Mayor funds workers, rebuilt bridge in budget

Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s $3.29 billion budget — his first since re-election — adds 220 new employees and earmarks $80 million to rebuild the bridge to Long Island to set up a long-term opioid recovery facility there.

The budget, which needs to be approved by the City Council, is increasing by 4.3 percent, or $137 million over last year’s budget. It bumps up school funding by $68 million to $1.1 billion, and departments are seeing a 3.5 percent increase in their budget on average.

“This budget represents an investment in our values as a city, and will allow us to build upon the strong foundations we’ve set in supporting all of Boston’s neighborhoods,” Walsh said in a statement. “A strong middle class means a strong Boston, and I am proud that the city’s strategic management of finances will allow us to maintain our focus on advancing the prosperity of our city and our people as we continue on our path of unprecedented growth into the years ahead.”

Many departments are seeing an increase in new workers. Nearly one-third of the 220 employees added in the budget will be in Boston Public Schools, including eight new nurses, seven new psychologists and four social workers.

Health and Human Services will see 20 new EMTs and the Boston Police Department will see 30 new police positions — bringing the total number on the force to 2,210, the highest in a decade.

City officials said the new employees are needed to provide services to growing areas in the city, particularly the South End and the Seaport. But Sam Tyler, president of the Boston Municipal Research Bureau, said Walsh needs to keep an eye on what the influx of new employees will cost the city down the road.

“Any time there’s a large increase in employees, even though well-intentioned, there’s concern for what that means in initial cost, and these costs grow,” Tyler said.

About 70 percent of the budget comes from property taxes, with state aid only increasing by 4 percent. Tyler said his impression of the budget was “favorable, but with a yellow flag of caution” and said the real estate boom paying for Boston’s services now is not guaranteed to last.

Walsh’s budget calls for numerous capital improvements, including replacing fire engines, developing flood prevention and rebuilding the Long Island bridge, which Walsh made a cornerstone of his inauguration speech.