Weekly Transcript Round-Up for 8/09/24: CRE Tax Hike in spotlight; Top Mayoral Advisors get 2nd jobs as City Enviro Staff; BPS' move to inclusion get more Council attn
There was a lot of action this week:
Mayor Wu criticized both the State Senate and members of Boston’s City Council for their inaction on her push to raise taxes on Boston’s commercial property owners, prompting reactions from the Senate President & City Councilors.
The reorganization of the City’s environmental bureaucracy started back in January 2024 when Rev. White Hammond announced she was resigning in April - fast forward 8 months and several more announced staffing changes to this week and that process is still on-going. Two of Mayor Wu’s top advisors - Senior Advisor to the Mayor Chris Osgood & Green New Deal Director Oliver Sellers-Garcia - got second jobs in the City’s environmental bureaucracy.
This week also saw a jam-packed Council meeting that clocked in at almost 6 hours and saw speeches, resolutions, and debates on Carney Hospital, Boston Police staffing levels, Boston Public Schools’ controversial moves towards “inclusion”, and one Councilor’s ambitious agenda to track racial equity in Boston.
MAYOR WU PUSHES TAX HIKE, STARTS FIGHT WITH SENATE PRESIDENT, UNDERCUTS ALLY EDWARDS, PROMPTS COUNCIL TO WEIGHS IN
Formal session on Beacon Hill might have ended last week, but Boston’s attention has not shifted away from the state legislature, with Mayor Wu making a concerted public push for action on her proposal to raise taxes on Boston’s commercial property owners in response to declining office values.
On Monday she spoke to the press about it at an event in Hyde Park, alongside the neighborhood’s State Representative & the sponsor of the bill, Rob Consalvo. NBC10 featured both her comments and those of BPI's Executive Director Greg Maynard, who was interviewed about the potential downsides of the tax increase:
On Tuesday Mayor Wu went on Boston Public Radio and blamed the State Senate for not following the State House’s lead and voting on the CRE Tax Hike. That criticism drew a strong rebuke from Senate President Karen Spilka:
It also appeared to undercut Mayor Wu’s most prominent ally in the State Senate, East Boston’s State Senator Lydia Edwards. This past Sunday Senator Edwards was on WCVB’s Channel 5 ‘On the Record’ vigorously rejecting the idea that the legislature hadn’t done enough in formal session. Here is a clip from the show:
On Wednesday, the City Council got involved in the fight, when At-Large Councilors Erin Murphy and Julia Meija introduced docket #1211: “Order for a hearing for the Boston City Council to address next steps after the Failed Property Tax Reclassification Home Rule Petition Though Audit.” The docket led to a back and forth between Council President Louijeune and Councilor Murphy over whether or not the CRE Tax Hike had “failed” - read more about the exchange in the Boston Herald. While debate on the docket starts at the 3:13:22 mark, the exchange between the Councilors starts at the 3:18:10 mark in the transcript. Watch it here:
The substantive part of the debate was which committee should hold a hearing on this order. Councilor Murphy and Meija both asked that it be sent to a committee that Councilor Meija chairs - Post-Audit, Government Accountability, Transparency, and Accessibility Committee. Council President Louijeune ignored their request and instead sent it to Ways & Means, which is chaired by Council Vice President and one of Louijuene’s closest Council allies, District 4 City Councilor Brian Worrell.
TWO MAYORAL AIDES GET SECOND JOBS IN BOSTON’S ENVIRONMENTAL BUREAUCRACY AS RE-ORG ENTERS MONTH 8
This week Mayor Wu announced that two of her aides were getting additional titles in the City’s environmental cabinet:
Senior Advisor to the Mayor Chris Osgood would add leading the Office of Climate Resilience, which is in the City’s environmental cabinent
Green New Deal Director Oliver Sellers-Garcia would also become the City’s Environmental Commissioner
This announcement marks the 8th month of the Wu administration reorganizing the City’s environmental cabinet which includes the Environment Department, the Parks and Recreation Department, the Office of Historic Preservation (which oversees the Landmarks Commission), and the Office of Food Justice. The reorganization started back in January 2024 when Rev. Mariama White-Hammond, who had been appointed the environmental cabinet chief by acting-Mayor Kim Janey in 2021, announced she was leaving her position on April 26.
