--------- YEAH, RIGHT, RIGHT
.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO GET STARTED
IN ONE CITY COUNCILOR AND I'M THE CHAIR OF THE BOSTON CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS. TODAY IS SEPTEMBER 23RD, 2025 AND IT IS EXACTLY 1006 IN
ACCORDANCE WITH CHAPTER TWO OF THE ACTS OF 2025 MODIFYING CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS OF THE OPEN MEETING LAW AND RELIEVING PUBLIC BODIES OF CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS INCLUDING THE REQUIREMENT THAT PUBLIC BODIES
CONDUCT ITS MEETING IN A PUBLIC PLACE THAT IS OPEN AND PHYSICALLY ACCESSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC. THE CITY COUNCIL WILL BE CONDUCTING A HEARING VIRTUALLY VIA ZOOM. THIS HEARING IS BEING RECORDED AND IT WILL BE LIVESTREAMED ON
BOSTON. DOUG FORD'S LAST CITY COUNCIL DASH TV AND BROADCAST ON XFINITY CHANNEL EIGHT RCN CHANNEL 82 AND FILES CHANNEL 964.
WRITTEN COMMENTS MAY BE SENT TO THE COMMITTEE EMAIL DONGO AT BOSTON DARK OUT AND WE WILL WE WILL BE MADE A PART OF THE RECORD AND AVAILABLE TO ALL COUNCILORS PUBLIC TESTIMONY WILL BE TAKEN AT THE END
OF THIS HEARING. INDIVIDUALS WILL BE CALLED ON IN THE ORDER IN WHICH THEY SIGNED UP AND WILL HAVE 2 MINUTES TO TESTIFY. IF YOU WISH TO SIGN UP FOR PUBLIC TESTIMONY AND HAVE NOT DONE SO PLEASE EMAIL OUR
CENTRAL STAFF LIAISON MEG AND DOT CAVANAUGH CAVE A AND HGH BOSTON DOCTOR FOR THE ZOOM LINK AND YOUR NAME WILL BE ADDED TO THE LIST.
TODAY'S HEARING IS ON DOCKET 0766 AN ORDINANCE EXTENDING AND ENHANCING PROTECTIONS FOR TENANTS FACING DISPLACEMENT DUE TO CONDOMINIUM OR COOPERATIVE CONVERSION IN THE CITY
OF BOSTON. THIS MATTER WAS SPONSORED BY COUNCILORS LIZ BREADON RUSSI LOUIJEUNE AND RICHARD LOUIJEUNE AND WAS REFERRED TO THE COMMITTEE ON APRIL 2ND, 2025. TODAY I'M JOINED BY MY
COLLEAGUES IN ORDER OF ARRIVAL LEAD SPONSOR COUNCILOR BREADON COUNCILOR FLYNN AND COUNCILOR FITZGERALD. I'LL GO TO THE LEAD SPONSOR COUNCILOR BREADON AND OTHERS FOR ANY OPENING REMARKS THEY
MAY HAVE. COUNCILOR BURTON YOU HAVE THE ZOOM. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR AND GOOD MORNING EVERYONE. SO GOOD TO SEE YOU ALL BACK IN
2021 WE DID EXTEND AND MODIFY THE CONDO CONVERSION ORDINANCE IN THE CITY OF BOSTON UNDER THE THEN LEADERSHIP OF COUNCILOR LYDIA EDWARDS WHO WAS ON THE
THE CHAIR OF HOUSING AT THE TIME AND UNDER HER LEADERSHIP RECENTLY AT THE STATEHOUSE. THERE'S BEEN FURTHER MODIFICATIONS AT THE STATE
LEVEL IN ADDING PROTECTIONS FOR CONDO CONVERSIONS FOR FOLKS ESPECIALLY VULNERABLE FOLKS WHO ARE ELDERLY PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES AND TRY AND REDUCE
THE THREAT OF THE DISPLACED MEANT FOR LOW AND MIDDLE INCOME HOUSEHOLDS. THERE'S A HUGE AS WE ALL KNOW THERE'S A HOUSING CRISIS IN THE
CITY AND IN SOME NEIGHBORHOODS THERE'S A REAL STRONG DRIVE TO CONVERT RENTAL HOUSING TO CONDOMINIUMS AND THAT HAS RESULTED IN A LOT OF DISPLACEMENT.
SO I UNDERSTAND THAT CORINA HAS A SLIDE DECK PRESENTATION FOR US THIS MORNING TO GIVE US SOME BACKGROUND AND WHERE WE'RE AT. AND THE OTHER THING THAT THE CONDO CONVERSION ORDINANCE THAT
WE ENACTED IN 2021 IS DUE TO EXPIRE THIS DECEMBER. SO IT'S ON US TO REALLY EXTEND
THIS ORDINANCE AND IT SEEMS LIKE AN OPPORTUNE TIME TO MAKE SOME ADJUSTMENTS AND SOME AMENDMENTS TO IT AS WELL. SO I LOOK FORWARD TO THE CONVERSATION THIS MORNING. THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT ISSUE
FOR SO MANY FOLKS IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, COUNCILOR BURTON. COUNCILOR FLYNN. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR.
THANK YOU TO COUNCILOR BREADON FOR BRINGING THIS FORWARD. THANK YOU TO THE ADMINISTRATION TEAM THAT IS HERE TO THE COMMUNITY PARTNERS AS WELL.
LOOKING FORWARD TO LEARNING MORE ABOUT THE PROPOSAL. MAY I JUST MAYBE ADD ONE POINT IF WE'RE ABLE TO INCLUDE VETERANS IN THE PROTECTED
CLASS? MAYBE IT'S WORTH AT LEAST HAVING A CONVERSATION IF THAT'S POSSIBLE AT ALL. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR.
THANK YOU, COUNCILOR FLYNN. FOR SURE I WOULD LOVE TO REVIEW THAT. I THINK THAT THEY'RE PART OF THE FEDERALLY CLASSIFIED PROTECTED CLASS BUT I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DEFINITELY DIVE INTO AND FULLY
SUPPORT. COUNCILOR FITZGERALD THANK YOU CHAIR AND APOLOGIZE. I MEAN TRANSIT SO IT CANNOT BE ON CAMERA. HOWEVER, YOU KNOW IT'S AN IMPORTANT CONVERSATION TO HAVE
LOOK FORWARD TO BE ENGAGED EDUCATED AROUND THIS TOPIC. MORE MARKET FORCES VERSUS PEOPLE'S REALITY IS IS A CONSTANT BATTLE THAT WE TRY TO FIND THE FINE LINE ON AND MAKE
FAIR FOR EVERYONE. SO I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO MAKING SURE WE CAN HELP THOSE THAT WANT TO STAY IN THE CITY. STAY IN THE CITY. THANKS. THANK YOU.
JUST MAKING SURE NO OTHER COLLEAGUES HAVE JOINED IN. THEY MAY AND I'LL JUST CALL THEM OUT WHEN THEY DO. BUT I REALLY JUST WANT TO COMMEND COUNCILOR BURTON FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP AND YOUR POLICY CHOPS FOR BRINGING THIS FORWARD
TO ALIGN WITH THE AFFORDABLE HOMES ACT OF LAST YEAR THE EXPANSION INTO THE NON OWNER OCCUPIED TWO AND THREE FAMILY
BUILDINGS WAS SOMETHING THAT WE WERE TRYING TO WORK THROUGH AND 2021 AND INCREASING THE TENANTS NOTICE PERIOD IS I THINK SPOT ON JUST GIVEN THE HOUSING CRISIS AND SO I REALLY DO LOOK
FORWARD TO THIS CONVERSATION AND THIS DATES BACK TO LIKE 1983 I THINK THE LEADERSHIP THROUGH THIS COUNCIL AND PUSHING FORWARD PROTECTIONS LIKE THIS AND I JUST LOOK
FORWARD TO HEARING FROM I'M A WAGE AND I DON'T KNOW IF OHC IS HERE OR DATA FROM THEM BUT UNDERSTANDING WHAT THE EXPANDED PROTECTIONS OR THE IMPACT THAT THE EXPANDED PROTECTIONS HAS
HAD OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS IS BOSTON AS WE KNOW HAS SEEN A BOOM OF CONDO CONVERSIONS WHICH HAS LED TO DISPLACEMENTS. I DON'T KNOW IF WE HAVE NUMBERS
ON THAT OR OR IF WE CAN GET INTO THAT IN SOME OF THE DATA. BUT WE'RE SEEING HOW EXPENSIVE CONDO SALES ARE SO THIS IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER.
I LOOK FORWARD TO THIS CONVERSATION AND HEARING FROM BOTH THE ADMINISTRATION AND MY COLLEAGUES ON HOW TO FURTHER STRENGTHEN IT BUT IT'S ALREADY IN A GOOD PLACE AND AGAIN I JUST WANT TO COMMEND COUNCILOR BRIGHTON FOR THAT. OKAY.
I'LL TURN IT OVER TO THE ADMINISTRATION CHIEF DILLON AND CARINA IF YOU HAVE YOUR PRESENTATION AND WE'LL HAVE CENTRAL STAFF SHARE IT AND YOU
CAN TAKE IT AWAY, THE FLOOR IS YOURS. GOOD. GOOD MORNING, MADAM CHAIR. AND COUNCILORS AND GENERAL PUBLIC FOR THE RECORD MY NAME IS SHEILA DILLON AND CHIEF OF HOUSING FOR THE CITY
OF BOSTON AND I'M HERE WITH MY COLLEAGUE KARINA OLIVER MILKMAN AND I'M GOING TO HAND IT OVER TO KARINA IN JUST A MINUTE. WHO'S DONE HER? SHE AND HER TEAM HAVE DONE A LOT OF WORK ON THIS PARTICULAR
ISSUE BUT I AM VERY EXCITED TO BE HERE ONE BECAUSE I THINK WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO STRENGTHEN THIS IMPORTANT TOOL AND AND MAKE IMPROVEMENTS ON ITS ENFORCEMENT.
BUT IN DOING SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE HEARING ALL VOICES FROM THE PUBLIC AND CERTAINLY FROM THE CITY COUNCIL. SO I'M HERE REALLY TODAY TO TO
LISTEN TO YOU ALL AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC AS WE AS WE REFINE THIS PROPOSAL AND AS WE YOU KNOW, UPDATE THE CONDO CONVERSION ORDINANCE.
SO WITH THAT I'M GOING TO HAND IT OVER TO MY COLLEAGUE KARINA OLIVER MILKMAN WHO WILL WALK US THROUGH WHAT IS IN AND WHAT IS IN EXISTENCE NOW AND SOME OF THE THE THE OPPORTUNITIES
BEFORE US TO STRENGTHEN THIS IMPORTANT TOOL. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH, KARINA. THANK YOU. YOU'VE DONE THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR.
COUNCILOR BRAEDEN AND COLLEAGUES VERY HAPPY TO BE HERE AND HAVE THIS CONVERSATION WITH EVERYONE. I'M SORRY TO INTERRUPT KARINA, BEFORE YOU GO IN, CAN YOU JUST SHARE PERMISSION TO ETHAN DARRAH FOR THE PRESENTATION?
YEAH. THANK YOU. I APOLOGIZE.
ALL RIGHT. SHOULD SHOULD BE ALL SET. ETHAN SO FOR THE RECORD, MY NAME IS CARINA OLIVER MILKMAN I
AM DIRECTOR OF POLICY DEVELOPMENT AND RESEARCH FOR THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF HOUSING. AND IF ETHAN CAN ACCESS THE
SLIDES, WE CAN DIVE RIGHT IN. ALL RIGHT, SO JUST SKIPPING TO
THE NEXT ONE THE CITY'S CONDO CONVERSION ORDINANCE IS A REALLY KEY ANTI DISPLACEMENT TOOL THAT WAS ADOPTED IN 1999 AND LAST AMENDED IN 2021.
WE ARE ABLE TO HAVE THIS TOOL LOCALLY THANKS TO THE 1983 STATE CONDO LAW THAT PROTECTS TENANTS FACING DISPLACEMENT DUE TO CONDO CONVERSION. IMPORTANTLY IT IS ONLY APPLIED
TO RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES WITH FOUR OR MORE UNITS BUILT BEFORE 1983 PER STATE LAW AT THE TIME IT REQUIRES OWNERS WHO INTEND TO CONVERT RENTAL UNITS TO CONDOS OR A COOPERATIVE TO PROVIDE CERTAIN RIGHTS AND
BENEFITS TO TENANTS. WE'LL GET INTO THAT AND AS COUNCILOR GRAYDON NOTED IT DOES EXPIRE AT THE END OF THIS YEAR UNLESS IT'S VOTED ON TO RENEW SO A VERY IMPORTANT ACTION TO
TAKE THE ORDINANCE PROTECTS ALL CURRENT TENANTS AND FORMER TENANTS WHO OCCUPIED THE UNITS THAT ARE BEING CONVERTED WITHIN THE 12 MONTHS PRECEDING APPLICATION FOR A CONDO CONVERSION PERMIT.
AND AS COUNCILOR GRAYDON NOTED THERE ARE ADDITIONAL PROTECTIONS FOR SPECIAL POPULATIONS SENIORS WHO ARE 62 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES AND LOW AND MODERATE INCOME TENANTS.
WE CAN GET INTO WHAT THOSE PROTECTIONS ARE NOW SO NOTICE OF INTENT TO CONVERT HAS TO BE PROVIDED TO TENANTS AT LEAST ONE YEAR PRIOR TO VACANCY OR
FIVE YEARS FOR THOSE SPECIAL POPULATIONS LEASE EXTENSION FOR THE LENGTH OF THE NOTICE PERIOD ONE OR FIVE YEARS WITH THE SAME TERMS AND LIMITATIONS ON RENT DECREASES A RIGHT TO PURCHASE A
FUTURE CONDO AND RELOCATION BENEFITS EITHER $10,000 A UNIT FOR GENERAL POPULATIONS OR 15,000 FOR THOSE SPECIAL POPULATIONS ABOUT.
SO WE ARE ALL THINKING THANKS TO THE NEW AUTHORITY UNDER THE AFFORDABLE HOMES ACT ABOUT EXPANDING THE ORDINANCE TO SMALLER BUILDINGS, I THINK THIS IS THE MOST IMPACTFUL CHANGE
THAT WE CAN MAKE TO THE ORDINANCE MOST BOSTONIANS FACING DISPLACEMENT DUE TO CONVERSION LIVE IN SMALLER TWO AND THREE UNIT BUILDINGS THAT AREN'T CURRENTLY COVERED BY THE ORDINANCE AND YOU CAN SEE IN
THE GRAPH HERE THAT IF WE WERE TO EXPAND COVERAGE FROM FOUR UNIT BUILDINGS TO TWO UNIT BUILDINGS IN 2024 FOR EXAMPLE IF WE HAD HAD THAT EXPANDED COVERAGE ALMOST 100% OF TENANTS
WHO ARE DISPLACED DUE TO CONVERSION WOULD BE PROTECTED BY THE ORDINANCE. SO 99% VERSUS 25% IN 2024. SO A REALLY, REALLY IMPACTFUL
CHANGE TO MAKE TO THE POLICY. NEXT SLIDE. SO WE CONDUCTED ANALYSIS ON 2019 TO 2020 FOR CONVERSIONS AND WE DID FIND THAT IF WE
EXPANDED IT TO TWO PLUS UNIT BUILDINGS THE ORDINANCE WOULD HAVE PROTECTED 97% OF RENTAL UNITS OVER THAT TIME PERIOD AND VERY IMPORTANTLY THE TENANTS
OF THE SMALLER BUILDINGS ARE REALLY MOST IN NEED OF THOSE PROTECTIONS 91% OF RENTAL BUILDINGS, RENTAL UNITS IN BUILDINGS WITH 2 TO 3 UNITS LOST TO CONVERSIONS WERE LOCATED IN SOME OF BOSTON'S
LOWEST INCOME AREAS DORCHESTER, HYDE PARK, MATTAPAN, ROSLINDALE, ROXBURY AND ON THE NEXT SLIDE YOU CAN SEE THE DISTRIBUTION BY NEIGHBORHOOD
OF UNITS COVERED IN BUILDINGS WITH FOUR OR MORE UNITS VERSUS COVERED IN 2 TO 3 UNIT BUILDINGS BY NEIGHBORHOOD. SO THIS GRAPH SHOWS THAT YOU KNOW WHICH NEIGHBORS
NEIGHBORHOODS HAVE THE HIGHEST RATES OF CONVERSION AND ALSO HOW MANY MORE UNITS WOULD BE COVERED IF WE EXPANDED TO INCLUDE 2 TO 3 UNIT BUILDINGS.
NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. WE'VE ALSO BEEN THINKING ABOUT THIS SINCE THE AFFORDABLE HOMES ACT CAME OUT AND WHAT OTHER OPPORTUNITY IS THERE MIGHT BE TO IMPROVE THE ORDINANCE.
SO IN ADDITION TO EXPANDING THE COVERAGE TO SMALLER UNITS, WE'D LIKE TO DISCUSS OTHER POLICY CHANGES THAT WOULD HELP CREATE A CULTURE OF AWARENESS AND COMPLIANCE WITH THE ORDINANCE THAT WOULD STRENGTHEN CERTAIN
TENANT PROTECTIONS TO MITIGATE THE EFFECTS OF DISPLACEMENT AND THAT WOULD ENSURE THAT REGULATIONS ARE REASONABLE FOR OWNERS AND HELP FOSTER GREATER COMPLIANCE AS A RESULT.
NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. WE'D ALSO PROPOSE LOOKING AT CHANGES THAT WOULD THAT ARE MORE MINOR IN NATURE BUT THAT WOULD REALLY IMPROVE
ADMINISTRATION OF THE ORDINANCE AND THAT WOULD INCLUDE CLARIFYING LANGUAGE AROUND PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES AND IMPROVING ENFORCEMENT PROCESSES.
NEXT SLIDE AND I JUST WANT TO CLOSE BY ELEVATING A CHALLENGE WITH THE ORDINANCE RIGHT NOW THAT I THINK WE CAN THAT WE'VE ALREADY TAKEN MAJOR STEPS TO IMPROVE AND I THINK WITH
REVISITING THE ORDINANCE AND MAKING CHANGES TO THE POLICY ITSELF, WE CAN EXPECT EVEN BETTER OUTCOMES. SO JUST SO YOU'RE ALL AWARE
ABOUT HOW THIS WORKS RIGHT NOW THE CLEAREST WAY TO CATCH A CONVERSION IS WHEN A MASTER DEED IS FILED AND THAT HAPPENS WHEN THE UNIT IS SWITCHING FROM
RENTAL TO OWNERSHIP RIGHT BEFORE IT'S PUT AT THE MARKET ON THE MARKET. SO PRETTY CLOSE TO THE END OF THE CONVERSION PROCESS UNTIL THAT POINT WHEN A MASTER DUDE IS FILED THE ONLY ABSOLUTELY
CLEAR CERTAIN WAY WE KNOW OF THE CONVERSION IS IF A PROPERTY OWNER COMES FORWARD AND TELLS US SO AS A RESULT A LOT OF CONVERSIONS ARE IDENTIFIED AFTER A TENANT IS
DISPLACED. IF THERE IS A TENANT THERE'S A LOT OF CASES OF CONVERSIONS WHERE THERE ARE NO TENANTS IN THE LAST 12 MONTHS AND THAT'S OBVIOUSLY A PROBLEM IN TERMS OF PROTECTING THESE TABS.
NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO TO IDENTIFY CONVERSIONS EARLIER WE'VE TAKEN A NUMBER OF REALLY IMPORTANT STEPS. THE FIRST IS TO TRACK CONVERSIONS BE A MASTER DEED AS
WELL AS TO TRACK POTENTIAL NEW CONVERSIONS AND THE WAY WE'RE TRACKING POTENTIAL CONVERSIONS IS THROUGH THE ESTATE PERMIT APPLICATION AND WE HAVE ADDED A
QUESTION AROUND WHETHER THE PERMIT THAT'S BEING SOUGHT IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE CONVERSION. WE'RE ALSO TRACKING ESTATE PERMITS THAT RESULT IN UNIT LOSSES WHICH IS SOMETIMES AN INDICATOR OF A CONVERSION.
WE ALSO HAVE A QUESTION ON THE HSN PORTAL WHEN SOMEBODY IS FILING A NOTICE TO QUIT, WHETHER THAT HAS TO DO WITH THE CONVERSION IS ASSOCIATED WITH A CONVERSION AND THEN WE ARE ALSO
WORKING WITH OHSU WHO DURING THEIR INTAKE PROCESS MIGHT HEAR INFORMATION FROM A TENANT THAT INDICATES A POSSIBLE CONVERSION AND SO EXPLORING THAT WE'RE ALSO TRYING JUST MORE BROADLY
TO RAISE AWARENESS OF THE CONDO CONVERSION ORDINANCE BOTH FOR TENANTS WHO NEED TO KNOW THEIR RIGHTS AND ALSO FOR PROPERTY OWNERS WHO NEED TO KNOW THEIR OBLIGATIONS UNDER THE ORDINANCE. SO WE HAVE REVAMPED THE WEB
PAGE FOR THE TOOL. WE'VE ALSO STARTED PROMOTING IT THROUGH THE ESD NEWSLETTER IN PARTNERSHIP WITH OUR COLLEAGUES WE ARE DOING PROACTIVE OUTREACH AND REPEAT COMMUNICATIONS WITH
PROPERTY OWNERS SO THOSE WHO ARE WHO OWN A UNIT THAT WE SUSPECT MIGHT BE A B CONVERT BASED ON SOME OF THE DATA POINTS THAT I JUST SPOKE TO AND
ONCE WE ACTUALLY UPDATE THE ORDINANCE AND RENEW IT, WE'LL DO A LOT MORE PROMOTION AS WELL AROUND THE CHANGES THAT GO INTO EFFECT.
SO NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. I THINK WE MIGHT HAVE ONE MORE BUT I THINK THAT SITE IS OUT OF ORDER.
WELL COUNCILOR BREADON ALREADY SPOKE TO THIS THAT THE AFFORDABLE HOMES ACT REALLY CREATES THIS OPPORTUNITY OF OPPORTUNITY TO EXPAND COVERAGE OF THE ORDINANCE. WE THINK THAT IS, YOU KNOW, THE
MOST PARAMOUNT CHANGE WE CAN MAKE BUT NOT THE ONLY CHANGE WE CAN MAKE. SO WE DO WANT TO PROPOSE THAT THE ORDINANCE BE UPDATED TO APPLY TO BUILDINGS WITH TWO OR MORE UNITS WHERE MOST CONVERSIONS HAVE BEEN OCCURRING
WITH AN EXEMPTION FOR OWNER OCCUPIED BUILDINGS WITH FEWER THAN FOUR UNITS AND NEXT LEG. OKAY SO THAT WAS THE LAST ONE.
