHO FEEL LIKE THEY CANNOT UTILIZE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AT THIS TIME. I HOPE THAT YOU WILL PLEASE
TAKE THESE THOUGHTS INTO CONSIDERATION AS YOU MOVE FORWARD WITH THE CITY BUDGET AND CONSIDER THAT ACCESSIBLE PUBLIC RESTROOMS ARE CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE FOR AN ACCESSIBLE BOSTON. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. OH, JUST. >> SO YOU'RE. HOW DO YOU SPELL YOUR LAST NAME?
F YOU ARE. YEAH F IRSSI. SIGH OKAY. IT JUST SO WE GET YOUR EMAIL CORRECT OKAY THANK YOU. UM OKAY UH. MALCOLM MALCOLM SHERMAN. >> GODFREY THEN.
PATRICK AND SOPHIA. WHENEVER YOU'RE READY. THANK YOU. MY NAME IS MALCOLM SHERMAN GODFREY I'M AN ORGANIZER WITH THE. BOSTON CHAPTER OF THE DEMOCRATIC. SOCIALISTS OF AMERICA. AND FIRST OF ALL, I'D LIKE TO SAY HOW IMPRESSED. >> I WAS TO SEE SO MANY
OF BOSTON'S YOUNG PEOPLE COMING OUT HERE TO. TALK ABOUT. >> WAYS IN WHICH THEIR CITY IS LETTING DOWN THEIR COMMUNITY. I'D LIKE TO SPEAK ABOUT ANOTHER WAY I. BELIEVE BOSTON IS. LETTING DOWN MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY, WHICH IS A. SERIOUS LACK. >> OF PUBLIC RESTROOMS. >> WE HAVE IN THIS CITY. I KNOW. >> THAT I NEVER. FELT THAT.
ISSUE MORE PRESSING THAN WHEN I WAS A YOUNG PERSON TRYING TO GO. DOWNTOWN AND UNABLE TO AFFORD $4 FOR A BOSTON ICE CARD UH, DUNKIN DONUTS COFFEE JUST TO BE ABLE TO USE A BATHROOM. AS OF RIGHT NOW, ACCORDING. TO THE BOSTON CITY GOVERNMENT
RUN WEBSITE AND PRIVATE ATTEMPTS TO MAP THE PUBLIC RESTROOM NETWORK, THERE IS NOT A SINGLE PUBLIC RESTROOM WITHIN A QUARTER MILE OF DOWNTOWN CROSSING T STATION. MEANWHILE. >> AT OTHER STATIONS LIKE RUGGLES AND THE GOVERNMENT CENTER RIGHT OUTSIDE OF HERE,
THE ONLY PUBLIC RESTROOMS LISTED ARE INSIDE OF GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS LIKE POLICE STATIONS AND THIS CITY HALL BUILDING WE'RE IN RIGHT NOW AT A TIME WHEN MANY OF OUR NEIGHBORS ARE UNDERSTANDABLY AFRAID TO ENTER THE HALLS OF POWER FOR FEAR
OF BEING SNATCHED UP BY INCREASINGLY FASCIST FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. I DON'T THINK THIS IS ACCEPTABLE. I THINK WE NEED NEW PUBLIC RESTROOMS BUILT AT THESE MAJOR AREAS OF PEDESTRIAN AND PUBLIC
TRANSIT TRAFFIC THAT ARE OPEN 24/7 AND ACCESSIBLE TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC REGARDLESS OF THEIR ECONOMIC OR ETHNIC BACKGROUND. ADDITIONALLY, MANY OF OUR EXISTING RESTROOMS SUCH AS THE
ONLY RESTROOM LISTED WITHIN REASONABLE WALKING DISTANCE OF PARK STREET INSIDE OF BOSTON COMMONS ARE NOT EVEN OPEN AT THEIR CURRENTLY LISTED HOURS. UH, PUTTING ASIDE THE FACT THAT IT IS KIND OF RIDICULOUS TO CLOSE A PUBLIC RESTROOM
ENTIRELY FOR ALL OF THE WINTER WHEN THAT IS ADVERTISED AS A MAJOR PLACE FOR PEOPLE TO GO AND ENJOY OUTDOOR WINTER ACTIVITIES IN OUR CITY UH, FOR BOTH THE RESIDENTS OF BOSTON AND THE TOURISTS WHO ARE TRAVELING THROUGH OUR BEAUTIFUL
CITY. I THINK THIS IS A SERIOUS SHAME ESPECIALLY WHEN OUR PEER CITIES PLACES LIKE LOS ANGELES AND NEW YORK ARE CURRENTLY INVESTING ENORMOUS AMOUNTS OF MONEY AND HAVE ACTIVE PROJECTS WHERE THEY'RE BUILDING TONS OF NEW
PUBLIC RESTROOMS SPECIFICALLY FOCUSED AROUND HIGH TRAFFIC AREAS LIKE NEAR PUBLIC TRANSIT. IT'S NOT TOO MUCH TO ASK FOR EVERY BOSTON RESIDENT AND VISITOR TO HAVE ACCESS TO A PUBLIC RESTROOM WHICH IS FREE, ACCESSIBLE, OPEN 24 SEVEN NEAR
PUBLIC TRANSIT CLEAN, WELL-MAINTAINED AND STOCKED WITH SANITARY PRODUCTS. THANK YOU. >> OKAY. >> THANK YOU VERY MUCH. UH, OKAY. >> SO PATRICK AND THEN. SOPHIA AND A, UM KOSKI IS HERE SO YOU KNOW YOU'RE. ALL RIGHT. >> UH, HI.
MY NAME IS PATRICK BALOG. I AM HERE WITH BOSTON DC'S. UH. >> ECO SOCIALISM WORKING GROUP. I'M ALSO SPEAKING IN. FAVOR OF INCREASE FUNDING. FOR PUBLIC. RESTROOMS IN THE BOSTON AREA. UM. >> TO EXPAND. ON POINT MALCOLM MADE THE.
CURRENT BOSTON. UH CITY PUBLIC RESTROOM MAP. SHOWS THAT THE. UH ONLY ACCESSIBLE RESTROOM CLOSE TO PARK STREET. IN DOWNTOWN CROSSING. IS THE UH.
BOSTON FROG POND PUBLIC RESTROOM ON. THE BOSTON COMMON. ACCORDING TO THE WEBSITE, IT'S ONLY. OPEN FROM APRIL TO OCTOBER. UM, I. >> DON'T THINK IT'S ACCEPTABLE TO. CONSIDER A PUBLIC RESTROOM. SOMETHING THAT'S ONLY OPEN HALF THE YEAR.
ADDITIONALLY. UH. >> WHEN I'VE. PERSONALLY TRIED TO ACCESS THAT. RESTROOM DURING HOURS THAT IT'S SAID TO BE OPEN. UH. >> IT HAS BEEN CLOSED. AS SOMEONE WITH THE GASTROINTESTINAL DISEASE. >> I KNOW FIRSTHAND THE. ANXIETY OF. TRYING TO. >> MOVE AROUND A CITY. UH. >> WITH THE CONSTANT ANXIETY
OF BEING ABLE TO FIND A PUBLIC. PUBLIC BATHROOM. AT A MOMENT'S NOTICE. UM. >> IT. SHOULDN'T REQUIRE. ON A. >> SHOULDN'T REQUIRE A SERIES. >> OF, UH, SECRETS OR. UH. >> PRIVATE INSTITUTIONS WHERE YOU'RE REQUIRED. TO PURCHASE A. PRODUCT IN ORDER. >> TO FIND. UM. >> ACCESS TO SOMETHING THAT.
>> SHOULD BE. UH, ACCESSIBLE TO EVERYONE. UM. >> I THINK. >> THIS IS A, UH. A PUBLIC HEALTH MATTER. AND, UM, ALSO. JUST SOME NECESSARY INFRASTRUCTURE FOR BOSTON TO TRULY BE A VIBRANT CITY FOR ITS
RESIDENTS AND VISITORS. UM. >> SO I'D ALSO LIKE TO REITERATE A CALL FOR INCREASED. UH, FUNDING FOR. MAINTENANCE OF PUBLIC BATHROOMS THAT ARE OPEN 24 OVER SEVEN AND ARE WELL STOCKED AND FOR THE CITY TO INVEST IN BUILDING NEW PUBLIC BATHROOMS.
