City Council moves to increase budgeting power
The Boston City Council passed a proposal that would give it more power over the city’s $3.6 billion budget, moving the matter to Mayor Martin Walsh’s desk and toward a possible referendum vote.
City Councilor Lydia Edwards, the main sponsor of the proposal, said the council needs to have a larger role than it does currently in allocating the budget.
“Three billion dollars on the line deserves more than a ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ ” Edwards, the government operations chair, said in the hearing.
The proposal passed, 10-3, with City Councilors Frank Baker, Ed Flynn and Michael Flaherty voting against. The proposal now heads to Walsh’s desk and then, if he signs it, to Attorney General Maura Healey for final approval. After Healey’s office reviews it to see if it passes constitutional muster, it would then be on the November general election ballot alongside the councilors and mayor.
Walsh’s office said the bill “will require careful review and consideration.”
The mayor in a statement pointed to the city’s AAA bond ratings and said, “I am proud that my administration has led a budget process that is shaped every day by robust conversations with community members, with City Council members themselves, and culminates in dozens of public Council hearings, all to ensure that our budget is a reflection of our collective needs and values, and remains fiscally responsible and forward looking.”
Under the current budgetary process, the mayor’s administration submits a budget in April, and then the council must hold hearings and then vote on it by early June. The norm is for the council to reject the budget, sending it back to the mayor, who makes some changes.
Edwards’ proposal would give the council more ability to adjust line items, and it would set aside some money for “participatory budgeting,” which involves giving residents more direct say in where money goes.
City Councilor Matt O’Malley said he was voting for Edwards’ proposal because, even though it can be a “maddening body,” he said, “I trust the institution of the Boston City Council.”
But Baker said the working session for the proposal was “heavy on advocates — heavy on socialists,” saying the composition of the council had become much the same.