IT WAS OUT OF ORDER SO AND YEAH I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM EVERYONE TODAY WHAT ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES THEY SEE WITH THE ORDINANCE AND QUESTIONS THAT PEOPLE MIGHT HAVE.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH, KARINA. AND I DO JUST WANT TO SHOUT OUT THAT WE HAVE MARK MCRAE HERE FROM US WHO HAS BEEN A LONGTIME ADVOCATE AND PARTNER IN THIS
WORK. MARK, IF YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS OR STATEMENTS PLEASE FEEL FREE TO DO SO NOW. THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE SPEAKING WITH YOU
ALL. MADAM CHAIR, MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL. A CARITAS PRESENTATION WAS BOUGHT ON IN TERMS OF WHERE THINGS ARE. JUST TO GO BACK A LITTLE BIT SO
PEOPLE ARE REMINDED WHY WE HAVE THIS SCHEME. BACK PRIOR TO 1994. BOSTON HAD RENT AN EVICTION CONTROL AND MAYOR FLYNN WAS
QUITE ACTIVE IN ENHANCING THE PROTECTIONS IN THAT FOR MANY BOSTONIANS. IN 1994 QUESTION NINE PASSED WHICH ELIMINATED RENT AND
EVICTION CONTROLS IN BOSTON, BROOKLINE AND CAMBRIDGE AND BECAUSE OF THAT MANY PEOPLE WERE THEN VULNERABLE THAT WERE EITHER IN UNITS THAT HAD
ALREADY BEEN CONVERTED TO CONDOMINIUM IEMS BUT HAD BEEN PROTECTED UNDER THE PRIOR LAW AS WELL AS POTENTIAL DISPLACEMENT DUE TO FUTURE CONVERSION.
AND SO THE CITY COUNCIL ACTED PROMPTLY IN RESPONSE TO THAT. OUR OFFICE WORKED WITH BOSTON TENANTS COALITION TO TRY TO GET A REPLACEMENT ORDINANCE IN PLACE.
THE INITIAL ORDINANCE THAT THE COUNCIL ADOPTED WAS FOUND BY THE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT TO BE A LITTLE BIT TOO BROAD AND SO WE HAD TO GO BACK TO THE
DRAWING TABLE IN 1999 AND WORK WITH THE COUNCIL. SO AS WAS POINTED OUT, THE STATEWIDE BOARD DOES PROVIDE BOSTON WITH AUTHORITY TO REGULATE CONDOMINIUM
CONVERSIONS AND ITS EFFECTS ON RESIDENTS BUT IT DOES HAVE SOME UNIQUE PROVISIONS TO IT. SO THERE'S CERTAIN BASELINE PROTECTIONS WHICH YOU'RE NOT
ALLOWED TO CHANGE FROM WHAT'S IN THE STATE LAW. SO THAT ACTUALLY HAS SOME MINOR CARVE OUTS FOR SOME UNITS THAT YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO PROVIDE
GREATER PROTECTION FOR AND WHEN YOU DO IT YOU HAVE TO APPLY EMERGENCY LEGISLATION WHICH MEANS IT'S TIME LIMITED WHICH IS WHY WE'VE BEEN COMING BACK EVERY FIVE YEARS OR SO TO
DISCUSS THIS TOPIC AND IT REQUIRES A SUPERMAJORITY. SO THAT MEANS IT'S NOT SIMPLY DID YOU GET A76 VOTE ON THE COUNCIL ON THIS YOU HAVE TO GET
A SUFFICIENT MAJORITY THAT IT PASSES THAT THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE STATEWIDE LAW. AND SO WORKING WITH AT THAT
POINT COUNCILOR HONAN, WE WERE ABLE TO GET THE INITIAL ORDINANCE PASSED IN 1999 AND THEN SINCE THEN VARIOUS
COUNCIL LEADERS COUNCILOR ROSS COUNCILOR ZAKIM, COUNCILOR EDWARDS IT TOOK UP THE THE THE BALL AS WE REACHED THE POINT OF THE FIVE YEARS
INITIALLY THE EXPANSIONS BEYOND JUST SORT OF EXTENDING THE ORDINANCE WERE LIMITED. MOSTLY IT WAS IN THE AREA OF RELOCATION BENEFITS BECAUSE
OBVIOUSLY OVER TIME THE AMOUNTS THAT WERE PROVIDED IN THE STATEWIDE BLOG WERE REALIZED TO NOT MATCH WHAT WAS GOING ON IN THE MARKET. AND THEN IN 2019 THERE WERE
MAJOR ENHANCEMENTS THAT WERE DONE WHICH THEN REQUIRED US TO GET INTO AN EXTENSIVE CONVERSATION WITH BOTH THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF HOUSING AND THE COUNCILOR ABOUT SORT
OF LIKE WE'RE ALL WE'RE ALL SHOULD WE GO? YOU KNOW WHAT WHAT ALL WOULD IT BE GOOD TO ADD? WHERE WERE WE LIMITED IN TERMS OF WHERE WE COULD GO? AND THEN OF COURSE BECAUSE OF THAT WE SAID OKAY, WE'RE
JUST GOING TO EXTEND THE ORDINANCE FOR ONE YEAR TO GET INTO 2020. WE THOUGHT WELL 2020 IS GOING TO BE A GREAT YEAR. WE CAN GET IT ALL DONE IN 2020. THEN COVID HAPPENED AND SO THEN WE HAD TO EXTEND IT ANOTHER
YEAR AND SORT OF FINISH UP THE JOB IN 2021 AND I WANT TO SHOUT OUT TO THE STAFF AT THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF HOUSING FOR THE WORK
THAT THEY DID ON THIS IN 2020 AND 2021 TO GET THOSE ENHANCEMENTS IN. I THINK BOSTON'S ORDINANCE ALONG WITH SOMERVILLE'S HAVE SORT OF BEEN MODELS FOR SORT
OF LIKE TRYING TO GO AS FAR AS YOU POSSIBLY COULD GO BUT WAY BACK EVEN WAY BACK IN THE NINETIES, YOU KNOW, ALL THE
COUNCILORS WERE SAYING TO US CAN'T YOU GET THE THREE FAMILY BUILDINGS YOU KNOW ARE OUR NEIGHBORHOOD IS AN AREA OF TRIPLE BACKWARDS. WHY ARE TRIPLE DECKERS NOT COVERED BY THIS?
AND WE HAD TO KEEP SAYING IT'S THE STATEWIDE LAW. WE CAN'T DO ANYTHING ON THAT. WELL ONCE COUNCILOR EDWARDS BECAME SENATOR EDWARDS AND THEN MADE IT HER MISSION TO SAY LET'S GET THAT IN THE
AFFORDABLE HOMES ACT THAT CREATED SOME REAL OPPORTUNITIES TO SAY FINALLY WE CAN CAPTURE THIS LARGE BLOCK OF UNITS WHICH OTHERWISE HAVE BEEN KEPT FROM COVERAGE.
UNFORTUNATELY, BECAUSE BOSTON'S ORDINANCE DIDN'T SIMPLY SAY USE THE STATEWIDE DEFINITION, WE HAVE TO COME BACK AND AMEND THE BOSTON ORDINANCE AND THAT'S THE
SORT OF THE SIMPLE THING. IN ADDITION TO THE EXTENSION TO DO NOW I KNOW THERE ARE SOME OTHER REALLY GOOD IDEAS THAT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN FLOATING ABOUT EXTENDING NOTICE PERIODS PARTICULARLY AROUND RIGHT TO
PURCHASE AND SO FORTH PARTICULARLY MADE MAY THOSE TIME PERIODS THAT ARE GIVEN ARE LIKE POSSIBLY UNREALISTIC SHORT FOR PEOPLE WHO NEED TO SORT OF CHASE ALL THE DIFFERENT SORTS OF FUNDING THAT THEY NEED
TO BE ABLE TO SECURE PURCHASING THEIR OWN UNIT. AND SO THOSE ARE OTHER IDEAS THAT ARE IN HERE. BUT I THINK THE DISCUSSION HAS BEEN LET'S GET IN THE STUFF
THAT'S REALLY STRAIGHT FORWARD FIRST ABOUT AN EXTENSION AND ABOUT GOING TO THE FULL SCOPE THAT WE CAN FROM THE AFFORDABLE HOMES ACT AND THEN DO THIS FOR
A SHORT EXTENSION THEN AND THEN AS WE DID IN 2020 AND 2021 ADD THE ADDITIONAL ENHANCEMENTS THAT EVERYBODY WORKS ON. SO THERE'S BEEN REALLY GOOD IMPLEMENTATION STUFF THAT THE
MAYOR'S OFFICE OF HOUSING HAS BEEN DOING ON THIS WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, BEYOND WHAT YOU CAN DO BY ORDINANCE. IT'S REALLY AN ENFORCEMENT QUESTION. IT'S SORT OF TRACKING WHERE THINGS ARE BUT THEN THERE ARE
TWEAKS AND I CERTAINLY AM HAPPY TO WORK WITH WITH STAFF ON THAT AS WE DID IN 2020 AND 2021 TO DO THOSE ENHANCEMENTS AND I VERY MUCH APPRECIATE THE
OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK WITH YOU ALL TODAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH MARK FOR YOUR WORK. IT'S IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU AND HAPPY TO HAVE YOU AS A PARTNER IN THIS WORK AND WE'LL GO TO
QUESTIONS FOR MY COLLEAGUES IN ORDER OF ARRIVAL STARTING WITH THE LEAD SPONSOR COUNCIL BRIGHAM THANK YOU KARINA AND THANK YOU MARK FOR
YOUR PRESENTATION. ONE QUESTION I REMEMBER WE DISCUSSED AND I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S STILL IS THE WHOLE QUESTION OF LOOK BACK BECAUSE
AS KATRINA MENTIONED SOMETIMES WE DISCOVER THAT FOLKS ARE DISPLACED AFTER THE FACT AND IS THERE ANY WHAT SORT OF OPPORTUNITIES HAVE WE GOT
FOR LOOK BACK ON HOW FAR LONG AND FAR BACK SHOULD WE BE LOOKING? IS OF AN OWNER HAD DISPLACED TENANTS.
AND THEN THE OTHER QUESTION I HAD WAS REALLY ABOUT YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE ACTUALLY DO THIS IN THIS MOMENT IS LIKE WE IT'S
IMPERATIVE THAT WE DO AN EXTENT THAT WE WE RENEW THIS ORDINANCE THAT'S ON THE BOOKS ALREADY.
AND THEN IN TERMS OF THE ADDED ENHANCEMENTS A I'D LOVE TO UNDERSTAND FROM MARK IN TERMS OF I HAVE IDEAS MYSELF BUT WHAT OTHER ENHANCEMENTS WE MAY
REQUIRE OR NEED TO ADDRESS THE PARTICULAR CHALLENGES WE HAVE IN BOSTON. RENE GRENIER, YOU WANT TO GO FIRST?
SURE. SO RIGHT NOW THE ORDINANCE HAS A 12 MONTH LOOK BACK PERIOD AND THAT IS FROM FILING YOUR CONVERSION PERMIT APPLICATION
OR OTHERWISE ESTABLISHING AN INTENT TO CONVERT. NOW THE PROBLEM I THINK IS LESS WITH THE 12 MONTH PERIOD AND HOW LONG OR SHORT THAT IS AND
MORE WITH PEOPLE COMING IN AND FILING FOR THEIR CONVERSION PERMIT OR OTHERWISE CONNECTING WITH THE CITY OR THE CITY CONNECTING WITH THEM SO THAT WE CAN START THE 12 MONTH LOOK
BACK PRIOR TO THEM FILING A MASTER DEED. I THINK THAT IS REALLY THE PINCH POINT AS IF YOU'RE ALREADY FILING A MASTER DEED, YOU'VE ALREADY DISPLACED YOUR TENANT. WE CAN LOOK IN THE 12 MONTHS
PRECEDING THAT FOR THE TENANT AND MAYBE THEY'VE BEEN DISPLACED WITHIN THAT WINDOW, MAYBE THEY HAVEN'T. BUT I THINK THE ISSUE IS REALLY CONNECTING WITH THE PROPERTY OWNERS SOONER SO THAT WE CAN
PROTECT THE TENANTS IN THAT 12 MONTH PERIOD VERSUS EXPANDING IT TO SIX MONTHS OR 24 MONTHS WHICH I THINK IS KIND OF BEYOND
FEASIBILITY HERE. SO CONNECTING CONNECTING WITH THE PROPERTY OWNER IS REALLY GOING TO BE A CRITICAL PIECE OF THAT PROCESS AND MAKING SURE THAT THEIR THE SITUATION
ABSOLUTELY AND I THINK PART OF THAT IS ON IS ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESSES AND IMPROVING THOSE AND THAT'S WHY WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON THAT SO MUCH LAST YEAR AND PART OF IT IS ALSO
JUST CREATING MORE OF A CULTURE OF AWARENESS THAT THIS ORDINANCE EXISTS. IT IS A POWERFUL TOOL. THERE ARE OBLIGATIONS UNDER THAT TOOL THAT YOU MUST FULFILL AND MAKING SURE THAT PEOPLE
KNOW IF I AM CONVERTING I NEED TO DO X, Y AND Z AND I THINK THERE ISN'T AS MUCH KNOWLEDGE OF THIS TOOL RIGHT NOW AS THERE NEEDS TO BE AND I AM VERY
HOPEFUL THAT BEGINNING WITH THIS CONVERSATION THAT IS GOING TO CHANGE BUT WE CAN ALSO DO MORE TO PROMOTE THE TOOL ITSELF AND THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT
BUSINESS THAT NOT JUST PERIOD FOR FOLKS THAT ARE PROBABLY HAVING GREATER CHALLENGES TO FIND A NEW HOME LIKE PEOPLE
WITH DISABILITY OR ELDERS THAT WHO LEAVE THE THE NOTICE PERIOD WILL INCREASE TO FIVE YEARS IS THAT WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
AND IS THAT THE CHALLENGE JUST THE WAY IT IS THAT A CHALLENGE? IS THAT A CHALLENGE GIVING THAT THAT LENGTH OF TIME FOR A LONGER PERIOD BUT DOING A FIVE YEAR NOTICE PERIOD FOR PERSONS
AND PROTECTED CLASSES IT'S NOT NEW SO THAT WOULD NOT BE I THINK THERE WAS SOME DISCUSSION ABOUT EXTENDING THE NOTICE PERIOD FOR THE GROUP THAT WAS NOT IN PROTECTED CATEGORIES AND
ALSO EXTENDING THE NOTICE PERIOD PARTICULARLY FOR EXERCISING THE RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL FOR PURCHASE. I THINK THOSE ARE WITHIN THE
RANGE OF WHAT THE COUNCIL CAN DO. THERE'S ALWAYS A QUESTION OF DO YOU HAVE THE NECESSARY VOTES FOR YOUR SUPERMAJORITY AND I DO THAT WELL THE COUNCILORS THAT
ARE ON THIS CALL ARE FAMILIAR WITH THIS. THERE ARE THERE ARE OTHERS THAT MAY NOT BE HAVE BEEN IN THE DISCUSSIONS IN 2020 AND 2021
THAT IT WOULD BE GOOD TO GET UP TO SPEED ABOUT ALL THIS. SO I DO APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT THE COUNCILORS AND
COUNCIL STAFF PUT INTO THE DRAFT THAT WE HAVE BEFORE US TODAY AND I BUT IT WOULD ALSO BE BENEFICIAL TO GET I KNOW
KARINA MENTIONED SOME ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE THAT COULD POSSIBLY BE ADDED THAT WOULD HELP IN VARIOUS WAYS. I HAVEN'T SEEN THAT YET AND I THINK IT WOULD BE GOOD TO SORT
OF GO THROUGH ALL OF THAT. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. HERE'S MY TIME. I'M SURE I'M UP. YOU HAVE YOU CAN DO ONE MORE IF YOU WANT AS A SPONSOR THEN
WE'LL CIRCLE BACK AND I THINK YOU KNOW, WHEN IT COMES TO THE ADDED ENHANCEMENTS, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING WE WOULD MOVE TO WE WOULD DISCUSS IN A WORKING SESSION AT A LATER AT A
LATER DATE JUST TO GET INTO THE DETAILS AND REALLY GET INTO THE SEE WHAT'S WHAT'S DOABLE AND WHAT'S DESIRABLE IN THAT
CONTEXT THE YEAH THE OTHER THING WAS THE DEFINITION OF LIKE LOW TO MODERATE INCOME
IS THAT GOING TO BE ADJUSTED IN RELATION TO THE INCREASE AND PERHAPS THE AREA MEDIAN INCOME NUMBERS THAT BECAUSE JUST LIKE
THE IT'S A CONSTANT CHANGING FACTOR IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS THE COST OF LIVING COST OF HOUSING AND THE AREA MEDIAN INCOME SHIFT AS AS AS OUR POPULATION
CHANGES IS THAT A FACTOR TO BE CONSIDERED AS WELL? MY MY RECOLLECTION AND I'D HAVE TO GO BACK AND LOOK AT IT IS THAT THE LANGUAGE IN THE EXISTING STATEWIDE LAW SORT OF TRACKS HUD GENERAL
DEFINITIONS. SO AS A PERCENTAGE AS THE AMIS CHANGE THEMSELVES OVER TIME SO THAT CHANGES THE DEFINITION
OF VERY LOW INCOME, LOW INCOME, EXTREMELY LOW INCOME THAT BECOMES SORT OF AUTOMATIC. SO THAT'S NOT AN ISSUE AND THERE'S PROBABLY SOME MODERATE TWEAKS THAT YOU COULD DO TO SOME THINGS THAT ARE WITHIN THE
RANGE OF WHAT THE CITY COULD DO. SO FOR EXAMPLE, I THINK THE STATEWIDE LAW USED THE TERM HANDICAPPED AS OPPOSED TO DISABLED AND THE CITY SAID NO, THAT THAT'S THAT'S STUPID.
LET'S JUST GO BACK AND USE THE TERM DISABILITY. IT'S GOT A WELL WELL-DEFINED MEANING WE KNOW WHAT IT MEANS AND WE CAN DO THAT BETTER SO THERE ARE THINGS LIKE THAT.
THERE ARE OTHERS WHERE IT'S WORTH LOOKING AT SO FOR EXAMPLE COUNCILOR FLYNN'S IDEA ABOUT ADDING VETERANS AS A PROTECTED CATEGORY, I THINK IT'S A GREAT IDEA WHETHER OR NOT WE CAN DO
IT WITHIN THE FOUR CORNERS OF THE STATEWIDE LAW I DON'T KNOW BECAUSE THERE ARE CERTAIN THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN HEMMED IN AS BEING LIKE THE X, Y OR Z ARE
THE PROTECTED CATEGORIES AND SO ADDING ADDITIONAL ONES MAY BE A CHALLENGE BUT THAT'S THAT'S WORTH BALANCING AROUND AND SEEING SEEING WHERE WHERE WE CAN GO. I KNOW WE ALSO HAD SOME
DISCUSSIONS ABOUT FOR EXAMPLE RIGHT TO PURCHASE AND SO PEOPLE MENTIONED THE FACT THAT MAYBE THERE ARE SOME CBDCS OUT THERE OR THINGS LIKE THAT THAT MIGHT HELP RESIDENTS IF THEY MIGHT
NOT BE ABLE TO PURCHASE. BUT I KNOW IN SOMERVILLE THEY RAN INTO SOME LIMITATIONS AROUND THAT WITH THE STATEWIDE LAW SO THAT'S ANOTHER AREA WHERE I THINK SOME FURTHER CONVERSATIONS WOULD BE
BENEFICIAL TO FIGURE OUT HOW COULD WE BEST HELP SUPPORT PEOPLE THAT ARE IN FACT WANTING TO PURCHASE AND AVOID DISPLACEMENT BUT MAY NOT HAVE
ALL THE TOOLS AVAILABLE TO THEM TO DO THAT? THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. COUNCILOR FLYNN.
THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. AND JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU TO MATT FOR AT LEAST ENTERTAINING AND WORKING ON THE
POSSIBILITY OF INCLUDING VETERAN S INTO THE DISCUSSION AND I DO I DO THINK IT IS IMPORTANT TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION.
I DO BRING IT UP FREQUENTLY AND AS WE AS WE KNOW THEY ARE A PROTECTED CLASS BUT THERE'S ALWAYS PUSHBACK FROM VARIOUS
ORGANIZATIONS OR OR OFFICIALS THAT WE REALLY DON'T NEED TO INCLUDE VETERANS BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE BEGIN THAT CONVERSATION THAT VETERANS
ARE A PROTECTED CLASS AND IT'S IT'S NOT LIKE WE CAN JUST PICK AND CHOOSE, YOU KNOW, IF WE WANT TO HOLD THEM OR NOT.
IT'S IT'S THE LAW AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED AND I DO BRING THAT UP BECAUSE I DO WANT TO STRESS THAT AS AS OFTEN AS I CAN. SO I WANT TO SAY THANK YOU TO
YOU MATT FOR ACKNOWLEDGING THAT AND I ALSO WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE MATT FOR MENTIONING MAY HAVE FUN IT WAS A STRONG TENANCY
ADVOCATE AS DOES BEST MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL PROBABLY ONE OF THE STRONGEST IN THE STATE FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME SO WHAT DO YOU THINK WE COULD DO
IN TERMS OF INCLUDING VETERANS AS PART OF THIS PROCESS OR DISCUSSION AND IS THERE IS THERE AN OPPORTUNITY TO AT
LEAST INCLUDE THEM OR CONSIDER THEM? I'M NOT SURE WHO WOULD WANT TO JUMP IN AND TACKLE THAT QUESTION BUT WHAT WHAT WOULD WHAT WOULD BE THE DOWN WHAT
WOULD BE THE NEGATIVES OF INCLUDING VETERANS IN THE CONVERSATION? AND I'LL I'LL JUST JUMP IN JUST TO GIVE MY OWN OPINION.
I THINK IT'S I THINK THERE IS NOT A DOWNSIDE. I THINK WE SHOULD BE VERY VERY OPEN TO EXPLORING IT. LIKE MAX SAID, WE HAVE TO WORK WITHIN THE CONFINES OF THE STATE LEGISLATION SO WE SHOULD
ONE FIRST EVALUATE WHETHER WE CAN COUNSELOR AND THEN IF WE CAN'T WHAT MIGHT IT TAKE TO FOR US TO EXPAND THE STATE THE STATE AUTHORITY GIVEN TO US?
SO I'LL HAND IT OVER TO MACK BUT I THINK CERTAINLY THERE'S A WILLINGNESS TO LOOK AT THIS. THANKS. IT'S REALLY QUICK BEFORE YOU DO THAT I JUST WANT TO FLAG FOR CENTRAL STAFF THAT COUNCILMAN HE IS WAITING TO BE LET IN FROM THE WAITING ROOM. THANK YOU.
SORRY. GO AHEAD, MARK. YEAH, I WAS GOING TO ADD IT. I THINK THAT'S AN EXAMPLE OF IF IN FACT YOU DO FIND CERTAIN BARRIERS IN THE STATE
LEGISLATION. IT USED TO BE IN THE OLD DAYS WE'D SAY OH WE'RE STUCK. BUT I THINK SENATOR EDWARDS POINTED OUT THAT WE'RE NOT ALWAYS STUCK ON SOME OF THIS STUFF.