Over the course of those eight months positions have continued to open up, and new problems have arose:
On April 9, 2024 the entire Landmarks Commission wrote and signed a letter to Mayor Wu and other senior members of her administration that they had: “observed in recent years a disregard by the City of Boston administration for the Commission’s legislative mandate and established procedures and guidelines.” As a reminder, Landmarks is in the Office of Historic Preservation, which is part of the environmental cabinet.
On April 17, 2024 the Wu admin announced that Brian Swett would take over Rev. Hammond White’s role, starting on June 10, 2024, creating a nearly two month vacancy. While Swett got a new title - Chief Climate Officer - this is not a new role for him as he previously served as the City’s environmental cabinet chief under Mayors Menino & Walsh.
On April 19, 2024 Alison Brizius, who had been serving as Boston’s Environmental Commissioner, was named a new Assistant Secretary at the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Director of the Office of Coastal Zone Management. This is the position that Seller-Garcia is taking over, meaning it has been vacant for almost four months.
On April 22, 2024 the Wu admin fired Rosanne Foley, the Executive Director of the Landmarks Commission, after the April 9 letter from Landmarks Commission became public. Mayor Walsh had appointed Foley to that position back in 2015. So far the position of executive director is still vacant.
On May 6, 2024 Murray Miller, who has led the City’s Office of Historic Preservation since June 2023, held a meeting where Dorchester residents could hear about the Wu admin’s “vision for historic preservation” which prompted new concerns about changes to the City’s demolition permitting process. Miller did not appear at any budget hearings, but the Globe interviewed Miller back in January - read that here.
On May 21, 2024 GND Director Sellers Garcia appeared on behalf of the Environment Department and Office of Food Justice for their budget hearing, prompting Councilor At-Large Julia Meija to ask why the recently announced Chief Climate Officer Swett was not there. Watch the exchange in this WTR.
The changes announced this week raise questions about what exactly Osgood and Sellers Garcia were doing prior to being appointed these second jobs, whether these new responsibilities are coming with a bump in pay, and how the appointment affects the City’s effort to implement a Green New Deal.
SIX HOUR COUNCIL MEETING JAM-PACKED WITH CONSEQUENTIAL ACTION
Wednesday’s City Council meeting was jam packed with consequential pieces of legislation and action - this section is split into two pieces. First is dockets that BPI thinks are important but did not get press attention, and second are dockets that were featured in press coverage of the meeting:
Docket #1209 which is a hearing order to examine Boston Public Schools’ use of Inclusion, a catch-all name for a series of reforms the system is under-taking. The docket was offered by At-Large Councilor Henry Santana and it caught BPI’s eye because inclusion has been an important component of our on-going monitoring of the BPS-DESE agreement signed back in June 2022 and expiring in June 2025 - the end of this coming school year. The other major thing that caught BPI’s attention was how Councilor Santana talked about inclusion, which was very different than how he talked about it back on April 29, 2024, when BPS had a budget hearing before the City Council specifically focused on inclusion.
Check out Santana’s speech on April 29 compared to August 7:
As a reminder, BPS’ moves on inclusion is what prompted last October’s resignations of most of Boston Public Schools’ English Learners Task Force. Those who resigned raised issues about inclusion that BPS has still not addressed nearly a year later. Debate on this docket starts at the 3:01:22 mark in the transcript.
Docket #1162, which proposes to permanently add the Office of Black Male Advancement to the City Charter. The office was created as the staff of the Commission for Black Men & Boys, but has since expanded to take on more responsibilities. The Commission for Black Men & Boys was first proposed by then-District 7 Councilor Tito Jackson back in 2014 before it was passed by At-Large Councilor Julia Meija in 2021 - learn more about the Commission.