UM I'D ALSO JUST BRIEFLY LIKE TO UM, ALSO ITERATE MY. SOLIDARITY AND. SUPPORT WITH THE UH BOSTON. TEACHERS UNION AND. >> THE STUDENTS WHO HAVE SPOKEN ON BEHALF OF UH, REVERSING THE CUTS TO THE BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS BUDGET.
THANK YOU. OKAY. >> THANK YOU VERY MUCH. UH, SOPHIA. I WILL SAY AS. >> YOU WALK DOWN I, UH, YOU. >> KNOW, AS A WORKERS RIGHTS ATTORNEY. UM, THE RIGHT TO GO TO THE BATHROOM WAS INCREDIBLY
IMPORTANT. WORKERS RIGHTS ISSUE. >> AND, UH UH, I KNOW WHAT MY A LAW PROFESSOR HAD A UNIVERSITY OF IOWA TEAMED UP WITH HIS. UROLOGIST TO SHOW HOW. MUCH HARM WAS BEING DONE TO. WORKERS BY. NOT HAVING ACCESS TO THE
BATHROOM. AND A COLLEAGUE OF MINE. UH. >> JENNIFER ROSENBAUM ACTUALLY. UNIONIZED A. >> CHICKEN PROCESSING PLANT. EASTERN TENNESSEE THAT THAT STARTED WITH. A WORKER WHO'S EIGHT MONTHS PREGNANT. WASN'T ALLOWED. >> TO USE THE RESTROOM. UH, AND I I WITH SOME OF.
MY COLLEAGUES HERE IN NEW YORK CITY HAS A RIGHT TO ORDINANCE FOR FOOD DELIVERY WORKERS. THEY CAN ACCESS. RESTROOMS AT RESTAURANTS. THEY COULD DO SO, UH, IF ANY OF MY COLLEAGUES WANT TO JOIN ME ON THAT, UM, YOU KNOW.
YEAH. UH, SO WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT LATER. SO SORRY. SOPHIA. >> HI. >> UH, I'M SOPHIA AND I'M HERE ON BEHALF. >> OF. PDSA AND. I WOULD. >> LIKE TO ADVOCATE. AGAIN FOR THE PUBLIC RESTROOMS ISSUE. UM, IN THE CITY OF BOSTON, THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF.
WORKERS COMMUTE TO. >> AND FROM THE CITY OF BOSTON WITHIN IT AND. >> TO WORK. MOST IMPORTANTLY AND. JUST FOR. >> THEIR DAILY LIVES AND MANY TIMES. ESPECIALLY WORK BASED. COMMUTES INVOLVE MULTIPLE. TRANSFERS AND. >> MAYBE AN HOUR LONG. COMMUTE AND. AT THIS. TIME WE.
>> ONLY HAVE A FEW. UH, OF. THE OF LIKE THERE USED TO BE A. BUNCH OF PUBLIC RESTROOMS WITHIN THE AND THE CITY OF BOSTON. OVER TIME THESE HAVE CLOSED DOWN AND HAVE GONE OUT
OF BUSINESS IN DISREPAIR AND OUT OF MAINTENANCE AND I THINK IT'S A HUGE DIGNITY ISSUE AND A WORKERS RIGHTS. ISSUE AS WELL AS YOU WERE SAYING. UM, AS WELL AS JUST YOU KNOW, AS SOMEBODY WHO UH IS VISITING .
AND BEING WITHIN THE CITY OF BOSTON, I THINK IT'S A VERY IMPORTANT. ISSUE TO HAVE. ADDITIONALLY, I THINK THAT WITHOUT THE UH, PUBLIC RESTROOMS I THINK THAT ONLY CREATES MORE ISSUES IN THE LONG
RUN WITH UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S IT'S MORE IT'S CREATES MORE CONGESTION FOR BUSINESSES FOR PEOPLE WHO MIGHT NOT BE NECESSARILY VISITING THOSE SERVICES AS WELL AS MORE CLEANUPS ON THE STREETS, UH,
LATER ON DOWN THE LINE. SO THANK YOU FOR LISTENING. AND YES, I HOPE THAT WE CAN WORK TOWARDS IMPROVING THE DIGNITY OF THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN AND COMMUTE THROUGH BOSTON.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH. UH, SO WE WE HAVE A FEW MORE PEOPLE, UM, UH, HERE WHO SIGNED UP PEGGY WANG, UH, KAHLIL HOWE, MICHAEL CAINE, ANDREA UH, JAMES
I THINK AND CAT SICK. UM, UH, BEFORE YOU UH, GO, HOWEVER I WE'VE RECEIVED FOUR LETTERS OF PUBLIC TESTIMONY. UH, THERE'S A COUPLE OF THEM I THINK I CAN READ OUT IN UNDER
TWO MINUTES SO I'M JUST GOING TO I'LL READ THEM OUT AND I'M SURE IT'S GOING TO SOUND WORSE COMING OUT OF MY MOUTH AND THEY THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO TESTIFY BUT HERE WE GO.
UM UH THE FIRST IS A LETTER FROM MICHELLE MUELLER. UM, UH MY NAME IS MICHELLE MUELLER. I'M AND I'M THE PARENT OF TWO CURIOUS AND THOUGHTFUL CHILDREN AT THE B2 PILOT SCHOOL IN JAMAICA PLAIN.
FOR YEARS OUR COMMUNITY HAS BEEN ADVOCATING FOR FUNDING TO MAKE NECESSARY SAFETY AND ACCESSIBILITY IMPROVEMENTS TO OUR PLAYGROUND SO THAT ALL STUDENTS CAN SAFELY ACCESS AND ENJOY OUR OUTDOOR SPACE.
WHEN THE PROPOSED BUDGET WAS RELEASED, WE WERE DEEPLY DISAPPOINTED TO LEARN THAT NOT ONLY WERE PLAYGROUND RENOVATIONS NOT INCLUDED BUT THAT WE WERE ALSO LOSING OUR BELOVED LIBRARIAN MISS BILLY.
THE BTU PILOT SCHOOL IS A TRULY SPECIAL PLACE AND A SINGLE STRAND SCHOOL WITH ONLY ONE CLASS PER GRADE. ALL OF THE STUDENTS KNOW ONE ANOTHER AND EVERY ADULT KNOWS EVERY CHILD. THIS CLOSE KNIT COMMUNITY IS
PART OF WHAT MAKES THE SCHOOL SO MEANINGFUL FOR OUR FAMILIES . MY FIRST GRADE DAUGHTER LOOKS FORWARD TO HER WEEKLY TRIPS TO THE SCHOOL LIBRARY, WHERE HER LOVE OF ANIMALS AND GEOGRAPHY ARE ENCOURAGED AS A FAMILY WITH
WORKING PARENTS AND HECTIC SCHEDULES, WEEKLY TRIPS TO OUR CITY LIBRARY AREN'T ALWAYS POSSIBLE BECAUSE OF MISS BILLY . HER DAUGHTER READS NEW BOOKS. SHE CHECKS OUT FROM THE SCHOOL LIBRARY TO HER LITTLE BROTHER
EACH NIGHT. THESE MOMENTS MATTER THEY BUILD LITERACY, CURIOSITY AND CONFIDENCE. UM MISS BILLY WORKS INTENTIONALLY TO ENSURE EVERY CHILD FEELS SEEN AND
REPRESENTED IN THE LIBRARY. SHE CURATES BOOKS AT ALL READING LEVELS IN MULTIPLE LANGUAGES AND REPRESENTING MANY CULTURES AND IDENTITIES THAT ARE RECENT BOOK FAIR SHE MADE SURE THAT EVERY STUDENT IN MY
SON'S CLASS WENT HOME WITH A BOOK WHETHER OR NOT THEIR FAMILIES COULD AFFORD TO BUY ONE. WHEN MY DAUGHTER BEGAN ASKING QUESTIONS ABOUT HER ARAB IDENTITY, MISS BILLY HELPED HER FIND A BOOK IN THE SCHOOL
LIBRARY THAT CELEBRATED ARAB CULTURE AND HELPED HER FEEL PROUD OF WHO SHE IS. THESE MOMENTS MEAN SO MUCH TO OUR FAMILY AND REFLECTS THE CARE MISS BILLY BRINGS TO EVERY STUDENT SHE SERVES.