THERE MAY BE THINGS WHERE WE COULD CONVINCE LEGISLATORS THAT THINGS NEED TO SHIFT. YOU KNOW ANOTHER EXAMPLE IS THERE'S STUFF WHERE THERE ARE VERY RESTRICTED PROTECTIONS FOR
CERTAIN CLASSES OF UNITS WHERE IT EVEN MEANS, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT RELOCATION BENEFITS CAN'T BE PAID TO PEOPLE IN CERTAIN CATEGORIES. AND SO WHAT THEY PROVIDE FOR IS
STILL THESE OLD RELOCATION BENEFITS FROM 1983 WHICH ARE ABSURD IN TERMS OF THE CURRENT MARKET. AND SO THAT MAY BE ANOTHER AREA WHERE IT'S LIKE WELL THIS THE
COUNCIL CAN'T BY ITSELF CHANGE THOSE BUT CAN WE CONVINCE COLLEAGUES AT THE STATE HOUSE TO SORT OF LOOK AT OTHER THINGS THAT ARE IN THE 1983 LAW THAT
REQUIRE ENHANCEMENT THAT THAT COULD MARKET? THANK YOU, SHEILA. AND I ALSO WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE SHEILA, I'VE WORKED WITH YOU FOR EIGHT YEARS ON A LOT OF THESE ISSUES AND YOU'VE
ALWAYS BEEN A STRONG SUPPORTER OF VETERANS. SO I WANT TO I WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU TO YOU, SHEILA FOR YOUR WILLINGNESS TO SUPPORT OUR VETERANS AND MILITARY FAMILIES
. MAYBE MAYBE ONE FINAL QUESTION AND MAYBE IT'S TO THE CHAIR OR TO THE SPONSOR IS CAN YOU JUST EXPLAIN WHAT THE PROCESS WOULD
BE IF THE CITY COUNCIL PASSES IT AND THEN IT GOES TO THE MAYOR FOR HER SIGNATURE AND WHAT HAPPENS THEN AND CAN YOU JUST EXPLAIN THAT PROCESS TO
ME? YEAH, I'M HAPPY TO JUMP IN. SO WHAT THIS WOULD DO IS VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN 2019, 2020, 2021.
WE WOULD VOTE ON IT. IT MAY OR MAY NOT PASS. IF IT DOES PASS IT GOES TO HER FOR HER SIGNATURE BUT BECAUSE IT'S AN ORDINANCE IT STOPS THERE. IF WE WANTED TO DO SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
WHERE WE ARE EXPANDING THE PROTECTED CLASSES BECAUSE THEY ARE A LIMITED CATEGORY FROM WHAT I'M GETTING IN THAT PLEASE FEEL FREE TO INTERJECT IF I'M SAYING ANYTHING THAT'S INCORRECT BUT IF WE WANTED TO
EXPAND THE PROTECTED CLASS CATEGORY BECAUSE RIGHT NOW IT SPECIFIES THAT AS ELDERLY, DISABLED, LOW AND MODERATE INCOME TENANTS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT VETERANS BUT THAT MAY OR
MAY NOT ALIGN WITH WHAT'S CURRENTLY ON THE OF THE STATE. BUT I REMEMBER BACK IN 2021 WE WERE TALKING ABOUT FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN AND NEEDING ADVANCED NOTICE AND DOCTOR SUPPORT AND ALL OF THAT AND OR
ANYONE WHO HAS LIVED IN THEIR UNIT FOR MORE THAN FIVE YEARS JUST TO PREVENT DISPLACEMENT THAT WILL TAKE AN EXTRA ADDED STEP TO GO TO OUR PARTNERS AT THE STATE AND ASK FOR A CHANGE IN THE 1983 LAW TO HAVE THAT
RIGHT MAP. OKAY. OKAY. THANK YOU, MADAM MADAM CHAIR, YOU EXPLAINED IT. YOU EXPLAINED IT PERFECTLY.
MAYBE MAYBE TO MAYBE TO MAC. I WAS LISTENING CLOSELY TO WHAT YOU WERE SAYING, MAC, BUT YOU AND COUNCILOR IN THE CHAIR
MENTIONED YOU KNOW WHEN IT PASSES IT WILL GO TO THE MAYOR . BUT BUT YOU ALSO MENTIONED A CLOSE VOTE OF 76 AND THAT HAS
AN IMPACT ON ON WHAT POTENTIALLY THE THE HOW WE MOVE FORWARD. COULD YOU CAN JUST EXPLAIN YOUR REASONING.
I MAY HAVE MISSED A LITTLE BIT SO I DO APPRECIATE IT. SURE. SO A BIG BECAUSE OF THE LANGUAGE THAT'S IN THE STATEWIDE LAW CHAPTER 527
OF THE ACTION 1983. A MUNICIPALITY CAN ADOPT DIFFERENT OR STRONGER PROTECTIONS THAT ARE IN THE STATEWIDE BUT WHEN IT DOES THAT
IT HAS TO DO IT BY A SUPERMAJORITY AND SO THEY DEFINE SUPERMAJORITY AS I BELIEVE IT'S TWO THIRDS. AND SO THAT'S NEVER BEEN A PROBLEM IN THE PAST WITH THE
COUNCIL. THE COUNCIL HAS ALWAYS ADOPTED THINGS BY TWO THIRDS BUT IT DOES MEAN THAT YOU ONE NEEDS TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS WITH A
NUMBER OF COUNCILORS SO THAT THEY'RE UP TO SPEED. ANYTHING THAT MAY BE IN THERE THAT THEY ARE NOT SURE OF. OKAY, THAT'S EXCELLENT. THAT'S GOOD TO KNOW.
THANK YOU FOR THE BACKGROUND. APPRECIATE IT, MADAM CHAIR. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, COUNCILOR FLYNN, COUNCILOR FITZGERALD. AND THEN WE'LL GO TO
COUNCILOR MEJIA. THANK YOU, CHAIR. AND THANK YOU EVERYBODY FOR BEING HERE TODAY. SO WHAT IS THE TAKE ME JUST
THROUGH THE PROCESS RIGHT NOW AS IT STANDS. YOU KNOW, MY FAMILY AND I WERE RENTING. LANDLORD COMES SAYS I'M GOING TO TURN IT INTO CONDOS AND SELL WHAT AM I IS THE FAMILY EXPECT
TO OCCUR FROM THAT POINT ON? UNDER THESE PROTECTIONS WE'RE GOING TO DO ONE. GO AHEAD. YEAH. TO THE CITY. YEAH SURE.
SO I THINK YOU KNOW, IN THE IDEAL SCENARIO THE LANDLORD WOULD PROCEED WITH THE STEPS THEY'RE REQUIRED TO TAKE UNDER THE ORDINANCE WHICH IS TO APPLY
FOR A CONVERSION PERMIT AND BE IN TOUCH WITH OUR STAFF TO ENSURE THAT THEY GO THROUGH THE STEPS OF PROVIDING THE PROTECTIONS THAT THE FAMILY IS
UNDER THE ORDINANCE. ALTERNATIVELY THOUGH, YOU KNOW THAT DOESN'T ALWAYS HAPPEN. THEY DON'T ALWAYS COME FORWARD AND SO THERE'S ONE OF TWO THINGS THAT COULD HAPPEN ONE THE CITY WOULD FLAG THE
CONVERSION BECAUSE OF OUR OWN TRACKING PROCESS THAT WE'RE DOING AND OR TWO THE FAMILY COULD REACH OUT TO US AND SAY I MY LANDLORD INDICATED THEY'RE
GOING TO CONVERT MY APARTMENT TO A CONDO, IMPLY THAT I'M GOING TO HAVE TO LEAVE AND THEY WOULD BE SEEKING THE SUPPORT OF THE CITY.
HHS WOULD FLAG THAT FOR ME AND MY TEAM AND SAY, YOU KNOW, WE SUSPECT THERE'S A CONVERSION HERE. THE TENANT REPORTED A POSSIBLE CONVERSION AND THEN WE WOULD GO BACK AND WE WOULD LOOK AT
PERMITS AND OTHER DATA AND DO SOME OUTREACH TO THE PROPERTY OWNER. BUT SO YOU KNOW, HYPOTHETICALLY I GET SIX MONTHS LEFT ON MY
LEASE BEFORE HE SAYS HEY, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER I'M GOING TO SELL AT IN SIX MONTHS I'M EXPECTED TO HE WILL NOT RENEW MY LEASE. HE OR SHE WILL NOT THE LANDLORD WILL NOT RENEW MY LEASE AND
THEREFORE THEN IT WOULD BE AN UNOCCUPIED HOUSE, RIGHT? THE LANDLORD IS OBLIGATED TO GIVE THE TENANT A MINIMUM OF 12 MONTHS NOTICE OF THE CONVERSION
. BUT EVEN WOULD THAT BE EVEN IF THE CASE OF THE LEASE IS UP AND SAY I'M ON A YEAR TO YEAR LEASE THAT I WOULD STILL HAVE 12 MONTHS EVEN THOUGH THAT EXTENDS BEYOND WHAT MY LEASE SAYS?
CORRECT. IT EXTENDS THE LEASE PROVISIONS LEASE PROTECTIONS UP UNTIL WHATEVER UNTIL THE 12 MONTHS IS SATISFIED RIGHT OR PUT ON A LONGER PERIOD IF IT TURNS OUT THAT THE TENANT IS ELDERLY OR
DISABLED OR OF LOW AND MODERATE INCOME AND THEN YOU GET THE ADDITIONAL TIME. OKAY. NOW UNDERSTOOD. DO WE HAVE ANYBODY THAT WILL BE WITH US TODAY? I DON'T THINK SO.
BUT IS THERE ANY PROPERTY OWNERS THAT MIGHT DETAIL ANY OF THE HARDSHIPS THAT THEY WOULD FACE IF THEY WERE IF WE WERE TO EXPAND TO THIS TWO PLUS
RATE UNITS, WHAT WOULD BE THE WHAT WOULD WHAT WOULD THE HOMEOWNER OF THE TWO PLUS UNITS SAY WHETHER IT WAS OWNER OWNER OCCUPIED OR NOT AND IS THERE A
DIFFERENCE IN THAT OF OF WHAT THIS EXPANDING THIS ORDINANCE WOULD DO WOULD THERE BE ANY ANY HARDSHIP TO THOSE FOLKS? I JUST ALWAYS LIKE TO UNDERSTAND WHO WERE AFFECTED AS WELL. RIGHT.
WE WANT TO PROTECT BUT I JUST WANT TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WOULD BE THE ARGUMENT FROM ANY OTHER SIDE. YES. SO WE ARE PROPOSING THAT WHILE WE EXPAND TO TWO PLUS UNITS THAT WE MAINTAIN THE OWNER OCCUPANCY SO PROPERTIES WITH
ANY FEW WITH FOUR OR FEWER UNITS AND AN OWNER OCCUPANT WOULD NOT BE OBLIGATED UNDER THE UNDER THE REVISED ORDINANCE.
AND SO I THINK THAT ADDRESSES THAT CONCERN PRIMARILY OF OF COURSE YOU KNOW THERE IS A FINANCIAL RELOCATION ASSISTANCE THAT NEEDS TO BE PROVIDED TO TENANTS AND OTHER THINGS THAT
CAN BE BURDENSOME. BUT I THINK FOR THE MOST PART AND WE CAN DO THIS ANALYSIS A A I THINK WE WOULD CAPTURE QUITE A LOT OF CONVERSIONS THAT DON'T
INCLUDE OWNER OCCUPIED PROPERTIES THAT ARE MORE YOU KNOW, LARGER LARGER SCALE PROPERTY OWNERS THAT WOULD BE ABLE TO COMPLY WITH THOSE.
GOTCHA. JUST TO ADD THERE THERE MIGHT BE SOME SITUATIONS WHERE AN OWNER WAS FAIRLY FAR ALONG IN ALL OF THIS PROCESS AT THE TIME
THE ORDINANCE TOOK EFFECT AND THEN BY THAT IS THAT THE COURTS WOULD THEN GET INVOLVED IN FIGURING OUT WHETHER OR NOT IN THAT PARTICULAR PERSON'S CASE
YOU COULD APPLY ALL THE ASPECTS OF THE ORDINANCE TO IT OR YOU'D HAVE TO SORT OF MODIFY THAT IN SOME WAY OR ANOTHER BECAUSE OF EXPECTATION INTEREST. GOTCHA.
WHAT IS THE COST ASSOCIATED FOR THAT FOR THE CITY WITH THE PROTECTION OR RELOCATING OR ANYTHING THAT HAVE TO HAPPEN TO THAT? DO WE HAVE A NUMBER OF OF LIKE
A AVERAGE ANNUAL COST OF WHAT THIS WHAT ANY OF THIS PROTECTIONS COME WITH? IS THERE LIKE DOES THE CITY PUT UP ANY MONEY WHEN IT COMES TO
OKAY YOU CAN SAY OR DO WE HAVE TO RELOCATE IS THERE ANY ANY AMOUNT OF MONEY ASSOCIATED WITH THE CITY? NO THE THE BURDEN IS IS ON THE IS ON THE OWNER COUNSELOR.
I DO ANTICIPATE THAT WITH THE IF IF THE CITY COUNCIL DECIDES TO LIKE USE A DIFFERENT MEASURE ON WHICH BUILDINGS WOULD BE
IMPLICATED BY TWO AND ABOVE WE'RE GOING AS A CHART SHOWED WE'RE GOING TO SEE A MORE BUILDINGS THAT ARE GOING TO BE UNDER THIS ORDINANCE AND SO THERE'S GOING TO BE INCREASED MANPOWER NEEDED TO ENSURE
COMPLIANCE. SO THAT I THINK IS A POTENTIAL COST TO THE CITY JUST MONITORING THE INCREASED ACTIVITY. BUT THE THE ASSOCIATED
RELOCATION COSTS ARE REALLY ARE BORNE BY THE THE OWNER OF THE PROPERTY. OKAY. THANK YOU. AND HOW MANY RENTAL TWO CONDO CONVERSIONS DO WE HAVE YEAR.
WHAT IS THE WHAT ARE THE THE AVERAGE APPLICATION ANNUALLY TO DO THAT. DO WE KNOW? DO WE KNOW?
WE DO HAVE THAT DATA. IT IS AGGREGATE ADDED IN THE PRESENTATION AND JUST GIVES UP GABE SO I WOULD HAVE TO BREAK IT OUT A YEAR.
I CAN TELL YOU THAT THE TOTAL THE TOTAL RENTAL UNITS LOST TO CONVERSION BETWEEN 2019 AND 2024 THIS INCLUDES UNITS THAT
WERE COVERED AND NOT COVERED BY THE ORDINANCE WAS 2120 100 OVER THE COURSE OF FIVE YEARS. CORRECT. RIGHT. OKAY. AND CARLO, JUST TO ADD A LITTLE
BIT, IT'S NOT ALWAYS THE CASE THAT WHEN A CONVERSION HAPPENS THERE IS ACTUALLY A DISPLACEMENT. SO THERE ARE SOME OWNERS WHO MAY JUST SAY I WANT TO CONVERT BECAUSE WHAT I WANT TO DO IS TO
SELL UNITS AS UNITS BECOME VACANT TO NEW PURCHASERS BUT I'M NOT INTENDING TO DISPLACE MY EXISTING TENANTS AND SO IT
MAY HAPPEN THEN THAT THERE'S A SUBSEQUENT OWNER WHO COMES IN AND SAYS YEAH, THAT'S THAT'S NOT MY PLAN. AND THEN THOSE TENANTS ONCE THEY FACE THE DISPLACEMENT EVEN IF IT'S AFTER THE INITIAL
CONVERSION IF THEY WERE THERE THE TIME OF THE CONVERSION THEY GET PROTECTIONS SO THE ASSUMPTION IS NOT ALWAYS THAT OWNERS ARE GOING TO DISPLACE AS A RESULT OF CONVERSION.
OKAY. UNDERSTOOD. I THINK THAT THAT WILL TAKE THAT TAKES CARE OF ALL MY QUESTIONS. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, PANEL. THANK YOU, JANE. THANK YOU.
COUNCILOR FITZGERALD, COUNCILOR MEJIA IN YOUR CHAIR AND THANK YOU TO SPONSORS AND TO THE ADMINISTRATION. YOU KNOW, IT'S BECAUSE I'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT A
DISPLACEMENT TAX BECAUSE SO MANY OF OUR RESIDENTS ARE BEING DISPLACED AND I'M HAPPY TO HEAR THERE IS ACTUALLY A PATHWAY TOWARDS MAKING SURE THAT WHEN
THOSE SCENARIOS COME UP AND WE WILL UNINTENDED HARM BUT FOLKS END UP DISPLACED THAT THERE IS A PATHWAY TOWARDS BEING ABLE TO
PROVIDE PEOPLE SOME FINANCIAL SUPPORTS TO RELOCATE. SO I'M HAPPY THAT THAT IS DEFINITELY A PART OF THE CONVERSATION AND AND I BELIEVE AN IMPORTANT PART OF IT.
I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW MORE IN THE WEEDS A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE PRICE POINT, RIGHT IN TERMS OF YOU KNOW I SIMILAR TO
COUNCILOR FITZGERALD LOOKING AT WHAT WHO ARE WE HARMING RIGHT THERE SOMEBODY'S ALWAYS GOING TO NOT BE HAPPY ABOUT THE THINGS THAT WE RIGHT. SO I'M CURIOUS AND THIS IS JUST
AS WE'RE HERE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION ARE ARE ARE THERE ANY INCENTIVES FOR HOME FOR LANDLORDS TO DO CONVERSIONS
THAT THEN BECOME RENT TO OWN OR MORE AFFORDABLE HOME OWNERSHIP ? WHAT WHERE'S THAT DISCUSSION WITHIN THIS CONTEXT RIGHT NOW
THAT IS NOT CONTEMPLATED COUNSELOR IT'S SOMETHING WE CAN CERTAINLY TAKE UNDER ADVISEMENT . I THINK WE WE DO WORK WITH A LOT OF FIRST TIME HOMEBUYERS
WHO OFTEN ARE BUYING A FLOOR IN A TRIPLE DECKER OR A UNIT IN A TWO FAMILY HOME AND PROVIDING THEM FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO PURCHASE.
BUT WE HAVEN'T WE HAVEN'T THOUGHT ABOUT BUILDING IN SUBSIDIES TO CREATE AFFORDABLE HOUSING THROUGH CONVERSIONS. THIS IS REALLY FOCUSED ON TENANT PROTECTIONS BUT
CERTAINLY GLAD TO TALK ABOUT IT FURTHER. YEAH NO I HEAR THE PROTECTIONS THAT IS THE MAIN PRIORITY BUT MY THINKING IS IF WE'RE LOOKING AT THE WHOLE PERSON AND THE
WHOLE YOU KNOW, SITUATION I THINK THAT SOMETIMES WE HAVE OPPORTUNITIES TO THINK A LITTLE BIT BIGGER AND FIGURE OUT HOW WE CAN SEIZE THESE SORT OF OPPORTUNITIES TO BAKE IN
SOME OF THESE YOU KNOW THERE ARE PROTECTIONS, RIGHT? WE'RE TRYING TO PREVENT DISPLACEMENT AND WE'RE TRYING TO PREVENT, YOU KNOW, LARGE SCALE GENTRIFICATION AS WELL. RIGHT.
LIKE THERE WE ARE BEING PRICED OUT. RIGHT. AND SOME OF THESE CONDOS POP UP IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS. IT'S PEOPLE WHO GREW UP HERE THAT CAN'T AFFORD TO LIVE HERE BUT EVERYBODY WANTS TO COME TO BOSTON WHICH I'M OKAY WITH
THAT. BUT IF WE CAN KEEP COST YOU KNOW AND WAYS THAT FOLKS CAN ACTUALLY THESE CONDO CONVERSIONS COULD HAVE AN ADDED
BENEFIT TO RESIDENTS AND ADDITIONALLY THERE IS SOME INCENTIVES FOR THESE LANDLORDS AND I'M TRYING TO FIND WHAT THE WIN WIN COULD LOOK LIKE. YEAH JUST TO I I THINK IT'S
INTERESTING THAT RIGHT BECAUSE THE RESIDENTS THAT ARE LIVING THERE NOW DO HAVE A RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL SO IS THERE A WAY TO IDENTIFY THEM AND WORK WITH THEM IF THEY DO WANT TO PURCHASE THAT UNIT THAT IS
SOMETHING WE COULD I THINK OWN AND DO A BETTER JOB OF REALLY REACHING OUT TO THEM AND SAYING YOU HAVE THIS OPPORTUNITY HERE. HOW CAN WE HELP YOU BUY AND WITH OUR DOWN PAYMENT AND LOWER
AND LOWER MORTGAGE INTEREST RATE RATES ETC. SO IT IS SOMETHING TO EXPLORE. IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE HAVEN'T FOCUSED ON AS MUCH AS PROBABLY WE COULD. WHAT I WOULD ADD ONE THING I
WOULD ADD IS I THINK FORMER COUNCILOR PARK WHEN WE DISCUSSED THE ORDINANCE IN 2020 2021 ADDED A PROVISION THAT WAS AN AFFORDABLE HOUSING
EXEMPTION. SO IF IN FACT THERE WAS A DEAL THAT WAS GOING TO BE A COMBINED CONDO CONVERSION BUT ALSO RETAINING AFFORDABILITY FOR THE
COMPLEX THAT THAT COULD PASS BUT OF COURSE IT THEN NEEDED TO SORT OF GO THROUGH AN APPROVAL PROCESS SO THAT EVERYBODY WAS FINE ABOUT IT AND SAW YES, THIS IS THIS MAKES A LOT OF SENSE. SO THERE IS SOME LANGUAGE
THAT'S IN THE EXISTING SCHEME THAT DOES PROVIDE FOR THAT BUT HAPPY TO HEAR THAT. AND THEN COULD I I LEARN A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT WHAT THE
RELOCATION PIECE LOOK. I MEAN I KNOW EVERY FEE IS GOING TO BE UNIQUE BUT COULD I JUST GET A BALLPARK FIGURE ABOUT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE AND HOW ARE WE GOING ABOUT MAKING
THE DETERMINATION OF WHAT THAT PAYOUT COULD LOOK LIKE? YES, COUNCILMAN. SO THE RELOCATION FEES ARE STANDARDIZED FOR THE ORDINANCE AND THEY ARE $10,000 FOR GENERAL POPULATION, TEN PER
HOUSEHOLD FOR YOU KNOW CAN YOU CAN YOU DEFINE FOR OUR VIEWERS I DO HAVE PEOPLE WHO FOLLOW ME WHO DON'T UNDERSTAND THESE WORDS. WHAT'S GENERAL WHO ARE THOSE PEOPLE? ARE THE GENERAL PEOPLE.
YEAH. SO WHO IS THIS ONE? AND IT IS DEFINED BY THE ORDINANCE AS ANYONE WHO IS NOT ELDERLY TWO YEARS OR OLDER WITH
A OR A LOW TO MODERATE INCOME AND SO THOSE HOUSEHOLDS THOSE WHO ARE MEMBERS OF THOSE THREE GROUPS ARE ENTITLED TO $15,000 IN RELOCATION ASSISTANCE RATHER
THAN THE 10,000 THAT'S DEFAULT . AND THEN TO COUNCILOR FLYNN'S POINT EARLIER AND I KNOW I'M PROBABLY I DON'T SEE THE CHAIR SO I'M GOING TO ASSUME BECAUSE I HAVEN'T SEEN HER THAT I STILL
GOT A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME. BUT I DO HAVE ANOTHER FOLLOW UP QUESTION SIMILAR TO COUNCILOR FLYNN IN TERMS OF PROTECTING, YOU KNOW, TARGETED POPULATIONS.
I'M CURIOUS ABOUT HOW DO WE HELP? IS THERE AN OPPORTUNITY TO EXPAND FOR MORE LIKE ADDITIONAL VULNERABLE POPULATION OPTIONS?
RIGHT. I, I THINK OF AH RETURNING CITIZENS I THINK OF I'M NOT SURE WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE FOR FOLKS WHO ARE YOU KNOW DON'T HAVE LEGAL STATUS WHO ARE
UNDOCUMENTED. I'M JUST CURIOUS ABOUT THOSE ADDITIONAL LAYERS BECAUSE I DO KNOW THAT FOLKS WHO ARE UNDOCUMENTED USUALLY HAVE A
HARDER TIME FINDING HOUSING AND IN SITUATIONS LIKE THIS PROBABLY WON'T UNLESS EXPLICITLY, YOU KNOW, GUIDED
TOWARDS ANY TYPE OF RELOCATION FEES PROBABLY WON'T HAVE THE FINANCIAL MEANS TO PACK UP AND GO SO CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT THAT COULD LOOK LIKE UNDER THIS
ADMINISTRATION. YEAH, I THINK WE CERTAINLY HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPLORE WHERE YOU KNOW WHERE THERE IS NEED IN OUR COMMUNITY THAT
MIGHT NOT FALL INTO THOSE THREE CATEGORIES THAT I LISTED AS WELL AS THE LEGAL CONSTRAINTS AND EXPANDING SPECIAL POPULATION STATUS AS DEFINED IN THE ORDINANCE.
I'M NOT SURE OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD WHAT STATE LAW HAS TO SAY ON THAT. MACK PERHAPS YOU WANT TO CHIME IN HERE? YEAH, I THINK AS I WAS SAYING EARLIER DURING THE QUESTIONING
FROM COUNCILOR FLYNN, THERE MAY BE LIMITATIONS THAT ARE IN THE STATEWIDE ENABLING LAW THAT MAY CONSTRAIN WHAT THE CITY CAN DO IN WHICH CASE YOU MAY HAVE TO
THAT SEE ARE THERE ALLIES AT THE STATE LEGISLATURE WHO COULD PERHAPS REVISE OR AMEND THE STATE LAW JUST AS WAS DONE IN
2024 ABOUT THE UNIT COVERAGE ISSUES PROBABLY YOU FIRST NEED TO HAVE SOME MAJORITY SENTIMENT AMONG THE COUNCILORS ABOUT WHERE EXACTLY YOU'D LIKE TO GO
WITH THAT AND THEN CERTAINLY THAT COULD GET WORKED. YEAH, I WOULD JUST SAY BECAUSE THIS IS WHERE IN THIS SPACE RIGHT NOW IN THE POLICYMAKING PROCESS RIGHT WE'RE HAVING A HEARING.
WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE SOMETHING OUT. BUT I THINK THESE ARE THE MOMENTS THAT AT LEAST FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND POLICYMAKING WORKS AS THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO LOOK AT WHERE ALL THE GAPS ARE AND SEIZE THIS
OPPORTUNITY TO SEND SOMETHING OVER THAT IS THAT IS FULLER RIGHT. AND REFLECTS A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT WE WANT TO DO. SO WHEN WE SEND IT OVER THERE
WE'RE SENDING IT OVER WITH ANOTHER ACCOMPANYING HOMER PETITION OR SOMETHING ELSE I OF A COMPLEMENT TO THIS OR WE CAN MAKE IT RIGHT INTO THIS
ORDINANCE THAT WE'RE WORKING ON RIGHT NOW LIKE YOU KNOW AND I'M CURIOUS I'M ASKING QUESTIONS JUST TO SEE WHAT IS POSSIBLE IN THIS STAGE BECAUSE THIS FOR ME I THINK IS THE MOST
IMPORTANT PART OF OUR PROCESS AND OUR TIME TOGETHER IS REALLY MAKING SURE THAT WHAT WE SEND OVER THERE TRULY REFLECTS THE THE THE WILL AND THE
OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE HAVE. SO THOUGH I DO UNDERSTAND STATE MANDATES AND LAWS AND ALL THAT GOOD STUFF BUT HAVING ALSO WORKED ON ORDINANCES IN THE
PAST, THESE ARE THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE USUALLY TEND TO SEE TO EXPLORE THE POSSIBILITIES. AND I'M CURIOUS WHERE ARE WE LANDING WITH THAT PARTICULAR
RECOMMENDATION AND WAS THAT A QUESTION FOR ME? COUNCILOR HERE OR SOMEBODY ELSE? OH WELL WHOEVER FEELS THEY'RE THE MOST APPROPRIATE INDIVIDUAL TO ANSWER IT I'M JUST TRYING TO
BETTER UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, HOW WE YOU KNOW, SUPPORT THE WORK THAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO AND ALWAYS I LIKE TO GO A LITTLE EXTRA WITH EVERYTHING THAT I'M TRYING TO DO BECAUSE I
REALLY WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE SEIZING THESE OPPORTUNITIES. YEAH, I THINK FROM EVERYBODY FROM THIS CONVERSATION WHAT YOU'VE HEARD IS THERE'S A DESIRE TO EXPLORE WHAT IT MEANS
TO EXPAND THE DEFINITION OF PROTECTED CLASSES. RIGHT NOW IT IS A LIMITED CATEGORY AS MARK AND OTHERS HAVE MENTIONED, THIS CURRENT ORDINANCE SPECIFIES ELDERLY, DISABLED AND LOW AND MODERATE
INCOME TENANTS. WE HAD TALKED ABOUT VETERANS. I HAD BROUGHT UP FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN ANYONE WHO'S LIVED IN THEIR UNIT FOR MORE THAN FIVE YEARS BRING IT UP YOU ARE BRINGING UNDOCUMENTED FOLKS.
I THINK THESE ARE ALL THINGS THAT WE WELL AT LEAST FOR ME I GENERALLY AGREE THEM IN VALUE AND I THINK IT WOULD BE A WORTHWHILE ENDEAVOR TO EXPLORE
WHAT IT MIGHT MEAN TO AS YOU MENTIONED HAVE THIS ORDINANCE AND THEN HAVE AN ACCOMPANYING HOMER PETITION OR IF IT LOOKS LIKE TRYING TO PARTNER WITH SOME OF OUR STATE COLLEAGUES TO
HAVE THEM INTRODUCE SOMETHING UP THERE WHATEVER IT LOOKS LIKE I'M CERTAINLY COMMITTED TO EXPLORING THAT AS A SUPPLEMENTARY DOCKET TO GO FURTHER I THANK YOU CHAIR FOR
FOR YOUR WILLINGNESS TO DO THAT. IT'S NOTED AND APPRECIATE IT AND I'LL JUST SAY FOR MY OWN EDIFICATION WHILE I STILL HAVE
THE MIC IS THAT IT HAS BEEN A VERY, YOU KNOW, INTERESTING TIME IN THE POLICYMAKING SPACE HERE IN THE FEDERATION OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS.
AND SO I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WHENEVER I'M SHOWING UP TO A HEARING I HELP PUSH US A LITTLE BIT FURTHER THAT THAT PUSH COMES FROM A PLACE OF WANTING PUSH COMES FROM A PLACE OF WANTING TO MAKE IT BETTER.
BUT IF THERE ARE THINGS THAT I'M PROPOSING THAT CAN'T BE DONE, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR EVERYONE TO MANAGE MY EXPECTATIONS SO THAT I DON'T, YOU KNOW, WALK AWAY OH YOU KNOW WE CAN'T DO IT. SO I DO APPRECIATE THAT THE
FEEDBACK REGARDING THE STATUE AND WHAT WE CAN AND CANNOT DO AND THERE ARE UNDERSTANDING WHERE THE PLACES THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO PUSH A LITTLE BIT HARDER.
SO I APPRECIATE YOUR TIME AND YOUR WILLINGNESS TO ANSWER MY QUESTIONS. I KNOW I AM AT TIME SO I APPRECIATE THE INDULGENCE.
YOU CAN ANSWER MEJIA. I'M JUST MAKING SURE THAT NO ONE ELSE HAS JOINED US FROM WORK. WE HAVE COUNCILOR AARON MURPHY I APOLOGIZE COUNSELOR MURPHY I DIDN'T SEE YOU COME IN.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE GO RIGHT AHEAD. I'M SORRY I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS AT THIS TIME.
I'VE JUST BEEN LISTENING. THANK YOU THOUGH I JUST WANT TO THANK MY COLLEAGUES FOR THEIR GREAT AND VOCAL QUESTIONS. OF COURSE COUNSELOR BREADON AND TALKED ABOUT THE LOOK BACK.
I WANTED TO FIGURE OUT HOW EFFECTIVE THAT HAS BEEN AND KATRINA I HEARD YOU ABOUT AND CLAIRE IT'S LESS ABOUT THE TIME AND JUST THE ABILITY TO IMPROVE
THE ENFORCEMENT PROCESS BUT THEN ALSO MAKE IT A A CULTURAL I FORGET THE WORD THAT YOU USED BUT JUST ENSURING THAT PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT IT.
HOW OFTEN ARE YOU GETTING SO WE'RE GOING THROUGH THE PROCESS AND TRACKING THE MASTER DEEDS AND ALL OF THAT AND GETTING INFORMATION AS IT RELATES TO PERMITS. HOW OFTEN ARE YOU GETTING THIS INFORMATION FROM BOTH ESTY AND
THE REGISTRY OF DEEDS? IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU AND YOUR STAFF HAVE TO PROACTIVELY GET OR IS THAT SOMETHING THAT THEY PROVIDE FOR YOU AS PART OF THIS? WE TRACK ALL THIS ON A WEEKLY BASIS.
OH EXCELLENT. OKAY, GREAT. OKAY. AND I DO WANT TO LEVEL THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE IF I CAN BACK UP JUST ABOUT THE IMPACT
OF THIS. SO WE TALKED ABOUT THE 2100 CONVERSIONS THAT HAVE TAKEN PLACE HAVE WE AND DO WE HAVE ANY DATA ABOUT HOW MANY PEOPLE
WE'VE HELPED AFTER THE 2021 CHANGE I CAN PUT THAT TOGETHER FOR YOU BUT I BELIEVE THE ANSWER IS VERY, VERY LOW
BECAUSE AS I SPOKE TO EARLIER, MOST OF THE CONVERSIONS WE SEE ARE AT THE POINT OF MASTER DEED WHICH IS WHY IN THE LAST YEAR WE'VE STARTED INITIATING THESE
NEW TRACKING PROCESSES TO CATCH CONVERSIONS EARLIER IN THE PROCESS. BUT EVEN MORE IMPORTANTLY THE WAY THE ORDINANCE IS WRITTEN RIGHT NOW TO COVER ONLY CONVERSIONS IN FOUR PLUS UNIT
BUILDINGS THERE JUST ARE NOT THAT MANY THAT TRIGGER THE ORDINANCE. IT'S A PRETTY SMALL NUMBER. I CAN LOOK IT UP FOR YOU AND
MANY OF THOSE ARE NOT TENANT OKAY OKAY. AND I'M JUST LOOKING AT MY NOTES HERE THERE'S THERE'S SO
MUCH THAT I WANT TO GO OVER AND THIS IS I GUESS THIS IS MORE FOR OUR WORKING SESSION BUT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT IMPROVING ENFORCEMENT PROCESSES. IT SEEMS LIKE OWNERS EITHER
DON'T KNOW TO COME TO YOU OR THERE'S REALLY NO ABILITY FOR US TO EITHER PROVIDE A STICK IF THEY DON'T WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IMPROVING ENFORCEMENT PROCESSES.
IS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU WANTED TO EMBED IN THIS ORDINANCE THAT WOULD PROVIDE A MECHANISM OR A LEVER FOR US TO PROVIDE THAT EITHER CHARACTERISTIC FOR PROPERTY OWNERS TO COME TO US AHEAD
OF TIME OR IF THEY DON'T THEN THEY HAVE SOME SORT OF FEE OR SOMETHING THAT WE INSTITUTE THAT EITHER PUTS THEM ON NOTICE
AND THEN LIMITS THEM IN THE FUTURE. I DON'T KNOW. IS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU ALL HAVE TALKED ABOUT INTERNALLY THAT YOU WANTED TO INCLUDE IN THIS? YEAH, I THINK THERE'S A THERE'S A FEW IDEAS BATTING AROUND AND I REALLY WOULD LOOK FORWARD TO
A WORKING SESSION WHERE WE CAN ROLL UP OUR SLEEVES AND GET INTO THE DETAILS. ONE IDEA THAT WE HAVE IS TALK THAT WE'VE SPOKEN ABOUT IS A PRELIMINARY PERMIT SO A PROPERTY OWNER WOULD COME IN AND THEY WOULD ASK FOR A
PRELIMINARY CONVERSION PERMIT EARLIER IN THE PROCESS YOU KNOW, LIKE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PROCESS AND IT WOULD BE ISSUED AND THEN THERE WOULD BE THE ENTIRE TIMELINE WITH THE
ONE YEAR NOTICE PERIOD, A FIVE YEAR NOTICE PERIOD, ETC., ETC. PRIOR TO THE FINAL CONVERSION PERMIT. AND SO THAT WOULD SET UP AN EARLIER TOUCHPOINT BETWEEN PROPERTY OWNERS AND THE CITY. SO THAT'S ONE IDEA.
ANOTHER IDEA THAT WE'VE BEEN DISCUSSING IS IF YOU COME IN AND YOUR UNITS HAVE BEEN CLEARED OUT WITHIN THAT 12 MONTH LOOKBACK PERIOD THAT WE WOULD IMPLEMENT IN EFFECT A
WAITING PERIOD BETWEEN THE CONVERSION PERMIT AND THE FINAL CONVERSION PERMIT AND THAT WOULD ACT AS LIKE A STICK. SO IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE MADE TO WAIT TO GET YOUR FINAL PERMIT COME IN BEFORE YOU CLEAR
OUT YOUR UNITS. SO THOSE ARE A COUPLE PROPERTIES WE'VE BEEN DISCUSSING. OKAY. OKAY. THAT THAT MAKES SENSE AND I THINK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE SPONSORS AND WITH YOU WE CAN
COME UP WITH SOMETHING I THINK THAT WOULD MAKE SENSE TO INCLUDE IT OF COURSE WITH THAT TO EXPAND ON THAT CONVERSATION IN A WORKING SESSION. BUT IT'S GREAT TO HEAR THAT YOU'VE ALREADY CONSIDERED THIS PRELIMINARY PERMIT AS AS A WAY TO GET THEM IN AHEAD OF TIME.
BUT IT IS GOING TO GO HAND IN HAND WITH THE OUTREACH AND EDUCATION RIGHT OF THE FOLKS THAT ARE DOING THIS AND AND MADAM CHAIR AND ALSO I'D YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH ISG AS WELL WHO IS
FIGHTING FOR NONCOMPLIANCE NOW IT'S $300 PER UNIT PER DAY. THAT'S A PRETTY HEFTY STACK AND WE'VE IMPLEMENTED A PRETTY REPETITIVE COMMUNICATION
PROCESS WITH VIOLATORS. SO THOSE WHO FILE FOR MASTER DEED WITHOUT A CONVERSION PERMIT SO THAT THEY KNOW THAT THAT FINDING IS COMING IF THEY DON'T COME IN AND RETROACTIVELY COMPLY.
OKAY, THAT'S GREAT. YEAH, I KNOW THAT THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF WORK DONE ADMINISTRATIVELY IN A CITY SO THAT'S GREAT THAT YOU ALL ARE COORDINATING WITH THEM. WHO OVERSEES THIS WORKFLOW PROCESS WITHIN YOUR DEPARTMENT? IS THAT YOU HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE
GETTING THAT DATA AND REVIEWING IT IN REAL TIME OR WEEKLY? IT'S MY TEAM AND SO IT'S MY MYSELF AND THERE IS A STAFF PERSON WHO IS FOCUSED ON THE LIST AS ONE OF THEIR PRIMARY
RESPONSIBILITIES. OKAY. AND THEN OF COURSE IF THIS WERE TO PASS AND WE ARE ABLE TO DO TOO PLUS NON NON OWNER IT WOULD EXPAND HOW MANY FOLKS DO YOU
THINK THAT YOU WOULD NEED TO DO THIS EFFECTIVELY? I WOULD I WOULD HAVE TO REFLECT ON THAT TO GIVE YOU A REALISTIC NUMBER. I'M HAPPY TO DO THAT. COME BACK. THANK YOU.
WE TALKED EXTENSIVELY ABOUT PROTECTED CATEGORIES. THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I DEFINITELY WANT TO DIVE INTO AND RESEARCH AND THEN MAYBE DEVELOP SOMETHING IN THE FUTURE WORKING SESSION.
MAC, I'M GOING TO SWITCH TO YOU AND YOU TALKED ABOUT SOME CHALLENGES THAT YOU HAD SEEN IN SOME OF THOSE REGARDING RIGHT PURCHASE. CAN YOU JUST EXPAND ON THAT A LITTLE BIT AND WE'RE HAPPY TO
DO THAT. SO IN SOMERVILLE WHAT HAD HAPPENED WAS THAT THEY WANTED TO GIVE THE CITY ESSENTIALLY A RIGHT TO PURCHASE THE UNITS AT
THE TIME OF CONVERSION AND THE THIS WAS PART OF LITIGATION THAT WAS BROUGHT AGAINST SOMERVILLE'S OVERALL ORDINANCE AND THE SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE
EVENTUALLY FOUND THAT MOST OF WHAT SOMERVILLE DID WAS PERFECTLY FINE NO PROBLEM. BUT ON THIS PARTICULAR ONE THE JUDGE SAID I'VE GOT AN ISSUE
BECAUSE IN FACT WE'RE NOT SHOWING THAT THIS IS A PARTICULAR PROTECTION FOR PEOPLE AGAINST DISPLACEMENT. IT'S ESSENTIALLY MAYBE TRYING
TO CREATE AFFORDABLE HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES IN THE CITY BUT IT ISN'T NECESSARILY PROTECTING THESE PARTICULAR INDIVIDUALS AGAINST DISPLACEMENT. AND SO THAT'S PARTLY THE ISSUE.
AND WHILE THERE IS SOME LANGUAGE THAT'S IN THE STATEWIDE CONDO LAW ABOUT CITY RIGHTS TO PURCHASE AND RESIDENT RIGHTS TO PURCHASE IT MOSTLY HAS TO DO WITH WHAT HAPPENS IF
THE CITY ALREADY HAS A RIGHT TO PURCHASE AND THEREFORE MAY HAVE THE RIGHT TO TRUMP THE RESIDENTS RIGHT TO PURCHASE IF THE CITY IS WISHING TO EXERCISE
THAT AND THAT DOES EXIST SOME PLACES IN BOSTON YOU KNOW FOR EXAMPLE I KNOW IN THE EIGHTIES THERE WERE A NUMBER OF THINGS THAT WENT THROUGH WHAT WAS BRAY
AT THE TIME WERE ACTUALLY ENDED UP WITH A BUNCH OF CONDO UNITS IN ITS RENTAL STOCK BECAUSE OF THAT AND BECAUSE THEN THE
CITY AND THE VHA HAD RIGHTS TO PURCHASE UNITS THAT OTHERWISE THEY DIDN'T HAVE. SO THAT'S THE CHALLENGE THAT EXISTS IS WHETHER OR NOT THERE'S SOME WAY TO SORT
OF THREAD THE NEEDLE TO GET OPPORTUNITIES TO SORT OF HELP RESIDENTS AVOID DISPLACEMENT WHO MAY BE INTERESTED IN PURCHASING. THEY MAY NOT BE ABLE TO
PURCHASE BY THEMSELVES, THEY MAY IT MAY BE THINGS LIKE SORT OF THINKING OF THE ALTERNATIVES OF LIKE COULD WE DO A YOU KNOW, LIMITED EQUITY CO-OP INSTEAD THAT MIGHT BE ABLE TO PRESERVE
AND ADD SOME OF THE STUFF THAT THE CITY HAS BEEN FACING CHALLENGES ALREADY AROUND SORT OF WHEN IT GOES WITH ITS ACQUISITION TASK FORCE AND SORT OF LIKE HOW CAN WE AVOID THINGS
SORT OF JUST GOING INTO THE PRIVATE MARKET AND RESULTING IN DISPLACEMENT? ARE THERE OPPORTUNITIES HERE THAT ACTUALLY MIGHT PRESERVE A COMMUNITY RESOURCE SO THAT
OTHERS CAN SPEAK FAR MORE ELOQUENTLY TO THAT THAN I CAN? BUT THAT'S THAT'S THAT'S THE CHALLENGE. THANK YOU AND THANK YOU FOR EXPANDING ON THAT. DOES THE ADMINISTRATION WANT TO
EXPAND ON THAT AT ALL OR NOT? YOU KNOW, WE HAVE BEEN TRYING TO WORK WITH NONPROFITS AND SOME FOR PROFITS ON ACQUISITIONS MORE YOU KNOW, A LOT MORE THAN WE EVER HAVE IN
THE PAST THE THE RIGHT TO PURCHASE. I'M JUST WONDERING MAC, I JUST A QUESTION FOR YOU. IS IT AFTER THE CONVERSION OR DOES A STATE LAW IS IT AFTER THE CONVERSION OR IS IT BEFORE THE CONVERSION?
IT'S ESSENTIALLY AT THE TIME OF THE CONVERSION. SO THAT'S WHY WE IN FACT HAVE IT AS SOMETHING THAT'S SEPARATE FROM THE DISPLACEMENT BECAUSE
AS I SAID, THERE MAY BE TIMES WHERE AN OWNER WANTS TO CONVERT A WHOLE BUILDING TO THE CONDOMINIUM FOR VOTERS. YEP. HAS NO INTEREST IN DISPLACING EXISTING RESIDENTS BUT YOU MAY
VERY WELL HAVE AN EXISTING RESIDENT WHO SAYS I'D LIKE TO TAKE THAT OPPORTUNITY TO BECOME THE OWNER OF MY OWN UNIT RATHER THAN HAVE SOME STRANGER COME IN AND BE THAT OLDER.