I'M GOING GONNA HAVE TO SKIP A COUPLE THINGS AND AT THE END I URGE THE CITY OF BOSTON AND BOTH BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS TO RECONSIDER THIS CHOICE AND RESTORE FUNDING FOR THE B2 PILOT SCHOOL LIBRARIAN I WILL
SAY I WENT TO THE BTU LIBRARY UH, WITH MISS BILLY AND WE DID AN ELECTION DAY UM, AN ELECTION SORT OF THING FOR FIFTH GRADERS WHERE WE DID THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE AND UH WE EVERYONE GOT
A STATE AND THEY WE VOTED BETWEEN UM I THINK IT WAS MICHAEL JACKSON VERSUS UH, TAYLOR SWIFT AND TAYLOR SWIFT UH UH, LOST THE POPULAR VOTE BUT THEN WON THE ELECTORAL
COLLEGE BECAUSE SHE GOT NEW YORK AND CALIFORNIA AND IT WAS IT WAS AN AMAZING THING AND I AND SO I JUST YOU KNOW, MY MY SUPPORT FOR MISS BILLY IS THERE AS WELL.
I WILL SAY APROPOS OF THIS, SHE TEXTED ME TODAY ABOUT SPEED BUMPS ON HER STREET AND FOR SPENDING ON STREET SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS. IS THAT SOMETHING THAT MY COLLEAGUES AND I WILL BE ADVOCATING FOR? JUST A COUPLE MORE LETTERS HERE
. UM I THINK I CAN I WILL READ THE NEXT ONE BUT I THINK THE THE OTHER TO I BELIEVE I'LL EXPLAIN THAT I'M NOT GOING TO READ THEM BUT UH SO JUST ONE
MORE LETTER AND THEN WE'LL GET BACK TO UM IN PERSON TESTIMONY . UH, MY NAME IS MATTHEW RUGGIERO . UH, I AM A RESIDENT OF JAMAICA PLAIN, A GRADUATE OF BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND ELECTED
MEMBER OF THE UH BTU EXECUTIVE BOARD. FOR THE LAST TEN YEARS I'VE WORKED AS AN ESL TEACHER TEACHER IN THE BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS. I AM CONCERNED THAT BOSTON CUTS OR THE BUDGET CUTS WILL IMPACT
THE MOST VULNERABLE STUDENTS AND SCHOOL POPULATIONS IN OUR CITY, WHICH SHOULD BE GIVEN THE MOST INVESTMENT AND MOST STABILITY. ONE REASON GIVEN FOR THE DECLINE IN BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS ENROLLMENT AND THE
NECESSITY OF STAFFING CUTS IS THE DECREASE IN NEWCOMER STUDENTS IN BOSTON. AS AN ESL TEACHER WHO HAS SPENT HIS ENTIRE CAREER WORKING WITH RECENT IMMIGRANTS TO BOSTON, IT IS HEARTBREAKING TO ME THAT OUR
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS SENDING THE MESSAGE TO MY STUDENTS AND FAMILIES THAT THEY ARE NOT WANTED WHEN I WITNESS EVERY DAY HOW SPECIAL AND VALUABLE THEY ARE TO OUR COMMUNITY, THERE MIGHT APPEAR TO BE LOGIC THAT
FEWER STUDENTS SHOULD LEAD TO REDUCTION STAFFING FOR MULTILINGUAL PROGRAMS AND SERVICES. BUT I WANT TO BE CLEAR THAT REDUCTIONS IN STAFFING AND SERVICES HAVE MADE A REAL IMPACT ON STUDENT LEARNING AND
EXPERIENCES. I URGE THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE MAYOR TO LOOK BEYOND THE SPREADSHEETS AND FORMULAS AND RECOGNIZE WHAT THESE CUTS LOOK LIKE TO A STUDENT, A CLASSROOM AND A SCHOOL. IN A LOT OF WAYS I'M HAVING MY
MOST SUCCESSFUL YEAR'S TEACHER AND IN MY CLASSES WE HAVE STRONG CLASS PARTICIPATION, MAP GROWTH AND ACHIEVEMENT AND IN THE POSITIVITY OF OUR CLASSROOM COMMUNITY WE HAVE BUILT TOGETHER THIS YEAR MY
MULTILINGUAL STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES WHO ARE RECEIVING MORE SERVICES AND ARE MAKING MORE PROGRESS THAN THEY HAVE IN PREVIOUS YEARS IN THE MIDST OF THE MANY ONGOING CHALLENGES IN THE WORLD, I AM GRATEFUL TO
MY STUDENTS EVERY DAY FOR THE LEARNING WE DO TOGETHER. I HAVE A SPECIAL GROUP OF STUDENTS THIS YEAR WHO I GET TO LAUGH AND LEARN WITH, WHO ARE PART OF WHAT HAS ALLOWED ME TO SUPPORT MY STUDENTS THIS YEAR IS THAT I HAVE THE
SMALLEST CLASS SIZE I'VE HAD AS A TEACHER I'M ABLE TO CHECK WITH EVERY STUDENT TO GIVE INFORMAL AND FORMAL FEEDBACK AND BUILD POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS. UM AGAIN I'M GOING TO HAVE TO SKIP FORWARD.
I URGE YOU INSTEAD TO UH INSTEAD OF REDUCING STUDENT SERVICES, INVEST IN SCHOOLS TO MAINTAIN AND PROMOTE THE BEST CONDITIONS POSSIBLE FOR THE STUDENTS WHO NEED AND DESERVE
THE MOST SMALL CLASS SIZES AND CASELOADS, WELL-ROUNDED ELECTIVES AND EXTRA CURRICULAR OPPORTUNITIES AND THE STABILITY THAT STUDENTS AND COMMUNITIES NEED IN ORDER TO THRIVE.
UM, SO UH, WE HAVE TWO MORE LETTERS. I BELIEVE THEY'RE BOTH YES. FROM KEVIN BOTT. UH, THESE DEALT WITH KEVIN BOTT SPOKE PUBLICLY IN OUR IN OUR
EDUCATION MEETING THIS AFTERNOON. UM, AND I BELIEVE THESE LETTERS WERE INTENDED FOR FOR THAT HEARING THEY'RE ABOUT, UH, SPENDING OF TITLE ONE FEDERAL
DOLLARS FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS AND UH, AND UH AND I THINK AND ALSO ON LIFE UH SO HE HE SPOKE WILL ENTER HIS LETTERS INTO THE RECORD FOR THIS
HEARING UM JUST BEFORE WE GET TO THE LAST FEW UH, UH, PEOPLE IN PUBLIC TESTIMONY TO JOIN ME COUNCILOR WORRELL UH, COUNCIL ORAL EVERYONE GOT A MINUTE TO, UH, YOU KNOW, ADDRESS FOLKS WHO SHOWED UP
TODAY? UM, IF YOU IF YOU WANT TO SPEAK, UM. MICROPHONE'S YOURS. THANK YOU. CHAIR AND JUST TAKE IT TO THE PUBLIC. FOR BEING HERE. UM, VERY IMPORTANT CONVERSATION
BEFORE WE DIVE INTO OR RECEIVE THE BUDGET FROM THE MAYOR TO HEAR FROM UH, THE RESIDENTS WHO UH THE BUDGET IS CREATED FOR US. SO JUST HERE TO LISTEN, I WANT TO THANK ALL THE, UM EVERYONE
WHO TESTIFIED I WAS LISTENING IN, UM, AND JUST WANT TO JUST MAKE SURE THAT WE CENTER, UH, OUR RESIDENTS UM, WHILE WE ARE PREPARING AND MAKING AMENDMENTS TO THE BUDGET.
SO THANK YOU AGAIN AND THANK YOU, CHAIR, UH, FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY. OKAY. >> THANK YOU VERY MUCH, COUNCIL ROWE. UM, OKAY. SO, UH, PEGGY AND THEN, UH,
KHALIL AND THEN MICHAEL. ANDREA AND THEN KAT. HI. >> UM, MY NAME IS PEGGY WANG. I'M A MEMBER OF THE INDEPENDENT SOCIALIST GROUP. I AM A RESIDENT OF BOSTON. I LIVE IN AUSTIN. I WORK AT MASS HOUR DOWNTOWN.