SO YEAH, THAT'S THAT'S WHEN IT TAKES PLACE RIGHT? AND I DO JUST WANT TO UPLIFT COUNCILMAN HIS IDEA OF TRYING TO FORMALIZE THE PARTNERSHIP
BETWEEN FIRST TIME HOME OWNERSHIP AND THIS PERIOD IN WHICH THEY HAVE 12 MONTHS BEFORE THE TENANT MUST VACATE GET THEIR BEARINGS IN ORDER AND IF THEY DO WANT TO PURCHASE THE UNIT, I THINK THAT THAT'S
THAT'S A GREAT IDEA. I KNOW THAT THAT WOULD MORE SO BE LIKE AN INTERNAL POLICY CHANGE BUT I GUESS SHEILA, FOR OUR EDIFICATION IS THERE ANYTHING THAT THAT WE SHOULD KNOW LIKE THE TIME THAT IT
TAKES TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT TO SET UP THE SYSTEMS? I KNOW THAT YOU ALREADY PROVIDED THAT ANSWER TO MEJIA BUT I'M LOOKING ON THE PROGRAM SO CERTAINLY THE PROGRAMS TO ASSIST PEOPLE TO PURCHASE THEY
EXIST, RIGHT? SO IF IF A LANDLORD GAVE A RIGHT TO PURCHASE AND A PRICE COULD BE AGREED UPON THEN THE OWNER, THE RESIDENT IN THAT
UNIT COULD START WORKING ON GETTING THEMSELVES READY TO PURCHASE WHAT WE HAVE IN CONTEMPLATED BEYOND DOWN PAYMENT IN BETTER INTEREST RATE MORTGAGE PRODUCTS ETC. IS TRYING TO MAKE THE UNIT MORE
AFFORDABLE. SO I THINK THE DIFFICULTY WOULD BE IF THE UNIT WAS SELLING FOR $900,000 SOMETHING THAT WOULD JUST YOU KNOW THEN THEN IT WOULD BECOME INFEASIBLE FOR TO
HELP ONE ONE HOUSEHOLD BUY A UNIT IF IT WAS MORE, YOU KNOW, MODERATELY PRICED AND WE COULD SORT OF PUT OUR HEADS TOGETHER . SO I THINK I THINK THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS, YOU KNOW,
WHETHER WE COULD IMPLEMENT SOMETHING LIKE THAT GREAT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. MY LAST QUESTION AND THEN WE CAN GO BACK TO COMFORT BRITISH HAS ANY MORE BUT THERE WERE SOME THERE WAS A SLIDE ABOUT
CHANGES. CAN YOU JUST TALK ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE? ANY CHANGES TO THE SPECIFIC LANGUAGE JUST SO WE HAVE IT WE CAN REVIEW IT AND THEN HAVE IT READY FOR THE WORKING SESSION. IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU
WANTED TO JUST DIVE IN TO AT A FUTURE DATE OR DID I MISUNDERSTAND A SLIDE THAT THERE WERE CERTAIN CHANGES TO
THE LANGUAGE WHAT WE WERE PROPOSING DISCUSSING MAKING CHANGES TO THE LANGUAGE TO IMPROVE ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT AND SO I THINK WE
CAN GET ON THAT AND GET YOU SOMETHING IN ADVANCE OF A WORKING SESSION OR OR DISCUSS AT A WORKING SESSION WHATEVER IS YOUR PREFERENCE. OKAY. I THINK I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE SOMETHING TO PRESENT AT THE
NEXT WORKING SESSION. I THINK IT'S CLEAR THAT WE NEED TO IMPROVE THE ENFORCEMENT MECHANISM OF THIS AND IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE REFLECTED AND WHATEVER WE PASS THAT IS SOMETHING I WANT YOU KNOW JUST TO BE ABLE TO SHOW
OUR COLLEAGUES THEY CAN REVIEW IT AND IT COULD BE OBVIOUSLY A TOPIC OF DISCUSSION AT THE NEXT WORKING SESSION. EXCELLENT. WE'LL DO THAT TOO FOR ME, COUNCILOR BREADON, WE HAD SOME
FOLKS DROP OFF. I THINK IT'S YOU AND COUNSELOR FITZGERALD BUT WE'RE THE LAST TWO STANDING AND MAYBE MACK IF YOU COULD SPEAK TO THAT AND ALL
THIS CITY RIGHT TO PURCHASE IS SOMETHING THAT THEY BUMPED INTO IN CAMBRIDGE. BUT YOU KNOW, THERE'S A GROUP OF TENANTS THE NOTION THAT PERHAPS THEY'D PARTNER WITH THE
CDC OR A LAND TRUST TO HELP THEM BECOME HOMEOWNERS AND THAT SITUATION HOW FEASIBLE IS THAT AND HAVE WE HAD MUCH EXPERIENCE WITH MAKING THAT WORK?
YEAH, I I'M FAMILIAR WITH THAT SINCE WE PASSED TENANT COLLEGE AND IT HAD A CONVERSATION WITH ME AND SEVERAL OF THOSE AND SEVERAL OF THOSE GROUPS AND I
CHASE A LONGER CONVERSATION BECAUSE OF THE LIMITATIONS IN THE STATEWIDE LANGUAGE. I THINK THERE ARE WAYS TO DO IT BUT THERE MAY BE A QUESTION
ABOUT WHAT BOSTON CITY COUNCIL COULD DO AGAIN VERSUS WHAT MAY BE IN THE STATEWIDE LAW AND I'D LOVE TO GET SOME OTHER OPINIONS ON THAT SUBJECT,
PARTICULARLY FROM LAW DEPARTMENT ON THAT ON THAT QUESTION THANK YOU. WELL, I THINK IT'S WORTH DIGGING INTO BECAUSE THAT'S SORT OF WHERE THE RUBBER HITS THE ROAD, ESPECIALLY IN IN A
NEIGHBORHOOD LIKE ALLSTON BRIGHTON WHERE WE HAVE A VERY LOW OCCUPANCY. YEAH, WE ALWAYS TRYING TO OFFER OUR RESIDENTS AN OPPORTUNITY TO PURCHASE IF WE CAN SO I WOULD
LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING A MORE DEEPER CONVERSATION ON THAT ISSUE. MADAM CHAIR THAT'S ALL I HAVE FOR NOW.
OKAY VERY WELL. I DON'T SEE ANYBODY ELSE ON FRIDAY WE MAY HAVE SOMEONE TOO FOR PUBLIC COMMENT AT SHORT NOTICE. CATHY BROWN WAS ALSO OH GREAT.
YEAH I THINK CATHY IS IS IN THE ZOOM SO WE'LL TRANSITION TO PUBLIC TESTIMONY JUST AGAIN WANT TO THANK THE ADMIN AND THANK MARIKA FOR YOUR WORK I REALLY LOOK FOR I LOVE THIS CONVERSATION AND IT'S SO TANGIBLE AND HAS SUCH AN IMPACT
AND THIS IS WHY I LOVE THIS JOB BECAUSE WE CAN PROVIDE THESE SORT OF PROTECTIONS FOR FOLKS WHO NEED IT MOST SO THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH. WE'LL TRANSITION TO PUBLIC TESTIMONY. WE'LL START WITH CATHY I
BELIEVE IS STILL ON THE LINE AND OR ANYBODY ELSE RUNNING FOR PUBLIC TESTIMONY. YES, I'M STILL ON THE LINE. A LOT OF INTERESTING QUESTIONS THAT FOLKS WERE ASKING. SO I'M CATHY BROWN.
I'M FROM THE BOSTON TENNIS COALITION AND BELIEVE IT OR NOT, THIS WAS OUR VERY FIRST CAMPAIGN THE ORIGINAL CONDOMINIUM CONVERSION AND I WORKED WITH MAC WAY BACK THEN
AND I REMEMBER BEING IN COUNTER COLETTA BEING IN THE NORTH END WITH MAYOR FLYNN WHEN IT WAS SIGNED AND I ALSO REMEMBER HOW
KAPLOW, A SENIOR TENANT IN JP WHOSE TENANCY WAS PRESERVED BECAUSE OF THIS ORDINANCE SO IT IS REALLY IMPORTANT THAT IT'S
BEEN IT'S DEFINITELY HAS BEEN A VERY IMPORTANT TOOL OVER THE YEARS. BUT AS FOLKS HAVE SAID, IT'S HAD LIMITS BECAUSE OF WHAT OUR HOUSING STOCK IS AND THAT'S WHY I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT WHAT
SENATOR EDWARDS DID AND WHAT IT'S FILED HERE AND THE OPPORTUNE WE NEED TO WORK ON NEXT SESSION BECAUSE I THINK
THERE'S A LOT OF POSSIBLE OPPORTUNITIES AND AND WORKING WITH COUNCILORS AND THE ADVOCATES AND DEVELOPERS TO TO MAKE THIS AS EFFECTIVE AS CAN BE, ESPECIALLY IN THE AREA
OF ACQUIRING MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING PEOPLE BEING ABLE TO PURCHASE NONPROFITS BEING ABLE TO PURCHASE ETC. AND I KNOW THAT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT SENATOR EDWARDS PART OF HER
INTEREST IN MAKING THE CHANGE AT THE STATE LEVEL WAS EXACTLY FOR THIS. AND I KNOW FOLKS THAT HAVE BEEN WORKING ON THE KIND OF UPGRADING OPPORTUNITY TO PURCHASE YOU KNOW WHAT ALL CAN
WE DO WITH THIS TO MAKE IT EVEN MORE EFFECTIVE. BUT AS ONE OF THE BIGGEST LIMITS LIMITS AND WHY I HOPE THAT WE CAN PASS IT SOON DO SOME WORKING SESSIONS, DO A LOT
NEXT SESSION BUT IN TERMS OF PASSING THIS IS CHANGING FROM THE FOUR UNIT TO THE TWO AND THREE FAMILY. I LIVE HERE IN JP I'M LOOKING
AT ALL THE HOUSES DOWN MY STREET OVER THERE OVER THERE THEY'RE ALL TRIPLE DECKERS AND WHO'VE BEEN BUYING THEM RECENTLY BUT INVESTORS SO THIS
IS SUCH A BIG CHANGE AND IT'S BEEN REALLY HARD OVER THE YEARS TO HAVE A JUST FOR SO MANY NEIGHBORHOODS AS YOU SHOWED IN THE SLIDE I THINK CARINA OF LOOKING AT ALL THE NEIGHBORHOODS THERE'S SO MANY
NEIGHBORS THAT NEIGHBORHOODS THAT ARE MADE UP OF TWO AND THREE FAMILIES THAT'S DEFINITELY MY NEIGHBORHOOD OF JAMAICA PLAIN AND SO I'M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING AGAIN AS I MENTIONED
BEFORE, WHAT OPPORTUNITIES MIGHT EXIST TO BE ABLE TO YOU KNOW, TO ALLOW MORE TENANTS OR NONPROFITS TO ACQUIRE WHEN THESE CONVERSIONS HAPPEN TO BE
ABLE TO GET THAT MUCH MORE HOUSING OFF THE SPECTRUM MARKET. AND I KNOW WHEN WE WE BOUGHT OUR HOUSE WITH ANOTHER FAMILY IN JP A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO AND WE CONVERTING WAS OWNER
OCCUPIED BUT WE SOLD OUR UNIT TO THE FIRST FLOOR TO THE TENANT BELOW MARKET BECAUSE THAT WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO. BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT INVESTORS
ARE DOING SO IT FEELS LIKE THIS IS IS REALLY EXCITING. I ALSO I ALSO THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT YOU WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE NOTICE TO OWNERS THE WORKING WITH TENANTS
I MEAN CAN WE DO A BIG PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN ABOUT CONDO CONVERSION PROTECTIONS AND YOU KNOW MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE NOT BEING EVICTED BECAUSE YOUR
OWNER PLANS TO COUNT CONDO CONVICT IN THE IN THE FUTURE. SO I'M REALLY HOPING THAT WE CAN LOOK AT THAT ALONG WITH, YOU KNOW, POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITIES TO PURCHASE
DEFINITELY IN TERMS OF PROTECTED CLASSES IMMIGRANTS ,VETERANS, WHATNOT. WE HAVE A LOT OF PROTECTED CLASSES, THANK GOODNESS IN OUR STATE FAIR HOUSING ACT AND WHAT CAN WE INCLUDING THOSE SOME
OF THEM WHAT CAN WE DO IN TERMS OF THIS ORDINANCE? SO AGAIN, MAYBE DO A WORKING SESSION BUT MAKE SURE THAT WE PASS IT SOON AND THEN NEXT SESSION I KNOW THAT A LOT
OF FOLKS INCLUDING TOWN ADVOCATES AND YOU KNOW, LAND TRUST FOLKS AND I THINK AGAIN SENATOR EDWARDS ARE REALLY INTERESTED TO SEEING THAT WE CAN DO ALL WE CAN TO MAKE THIS
EVEN STRONGER. BUT JUST, YOU KNOW, CHANGING IT FROM THE FOUR UNITS TO THE TWO AND THREE, IT'S A BIG CHANGE. SO YOU KNOW, THANK YOU,
COUNCILOR, FOR MAKING THIS SOON TO BE MAKING THIS HAPPEN AND I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU ON THE FUTURE. THANK YOU. EXCELLENT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. JACKIE, IT'S SO GOOD TO SEE YOU
AND JUST THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING THEY'VE DONE AND THE THE THE LESSON FOR ALL OF US TOO AND HOW TO ACTUALLY BE EFFECTIVE IN THIS WORK. OKAY. JUST MAKING SURE WE DON'T HAVE ANYBODY ELSE FOR PUBLIC TESTIMONY. NOPE.
NO ONE ELSE SIGNED UP. EXCELLENT. SO I HEAR EVERYBODY LOUD AND CLEAR. I THINK THAT THERE IS CERTAINLY MAYBE SOME CHANGES ONLY TO MAKE THINGS EVEN BETTER TO EXPAND SOME PROTECTIONS BUT CERTAINLY
MOVING QUICKLY IS MY GOAL AND I WILL DO EVERYTHING I CAN TO PROVIDE A DATE FOR WORKING SESSION AS QUICKLY AS WE CAN
AND EVERYBODY OF COURSES WILL BE INVITED. COUNCILOR BREADON I THINK IT MAY MAKE SENSE AND TO COUNCILOR FITZGERALD'S POINT IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO HAVE A EVERYBODY ALL STAKEHOLDERS AT THE TABLE IF THERE'S SOMEBODY
FROM THE HOMEOWNER'S ASSOCIATION, WHICHEVER ONE IT IS THAT MAKES SENSE THEY'RE IN THE CONVERSATION JUST TO GET THEIR TAKE. I ALWAYS WELCOME THAT AND I THINK IT MAKES FOR BETTER
POLICY. SO DO YOU WANT TO PROVIDE A CLOSING STATEMENT OR NO JUST TO THANK EVERYONE. IT'S VERY EXCITING. I THINK YOU KNOW, I TAKE
CATHY'S POINT. LET'S MOVE LET'S GET THIS GOING GET GET IT DONE AND YOU KNOW, SO MUCH OF POLICY IS SORT OF AN ITERATIVE POLICY PROCESS AND WE MAKE SMALL CHANGES BUT OVER
TIME THE CUMULATIVE CUMULATIVE IMPACT IS IMMENSE. SO I THINK EVEN JUST THIS CHANGE OF THE NUMBER OF UNITS THAT IT APPLIES TO IS GOING TO BE TRANSFORMATIONAL AND LET'S
DO IT AND I APPRECIATE YOUR LEADERSHIP, MADAM CHAIR, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO SCHEDULING A WORKING SESSION AT YOUR EARLIEST CONVENIENCE. SO AND THANK YOU MATT AND
CARINA AND CHIEF CHIEF DELON AND EVERYONE WHO'S PARTICIPATED THIS MORNING. I APPRECIATE YOUR ATTENDANCE SOME OF YOUR INSIGHTS. THANK YOU GREG OKAY WITH THAT
SAYS CHAIR THIS HEARING ON DOCKET 0766 IS ADJOURNED. THANKS EVERYONE. THANK YOU EVERYONE.
GOOD ONE Part: 2
FOR THE RECORD. MY NAME IS HENRY SANTANA AT-LARGE CITY COUNCILOR AND I AM THE CHAIR OF THE BOSTON CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE.
TODAY IS SEPTEMBER 20TH THREE, 2025 AND IT IS 2:08 P.M.. THIS HEARING IS BEING RECORDED IS ALSO BEING LIVESTREAMED AT BOSTON GOLF SLASH CITY
COUNCIL DASH TV AND BROADCASTED ARE ACTUALLY CHANNEL EIGHT RCN CHANNEL 82 AND FILES CHANNEL 964 BRING COMMENTS MAY BE SENT TO THE COMMITTEE EMAIL CC DART
PSP AS AT BOSTON DOT GOV AND WILL BE MADE PART OF THE RECORD AND AVAILABLE TO ALL COUNCILORS. PUBLIC TESTIMONY WILL BE TAKEN AT THE END OF THIS HEARING
INDIVIDUALS WILL BE CALLED ON IN THE ORDER IN WHICH THEY SIGNED UP AND WILL HAVE 2 MINUTES TO TESTIFY. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN TESTIFYING IN PERSON PLEASE ADD YOUR NAME TO THE SIGN UP SHEET NEAR THE ENTRANCE OF THE
CHAMBER. IF YOU ARE LOOKING TO TESTIFY VIRTUALLY PLEASE EMAIL OUR CENTRAL STAFF LIAISON CORA MANTRA AND CORA DART MANSION BOSTON DOT GOV FOR THE LINK AND
YOUR NAME WILL BE ADDED TO THE LIST. TODAY'S HEARING IS ON DOCKET NUMBER 0322 ORDER FOR A HEARING TO DISCUSS WAYS TO ENSURE
OPERATIONS OF THE 911 SYSTEM AND CONTINGENCY PLAN IN CASE OF A911 SYSTEM OUTAGE THIS WAS SPONSORED BY COUNCILORS ED FLYNN AND COUNCILORS ERIN
MURPHY AND WAS REFERRED TO THE COMMITTEE ON JANUARY 29, 2025. TODAY I AM JOINED BY MY COLLEAGUES IN ORDER OF ARRIVAL COUNCILOR ERIN MURPHY AND
COUNSELOR ED FLYNN AND COUNCILOR JOHN FITZGERALD. WE'VE ALSO RECEIVED A LETTER OF ABSENCE FROM BOTH COUNCILOR BRIAN MONROE AND
COUNCILOR AND RECAP BUT BEFORE I INTRODUCE TODAY'S PANELISTS I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE MY COLLEAGUES THE OPPORTUNITY FOR OPENING REMARKS STARTING WITH COUNCILOR MURPHY.
YOU HAVE THE FLOOR. THANK YOU. THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE. WE ARE WELL REPRESENTED BY ALL OF OUR FIRST RESPONDERS AND THOSE WHO SUPPORT OUR CALL
TAKERS. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. I'M JUST GOING TO DO A LITTLE BACKGROUND BECAUSE WE DID FILE THIS HEARING ORDER IN JANUARY NINE MONTHS AGO FOR AN INCIDENT THAT HAD HAPPENED A YEAR AND A
HALF AGO. SO JUST TO KIND OF CATCH US UP TO SPEED. COUNCILOR FLYNN AND I FILED THIS ORDER TO DISCUSS WAYS TO ENSURE THAT OPERATIONS OF THE 911 SYSTEM AND ANY CONTINGENCY
PLANS THAT ARE NEEDED FOR ANY 911 SYSTEM OUTAGE. WE KNOW THAT BACK ON JUNE 18TH IN 2024 THERE WAS A STATEWIDE
911 SYSTEM OUTAGE FOR ABOUT 2 HOURS WHICH WAS CONCERNING FOR MANY PEOPLE AND OBVIOUSLY ALL OF OUR FIRST RESPONDERS POLICE, FIRE, EMS NEEDED TO, YOU KNOW,
FIGURE OUT HOW TO MAKE SURE YOU WERE ANSWERING THE CALLS THAT YOU SHOW UP EVERY DAY TO ANSWER INITIAL INVESTIGATIONS INDICATED THAT THE OUTAGE WAS DUE TO A FIREWALL MALFUNCTION
AND THAT MASSACHUSETTS 911 SYSTEM IS BASED ON THE SAME TECHNOLOGIES THAT COULD HAVE THIS NEXT GENERATION 911 SYSTEM GO OUT AGAIN. SO THERE WERE CONCERNS THEN
THAT WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE WE HAVE THE YOU KNOW, TOP OF THE LINE EQUIPMENT FOR ALL OF OUR FIRST RESPONDERS. WE NEED TO ENSURE THAT THE 911 SYSTEM HAS REDUNDANCIES IN
PLACE SO THAT ANY SYSTEM WIDE OUTAGE WILL NOT HAPPEN AGAIN AND THAT EACH DEPARTMENT HAS A PLAN IN PLACE IN CASE OF ISSUES WITH ANY 911 SYSTEM SINCE THEN
WE'VE HAD BACK IN AUGUST THERE WAS THERE WAS A POLICE MAIN RADIO WENT DOWN FOR NEARLY 30 MINUTES THAT WAS A CONCERN AGAIN WHAT HAPPENS RIGHT WHEN
OUR OFFICES CAN'T COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER WHEN THE RESIDENTS OF THE CITY CAN'T CALL IN TO REPORT, YOU KNOW, A CRIME OR A MEDICAL ISSUE THAT THEY NEED TO ADDRESS FOR
COUNCIL OF FLYNN. AND I ALSO WROTE A LETTER TO COMMISSIONER COX CALLING FOR AN INVESTIGATION INTO THAT FAILED SYSTEM AND ALSO IN AUGUST AFTER DOING A TOUR OF THE THAT
HEADQUARTERS THANK YOU FOR BRINGING MYSELF AND MY TEAM AROUND AND I KNOW SOME OF MY OTHER COLLEAGUES HAVE TAUGHT IT TO SEE FIRST HAND THE HARD WORK OUR 911 DISPATCHERS DO IN OUR EMS SIDE OF THE CALL TAKERS
KNOWING THAT YOU KNOW, EMS NEEDS WE NEED AN UPGRADE TO THAT SYSTEM TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY WITH THE HOSPITALS AND WHEN
WE'RE ANSWERING CALLS YOU KNOW AND I KNOW THAT WE ALWAYS THIS BODY NOT ALWAYS BOTH MAKE SURE MYSELF AND OTHERS ADVOCATE WHEN IT COMES TO EQUIPMENT THAT OUR
FIRE DEPARTMENT NEEDS, THAT OUR POLICE NEED AND THAT EMS THAT IF YOU'RE OUT THERE PROTECTING US THAT YOU HAVE EVERYTHING YOU NEED AND SUPPORT. SO I'M HOPING THAT THIS CONVERSATION WITH ALL OF YOU EXPERTS HERE CAN HELP EASE ANY
CONCERNS RESIDENTS HAVE OR I HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT IF THERE IS A NEED FOR ANY UPGRADE TO ANY SYSTEM THAT WE'VE ALREADY FIGURED OUT HOW TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN ANSWER ANY CALL THAT COMES THROUGH.
SO THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE AND LOOKING FORWARD TO YOU ANSWERING ANY QUESTIONS WE HAVE . AWESOME. THANK YOU. COUNCILOR MURPHY COUNCILOR FLYNN, YOU HAVE THE FLOOR.
THANK YOU MR CHAIR. THANK YOU TO THE DEDICATED AND PROFESSIONAL CITY EMPLOYEES THAT ARE HERE FOR THE IMPORTANT WORK YOU DO EVERY DAY ACROSS
THE CITY. THANK YOU TO THE CHAIR OF COUNCIL SANTANA FOR HOLDING THE HEARING. THANK YOU TO COUNCILOR MURPHY FOR REALLY TAKING THE LEAD ON
ENSURING THAT RESIDENTS KNOW EXACTLY WHAT TO DO IF THERE IS A911 OUTAGE AND HOW WE COMMUNICATE CRITICAL PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUES.
COUNCILOR MURPHY TALKED ABOUT THE 911 SYSTEM THAT FAILED STATEWIDE REALLY DUE TO A FIREWALL MALFUNCTION PREVENTING
RESIDENTS FROM CALLING 11911. WHEN THAT HAPPENED RESIDENTS WERE TOLD TO CALL THEIR LOCAL POLICE AND FIRE STATIONS FOR EMERGENCIES OR PULL THE NEAREST FIREBOX TO NOTIFY PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCIES.
I THINK IT ALSO IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF WHY WE NEED THESE FIRE ALARM ON STREET CORNERS IN THE CITY OF BOSTON. THEY'RE NOT OBSOLETE.
THEY PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE IN PUBLIC SAFETY. I'VE SEEN THEM HOW EFFECTIVE THEY ARE IN THE 911 CALLS THAT COME IN TO EMS, BOSTON POLICE
AND BOSTON FIRE ARE HANDLED PROFESSIONALLY. IT'S NOT IT'S NOT THE TIME TO DOWNSIZE. IT'S ALSO CRITICAL THAT WE EDUCATE AND INFORM RESIDENTS
OF HOW TO CONTACT THEIR PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENTS IN CASE THEY CAN'T DIAL 911 DIRECTLY. I REPRESENT A LARGE IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY.
I ALSO REPRESENT A LARGE SPANISH SPEAKING COMMUNITY, A LARGE CANTONESE SPEAKING COMMUNITY AND THE LARGEST NUMBER OF RESIDENTS LIVING IN PUBLIC HOUSING OF ANY DISTRICT
COUNCILOR. I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE EDUCATE EVERYBODY ACROSS THE CITY ESPECIALLY VULNERABLE POPULATIONS ON HOW TO EFFECTIVELY COMMUNICATE IF THERE IS A SYSTEM DOWN.
THANK YOU MR CHAIR. LOOKING FORWARD TO HEARING FROM THE TESTIMONY AND COUNCILOR FLYNN, COUNCILOR FITZGERALD, YOU HAVE THE FLOOR. THANK YOU CHAIR AND THANK YOU TO THE PANEL ALL THAT GREAT
FOLKS, FIRST RESPONDERS AND ALL THE WORK YOU DO FOR OUR CITY. HAPPY TO LEARN MORE ABOUT WHAT OCCURRED AND WHAT STEPS HAVE BEEN TAKEN I'M SURE SINCE THEN TO MAKE SURE IT DOESN'T HAPPEN AGAIN AND I LOOK FORWARD TO THE
EDUCATION. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, COUNCILOR FITZGERALD. AGAIN, I WANT TO THANK OUR PANELISTS FOR BEING HERE. I'M NOT GOING TO INTRODUCE TODAY'S PANELISTS.
SO WITH US TODAY WE HAVE JAMES HOOLEY WHO IS THE CHIEF OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT SERVICES, CHRIS WALSH WHO THE DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT AND TECHNOLOGY SERVICES DIVISION
COMMANDER WITH THE BUREAU OF ADMINISTRATION AND TECHNOLOGY WITH THE BOSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT. CHRISTOPHER MARK COOLEY'S DIRECTOR OPERATIONS DIVISION
WITH IAN 911 BOSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT AND CHRISTOPHER BURKE, DEPUTY CHIEF OF BOSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT. ROBERT BARNES, DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT WITH EMS AND
JASON JUDKINS WHO IS THE PRESIDENT OF THE EMS UNION. SO THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE WITH US. IF YOU CAN, I'M GOING TO TURN THE FLOOR OVER TO YOU ALL IF
YOU ALL CAN SAY YOUR NAME AND TITLE FOR FOR THE RECORD AND I'LL TURN IT OVER TO YOU ALL FOR A PRESENTATION OR ANY REMARKS YOU MAY HAVE JUST GO
AHEAD STAFF CHIEF YEP. ALL RIGHT. ALL RIGHT. ALL RIGHT. GOOD AFTERNOON. THANK YOU.
CASA SANTANA COUNSELORS ARE A THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TODAY AND I'M HONORED TO REPRESENT MEMBERS OF BOSTON EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES. MY NAME IS JIM WOOLEY AND I'M
THE CHIEF OF BOSTON EMS BEFORE I BEGIN, I WANT TO INTRODUCE MY COLLEAGUE, DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT ROBERT BONDS. HE'S ONE OF OUR DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENTS. HE'S ONE OF TWO THAT OVERSEE
DISPATCH OPERATIONS. TONYA DEVI IS THE THE OTHER ONE AND SHE'S ON A DAY OFF TODAY. I'D LIKE TO START BY GIVING A
BRIEF OVERVIEW OF BOSTON EMS AND THEN OUR CALL TAKING PROCESS OUR DEPARTMENT IS COMPRISED OF 440 EMTS AND PARAMEDICS SUPPORTED BY AN ADDITIONAL 32 SUPPORT SERVICE
BY NINE UNIFORMED PERSONNEL EACH YEAR WE RESPOND TO OVER 140,000 CLINICAL INCIDENTS TRANSPORTING MORE THAN 93,000 PATIENTS WITHIN OUR OWN COLLEGE PLACED IN BOSTON.
ITS FIRST RECEIVE A PUBLIC SAFETY ANSWERING POINT OR THE PIECE UP AT BOSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT. THE POLICE CALL TAKER DETERMINES THE PRIMARY NATURE
OF THE EMERGENCY WHETHER IT INVOLVES A REQUEST FOR POLICE, FIRE OR EMS. IF THE CALL IS DETERMINED TO BE AN EMERGENCY MEDICAL CALL, A CALL IS TRANSFERRED ONE BUTTON
THEY KEEP THE CALLER ON THE LINE ONE BUTTON AND IT IT ACTUALLY COMES RIGHT UP IN THE AIR AND HEADPHONES OF OUR EMT
CALL TAKER AT BOSTON U.S. DISPATCH ARE CALL TAKERS. OUR BOSTON EMS ACADEMY TRAINED EMTS, ALL WHO WERE CERTIFIED BUT IT TOOK US SAME ACADEMY AS
OUR FOLKS IN THE FIELD. MANY OF THEM WERE WORKED MANY YEARS IN THE FIELD BEFORE THEY CAME UP TO DISPATCH AS WELL. THAT EMT WILL THEN DISCUSS SERIES OF STANDARDIZED
QUESTIONS USING ESTABLISHED EMERGENCY MEDICAL DISPATCH GUIDELINES TO GATHER INFORMATION DETERMINES HOW THE CALL IS PRIORITIZED AND PROVIDE PRE-ARRIVAL INSTRUCTIONS.
WELL, A DISPATCHER THEN DISPATCHES ONE OR MORE RESPONSE UNITS CALLED THE CALL IS TRIAGED AND CALLED PRIORITIZATION IS IN PLACE TO
ENSURE THAT THE RIGHT RESOURCES GET DISPATCHED TO THE RIGHT LOCATION WITHIN THE RIGHT TIME FRAME. THE CALL TAPE IS CALLED TYPE THAT IS DETERMINED BY A CALL
TAKER. THEN ALSO THAT TRIGGERS THE RESPONSE TO A CALL TYPE ONE CALL TYPE MAY GO TO A JUST STAY WITH THE EMS. IT MAY BE ALLISON BLISS OR IT
MIGHT INVOLVE US AND FIRE OR US AND THE POLICE OR MIGHT INVOLVE ALL THREE AGENCIES BUT AS SOON AS YOU SELECT THE CALL TYPE IT IT APPEARS ON THE DISPATCH SCREEN OF ALL THREE AGENCIES
FIRE ACUITY CASES SUCH AS PRIORITY ONE CALLS THE DISPATCHER MAY REDIRECT UNITS OR EN ROUTE TO A LOWER PRIORITY CALL AND IT'S SIMILAR TO A AN EMERGENCY ROOM WHERE YOU THE
MORE ACUTE PAD PATIENT GETS SEEN FIRST REQUESTS FOR TEAMS CAN ALSO COME DIRECTLY FROM OUR PUBLIC SAFETY PARTNERS WHO MAY ADD US TO AN INCIDENT OR TRANSFER A CALL TO US FOR
EXAMPLE POLICE AND FIRE OR SOME OTHER INCIDENT AND THEY DETERMINE THEY NEED EMS FOR ANY MEDICAL OF REQUESTS. HAVING THE CALL IS INFORMATION
AND CALLBACK NUMBER IS ESSENTIAL PARTICULARLY IF ADDITIONAL DETAILS ARE REQUIRED REGARDING THE PATIENT OR THE LOCATION THE NAME OF ONE CALL
TAKE THE SYSTEM KNOWN AS NEXGEN 911 IS PROVIDED AND MANAGED BY THE MASSACHUSETTS STATE 911 DEPARTMENT. WE'RE GRATEFUL TO OUR PARTNERS THE BPD WHO OVERSEE AND
MAINTAIN THE 911 SYSTEM HARDWARE AND DISPATCH OPERATIONS WHICH IS CO-LOCATED AT BOSTON POLICE DISPATCHES DISPATCH OPERATIONS ON THE SAME
FLOOR JUST A GLASS WALL AND DOOR SEPARATES US. THE COMPUTER AIDED DISPATCH SYSTEM ALSO KNOWN AS CAD IS SHARED BY BOSTON EMS FIRE AND
POLICE AND MAINTAIN IN COORDINATION WITH EACH RESPECTIVE PUBLIC SAFETY SERVICE AND THIS A JOINT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM TO OVERSEE
THAT A91 BACKUP CENTER IS LOCATED AND OPERATED AT BOSTON FIRE ALARM TO ENSURE CONTINUITY OF OPERATIONS SHOULD DISPATCH
OPERATIONS BE COMPROMISED. STATE SCHROEDER THERE ARE PROCEDURES IN PLACE IN THE EVENT THERE IS AN INTERRUPTION OR AN OUTAGE THAT IMPACTS THE
911 SYSTEM ON JUNE 18TH, 2024, AS COUNCILOR MURPHY POINTED OUT SHORTLY AFTER 1 P.M. THE STATE'S NEXT GEN 911 SYSTEM DID EXPERIENCE SUCH A STATEWIDE
OUTAGE. THERE WAS NO NOTICE OF A NO PLANNED DOWNTIME OR WAR. IT WAS TRULY AN UNANNOUNCED MERGED EMERGENCY WHILE 911
PHONE LINES WERE IMPACTED. BOSTON EMS DISPATCH PROCEDURES AND CENTRAL MEDICAL EMERGENCY DISPATCH REMAIN FULLY OPERATIONAL. THE FOLLOWING CONTINGENT
CONTINGENCY ACTIONS WERE IMMEDIATELY TAKEN BY MEMBERS OF BOSTON EMS DISPATCH OPERATIONS ON THAT OCCASIONS NOTIFICATIONS WERE MADE IMMEDIATELY TO STATE 911
INFORMING THEM THAT CALLS WERE NOT COMING THROUGH THE BROADER HEALTHCARE SYSTEM IN BOSTON WAS NOTIFIED INCLUDING THE PRIVATE AMBULANCE PARTNERS CENTRAL
MEDICAL DISPATCH C MED AND NOTICE WENT OUT TO THE 61 CITIES AND TOWNS AROUND BOSTON FOR WHICH WE HAVE RESPONSIBILITY FOR RUNNING THE
COMMAND REGION FOR THAT AND WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY KNEW WHAT WAS PROBLEM BEYOND EVEN BOSTON ADDITIONAL STAFF WERE ASSIGNED TO ASSIST WITH HANDLING INCOMING CALLS AND CONDUCTING CALLBACKS VIA
THEIR WORKSTATION LANDLINES AS NEEDED. WE COORDINATED DIRECTLY WITH THE BOSTON POLICE DISPATCH OPERATIONS BOSTON FIRE ALARM
AND BOSTON FIRE CAD WAS ALSO MONITORED TO ENSURE THAT WE CAPTURED ANY REQUESTS FROM EMS FROM OUR PARTNERS. AS I SAY, IF BOSTON POLICE OR
FIRE CAME ACROSS SOMETHING OR FLAGGED DOWN, ALL THEY HAD TO DO WAS GO BACK TO THEIR RESPECTIVE DISPATCHER FREE EMS AND THAT CALL WOULD APPEAR ON OUR SCREEN AND VICE VERSA IF WE
NOTED SOMETHING THAT WE NEED POLICE A FIRE FOR ANY OF US GOT FLAGGED DOWN FOR ANYTHING MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WERE PROVIDED. OUR MAIN NUMBER FOR OUR DISPATCH OPERATIONS WHICH IS
BROADLY DISSEMINATED THROUGH PUBLIC MESSAGING ALONG WITH INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO REACH POLICE AND FIRE. AND I KNOW THAT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT HAD CONTINGENCY PLANS AS WELL.
BOSTON EMS PERSONNEL WERE ADVISED OF THE OUTAGE AND ALL OF OUR UNITS CURRENTLY WORKING WERE DIRECTED TO YOU KNOW, BELIEVE OUR FOLKS ARE USUALLY ON THE ROAD NAMES ARE NOT
SITTING AT STATIONS BUT THEY WERE DIRECTED TO GO OUT AND BE VISIBLE IN THEIR DISTRICTS FOR PUBLIC AWARENESS IF THEY ON CITED A MEDICAL EMERGENCY THEY
WERE ADVISED TO NOTIFY DISPATCH OPERATIONS VIA RADIO WITH THEIR LOCATION TYPE OF CALL SO WE COULD ADVISE OTHER DEPARTMENTS ON AVERAGE WE RECEIVE APPROXIMATELY 16 EMERGENCY MEDICAL CALLS PER HOUR DURING
THAT TWO HOUR TIMEFRAME ON THAT DAY WE LOGGED 33 EMS INCIDENTS FOLLOWING THIS EVENT. THE CITY AND THE STATE HAVE TAKEN MULTIPLE MEASURES TO MITIGATE THIS FORM
OF DISRUPTION INCLUDING REDUCING THE RISK OF FAILURE AND ESTABLISHING A911 CALL TAKING A BACKUP CENTER WHICH IS
ACTUALLY LOCATED IN ANOTHER STATE WHERE THE CALLS CAN THEN BE ROUTED AND AND THEN BE SENT BACK TO US BY A TO A TEN DIGIT
PHONE LINES THAT HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED AT THE CALL TAKING TERMINALS. I KNOW A BOSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT IN BOSTON EMS ONE MONTH AFTER THAT 911 SYSTEM OUR
OUTAGE OUR CAD SYSTEM WAS IMPACTED BY THE CROWDSTRIKE INCIDENT AND THAT CASE NO ONE KEPT OPERATING. IT WAS THE CAD SYSTEM THAT WAS A TOTAL OF ABOUT SEVEN AND A
HALF HOURS BEFORE THAT COULD BE PUT BACK UP IN THAT TIME 99 CALLS WERE MANUALLY CAPTURED ON THE OLDER PAPER AND CARD BACKUP
SYSTEM BY OUR CALL TAKERS AND RELAYED TO OUR DISPATCHERS AND SEAMLESSLY LOGGED AND UPDATED WHO SEAMLESSLY LOGGED AND UPDATED THE STATUS OF OUR
AMBULANCES WHILE CONTINUING TO DISPATCH CALLS IT WENT BACK TO SPREADSHEETS GREECE BOARD THAT TYPE OF OPERATION BUT THAT WAS
ALL LATER UPDATED INTO THE CAD TO PRESERVE OUR RECORDS AND WE WOULD JUST CALL TO OUR OTHER AGENCIES TO LET THEM KNOW WE HAD A CALL THAT REQUIRED POLICE
AND FIRE ASSISTANCE AS WELL AS THE CALLS CAME IN. I REALLY WANT TO COMMEND OUR DISPATCH OPERATIONS PERSONNEL FOR SKILLFULLY RESPONDING TO BOTH OF THOSE INCIDENTS AND
QUICKLY COMING UP WITH WORKAROUNDS ENSURING THAT CALLS PROCESS. A LOT OF CREW MEMBERS STAYED THROUGH SHIFT CHANGE ON THOSE ON THAT DAY.
SOME MORE CAME IN TO HELP US BOLSTER OUR OPERATIONS ON THAT AS WELL. THERE WAS CERTAINLY DEDICATED ALTHOUGH THESE INCIDENTS WERE UNFORTUNATE THE LESSONS LEARNED
FROM THEM HAVE MADE US MORE RESILIENT AND REALLY GOT US THINKING A LOT ABOUT SUCH CONTINGENCIES. THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE TESTIMONY HERE TODAY.
AWESOME. THANK YOU. SO ANYONE ELSE THAT WANTS TO PROVIDE ANY TESTIMONY OR. SURE. THANK YOU, COUNCILOR SANTANA,
COUNSELOR MURPHY, COUNSELOR FLYNN, COUNCILOR FITZGERALD. APPRECIATE IT. APPRECIATE YOU HEARING US AT FIRST LIGHT TO THANK THE WOMAN OF MEN THAT WORK UP IN THE BOSTON POLICE OPERATIONS DIVISION THAT WORK HARD.
IT'S A IT'S A TIRELESS JOB. THEY DO A GREAT JOB. THEY SERVE OUR CITY PROUD ANSWERING CALLS FROM FOLKS IN THEIR WORST MOMENT. UNFORTUNATELY ON JUNE 18TH BACK
IN 2024 AS CHIEF COOLEY KIND OF EXPLAINED HERE, THE STATEWIDE 911 SYSTEM DID EXPERIENCE A CATASTROPHIC FAILURE. THAT FAILURE AFFECTED 911
ACROSS THE ENTIRE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS THAT SYSTEM THAT WE USE IN BOSTON AND ACROSS THE COMMONWEALTH IS OWNED AND PROVIDED MAINTAINED BY THE COMMONWEALTH
OF MASSACHUSETTS THROUGH THEIR VENDOR COMTECH DURING THAT FAILURE. OUR STAFF IN THE BOSTON POLICE OPERATIONS DIVISION AS WELL AS THE HAMAS AND BOSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT ORDERED THE FIRE ALARM OFFICE AS WELL.
WE'RE IN CONSTANT CONTACT WITH THE STATE AND I WANT DEPARTMENT WITH COMTECH TRYING TO GET UPDATES AS TO WHEN THIS FAILURE WAS GOING TO BE RESOLVED.
THE FAILURE UNFORTUNATELY WENT ON FOR ABOUT 2 HOURS. IN THAT INTERIM PERIOD THE BOSTON POLICE OPERATIONS DIVISION TOOK MULTIPLE STEPS TO MITIGATE THE FAILURE AND TO
ENSURE THAT CITIZENS OF BOSTON AS BEST AS WE COULD WE COULD PROVIDE THE EMERGENCY SERVICES THAT WERE NEEDED. ONE OF THE THINGS WE DID IS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE BOSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT WE ADVERTISED THROUGH OUR MEDIA RELATIONS
DEPARTMENT TO MEDIA OUTLETS THROUGHOUT THE CITY THAT IF SOMEBODY IN BOSTON HAD A MEDICAL EMERGENCY, A FIRE EMERGENCY OR POLICE EMERGENCY THAT IN ADDITION TO DIALING A
TEN DIGIT TELEPHONE NUMBER FOR A DISTRICT STATION OR A FIRE STATION, THEY COULD PULL A FIRE ALARM BOX AS COUNCILOR WHEN ALLUDED TO WITH THAT IS A CRUCIAL BACKUP TO THE EMERGENCY
COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM FOR THE CITY OF BOSTON. WELL, ONE OF THE FEW CITIES THAT MAINTAINS A MUNICIPAL FIRE ALARM SYSTEM AND IT JUST GOES TO SHOW THAT SOME OF THE MODERN TECHNOLOGY WHEN IT DOES FAIL
THE OLD TECHNOLOGY IS A GREAT BACKUP AND IS IS REALLY BULLETPROOF. IN THE INTERIM SINCE THE FAILURE, THE BOSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT HAS WORKED IN
CONJUNCTION WITH THE STATE 911 DEPARTMENT AND CONTACT WAS THE VENDOR FOR THE STATE FOR THE NINE ONE SYSTEM. THE STATE NOW ONE DEPARTMENT HAS CONTRACTED IS CHIEFLY SAID
WITH A THIRD PARTY CALL CENTER THAT IS OUT OF STATE WHERE IN THE EVENT OF A FAILURE SIMILAR TO THE JUNE 18, 2014 FELL 2024 FAILURE ANY CALLS THAT CANNOT
GET INTO THE STATE'S NINE ONE SYSTEM WOULD AUTOMATICALLY REROUTE TO THE THIRD PARTY CALL CENTER. THAT THIRD PARTY CALL CENTER THAT TRAINED 911 PERSONNEL
THEY'RE TRAINED TO TRIAGE THE CALL, DETERMINE THE LOCATION OF THE EMERGENCY AND THEN TRANSFER THAT CALL BACK ON A TEN DIGIT NON-EMERGENCY LINE THAT WE WOULD HAVE EITHER IN BOSTON POLICE OPERATIONS,
BOSTON IN MASS OPERATIONS OR OVER AT BOSTON FIRE ALARM SO THAT THEY COULD GET THAT CALL BACK INTO THE LOCAL MUNICIPALITY SO THAT WE COULD AFFECT A RESPONSE.
BOSTON POLICE HAVE THROUGH THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS DIVISION OVERSEEN BY DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT WALSH HAS INSTALLED AN ALTERNATIVE TELEPHONE CALL HANDLING SYSTEM
IN THE OPERATIONS DIVISION OF THE BOSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT AND ALSO I BELIEVE OVER AT BOSTON HAMAS IN THEIR IN THEIR EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER AS WELL AT ONE SHORT OF PLAZA THAT ALTERNATIVE CALL HANDLING
SYSTEM GIVES US THE ABILITY TO RECEIVE THOSE CALLS BACK FROM THE THIRD PARTY CALL CENTER IN THE EVENT OF A TOTAL 911 SYSTEM FAILURE. THAT ALTERNATIVE CALL SYSTEM IS
OUTSIDE OF THE NINE NORMAL ONE SYSTEM. SO IT WOULD BE UNAFFECTED BY AN OUTAGE IN THE ACTUAL MAIN ONE SYSTEM TOTALLY SEPARATE NETWORK AND WAS INSTALLED BY THE BOSTON
POLICE TELECOMMUNICATIONS DIVISION IS AND IS IN EXISTENCE UP IN THE OPERATIONS DIVISION. FURTHERMORE, THE DEPARTMENT HAS REVIEWED EVACUATION PLANS FOR THE OPERATIONS CENTER,
REVISITED PLANS FOR GOING OVER TO BOSTON FIRE ALARM WHICH IS WHERE OUR BACKUP CENTER IS IF WE NEEDED TO EVACUATE FOR PHYSICAL SECURITY REASONS. WHOEVER BOUGHT TO EVACUATE ONCE
RANA PLAZA AND WE'VE COME UP WITH OTHER PLANS FOR DIFFERENT FAILURES OF ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS YOU KNOW, UNFORTUNATELY IN THE IN THIS NEW AGE WITH A LOT OF THESE ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS SOMETIMES SOME OF THESE
FAILURES THAT HAPPEN LIKE FIREWALL ISSUES AND THINGS WE DON'T FIND OUT ABOUT THEM RIGHT AWAY THEY THEY COULD IT COULD BE SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS IN ANOTHER STATE THAT AFFECTS US HERE IN BOSTON AND YOU KNOW,
HAVING A FAILED PROVED SYSTEM LIKE THE FIRE ALARM SYSTEM OR HAVING AN ALTERNATIVE MEANS LIKE THIS ALTERNATIVE TELEPHONE SYSTEM WE'VE INSTALLED IS REALLY HELPFUL TO TO ADD RESILIENCY TO THE NINE ONE
RESPONSE SYSTEM IN THE CITY. YOU KNOW THANK YOU. I'LL JUST ADD SO I'M DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT CHRISTOPHER WALSH, BOSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT.