I'M IN THE MASSACHUSETTS TEACHERS ASSOCIATION AND I'M SPEAKING AGAINST THESE CUTS. THEY'RE COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE AND UNNECESSARY. I'M IN SUPPORT OF THE MEMBERS OF THE BOSTON TEACHERS UNION
AND ALSO IN SUPPORT OF THE STUDENTS WHO SHOULD NOT HAVE TO SHOULDER CUTS. UM, WE WE HAVE ON DECK 265 CLASSROOM TEACHERS WHO ARE SET
TO LOSE THEIR JOBS 106 ONE PARENT EDUCATORS IT'S IT'S TOTALLY NOT OKAY FOR US TO BE CUTTING PEOPLE'S LIVELIHOODS OFF. SO MANY PEOPLE IN BOSTON CAN AFFORD TO GET BY ALREADY AND
OUR PARENT EDUCATORS JUST A YEAR AGO WE'RE. ONLY MAKING 30 $30,000 A YEAR STARTING WAGES THAT'S NOW CHANGED TO 40,000. THAT IS NOT A LIVING WAGE IN BOSTON. SO MANY TEACHERS HAVE TO WORK MULTIPLE JOBS.
IT'S COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE. WE ALSO NEED A MUCH HIGHER MINIMUM WAGE IN BOSTON AND IN MASSACHUSETTS. UM YEAH WE ABSOLUTELY THERE IS THE MONEY TO STOP THESE CUTS.
THERE IS MONEY IN FREE CASH, UM, YOU KNOW, RESERVES THAT THE CITY HAS WE HAVE A RAINY DAY FUND IN MASSACHUSETTS THAT 8 TO $9 BILLION. I KNOW THAT THERE'S 2029
TEACHERS SET TO UM POSSIBLY LOSE THEIR JOBS AND MIDDLEBORO 8 TO $9 BILLION. THAT'S 40,000 TIMES THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT IT WOULD IT TAKES TO SAVE THOSE PEOPLE'S, UH, LIVELIHOODS, THEIR ABILITY TO
PAY RENT AND FOOD. UH, WE SHOULD NOT BE CUTTING ANYONE'S JOBS IN OUR BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS. WE NEED ACTUALLY MORE FUNDING, MORE RESOURCES TO FULLY FUND AND FULLY STAFF OUR SCHOOL SYSTEMS AND ESPECIALLY HERE IN
BOSTON. UM, IT'S UNFAIR THAT PROPERTY TAXES ARE HOW WE FUND OUR SCHOOLS IN MASSACHUSETTS. WE NEED TO BE TACKLING CORPORATIONS MORE ON THE RICH MORE OUR UNION MTA FOUGHT FOR THE FAIR FAIR SHARE AMENDMENT
THAT TAXES BILLIONAIRES AN EXTRA 4%. THAT MONEY NEEDS TO GO INTO OUR CONTRACTS, INTO OUR TEACHER CONTRACTS, INTO OUR STUDENTS TO MAKE SURE THEY HAVE GOOD PROGRAMS, SMALL CLASSROOM SIZES THAT ARE FACT.
OUR TEACHERS AND ANYONE WHO ARE WORKING IN THE BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS CAN GET BY AND HAVE A GOOD QUALITY OF LIVING, BE ABLE TO TO SUPPORT OUR STUDENTS AND GIVE THEM ALL THE SERVICES THAT THEY NEED.
UM SO YES HERE STANDING IN SUPPORT NO CUTS UM FUND OUR SCHOOL STAFF, OUR SCHOOLS WELL WE NEED AN EQUITABLE EDUCATION. QUALITY EDUCATION SHOULD NOT BE UM NOT BE A PRIVILEGE. IT SHOULD BE A RIGHT FOR
EVERYONE. OKAY. >> THANK YOU VERY MUCH. UH, KHALEEL AND THEN, UH, MICHAEL KEANE AND ANDREA JAMES AND I CAN SAY I BELIEVE. HELLO? >> YEP.
>> WHENEVER YOU'RE READY. UH, HI. MY NAME IS KHALIL. HOW? I'M A COMMUNITY ORGANIZER WITH THE JUSTICE AND POWER UNION AND CURRENTLY RESIDING IN DISTRICT SEVEN AT THIS POINT.
UM, FIRST OFF, I WANT TO THANK EVERYBODY WHO CAME BEFORE, YOU KNOW, TALKING ABOUT, UM, PUBLIC RESTROOMS, UM, TALKING ABOUT UH, SCHOOLS AND TEACHERS NEEDING MORE MONEY IN
SOLIDARITY WITH ALL THAT WITH THE YOUTH TALKING ABOUT YOUTH JOBS. UM, AND I JUST WANT TO SAY THAT I'M HERE BECAUSE. YEAR AFTER YEAR I'VE BEEN I'VE
BEEN COMING. TO THE CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS SINCE I WAS SINCE LIKE 2020. UM. YOU HAVE TWO YEAR THE CITY. COUNCIL HAS STRUGGLED TO FUND WHAT COMMUNITY MEMBERS HAVE
BEEN ASKING FOR AND I KNOW THAT, UM YOU KNOW, THIS THIS NEW BUDGET PROCESS IS NEW AND SINCE Y'ALL HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO UM, YOU KNOW,
COUNTERACT THE MAYOR'S BUDGET OR MAKE AMENDMENTS TO IT, THERE'S BEEN EASIER YEARS AND THERE'S BEEN HARDER YEARS. BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, I WOULD SAY THAT THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS THAT YOU ALL STRUGGLE TO FUND
WHAT COMMUNITY MEMBERS HAVE BEEN ASKING FOR UM, FOR EXAMPLE YOUTH JOBS, HOUSING, IMMIGRATION, FOOD SUPPORT AND SO MANY OTHER THINGS AND THE ANSWER IS IN THE BUDGET
CLEARLY, UM, WHILE HOUSING GETS AROUND $50 MILLION YOU GET JOBS GETS ABOUT 22 MILLION AND THE POLICE BUDGET IS $477 MILLION,
420 MILLION OF THOSE DOLLARS GO DIRECTLY TO SUPPORTING PERMANENT EMPLOYEES. AND I DID SOME RESEARCH AND FOUND OUT THAT BOSTON POLICE HAS ABOUT 124% THAT OFFICERS
PER CAPITA AS THE STATE. AVERAGE 133% TO OFFICERS PER CAPITA AS THE NATIONAL AVERAGE AND 117% THE OFFICERS PER CAPITA AS SIMILAR SIZED CITIES
ACROSS THE COUNTRY. THE BPD HAS. 2143 OFFICERS AND TO MATCH STATE UM TO MATCH STATE, NATIONAL AND DEPARTMENT SIZES,
THE BOSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT SHOULD HAVE BETWEEN 16 UM 1600. >> TO. 1800 TOTAL OFFICERS AND. WE WOULD NEED TO REDUCE THE. OFFICERS BY AT LEAST 306 TO BE AT THE THE MINIMUM OF THE OR
THE. MAXIMUM OF THAT RANGE. THE AVERAGE SALARY FOR OUR OFFICER IS 90 K AND IF WE WERE TO CUT 300 OF THOSE OFFICERS THAT WOULD IMMEDIATELY. >> GIVE US $27 MILLION IN THE
BUDGET FOR UM US TO USE UH WE DON'T NEED MORE UM POLICING. >> IT'S EVIDENT. THAT THE AMOUNT OF OFFICERS THAT HAVE BEEN DECREASING. >> OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS. AND THE AMOUNT OF YOUTH JOBS. >> MONEY WE'VE BEEN GETTING AS WELL AS THE CRIME RATE DROPPING ALL OF THOSE SO YOUTH JOBS
GOING UP, POLICE OFFICERS GOING . DOWN AND. CRIME RATE IS GOING DOWN IF THAT WAS CONFUSING UM. PEOPLE NEED TO GET THE THINGS THEY NEED TO THRIVE AND BE COMFORTABLE. UM AND. UPLOADED POLICE.