I WORK UNDER THE BUREAU BUREAU OF ADMINISTRATION AND TECHNOLOGY IN THE TECHNOLOGY SERVICES DIVISION. SO THAT MOUTHFUL BASICALLY IN
CHARGE OF ALL TECHNOLOGY FOR THE DEPARTMENT WE SUPPORT EVERY FACET OF TECHNOLOGY FROM THE TIME ONE CENTER TO THE NETWORKING THE
TELECOMMUNICATION OCEANS, PHONES, RADIOS, COMPUTERS IN SUPPORT OF THE NUMBER ONE CENTER DURING THIS EVENT IT
BECAME CLEAR TO US THAT WE NEEDED AN ALTERNATIVE METHOD FOR OUR CITIZENS TO CALL PLEASE DEPARTMENT FIRE DEPARTMENT AND
THIS DECISION WAS MADE THAT WE NEEDED TO PLACE PHONES INTO THE OPERATIONS DIVISION THAT THE CALL TAKERS COULD ANSWER. WE DIDN'T HAVE THAT TECHNOLOGY
CURRENTLY IN THE OPERATIONS CENTER SO WE HAD TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN BY INSTALLING NETWORKING EQUIPMENT, ACTUAL PHONES, THE WIRING, THE CABLING AND
EVERYTHING ALL THE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN. THAT TOOK SOME TIME THAT TOOK SOME MONEY BUT WE MADE THAT HAPPEN OVER THE COURSE OF THAT YEAR.
IT'S CURRENTLY IN PLACE WE'RE WAITING ON ONE MORE NUMBER TO BE SET UP BY HORIZON TO ENSURE THAT THE SYSTEM WORKS FROM END
TO END. WE'RE GOING TO DO THAT TESTING TO BE COMPLETED AT THE END OF THE MONTH WITH THAT TESTING DONE THAT ALTERNATE CALL CENTER
WOULD CALL THAT NUMBER AND WHEN THE CALL IS TRANSFERRED OVER TO THE PIECE UP THAT NUMBER WILL BE RINGING ON THE CALL TAKERS DESKS.
THEY CAN PICK UP THE PHONE, ANSWER THE EMERGENCY CALL AND ENTERED INTO THE CAT SYSTEM THERE WOULD BE NO CHANGE TO THE CITIZENS CALLING THAT NUMBER.
THEY WOULD JUST CALL 911 AND THEY WOULD GET THROUGH. THEY WOULD NOT SEE ANY DIFFERENCE. COULD WE PUBLISH THE THAT NON-EMERGENCY NUMBER? YES, WE COULD IF WE HAD TO. IT'S JUST ANOTHER PHONE NUMBER.
BUT THE WHOLE PREMISE IS THAT IT WOULD BE SEAMLESS. NO ONE WOULD NOTICE THAT WE WOULD BE ON THE ALTERNATIVE SYSTEM. SO I THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME
AND AND FOR LISTENING TO US. THANK YOU AND THANK YOU DEPUTY CHIEF CHRIS BURKE, BOSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT FIRE ALARM DIVISION I OVERSEE THE FIRE ALARM
DIVISION WILL OPERATE FIRE ALARM CONSTRUCTION AN AND FIRE ALARM RADIO SHOP I WON'T GO INTO THE OUTAGE I THINK CHIEF
HAWLEY CHRIS MARKHAM SENT A GREAT JOB ABOUT THAT. WE TOOK MEASURES THAT THEY OBVIOUSLY DURING THE PRESS
CONFERENCE THAT WAS GIVEN BY PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICIALS WERE WE
PUBLISHED THE FIRE ALARM NUMBER 617343 2880 IS OUR DIRECT LINE AS A AS AN OPTION THE POLE BOXES THE FIRE BOXES THAT YOU
SEE ON A STREET CORNER AS AN OPTION AS A SECOND OPTION IN ANY LOCAL FIRE HOUSE POLICE STATION AS A THIRD OPTION. SO THOSE ARE THE OPTIONS THAT
THE FIRE DEPARTMENT GAVE TO COUNCILOR OF FLYNN'S POINT. AND CHRIS MCCOMAS CHIEF HAWLEY, IF YOU PULL A FIRE BOX WHERE IT
DOESN'T MATTER REGARDLESS THAT THE SIGNAL WILL GET TO FIRE ALARM WILL GET TAPPED OUT AND SO FIRE ALARM AND WE WILL SEND APPARATUS TO THAT LOCATION SO
THAT'S AN EXTREMELY VALUABLE TOOL THAT THE BOSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT HAS AND WHEN THINGS GO DOWN THAT'S STILL AVAILABLE
TO OUR CITIZENS OF BOSTON ROBERT BARNES, BOSTON EMS THANK YOU CONSOLES MURPHY, SANTANA AND FITZGERALD FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TODAY. IT'S AN HONOR TO REPRESENT THE
MEN AND WOMEN OF BOSTON IN MOST DISPATCH OPERATIONS PARTICULARLY THOSE WHO ARE WORKING NOW AS WE SPEAK. I JUST WANT TO SPEAK IN TERMS OF THE FAILURE AND THE FIRE BOXES.
SO WE DID SEND MESSAGES OUT INTERNALLY TO OUR FOLKS THAT WE STARTED TO PATROL THEIR AREAS WITH THEIR LIGHTS ON FOR VISIBILITY. WE ALSO ADVISED OUR OWN FOLKS
TO REFRAIN FROM CALLING OUR BUSINESS LINE BECAUSE WE WANT TO FREE UP THAT LINE IN CASE ANY EMERGENCY CALLS CAME IN SO THAT WE COULD RECEIVE THOSE CALLS AND TRIAGE THEM. AS FAR AS THE FIRE BOXES, IF A
FIRE BOX WAS PULLED, A CALL WOULD BE PUT INTO THE CAD SYSTEM AND THAT COMPUTER AIDED DISPATCH SYSTEM, THAT CAD SYSTEM IS SHARED BY ALL THREE AGENCIES AND THAT'S OUR INTEROPERABILITY.
IF A CALL CAME IN TO THE CAT SYSTEM AND THEY RESPOND THEY NEED AN AMBULANCE, THEN WE WOULD RESPOND IF A CALL CAME IN THROUGH A BUSINESS LINE IT CAME
OVER TO EMS. WE ASKED SPECIFICALLY FOR CALLBACK NUMBER SO THAT WE COULD CALL BACK AND TRIAGE THOSE CALLS WHILE THE AMBULANCE WAS ON THE WAY.
AS OUR CHIEF MENTIONED, WE ARE CO-LOCATED UP IN BOSTON POLICE HEADQUARTERS WITH THE BOSTON POLICE AND DURING THE FIRE WE MAINTAINED QUITE A PHONE
CONTACT WITH FIRE ALARM AS WELL AS FACE TO FACE COMMUNICATION. ALSO. GOOD AFTERNOON COUNSELORS. THANK YOU AGAIN FOR HAVING ME DOWN HERE.
I'LL PROVIDE SOME INSIGHT REGARDING THE EMS SIDE MAINLY IN REGARDS TO THE EMPLOYEE LEVEL. BUT FIRST I'D LIKE TO THANK ALL OF YOU FOR HAVING THIS VITAL IMPORTANT HEARING TODAY. EVERY TIME WE COME TOGETHER WE TAKE A STEP FORWARD AND PROVEN
PRE-HOSPITAL CARE IN BOSTON. ULTIMATELY IT'S ABOUT IMPROVING SAFETY AND QUALITY OF LIFE FOR THE PEOPLE WE SERVE. BUT ALSO OUR FIRST RESPONDERS. TODAY'S HEARING ON THE 911 SYSTEM IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT
BECAUSE IT HIGHLIGHTS THAT A MAJOR EMS ISSUE THEY WERE CURRENTLY FACING TODAY. RIGHT NOW APPROXIMATELY 20 STATES IN THE COUNTRY RECOGNIZE THEM AS AN ESSENTIAL SERVICE IN MASSACHUSETTS IS NOT ONE
OF THEM AT THE STATEHOUSE RIGHT NOW IS BILL AGE 4120 WHICH WAS PRESENTED BY REPRESENTATIVE DAVIS AND IS OUR CHANCE TO CHANGE THAT. IT'S OUR CHANCE TO FINALLY SAY THAT EMS IS CRITICAL AS POLICE
AND FIRE WHEN IT COMES TO PUBLIC SAFETY IN ESSENCE TO ALLOW MORE FUNDS TO BE ALLOCATED AND USE QUICKER FOR BETTER EQUIPMENT INFRASTRUCTURE UPDATES AND OVERALL INVESTMENT
IN THE FIELD AS WE RELATE BACK TO THAT JULY HEARING THAT WE HAD THIS YEAR THIS BILL ALSO WILL SET UP DEDICATED EMS FUNDS TO SUPPORT AMBULANCE SERVICES, FIRST RESPONDERS ACROSS THE COMMONWEALTH, FUNDING
AMBULANCES, EQUIPMENT, TRAINING SALARIES, RESOURCES AND CRITICAL INVESTMENTS NEEDED TO MAKE SURE EVERY COMMUNITY IN BOSTON AND ALL THE RURAL TOWNS AROUND US EVERYONE HAS ACCESS TO STRONG EMERGENCY MEDICAL
CARE FROM THE TIME OF 911 CALLER'S PLACE TO TRANSPORT TO A HOSPITAL THUS WE AT THE PBA EMS DIVISION URGED THE CITY COUNCIL TO SUPPORT AND DRAFT THIS BILL INTO LAW BY CALLING
YOUR COLLEAGUES AT THE STATEHOUSE BECAUSE IT WILL AVOID ANOTHER JUNE 18TH, 2024 INCIDENT OR SOMETHING WORSE IN THE FUTURE. HERE IN BOSTON WE'RE THE CAPITAL OF THE STATE, A CITY
THAT IS WORLD RENOWNED FOR THE BEST MEDICAL CARE IN THE ENTIRE NATION. WE SHOULD BE SETTING THE STANDARD ESPECIALLY AT THE NINE OVER ONE OPERATIONS OUR RESIDENTS, VISITORS AND EMPLOYEES DESERVE THE VERY BEST
IN OUR FIRST RESPONDERS SHOULD HAVE THE FUNCTIONAL CRITICAL TOOLS TRAINING AND SUPPORT BECAUSE THEN OUR PATIENTS DO BETTER WHEN OUR DISPATCHERS AND CALL TAKERS GET CLEAR, TIMELY
ACCURATE INFORMATION AIR AMBULANCES ARRIVE FASTER AND IN EMERGENCIES WHEN EVERY SECOND MATTERS. BEING PREPARED ISN'T JUST IMPORTANT INAPPROPRIATE IT IS WHAT ACTUALLY SAVES LIVES. SO WE ENCOURAGE THE CITY
COUNCIL TO ASK THESE DIFFICULT QUESTIONS WE HAVE TODAY. ONE OF THEM IS THE REDUNDANCY SYSTEM IN PLACE THAT IF THE INTERNET BASED TELEPHONE SYSTEM IS TAKEN OFFLINE FOR ANY REASON A NATURAL DISASTER LIKE WE'VE SEEN IN CALIFORNIA, HAWAII OR A
TERRORIST ATTACK OF ANY KIND THAT DISRUPTS CELLULAR SERVICE INTERNET ACCESS WHICH OUR ALL OF OUR EQUIPMENT RELIES ON IS THAT IT IS NOT ONLY FOR THE
PATIENT AND THE FAMILIES THAT SUFFER DURING THOSE OUTAGES BUT ALSO OUR MEMBERS WHO HAVE TO ENDURE THE FEELING OF GUILT, STRESS, HELPLESSNESS, THE LACK OF UNDERSTANDING. I THANK YOU CITY COUNCIL ALSO.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU ALL FOUR FOR YOUR TESTIMONIES. WE'RE NOT GOING TO MOVE TO KANSAS STARTING WITH COUNCILOR MURPHY. YOU HAVE THE FLOOR.
THANK YOU TO ABOUT SEVEN 8 MINUTES MY TIME GOING OVER. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR TESTIMONY. I'LL START WITH THE FIREBOX SINCE I ACTUALLY LIVE ACROSS
FROM ONE. HOW MANY DO WE HAVE ACROSS THE CITY AND SOMETHING COUNCILOR FLYNN AND I FILED RECENTLY. WE HEAR IT ALL THE TIME OF COMMUNITY MEETINGS WHERE
RESIDENTS ASK THE QUESTION OF WHEN SHOULD WE CALL 911? WHEN SHOULD WE CALL 311 AND THE ANSWER IS ALWAYS ALWAYS CALL 911. IF YOU'RE QUESTIONING IT THEY'LL FIGURE IT OUT. THEY'LL BUMP IT DOWN IF IT'S
NOT AN EMERGENCY. DON'T WASTE TIME WORRYING. SO MY SECOND QUESTION ABOUT THE FIRE BOXES IS I'M PRETTY SURE IT'S TRUE BUT FOR ANY EMERGENCY IT DOESN'T JUST HAVE TO BE A
FIRE, RIGHT? IF SYSTEMS ARE DOWN YOU DON'T HAVE YOUR CELL PHONE ON YOU AND YOU'VE SEEN A CAR CRASH OR SOMETHING ELSE. YOU CAN ALWAYS PULL THE FIRE BOXES. RIGHT. AND THEY'LL COME TO THAT
LOCATION. THE ANSWER IS YES. YES. AND HOW MANY ARE THERE ACROSS THE CITY? I'LL HAVE TO GET THAT NUMBER FOR A COUNCILOR. SOMETIMES SOME ARE OUT OF SERVICE, SOME ARE KNOCKED DOWN.
BUT I CAN GET YOU THAT EXACT ANSWER AND SEND IT TO YOU. NO, THAT'S GOOD. THANK YOU. I THINK SOMETIMES IT WAS SAID PEOPLE THINK IT'S LIKE OBSOLETE
LIKE IT'S LIKE AN OLD PAYPHONES AND I ALWAYS TELL PEOPLE I'M LIKE NO, IT'S UP, IT'S RUNNING, IT'S WORKING THERE DEFINITELY NEED IT. YOU MENTIONED ONE OF MY QUESTIONS WAS GOING TO BE WHAT
UPGRADES TO THE 911 SIDE OF THE DISPATCH CENTER WERE MADE. YOU TALKED ABOUT NEW PHONES BEING INSTALLED, HOW MANY NUMBERS YOU MENTIONED THAT THERE'S WE'RE WAITING FOR ONE
MORE NUMBER TO BE INSTALLED FROM VERIZON. HOW MANY OTHERS HAD BEEN INSTALLED SINCE THIS INCIDENT? YES.
YEAH. THANK YOU COUNCILOR. SO WE WE HAVE CURRENTLY THERE'S GOING TO BE TWO NUMBERS FOR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND ONE NUMBER FOR THE EMS WHEN THAT
COMES IN WHEN THAT CALL COMES IN IT GETS DISTRIBUTED ACROSS UP TO 20 PHONES THAT ARE GOING TO BE PLACED ON ALL CALLS, TAKERS, DESKS SO THEY CAN ANSWER THAT CALL.
DOES THAT PHONE HAVE CALL WAITING OR IS IT A SINGLE LINE? SO WHEN THE CALLS COME IN THEY'LL BE DISTRIBUTED SO MULTIPLE PHONE CALLS CAN BE
MADE ON THAT SINGLE ONE. RIGHT. AND MULTIPLE PHONE CALLS CAN COME IN ON THAT LINE. YES. AND IS IT TRUE ON THE EMS SIDE
IS IT 6173431400 IS THE LINE IS THAT ONE OF THE PHONES ON THAT SIDE THAT HASN'T BEEN UPDATED OR NEEDS TO BE UPDATED?
THAT'S OUR ADMINISTRATIVE PHONE LINE WITH DEPUTY WAS IS REFERRING TO IS THE TEN DIGIT EMERGENCY LINE THAT BRINGS DIRECTLY TO AN EMERGENCY CALL TAKER. AND DO YOU HAVE ONE OF THOSE LINES ON YOUR SIDE?
YES, WE DO. AND DOES YOUR MAIN LINE NEED TO BE UPDATED IF PEOPLE WERE TO CALL THAT THE MAIN BUSINESS LINE IS IN THE PROCESS OF BEING UPDATED. IT IS OKAY.
YOU DESCRIBED IT AS CHRIS AS WELL THIS THREE CHRIS HERE THIS COURSE AS A CATASTROPHIC FAILURE WHICH I AGREE WAS IF YOU COULD JUST TALK ME THROUGH
WAS KIND OF MENTIONED LIKE WHAT SYSTEMS WENT INTO PLACE AND THANK YOU FOR EVERYONE OBVIOUSLY EVERYONE DID HEROIC WORK THAT DAY AND WORK TOGETHER SO THANK YOU AND IF IT HAPPENS
AGAIN AND LIKE WHAT HAPPENED THAT DAY, HOW DID WE KEEP IT ALL TOGETHER AND WAS THERE ANYTHING AT THE STATE LEVEL AT E OPS THAT THEY WERE SUPPORTING
US DOING AND WHAT HAVE THEY DONE SINCE THEN IF THERE'S ANY CHANGES THEY WERE MAKING BECAUSE IT SEEMS LIKE IT CAME FROM ABOVE BUT AFFECTED US. YEAH, THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION COUNSELOR. YOU KNOW ON THAT DAY WE WERE IN
CONSTANT CONTACT WITH STATE 911 WHO IS UNDER THE EA OPS THE EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND SECURITY. YOU KNOW THEY GREAT PARTNERS AND WORKING WITH US HEARING OUR CONCERNS OBVIOUSLY THEY WERE
HEARING NOT FROM JUST BOSTON BUT THE ENTIRE COMMONWEALTH ABOUT THIS FAILURE. THERE WERE SEVERAL STATE 911 MEETING BOARD MEETING HEARINGS ON THIS ISSUE AND YOU KNOW THEY
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CONTACT THE VENDOR FOR THE STATES NOW ONE SYSTEM WERE ABLE TO YOU KNOW COME UP WITH THIS CALL SIGN OF A THIRD PARTY CONTRACT WITH A THIRD PARTY CALL CENTER SO
THAT WE DO HAVE A WORKAROUND IN THE EVENT SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAPPENS AGAIN. AND I THINK IT'S JUST IT'S CRITICAL THAT YOU KNOW THAT THAT'S THAT'S IN PLACE BECAUSE WE WILL NOW HAVE THE ABILITY TO GET CALLS OUTSIDE OF THE NINE
ON ONE SYSTEM WHICH WE DID NOT HAVE BEFORE IN THE POLICE OPERATION SIDE THAT'S NOW IN PLACE. AS DEPUTY WALSH SAID, THEY'RE TESTING ONE MORE TELEPHONE NUMBER OF CURRENTLY ON THAT BUT
THAT THAT'S REALLY WHAT GIVES US OUR REDUNDANCY IN OUR RESILIENCY IN THAT AREA. AS FOR THE DAY OF THE FAILURE, EVERYBODY WORKED WELL TOGETHER AS USUAL. I MEAN I FIND IN THESE IN THESE INCIDENTS WHEN WE HAVE A LARGE
SCALE INTO IN THE CITY OF BOSTON, YOU KNOW WHEN THINGS GET CHAOTIC EVERYBODY COMES TOGETHER AND WE PULL TOGETHER AS A TEAM POLICE, FIRE AND EMS. WE ALL WORK WELL TOGETHER. THE CALL CENTERS ALL WORKED WELL TOGETHER.
I WAS ON THE PHONE WITH DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT BARNES. I WAS ON THE PHONE WITH BOSTON FIRE ALARM AND COORDINATING WITH THEM, GETTING THE MESSAGE OUT HEY, YOU KNOW WHAT? FIRE ALARM IF YOU GUYS GET A STREET BOX THAT IS PULLED
DURING THIS OUTAGE, JUST LET THE POLICE KNOW SO WE CAN ALSO NORMALLY ON A ON A STREET BOX ON A NORMAL DAY WE WOULD NOT SEND A POLICE CAR UNLESS THERE'S ONE AVAILABLE BUT ONE IN THIS PARTICULAR INSTANCE ANY
STREET BLOCKS GOT PULLED. WE'RE UNDER A POLICE CAR YOU KNOW THE BUREAU A FIELD SERVICES FOR THE BOSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT IN ADDITION DIRECTED ALL DISTRICTS ACROSS THE CITY SIMILAR TO WHAT DEPUTY
SUPERINTENDENT BOND SAID WITH OCCURRED WITH THE EMS UNITS EACH DISTRICT ACROSS THE CITY DEPLOYED THE POLICE OFFICERS IN STRATEGIC LOCATIONS, HIGH VISIBILITY LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT
THEIR DISTRICTS, BLUE LIGHTS FLASHING SO THAT THEY'RE VISIBLE, THEY'RE OUT AND ABOUT IF IF A CITIZEN HAD AN EMERGENCY THERE IS POLICE PRESENCE OUT ON THE STREET. ALL THOSE STEPS WERE TAKEN
DURING THE THE THE EVENTS OF JUNE 18TH. YOU KNOW AND LIKE I SAID, I THINK THIS ALTERNATIVE CALL HANDLING SYSTEM WAS A BIG STEP FORWARD AND AND YOU KNOW,
HOPEFULLY SOLVING THIS ISSUE IN ONE UNION I GUESS QUESTION FOR EACH THE FIRST RESPONDER DEPARTMENT HAS THERE BEEN ENOUGH PROFESSIONAL TRAINING
FOR ANY NEW SYSTEM THAT'S BEEN INITIATED INTO EITHER THE DISPATCHERS OR FOR OUR POLICE AND FIRE WHEN WE'VE BEEN UPGRADING THESE SYSTEMS ARE WE BECAUSE I KNOW THAT THAT WOULD
COME THROUGH US ON THE COUNCIL TO MAKE SURE IF WE NEED TO ADD ANY FUNDING FOR PROFESSIONAL TRAINING FOR OUR FIRST RESPONDERS. SPEAKING ON THE EMC SIDE OF THINGS I THINK THERE'S
ALWAYS ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT. I THINK MORE TRAINING IS NECESSARY. JUNE 18 HIGHLIGHTED SOME FLAWS THAT WE DID HAVE THAT HOPEFULLY WILL BE FIXED IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
AS I WAS TOLD THE CHIEF IN A RECENT MEETING BUT A LOT OF FLAWS THAT CAME FROM THERE IS THE ADMINISTRATIVE LINE THAT WAS GIVEN OUT AND THAT ONLY ONE INDIVIDUAL COULD ANSWER THAT PHONE.
THERE WAS NO TRUE CAPABILITY TO TRANSFER OR HOLD THAT BECAUSE IT WAS VERY THE EQUIPMENT WAS OUT OF DATE AND IT WAS VERY CONVOLUTED FOR SOMEONE TO TRANSFER THE LINE.
SO WE HAD ONE INDIVIDUAL BEING IN THAT PHONE PUT IN ALL THE INFORMATION INTO THE CAD SYSTEM TO BE SPREAD OUT TO ALL THE OTHER AGENCIES. SO THEY DID SHOW SOME
WEAKNESSES BUT I THINK WE ARE ON THE RIGHT TRACK BUT WE NEED MORE TRAINING AND MORE FUNDS ALLOCATED TO IT SCHEMES. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.
COUNCILOR MURPHY. COUNCILOR FLYNN, YOU HAVE THE FLOOR AND THANK YOU MR CHAIR. WHEN WE WERE FIRST NOTIFIED
THAT THERE WAS A PUBLIC OUTAGE ,HOW QUICKLY WHEN YOU WERE NOT NOTIFIED THAT THERE WAS AN OUTAGE. HOW QUICKLY WAS THE PUBLIC NOTIFIED?
AT LEAST ON THE BOSTON POLICE LINE I CAN SPEAK FOR IT WAS FAIRLY QUICKLY. WE NOTIFIED MEDIA RELATIONS TEAM FROM THE OPERATIONS DIVISION WITHIN MINUTES OF THE OUTAGE BEING DISCOVERED.
LET THEM KNOW THAT WHAT WAS OCCURRING AND THAT WE WERE TAKING STEPS YOU KNOW, LETTING THEM KNOW THEY NEED TO DIAL A TEN DIGIT NUMBER TO REACH US INSTEAD OF RELYING ON 911. OKAY.
ANYONE ELSE WANT TO RESPOND TO THAT? OKAY. YEAH, I DON'T RECALL THE EXACT
NUMBER OF MINUTES, COUNSELOR, BUT I WOULD SAY COINCIDENTALLY THAT DAY WE WERE I THINK WE HAD JUST CONCLUDED A A MEETING IN THE EAGLE ROOM I BELIEVE IT WAS
A CABINET MEETING. IT COULD HAVE BEEN SOMETHING ELSE BUT COMMISSIONER COX, COMMISSIONER BURKE AND I WERE ALL IN ATTENDANCE AND IT SORT OF STARTED COMING UP WHEN EACH
OF US WERE EITHER GETTING MESSAGES FROM OUR RESPECTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND EACH OF US WERE KIND OF LIKE HEY DID YOU HEAR ANYTHING ABOUT YOU KNOW, WE JUST WE ALL BASICALLY LEARNED AT THE SAME TIME.
OKAY. AND THEN THE MEETING QUICKLY TURNED INTO YOU KNOW, CHIEF OF STAFF MAYOR'S GETTING EACH WAS TALKING TO OUR OWN FOLKS
AND THEN QUICKLY THEY NOTIFIED THE MEDIA FIRST AND THEY STARTED PUSHING OUT THINGS AND THE CITY'S PD SPED IT THANKFULLY THAT THAT THAT DID GO PRETTY QUICK.
OKAY. I COULD SPEAK TO MY YEAH COUNCIL ABOUT THE SAME TIME ABOUT 1318 HOURS.
ONE 118 WE STARTED NOTICE THAT WE WERE HAVING PROBLEMS UNTIL CHIEF ALL POINT THE SUPERINTENDENT WAS MYSELF, THE MAYOR'S OFFICE, THE COMMISSIONER, THE CHIEFS
OF OPERATOR TIONS ARPAIO A BFD I.T. OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND FIRE ALARM SENT OUT AN EXTRAORDINARY INCIDENT PAGE
THAT WE HAD A STATE 911 OUTAGE TO THOSE INDIVIDUALS SO THEY KNEW RIGHT AWAY THAT WE WERE HAVING PROBLEMS.
NO THANK YOU AND I'M GLAD I'M GLAD WE ALL BROUGHT IT UP INITIALLY THAT THE ESPECIALLY FOR MY COLLEAGUES THAT HAVEN'T BEEN AROUND ALL THAT LONG BUT
THE THE FIRE ALARM BOXES THAT WE HAVE IN THE CITY PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE AND THIS WAS AN EXAMPLE OF THE IMPORTANCE OF THE FIRE ALARM BOXES THAT WE
HAVE IN THE CITY THAT DURING CHALLENGING TIMES THAT THE TECHNOLOGY WAS THERE FOR THE RESIDENTS. SO IN MY OPINION IT'S NEVER THE
TIME TO CUT THAT TYPE OF TECHNOLOGY OR OR PERSONNEL THAT DO EXCEPTIONAL WORK AND LET THIS BE A LESSON FOR ALL
OF US HERE ON THE COUNCIL THAT FIRE ALARM BOXES ARE AN INCREDIBLE PART OF PUBLIC SAFETY. EMERGENCY RESPONSES HAVE BEEN
OF I'VE KNOWN THE PEOPLE THAT WORK THERE FOR YEARS AND KNOW THE WORK THEY DO AND THEY'RE EXCEPTIONAL SO ON I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT FIRE ALARM AND OFTEN
UNDERAPPRECIATED BUT THEY PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE IN OUR CITY. THEY'RE ALSO OUR NEIGHBORS AND CONTRIBUTE GREATLY TO THE TO THE RESIDENTS OF BOSTON.
LET ME LET ME ASK ONE FINAL QUESTION AND I MENTIONED IN MY IN MY OPENING STATEMENT HOW DID WE COMMUNICATE WITH RESIDENTS THAT DID NOT SPEAK ENGLISH DURING THIS PERIOD OF TIME?
WAS THERE ANYTHING UNIQUE ABOUT THE WAY WE COMMUNICATED WITH FOR EXAMPLE, PEOPLE THAT SPEAK CANTONESE? SO AS YOU KNOW, I REPRESENT CHINATOWN. MOST OF MY CONSTITUENTS SPEAK
CANTONESE. I I ADVOCATE OFTEN ALL THE TIME FOR MY CONSTITUENTS. BUT WAS THERE ANYTHING UNIQUE ABOUT WHEN WE WHEN THIS SYSTEM WAS DOWN HOW WE COMMUNICATED
WITH RESIDENTS IN ANOTHER LANGUAGE? YEAH. THANK YOU COUNCILOR. SO WE HAVE WE DO HAVE ACCESS EVEN ON OUR ADMINISTRATIVE TELEPHONE LINES IF WE DO GET A
CALL FROM A CITIZEN THAT DOESN'T SPEAK ENGLISH AS THEIR PRIMARY LANGUAGE TO INTERPRETATION SERVICES JUST LIKE WE WOULD ON THE 911 SYSTEM WE HAVE THAT ACCESS TO THE
CITY'S LANGUAGE LINE PROGRAM. I DON'T RECALL ANY PARTICULAR INCIDENTS DURING THAT TIMEFRAME THAT CAME IN WITH WHERE THERE WAS A CHALLENGE OR AN ISSUE AT
THAT PARTICULAR TIME. BUT BUT THAT THAT SYSTEM NO THANK YOU FOR THE ANSWER BUT THAT SYSTEM YOU WOULD HAVE TO THEN WORK WITH THE LANGUAGE OF COMMUNICATION ACCESS TEAM
YES BASICALLY CONTRACTING IT OUT TO SOMEONE OUTSIDE OF CITY HALL THAT THAT DOES SPEAK YES WE WOULD HAVE THE CONFERENCE SOMEBODY IN YEAH OKAY YEAH YES
OKAY ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANYTHING THAT UNIQUE ABOUT ANYTHING RELATING TO THE CANTONESE SPEAKING COMMUNITY. I KNOW IT'S KIND OF A A SPECIFIC A SPECIFIC QUESTION
NARROW QUESTION BUT IT IS IMPORTANT TO ME FOR SURE THE COUNCIL WE ALSO I KNOW ON THAT DATE THE FIRST PART OF YOUR QUESTION LIKE HOW DO WE GET OUT
TO REACH THE VARIOUS MANY LANGUAGES SPOKEN IN BOSTON WE UP ON THAT DAY AS I RECALL WE'RE PRETTY DEPENDENT ON THE
COMMUNICATIONS TEAM HERE AT CITY HALL USING SOME OF THEIR CHANNELS THAT THEY USE TO WHETHER THEY'RE PUTTING OUT SOMETHING OR WHETHER EMERGENCIES OR OR PUSHING OUT THINGS TO THAT AGE STRONG
PUTTING OUT THINGS TO THE SENIOR COMMUNITY. ANYONE WHO HAS LANGUAGE CAPABILITIES THERE FOR PARTNERS IN THAT TO HELP PUSH THAT OUT. SO I CAN'T SAY FOR CERTAIN HOW
MANY LANGUAGES THEY WERE ABLE TO GET OUT AND I'M SURE SPANISH YOU KNOW, HOPEFULLY CANTONESE WAS ONE OF THE LANGUAGES COVERED WHEN THEY WERE TRYING TO REACH OUT TO THEIR REGULAR MEDIA. I DON'T KNOW WHO ELSE THEY PUSH
OUT THINGS SAVE FOR, YOU KNOW, ROAD CLOSURES OR ANYTHING BUT ON THAT I KNOW WE'RE WE'RE PRETTY DEPENDENT ON THE WHEN WHEN YOU'RE PLANNING EVENTS
WHEN YOU KNOW WHETHER IT'S VACCINATION OR EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASE OR SOMETHING ELSE THE PUBLIC HEALTH COMMISSION DOES HAVE THE ABILITY TO DEVELOP A LOT OF COMMUNICATION STUFF THAT
THEY CAN PUSH OUT THE CITY OF BOSTON DOES AS WELL TOO. I'M NOT SURE HOW QUICK IT HIT AS MANY LANGUAGES AS WE NEEDED THAT DAY BUT WE TYPICALLY, YOU
KNOW, RELY ON THOSE AGENCIES FOR THAT. SO SOME OF THE THINGS AND MORE ON THE ON THE RECEIVING END ON THE ACTION AND WE JUST LIKE BOB
CHRIS WAS SAYING WE DO UP AND DISPATCH HAVE THE LANGUAGE LINE AVAILABLE WE CAN QUICKLY JUMP ON IF WE HAVE A CALLER AND WE'RE NOT EVEN SURE WHAT LANGUAGES WE CAN DO THAT WE DID
ISSUE WE'VE WE'VE ISSUED 100 LICENSES FOR DUOLINGO TO OTHER PROBLEM MEMBERS WHO HAVE COMMITTED THAT THEY WANT TO LEARN OR EXPAND THEIR PROFICIENCY IN ANOTHER LANGUAGE
JUST TO GIVE THEM A ROUTINE ABILITY TO DO THAT AND OF AN ALL PERSONNEL WHO HAVE OH WHAT IS IT HERE LET ME JUST LOOK AT
IT AGAIN. SO WE ALLOW OUR PERSONNEL TO ESTABLISH A LIVE VIDEO CONFERENCE IF NECESSARY WITH A TRANSLATOR FROM THE SCENE OF AN EMERGENCY ON THE TABLETS THAT
WE CARRY TO DRAW OUR ELECTRIC ELECTRONIC CHARTS. WE WE PURCHASED SOFTWARE TO GET LIVE TRANSLATION SO AT 3 A.M. IF WE'RE LOOKING FOR A
TRANSLATOR AS WELL WE CAN USE THAT CHIEF FOR YOU ON 911 CALL US DO YOU ANYONE THAT THAT
SPEAKS CANTONESE FOR ME THAT WORKS THERE FULL TIME CAN'T WE WE NOT FULL TIME ALL THE TIME
WE HAVE WE BELIEVE TOO WELL RIGHT NOW THAT SPEAK FOR CANTONESE FOR ME YEAH OH YEAH HOW ABOUT THE POLICE IN THE IN
THE FIRE WE HAVE ONE CURRENTLY THAT SPEAKS CANTONESE AND THEN WE HAVE A PRETTY BROAD ARRAY OF LANGUAGES THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO OUR STAFF ON DUTY HERE IN
THE OPERATIONS DIVISION. OKAY FIRE NO COUNCILOR I DON'T BELIEVE WE DO. OKAY THANK AND THANK YOU.
I DO ALWAYS TRY TO HIGHLIGHT THE IMPORTANCE OF LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION ACCESS AS WELL. I DO THINK IT IS IMPORTANT THAT IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO WORK
TOGETHER. I DO I DO HAVE CONCERNS THOUGH WHEN WE HAVE AN EMERGENCY AND THEN WE HAVE TO GO TO THE
MAYOR'S OFFICE AND THEN WE HAVE TO GO TO CONTRACT IT OUT TO SOMEONE THAT SPEAKS CANTONESE AS WE ALL KNOW EVERY SECOND IS A IS IMPORTANT.
I KNOW A LOT CAN GET LOST IN THAT TYPE OF TRANSLATION INTERPRETATION AS WELL. I HAVE WELL LET ME LET ME JUST SAY THIS IF ANYONE DOES HAVE AN
EMERGENCY AND THEY NEED MY OFFICE TO BE HELPFUL, I DO HAVE SOMEONE THAT SPEAKS CANTONESE FOR FULL TIME THAT WORKS FOR
ME, CANTONESE FOR ME AND SHE WOULD BE GLAD TO HELP IN ANY WAY POSSIBLE SO I JUST WANTED TO OFFER THAT MELISSA DOES A TREMENDOUS JOB FOR ME AND.
THERE WAS A SITUATION WE HAD IN CHINATOWN WHERE SHE ASSISTED THE INSPECTIONAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT WORKING RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES ON A PARTICULAR
ISSUE. SO I DO I DO VALUE THE IMPORTANT WORK OF LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION ACCESS IN OUR CITY. MR CHAIR, THANK YOU FOR GIVING
ME AN EXTRA COUPLE OF MINUTES TO GO ON AND AGAIN THANK YOU TO THE ADMINISTRATION DEDICATED CITY OFFICIALS THAT ARE HERE WITH US TODAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. COUNCILOR FLYNN, COUNCILOR FITZGERALD, YOU HAVE
THE FLOOR. THANK YOU, CHIP. I DON'T WANT TO BE REDUNDANT WITH. ANY QUESTIONS? I THINK THAT PREVIOUS QUESTION COVERED A LOT BUT I DO THINK IT'S IT'S RATHER IRONIC THAT
WE'RE HAVING THIS HEARING TODAY GIVEN SOME OF THE NEWS THAT HAPPENED IN NEW YORK CITY IN DISMANTLING A LARGE TELECOMS NETWORK THAT WAS COULD TAKE DOWN CELL PHONE SERVICE AND
THINGS OF EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TODAY VERY LITTLE OF WHAT WE KNOW JUST BY READING UP ON THAT IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE ARE PREPARED TO TO
COUNTERACT IN THAT WAY OR CAN OUR SYSTEM BECAUSE IT SEEMS TO ME WHAT THEY'RE LOOKING AT TALKING ABOUT IS THIS THEY OVERFLOW THE NETWORK WITH ALMOST YOU KNOW, LIKE CELL PHONE BOTS WITH JUST TEXTS AND CALLS WHERE IT WOULD THEN JUST
BASICALLY BLACKOUT A NETWORK TO THE POINT THAT NO ONE WOULD HAVE SERVICE. IS THAT ANYTHING WE CAN DO ON OUR END OR IS THAT MORE
OF TELECOMS MAKING SURE THAT THEY HAVE THE BANDWIDTH TO TAKE ON X AMOUNT OF CALLS OR I MEAN I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER. I'M JUST TALKING TO YOU GUYS BECAUSE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SERVICES GOING DOWN TODAY FROM
A911 PERSPECTIVE. I KNOW THAT IT'S BEEN AN ONGOING CONCERN IN THE NINE ONE COMMUNITY FOR SOME TIME. TI DOS ATTACKS ON TELEPHONE DENIAL OF SERVICE ATTACKS BASICALLY LIKE IT'S SAID
COUNCIL FITZGERALDS YOU KNOW A TELEPHONE BOT OR SOME SORT OF AUTOMATED DIALING DEVICE THAT OVERWHELMS A NETWORK SO THAT NOBODY NO LEGITIMATE TRAFFIC CAN GET THROUGH YOU
KNOW I KNOW THAT COMTECH WHO IS THE STATE NINE ON ONE VENDOR HAS A NETWORK OPERATIONS CENTER THAT IS 24 SEVEN THAT IS CONTINUOUSLY MONITORING THE STATE'S 911 SYSTEM AND I'VE HAD
CONTACT WITH THEM BEFORE AND WE'VE HAD NOT A TI DOS ATTACK BUT SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY WHETHER IT'S A LARGE CALLING EVENT OR SOMETHING THAT LOOKS LIKE AN ANOMALY IN THE DATA AND THEY'RE PRETTY ROBUST AND THEY'RE
PRETTY PRETTY QUICK TO TAKE A LOOK INTO IT AND IN REAL TIME DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT IT'S SOMETHING NEFARIOUS, IF IT'S SOMETHING THAT THAT'S YOU KNOW, THAT'S YOU KNOW, LEGITIMATE TRAFFIC.
I KNOW THAT THEY'RE ALWAYS LOOKING AT THAT AS MUCH AS IS IT'S PREPARED FOR IT SEEMS LIKE THE THE BAD GUYS ARE ALWAYS AHEAD OF US BUT IT IS SOMETHING THAT I KNOW FROM THE 911
PERSPECTIVE THE STATE NINE ONE DEPARTMENTS CONTINUALLY MONITORING ALONG WITH WITH CONTACT THE VENDOR AND I MEAN AS FAR AS INTERNALLY I KNOW DEPUTY WALSH'S FOLKS AND HE CAN
SPEAK FOR THE ASG GROUP ARE ALWAYS CONCERNED ABOUT THAT FOR INTERNAL SYSTEMS AS WELL IT'S ALWAYS A CONCERN. SECURITY IS ALWAYS A CONCERN, SURE AS IT SHOULD BE. THANK FOR YOU GUYS FOR WHAT
YOU'RE DOING AND THAT I WILL SAY DURING A CAMPAIGN SEASON I KNOW MANY PEOPLE GET FLOODED WITH CAMPAIGN CALLS AND THAT CAN OVERTAKE A SYSTEM ENOUGH AT LEAST TO PEOPLE OFF ENOUGH RIGHT? NONE OF THAT'S COMING FROM
MINE. I'LL JUST SAY THAT WE'RE TAKING IT EASY THIS YEAR BUT YEAH DISREGARD NOTED US EVENTS COMING FROM DISTRICT THREE. DON'T WORRY ABOUT THAT. THAT'S REALLY THE ONLY
QUESTIONS I HAVE I THINK I THINK YOU ALL KNOW WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE ON YOUR END HAVE TAKEN THOSE STEPS SINCE THE INCIDENT HAVE OCCURRED. MY CREWS AS YOU SAID SORT
OF YOU KNOW THE BAD GUYS ALWAYS SEEM TO BE ONE STEP AHEAD. I THINK THAT'S JUST A GOOD OF THUMB TO FOLLOW REGARDLESS AND I KNOW YOU GUYS ARE ALWAYS IN MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE AT OUR SAFEST. SO THANK YOU AGAIN FOR ALL YOU
GUYS DO ACROSS ALL OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY SECTORS HERE REPRESENT IT. AND THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US TODAY. THANK YOU, JIM. ALL RIGHT.
THANK YOU, COUNCILOR FITZGERALD AND THANK YOU TO OUR PANELISTS FOR BEING HERE AND ANSWERING OUR QUESTIONS. I WAS GOING TO SEE IF WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC TESTIMONY BUT I DO
WANT TO GIVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO THE LEAD SPONSORS. OKAY. SO I'VE BEEN INFORMED THAT WE DO NOT HAVE ANYONE FOR PUBLIC TESTIMONY SO I'M GOING TO TURN THE FLOOR OVER TO THE LEAD
SPONSORS FOR YOUR STATEMENTS. COUNSELOR MURPHY GOT THE FLOOR. THANK YOU. I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE AND REPRESENTING OUR FIRST RESPONDERS SO DILIGENTLY AND RESPECTFULLY IN
OUR CALL TAKERS WHO JUST SHOW UP EVERY DAY FOR THE RESIDENTS OF THE CITY OF BOSTON AND KNOW THAT I'M HERE TO SUPPORT ALL OF YOU AS YOU SUPPORT THOSE WHO SHOW UP FOR OUR CITY. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR
ANSWERING OUR QUESTIONS AND KNOW THAT YOU KNOW WHAT? WHATEVER IT IS WHEN IT COMES TO ,YOU KNOW, NEW PHONE LINES AND EQUIPMENT THAT OUR CITY EMPLOYEES NEED TO DO THEIR JOB
RIGHT, WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE GIVING EVERYONE THE TOOLS TO DO THEIR JOB AND THE RESIDENTS ARE THE ONES WHO EVERY DAY GET THE BENEFITS FROM THAT.
AND THANK YOU. I'LL THANK YOU FROM THE RESIDENTS ALSO WHEN YOU SHOW UP IT MATTERS AND MAKING SURE YOU CAN DO THAT EVERY DAY IS IMPORTANT TO ME. SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR ANSWERS AND BEING HERE ALSO.
THANK YOU. COUNCILOR MURPHY, COUNCILOR FLYNN JUST FOR THANK YOU MR CHAIR AND THANK YOU TO THE FIRST RESPONDERS THAT ARE HERE WITH US FOR YOUR TESTIMONY
BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY FOR THE WORK YOU DO IN EVERY NEIGHBORHOOD OF BOSTON. I ALSO WANT TO SAY THANK YOU TO OUR CALL TAKERS AT BOSTON FIRE
AT BOSTON POLICE AT BOSTON EMS. I THEY ARE UNSUNG HEROES IN THE CITY OF BOSTON AND I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THEM PUBLICLY PUBLICLY FOR THEIR
PROFESSIONALISM, HARD WORK, COMMITMENT TO THE RESIDENTS OF BOSTON. WE NEED TO SUPPORT THEM LIKE THEY'VE BEEN SUPPORTING THE RESIDENTS OF BOSTON FOR SO MANY YEARS.
BOSTON WORKS BEST WHEN WE WORK TOGETHER. THANK YOU, MR CHAIR. THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN FLYNN AGAIN, I WANT TO ECHO MY COLLEAGUE'S REMARKS. THANK ALL OUR FIRST RESPONDERS.
THANK AGAIN TO THIS ALL-STAR LINEUP OF PANEL THAT WE HAD TODAY. I REALLY APPRECIATE ALL THE WORK THAT YOU ALL DO AND ON BEHALF OF OUR CITY AND OUR RESIDENTS SO WITHOUT FURTHER
ADO, THIS HEARING ON DOCKET NUMBER 0322 IS ADJOURNED.
THANK YOU.
THANK YOU
.