BUDGET DOESN'T ALLOW THAT. AND LASTLY. >> I'LL SAY COUNCILOR DURKAN COUNCILOR PEPEN. UM YOU. >> HOLD THE POWER TO CUT THE POLICE. I ATTENDED THE WORKING SESSIONS LAST YEAR AND I WAS ABLE TO SEE HOW YOU AND SOME OTHER COUNCILORS. >> HAVE BEEN VOTING UM, AND
THAT. YOU'VE BEEN APPREHENSIVE TO CUT . >> THE. POLICE BUDGET. UM, AND I JUST. WANT TO ASK. YOU KNOW. >> OBVIOUSLY RHETORICALLY BECAUSE. >> YOU CAN'T ANSWER NOW BUT I WOULD LOVE AN ANSWER. WHY ARE. >> YOU SO RELUCTANT. UM, TO LISTEN. >> TO THE PEOPLE THAT YOU SERVE? WE'VE DONE THE WORK.
WE'VE TALKED TO THE PEOPLE. WE'VE COLLECTED SURVEYS IN BOSTON. FROM BOSTON RESIDENTS. THE POLICE BUDGET NEEDS CUTS. AND WHAT. ARE YOU. >> GOING TO DO. >> ABOUT IT? THANK YOU. OKAY. >> THANK YOU.
UM, SO, UH, MICHAEL, YOU'RE UP. UH THANK YOU, COUNCILOR. I'M MICHAEL CAINE. I'M THE DIRECTOR OF THE MASS ALLIANCE. >> OF TENANTS. WE'RE A TENANT UNION FOR TENANTS AND PRIVATELY OWNED
SUBSIDIZED HOUSING. UM, AND YEARS AGO WE ADVOCATED TO GET A CITY FUNDED RENT SUBSIDY PROGRAM TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THE HOMELESS AND
EXTREMELY LOW INCOME PEOPLE THAT ARE RENT BURDENED IN OUR CITY. UH, AN ACCOUNT THE MAYOR CREATED IT IS A PILOT PROGRAM IN WHAT WAS A 2020 AND THE
COUNCIL HAS SINCE INCREASED THE AMOUNT UH, LAST YEAR UNDER COUNCILOR WARHOLS UH, BRILLIANT LEADERSHIP UH, THE COUNCIL ACTUALLY ADDED MORE MONEY.
SO IT'S NOW FUNDED AT 13.9 MILLION A YEAR UP FROM THE INITIAL FIVE UH, THE YEAR BEFORE THAT THERE WAS UH AND UH THE COUNCIL OVERRODE THE MAYOR'S VETO ADDED A MILLION
ANOTHER MILLION LAST YEAR. SO CURRENTLY THERE ARE ABOUT 600 PEOPLE THAT WERE HOMELESS FORMERLY HOMELESS WHO ARE NOW HOUSED PERMANENTLY IN OUR CITY.
THE PRIORITY TO FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN IN THE BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS THAT WERE HOMELESS, UH ,THEY GOT THE PRIORITY AND THERE'S OTHER CATEGORIES OF UH, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE COMING OUT
OF UH UH OUT OF UH PRISON OTHER PRIORITY GROUPS UH, HOMELESS YOUTH IS ANOTHER PRIORITY TO GET THOSE SUBSIDIES. UM, SO THE NEED IS 21,000 LOW
INCOME PEOPLE IN THE CITY WHO NEED A SUBSIDY TO STAY IN THE CITY BETWEEN NOW AND 2030. SO THE NEED IS IS NOT IN DISPUTE. UH, AND WHENEVER YOU SEE A
HOMELESS PERSON ON THIS ON THE SIDEWALK, THAT'S ANOTHER PERSON THAT COULD BE A IF WE COULD EXPAND THE PROGRAM SO WE WOULD LIKE THE COUNCIL THAT AT LEAST
3 MILLION A YEAR UH, IN THE BUDGET THIS YEAR UH, TO REACH ANOTHER 130 HOMELESS PEOPLE GET THEM OFF THE STREET. UM, WHERE WILL THE MONEY COME FROM?
I REALLY WANT A SECOND OF ALL THE YOUTH THAT HAVE SPOKEN SO ELOQUENTLY ABOUT THE WASTE, FRAUD AND ABUSE IN THE BOSTON POLICE BUDGET THERE ARE WHAT
HOW IS IT THAT BOSTON IS PAYING, UH, 33 POLICE OFFICERS MORE MONEY THAN THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES 400,000 A YEAR? WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?
THERE'S NO REASON WHY IN MY MY VIEW, ANYBODY IN THE CITY OF BOSTON SHOULD BE PAID MORE THAN THE MAYOR WHICH IS 200,000 A YEAR. SO IF YOU JUST CUT THOSE UH
THAT WASTE FRAUD AND ABUSE WHICH IS CAUSED BY THINGS LIKE PHONY UH PHONY OVERTIME, UH, YOU KNOW, TESTIFYING IN COURT FOR 15 MINUTES AND GETTING FOUR
HOURS OF PAY UH, YOU KNOW, THE OTHER SCAMS THAT ARE BUILT INTO THE POLICE CONTRACT THAT NEEDS TO BE CHANGED. YOU SHOULD TAKE A LEADERSHIP ROLE TO DO THAT. YOU COULD SAVE 100 MILLION A
YEAR PRETTY EASILY IF YOU JUST CAP EVERYBODY AT 200,000 A YEAR, RIGHT? THEY'RE NOT GOING TO BE HURTING . UH, AND UH THAT MONEY COULD BE USED TO DO A LOT OF THINGS.
UM SO THAT'S THAT'S MY PITCH OKAY TODAY, COUNSELOR, THANK YOU FOR YOUR, UH, SUPPORT IN THE PAST. ALL OF YOU FOR, UM, FOR INCREASING THE CITY RENT SUBSIDY PROGRAM.
THANK YOU. OKAY. THANK YOU. >> UM, ANDREA AND THEN, UH. KAT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. THIS EVENING I WANT TO COMMEND
FIRST THE STUDENTS HERE TODAY AND THEIR COMMITMENT TO STAY AND ADVOCATE, UH, FOR THEIR FUTURE FOR THE FUTURE OF. UH. >> THE STUDENTS. MY NAME IS ANDREA JAMES. MY FAMILY HAS MADE OUR HOME IN
MASSACHUSETTS FOR SEVEN GENERATIONS. AND I CAN HONESTLY SAY OUR FAMILY WOULD NOT BE HERE TODAY WITHOUT THE PUBLIC EDUCATION SYSTEM IN THIS COMMONWEALTH AND
THIS CITY MY OLDER CHILDREN ATTENDED AND I AM CURRENTLY A MOTHER OF A HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT AT DPS. I'M ALSO RUNNING FOR GOVERNOR AND FULLY FUNDED EDUCATION IS A
PRIORITY FOR ME. I CAME TODAY AS A MOTHER TO ADD MY VOICE TO THE CALL FOR A FULLY FUNDED BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM AS EVERY OTHER
PARENT LIKE, I WAS HORRIFIED TO SEE MY SON'S SCHOOL ON THE LIST OF CUTS. SO TO EVERY PARENT AND TEACHER THAT IS STAYING UP LATE WORRYING ABOUT THE FUTURE, I
KNOW WHAT THAT'S LIKE. MY SON'S SCHOOL NEEDS INVESTMENT NOT CUTS. SHRINKING CLASS SIZES SHOULDN'T BE USED AS AN EXCUSE TO LAY OFF TEACHERS, BUT AS AN OPPORTUNITY
TO ADDRESS A LONG SIMMERING CRISIS IN OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM UH, CLASS SIZES. INSTEAD OF CUTTING TEACHERS, WE SHOULD CUT CLASS SIZES. I'M PROUD TO STAND WITH OUR TEACHERS AND OUR TEACHERS
UNION. WE LIVE IN ONE OF THE WEALTHIEST STATES IN THE COUNTRY, AND WE CAN TAX THE ULTRA RICH AND THE CORPORATIONS SO THAT THEY PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE.
WE CAN FIND THE MONEY TO FULLY FUND OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS. WE JUST NEED THE WILL. AS A PARENT AND A COMMUNITY ORGANIZER, I WANT TO END BY SAYING THANK YOU TO OUR
TEACHERS. YOUR WORK SECURES THE FUTURE OF OUR NEXT GENERATION AND IT'S SO IMPORTANT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. UH CAT.
YEAH. >> UH GOOD EVENING AND THANK YOU. UM MY. >> NAME IS CAT SICK AND I'M HERE WITH THE BOSTON DSA TO ASK. FOR, UH, MORE. ACCESSIBLE PUBLIC RESTROOMS.
GOOD PUBLIC TRANSIT INFRASTRUCTURE IS A NECESSITY. OF A CITY LIKE BOSTON. AND IT IS A. >> NECESSITY FOR A. LIVABLE, EQUITABLE. CITY LIKE BOSTON SHOULD STRIVE TO BE. THIS INCLUDES NOT. JUST THE TRANSIT ITSELF BUT ALSO AMENITIES SUCH AS NEARBY PUBLIC.
RESTROOMS. >> TRANSIT RIDERS. WORKERS, CYCLISTS, PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS AND EVEN TOURISTS AND VISITORS COULD BENEFIT FROM INCREASED ACCESS TO THIS PUBLIC AMENITY.
I'M HERE WITH BOSTON DSA TO REQUEST BOSTON OPEN NEW PUBLIC RESTROOMS AND HIGH TRAFFIC AREAS, PARTICULARLY NEAR T STATIONS TO ENSURE AS MANY BOSTON RESIDENTS AND VISITORS ARE AS PUBLIC AS MANY PUBLIC
RESIDENTS AND VISITORS AS POSSIBLE HAVE ACCESS TO THESE CRITICAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE AND TO IMPROVE THE EXPERIENCE OF USING EXISTING PUBLIC RESTROOMS. I BELIEVE THAT LOOKING FORWARD
,THE CITY OF BOSTON SHOULD BE DOING ALL THAT IT CAN TO IMPROVE THE EXPERIENCE OF BEING A PEDESTRIAN. ENCOURAGE CAR FREE. LIVING AND ENCOURAGE PUBLIC TRANSIT USAGE. THIS WOULD BENEFIT LOCAL AIR QUALITY AID IN MEETING BOSTON'S CLIMATE GOALS AND MOST
IMPORTANTLY IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE ALL WHO CHOOSE TO SPEND THEIR TIME HERE. THANK YOU. OKAY I THINK THANK YOU VERY MUCH. WE SAW TWO PEOPLE ONLINE AGAIN
IF ANYBODY IS IN THE ROOM AND WANTS TO TESTIFY UH SIGN UP YOU CAN SIGN UP ON THE UH, SIGN UP SHEET. UH, SO WE'RE GOING TO GO ONLINE.
UM, I'M NOT SURE IS UH, THE PERNA THERE UH. JUST COMING UP. OH, GIOVANNI. OKAY. WE'RE GOING TO GO WITH GIOVANNI
FIRST.
OKAY. NO, GIOVANNI, UH, IF YOU'RE YOU I THINK YOU HAVE TO ACCEPT BEING A PANELIST.
MAYBE NOT. UM. I DON'T KNOW, ETHAN HAVE ANY. INSTRUCTIONS? >> IF YOU LIKE.
SHOULD WE GO UH, TO OKAY. YEAH. PERNA. OKAY A PERNA.
HI, COUNSELOR WEBER. UH, CONGRATS ON RUNNING. >> AN EXTREMELY. TIMELY SESSION. THANK YOU SO MUCH. UM, HERE WE GO. THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS UP FOR AN ELECTION. ME? I AM. >> A. HISTORY TEACHER AT THE JOHN D O'BRIEN I'VE BEEN TEACHING FOR
MORE THAN 15 YEARS HERE. AND THESE CURRENT CUTS TO BEEPS ARE DEVASTATING AND THEY DIRECTLY IMPACT STUDENTS AND FAMILIES AT OUR SCHOOL. THE O'BRIEN WE ARE CUTTING FIVE
POSITIONS INCLUDING A HISTORY TEACHER. I ALREADY TEACH 120. STUDENTS WITH. >> THE LOSS. OF A HISTORY POSITION, I CAN ONLY ASSUME THAT I WILL BE TEACHING EVEN MORE STUDENTS NEXT YEAR. I'D LIKE TO POINT OUT THAT OUR
ENROLLMENT. >> IS GOING. FROM 1519 TO 1502. THAT'S A DIFFERENCE OF 17 STUDENTS. AND YET OUR NEW BUDGET FOR NEXT YEAR IS FORCING OUR PRINCIPAL
TO CUT FIVE STAFF POSITIONS, ALL OF WHICH ARE STUDENT FACING. SO WE'RE NOT LOSING STUDENTS BUT WE ARE LOSING STAFF AGAIN I ALREADY TEACH 120 STUDENTS. PART OF WHAT WE NEED TO LOOK AT
HERE IS THE LARGER CONTEXT OF THE CITY'S FISCAL CLIFF. BOSTON, LIKE MANY OTHER CITIES, FACES DECLINING COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY STATIC OR DECLINING LOCAL AID FROM THE STATE AND THE LOSS OF FEDERAL
FUNDING. MAYOR WU HAS ATTEMPTED TO SHIELD RESIDENTS FROM THE WORST OF THIS FISCAL CLIFF BY ASKING THE STATE TO RAISE TAXES ON COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES. HOWEVER, ONE STATE SENATOR HAS
REPEATEDLY BLOCKED THIS PROPOSAL AND THAT IS NICK COLLINS. ACCORDING TO WBUR SOUTH BOSTON STATE SENATOR NICK COLLINS, HIS CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE COLLECTED
$17,200 IN CONTRIBUTIONS FROM REAL ESTATE EXECUTIVES, DEVELOPERS AND RELATED INDUSTRY GROUPS IN NOVEMBER OF 2025. WHICH REPRESENTS. MORE THAN THREE QUARTERS OF THE TOTAL DONATIONS HE RECEIVED.
COINCIDENCE I THINK NOT. NICK COLLINS IS DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR EXACERBATING OUR CITY'S BUDGET SITUATION, AND I CALL ON SOUTH BOSTON VOTERS TO VOTE HIM OUT. FINALLY, WE NEED STATEWIDE TAX
REFORM. IT IS HARD, BUT WE ARE COUNTING ON THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL TO ADVOCATE FOR US WITH THE GOVERNOR AND STATE LEGISLATURE. WE REALLY APPRECIATE THAT ADVOCACY. THANK YOU SO MUCH. OKAY. >> THANK YOU.
UM OKAY. UH SO I DON'T IS THERE ANYONE ELSE OKAY. UH, RACHEL UH YOU'RE UP AND THEN FOR MY COLLEAGUES WHO ARE
HERE I WILL GIVE YOU A CHANCE TO SPEAK BUT NOT THAT AN INFINITE AMOUNT OF TIME. UM, OKAY. RACHEL. UH, THANK YOU. COUNCILOR WEBER AND THE OTHER COUNCILORS. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING
PRESENT. UH, I ACTUALLY WASN'T GOING TO SPEAK BECAUSE I I LIKE TO FIRST ,UH, LISTEN AND OBSERVE. UH, BUT I DO FEEL COMPELLED TO SAY A FEW WORDS AND I'LL TRY TO
BE AS BRIEF AS POSSIBLE. I DON'T WANT ANY KIND OF DISCUSSION ABOUT THE BUDGET, UH, RELATIVE TO THE TO TURN
INTO UH, US VERSUS THEM. I DON'T WANT IT TO BE AN OCCASION TO ATTACK THE POLICE. I ACTUALLY, UH I WENT TO SCHOOL WITH, UH, SEVERAL PEOPLE WHO
WENT ON TO BECOME POLICE OFFICERS AND THEY PASSIONATELY LOVED THIS CITY. UH, NOR DO I WANT IT TO BE AN OCCASION TO TO TALK ABOUT TAXING, UH, THE ULTRA WEALTHY.
UH, I THINK THAT PEOPLE OF ALL INCOME BRACKETS CARE AND WHAT I'M HOPING IS THAT WE CAN ALL COME TOGETHER AND HAVE, UH, A VERY SOBER DISCUSSION ABOUT
THIS VERY SERIOUS ISSUE. UH, WHAT I WOULD INSTEAD SUGGEST IS THAT WE KIND OF REMEMBER WHAT EDUCATION MEANS TO THE CITY OF BOSTON. BOSTON IS KNOWN AS THE ATHENS
OF THE NEW WORLD AND IT REALLY IS VERY MUCH OUR CURRENCY. UH, WHERE DIFFERENT HATS UH, BUT EDUCATION IS VERY NEAR AND DEAR TO MY HEART AND I SEE
FIRSTHAND WHAT THE TEACHERS IN BEPS WHAT THEY DO TO MAKE SURE THAT THE NEXT GENERATION OF BOSTONIANS ARE GROUNDED AND EDUCATED AND PREPARED TO BE THE
NEXT LEADERS UH, BUT NOT JUST UH, THE TEACHERS BUT THE PARAPROFESSIONALS, UH, THE THE THERAPISTS, THE PSYCHOLOGISTS, THE ADMINISTRATORS. AND SO WHAT I'M HOPING IS THAT
WE CAN HAVE A BUDGET THAT INSTEAD OF LOOKING TO CUT THOSE PEOPLE TO INVEST IN THE SCHOOLS AND REALLY MAKE SURE THAT ANY DISCUSSION THAT WE HAVE ABOUT
THE DIRECTION OF BEEPS IS ONE THAT TRULY, UH, TAKES INTO ACCOUNT WHAT PEOPLE WANT AND NEED UH, BECAUSE THE CLOSURE
OF THE SCHOOLS UH, I FEEL THAT THAT'S VERY MUCH A ONE SIDED CONVERSATION AND WE HAVE SCHOOLS LIKE THE DENVER FOR INSTANCE, WHICH DID A
REMARKABLE JOB IN TURNING THINGS AROUND AND NOW IT'S FACING CLOSURE AT THE END OF THIS ACADEMIC YEAR. UH, WE'RE LOOKING AT SCHOOLS LIKE MAYBE SAY THE SNOWDEN THAT
IS NOT FACING CLOSURE BUT IT'S A VERY UNIQUE SCHOOL AND THAT IT OFFERS A BACCALAUREATE AND YET WE HAVE UH CUTS UH TO
LANGUAGES TO THE LANGUAGE PROGRAMS YET THAT'S A CRITICAL PART OF BEING ABLE TO OBTAIN A BACCALAUREATE. SO INSTEAD OF LOOKING AT.
THE SCHOOLS AND SAYING WELL WE HAVE A DECLINING POPULATION, LET'S MAKE CUTS. I WOULD LIKE TO TALK ABOUT MAKING SMART INVESTMENTS AND USING THE RESOURCES THAT WE DO
HAVE A LOT MORE INTELLIGENTLY. AND I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO ONCE AGAIN UNDERLINE WHAT OUR CURRENCY IS AND THAT'S EDUCATION. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME OKAY. THANK YOU THANK YOU FOR COMING
AND TESTIFYING. THANK YOU I DON'T THINK ANY HAS ANYONE STILL WANT TO TESTIFY WHO HAS TO SIGN UP NOW? WELL I JUST I WANT TO THANK EVERYONE FOR BEING HERE.
UH I'M GOING TO GIVE UH, MY FELLOW COUNCILORS, UH, ONE ONE MINUTE, UH, COUNCILOR CULPEPER, YOU KNOW, MULTIPLIES EVERY NUMBER BY FIVE.
SO JUST YOU KNOW, IMAGINE I'VE JUST GIVEN YOU YOU KNOW, LIKE 10S UM, SO UH UH I'M TRYING TO REMEMBER THE ORDER. LET ME. OKAY. SO COUNCILOR DURKAN, YOU'RE
HERE FIRST. UH, YOU KNOW, UH, BRING US HOME. THANKS, CHAIR WEBER. UM, AND, UM, SORRY, I I WILL GO BACK AND WATCH THE FEW TESTIMONIES THAT I MISSED. UM, I WAS JUST CHATTING WITH
CARL ALL WHO TESTIFIED. UM, SO JUST REALLY GRATEFUL TO BE HERE. I DID TAKE SOME NOTES, UM, AND I I WILL POTENTIALLY FOLLOW UP WITH ANY OF YOU IF I HAVE ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS.
I DIDN'T SEE ANYONE FROM MY DISTRICT TESTIFY TONIGHT, SO I'M HOPING IN TWO WEEKS WE HAVE SOME DISTRICT EIGHT TESTIMONY. BUT, UM, I DO KNOW THAT, UH, WE GET TO TAKE VOTES ON BEHALF OF THE WHOLE CITY SO WE SHOULD
CARE ABOUT THE ENTIRE CITY AND WE SHOULD REALLY DIG IN. SO GRATEFUL TO THOSE WHO STEPPED FORWARD TODAY ON THE MOST BEAUTIFUL NIGHT IN BOSTON AND, UH, THINK GRATEFUL THAT YOU SPENT YOUR NIGHT HERE AND
UM, EXCITED TO CONTINUE TO WORK WITH ALL OF YOU, UH, TO MAKE BOSTON BETTER. OKAY. >> THANK YOU VERY MUCH. UH, COUNCILOR CULPEPER. YES. >> THANK YOU, CHAIR WEBER. AND, UH. I THINK IS PUBLIC TESTIMONY THE
IMPORTANT AND CRITICAL. UH. >> I JUST HEARD FROM A TEACHER FROM JOHN PRAYING AND TALK ABOUT. FIVE POSITIONS BEING CUT AND WE TALKED TO THE SUPERINTENDENT AT HER LEADERSHIP LAST WEEK AND I
ASKED HIM ABOUT JOHN O'BRIEN. THEY SAID THERE WERE NO POSITIONS BEING CUT FROM JOHN O'BRIEN. SO THIS KIND OF TESTIMONY I THINK HELPS CORRECT THE RECORD. I LOOKED AT KEVIN BAD AND I
LOOKED AT HIS REQUEST FOR TITLE ONE CHECKLIST. I THINK WE NEED TO FOLLOW UP ON THAT AND I DID WANT TO STAY FOR THE RECORD THE KILL WAS HERE BETWEEN 230 AND 3:00 BEFORE HE
TESTIFIED HE HAD BEEN HERE ALL THAT TIME. SO LOOK, THANK YOU FOR COMING OUT. UH, AND IT'S GOOD TO HEAR YOUR TESTIMONY BECAUSE IT HELPS US CORRECT THE RECORD FROM WHAT WE
HEAR AND OTHER, UM, SESSIONS. THANK YOU. YEAH. >> OKAY. THANKS. UM, AND I DO THINK, UH, KEVIN ABOUT SAID HE HE GOT HE DID GET THE CHECKLISTS LIKE
5:00 YESTERDAY UH WHICH HE'D BEEN WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO GET FOR HIM SINCE JANUARY BUT UM WE WE SHOULD LOOK OVER THAT AND WE WILL MY OFFICE WILL FOLLOW UP, UH, WITH BP'S ABOUT THE STAFFING AT THE O'BRIEN.
I THINK IT'S A. >> VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION. UH, OKAY, COUNCILOR PIPPIN. THANK YOU, MR CHAIR. SO TONIGHT, UM, WE HEARD IT'S BP'S AND PUBLIC RESTROOMS. UM, AND IT'S FUNNY I'M NOT
SAYING THAT JOKINGLY I IN MY DISTRICT A LOT OF THE CONVERSATION THAT HAPPENS ARE THE CONDITIONS OF BATHROOMS INSIDE OF BP'S FACILITIES. UH, SO, UH, I HAVE A LOT OF OLDER ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOLS IN MY DISTRICT.
SO I'VE HAD THEM THINKING ABOUT HOW THEY BOTH KIND OF COME TOGETHER. SO I JUST WANT TO THANK THE TESTIMONY. I ALSO REALIZE THAT THERE'S A THERE WAS A FEW ROSELAND HIGH PARK PEOPLE THAT TESTIFIED TODAY. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR MY DISTRICT FIVE RESIDENTS FOR ALWAYS SHOWING UP.
UM I'M VERY BLESSED WITH A VERY UM ENGAGED DISTRICT AND UM I, I WATCH A TRANSIT YOUTUBER UM AND YES, I WATCH A LOT OF YOUTUBE
BUT UM HE WENT TO TOKYO AND JAPAN HAS AMAZING PUBLIC RESTROOMS AND IT JUST IT MAKES ME THINK ABOUT LIKE WHAT WE CAN DO NOT JUST IN OUR PUBLIC FACILITIES BUT EVEN IN OUR IN
OUR MBTA STATIONS BECAUSE I MEAN, THEIR BATHROOMS ARE CLEANER THAN ANY BATHROOM HONESTLY. SO I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE LOOKING INTO OTHER MUNICIPALITIES, OTHER COUNTRIES TO SEE WHAT THEY'RE DOING
BECAUSE UM, FOR THE GENTLEMAN THAT SAID HE HAS UM STOMACH ISSUES OR JUST IT'S JUST MY. MY A FAMILY MEMBER OF MINE ALSO SUFFERS FROM THAT. SO WE GREW UP LIKE THAT ALWAYS SEARCHING FOR A BATHROOM TO SEE
WHICH ONE WAS AVAILABLE. SO THAT REALLY RESONATED FOR ME. SO THANK YOU. SOME PUBLIC TESTIMONY IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT IT PUTS THINGS INTO PERSPECTIVE. JUST THANK YOU FOR THAT. UM I'LL BE TALKING TO THE CHAIR WAYS AND MEANS TO SEE HOW WE CAN APPROACH BOTH OF THESE ISSUES.
THANK YOU MR CHAIR. OKAY. >> THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I'VE NEVER INTENTIONALLY WATCHED A TRANSIT YOUTUBER. YOU SHOULD. IT'LL BE ON MY ON MY LIST. OKAY. UM, COUNCILOR WORRELL.
THANK YOU CHAIR. UM, I JUST WANT TO THANK EVERYONE WHO CAME OUT TODAY, UH, TO ADVOCATE FOR, UH, THEIR PRIORITIES IN THE BUDGET. UH, THIS IS YOUR BUDGET. UM, AND TODAY WE HEARD, UH,
YOUR PRIORITIES. UH, SO I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO JUST MORE LISTENING SESSIONS. UM, AND I DO WANT TO JUST MAKE THE REQUEST OF THE CHAIR. UM, I THINK I KNOW WE'RE GOING
TO HAVE A HEARING ON REVENUE, BUT I WOULD LOVE TO JUST HAVE A WORKING SESSION ON REVENUE WITH COUNCIL COLLEAGUES JUST TO KIND OF DIVE IN DEEPER TO KIND OF GET A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF, UM, WHAT OUR REVENUE
PROJECTIONS LOOK LIKE COMPARED TO ACTUALS IN THE PAST. UH, BECAUSE THERE'S JUST SO IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE'S SO MANY UH, PRIORITIES AND INVESTMENTS THAT THE PUBLIC WANTS US TO MAKE.
UH, SO I JUST WANT TO KIND OF DIVE INTO THAT REVENUE CONVERSATION A LITTLE BIT MORE UM, THE BUDGET UM, AS HAS BEEN HEARD, THIS IS OUR VALUE STATEMENT. UM, AND I JUST WANT TO
ENCOURAGE, YOU KNOW, MORE RESIDENTS TO KIND OF TO PARTICIPATE INTO THIS CONVERSATION. UH, SO IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE, UM, PLEASE LET THEM KNOW, UH, THAT THIS CONVERSATION IS HAPPENING
. UM, AND THIS IS ONE WAY OR UM ONE OF THE BIGGEST WAYS IS TO THIS IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST WAYS ON HOW TO MAKE SURE THAT THE THINGS THAT YOU CARE ABOUT GET INVESTED IN.
SO PLEASE PARTICIPATE IN THIS CONVERSATION SO WE CAN HEAR DIRECTLY FROM YOU. THANK YOU. CHAIR. UH OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. UM, COUNCILOR WORRELL, I MEAN FOR FOR EVERYONE HERE AND EVERYONE LISTENING, YOU KNOW,
THIS BUDGET REVIEW PROCESS, UH, COUNCIL WILL LAID OUT THE BLUEPRINT FOR IT THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS AND WE WERE ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, MAKE AMENDMENTS THAT YOU KNOW, WE HEARD FROM MICHAEL CAINE ABOUT
CITY HOUSING VOUCHERS. WE INVESTED IN YOUTH JOBS. UH, AND THAT'S BECAUSE OF THE LEADERSHIP OF COUNCILOR WORRELL AND WE'RE HOPING TO DO THE SAME THIS YEAR. THE CIRCUMSTANCES ARE DIFFERENT.
THIS BUDGET IS YOU KNOW, WE'VE HEARD ABOUT A BUDGET SHORTFALL IN OF $53 MILLION. UH, WE'VE HEARD ABOUT UH YOU KNOW, IT JUST INCREASES IN COSTS AND HEALTH CARE COSTS AND
IT'S YOU KNOW, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO KIND OF I THINK WORK TWICE AS HARD TO ACCOMPLISH, YOU KNOW, AS MUCH THIS TIME AROUND. WE ALSO HEARD ABOUT POLICE OVERTIME AND THE CITY COUNCIL. WELL AND I WORKED ON THE LAST
COUPLE OF YEARS YOU KNOW, YOU TALKING ABOUT THE POLICE BUDGET OF 400 $470 MILLION. WE END UP SPENDING MORE THAN THAT BECAUSE WE HAVE TO PAY FOR OVERTIME. UH, AND YOU KNOW, WE DON'T KNOW
WE BUDGET WE CAN BUDGET, YOU KNOW, $5 FOR IT BUT WE END UP SPENDING WE'RE ON PACE I THINK FOR $100 MILLION THIS FISCAL YEAR AND POLICE OVERTIME IS FIGURING OUT HOW TO REALLY MAKE
CHANGES TO REDUCE YOU KNOW, THAT SPENDING I THINK IT'S A LITTLE BIT OF A LONG MORE OF A LONG TERM THING CHANGING THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT . BUT I KNOW IT'S SOMETHING WE'RE WE'RE ALL LOOKING AT UM, AND
YOU KNOW, WE ARE HAVING ANOTHER UH, LISTENING SESSION LIKE THIS ON MARCH 24TH AT 6 P.M. TELL YOUR FRIENDS HOW MUCH FUN YOU HAD UH, AT THIS ONE, UH, COME
OUT BECAUSE REALLY, YOU KNOW, I I'M JUST UH I'M GOING TO SPEAK FOR ALL MY COLLEAGUES. I'M PRETTY SURE NOBODY HAS FOCUSED ON PUBLIC BATHROOMS, UH, YOU KNOW, IN THE BUDGET PROCESS, BUT WE WILL CERTAINLY
BE THINKING ABOUT IT NOW MAYBE COUNCILOR DURKAN. UM, BUT YOU KNOW, COME TO US. WE ARE ONLY AS GOOD AS THE INFORMATION WE GET FROM PEOPLE IN BOSTON. SO, YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO HEAR WHAT ISSUES ARE OUT THERE.
COME ON MARCH 24TH TESTIFY. YOU'LL HAVE ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY AFTER WE GET THE BUDGET FOR PUBLIC TESTIMONY. UM, I JUST WANT TO THANK UH, SO EVERYONE WHO'S WHO'S HERE, EVERYONE WHO SHOWED UP ONLINE,
EVERYONE TO SENT A LETTER. UH, AND I'D ALSO LIKE TO THANK OUR CENTRAL STAFF MEGAN, CANDACE AND ETHAN FOR FOR MAKING THIS POSSIBLE FOR STAYING THIS LATE AT CITY HALL .
UM, YOU KNOW, SO I'M JUST GOING TO I'M GOING TO CLOSE THIS THERE. UH, I WANT TO THANK MY COLLEAGUES FOR BEING HERE TODAY OR TONIGHT AND THE PUBLIC FOR TESTIFYING. UH, AND OF COURSE CENTRAL STAFF WROTE IN TO THANK THEM, WHICH
I'VE ALREADY THANKED. UM, WE'LL BE HERE AGAIN TWO WEEKS MARCH 24TH AT 6 P.M.. UH, I HOPE TO SEE EVERYONE AGAIN. UH, SO THIS PUBLIC TESTIMONY SESSION ON DOCKET NUMBER DOCKET
NUMBER 201202 IS NOW ADJOURNED.