Docket #1168 which is for approval of $850,000 in funding for the Boston Regional Intelligence Center. The previous City Council voted down accepting a much larger chunk of funding for this same organization - $13 million - at the end of 2023 before it was passed by the current City Council in 2024. Getting it passed in 2024 only happened after a threat from the State Senate to strip authority over these grants from the Council, and a series of parliamentary scuffles at the start of the new Council term earlier this year between Council President Ruthzee Louijeune & Council Vice President Brian Worrell on one side and At-Large Councilors Julia Meija & Erin Murphy on the other.
Docket #1173 which was for approval of $100,000 in funding for the “Sundays for All” program that allowed BPS students and their guardians - but not Boston residents who are students at charter, private, or other non-BPS schools - to go to a number of cultural institutions in Boston for free. “Sundays for All” made another appearance later in the meeting because the Wu admin fulfilled a 17F response from Councilor Murphy asked for more information about the program - that is Docket #1182. The same set of requests had been made earlier in the year and were blocked by District 8 City Councilor Sharon Durkan and then a subsequent hearing by a committee chaired by At-Large Councilor Henry Santana was cancelled. It remains to be seen if hearing will now be held.
Docket #1179 is for the appointment of Jamie McNeil to Boston’s Zoning Commission for a term that expires on May 1, 2025. McNeil the General Agent for UNITE HERE 26 which represents most of the unionized hospitality workers in Boston, who was nominated by the Greater Boston MA Labor Council AFL-CIO . A national committee of McNeil’s union was one of four organizations that contributed to the Bold Boston IE PAC - more commonly known as a Super PAC:
Those contributions went to elect three of the City Council’s current freshmen:
As can be seen from the Zoning Commission’s own website, many of the members are serving on expired terms in this vitally important board, including the man who McNeil is replacing, Jay Hurley:
The Zoning Commission plays an important role in Boston’s byzantine planning and development process. Oversight of appointments like this one represent one of the only tangible ways for the Council to influence the City’s planning and development process, and a lack of interest in these appointments was an issue that Councilors raised during the debate over the Planning Department earlier this year.
Docket #1197 is from District 8 City Councilor Sharon Durkan, and would create a one-time carve to restrictions on how tall new buildings constructed near the City’s parks can be. This effort puts Councilor Durkan in direct opposition to her former boss, current Mayor Michelle Wu, who opposed the construction of the Winthrop Square Tower over concerns that it would cast shadows on Boston Common. This Docket was referred to the Councilor’s own committee.**
Docket #1180, #1181, and #1182 are all responses to 17F requests. Getting responses like this to 17F requests is rare, so these responses all contain important insights into how City Hall works.
As a reminder, here is how the City Charter defines those:
Requests for Specific Information. The city council at any time may request from the mayor specific information on any municipal matter within its jurisdiction, and may request his presence to answer written questions relating thereto at a meeting to be held not earlier than one week from the date of the receipt of said questions, in which case the mayor shall personally, or through a head of a department or a member of a board, attend such meeting and publicly answer all such questions. The person so attending shall not be obliged to answer questions relating to any other matter. The mayor at any time may attend and address the city council in person or through the head of a department, or a member of a board, upon such subject as he may desire.
Here are the specific issues each 17F was for:
Docket #1180 is from pages 54 to 61 and is in response to a request filed by District 1 City Council Gabriella Coletta Zapata way back on 11/29/23 about the status of a property owned by the Boston Planning & Development Agency in the Charlestown Navy Yard. That property, the Constitution Inn, is the proposed site for supportive & affordable housing, which has prompted intense opposition from some Charlestown residents.
Docket #1181 is from pages 62 to 94 and is in response to two requests from At-Large Councilor Julia Meija filed on 6/05/24 & 6/26/24 about the results of Boston Police Department promotional exams. Promotional exams were already an issue this year in the fight between the Mayor & City Council over the budget, with District 6 City Council Ben Weber penning an op-ed taking the Mayor to task for her position. With the on-going protests from MAMLEO and community members over the demotion of former BPD Deputy Superintendent Eddy Chrispin this issue has taken on even greater importance.
Docket #1182 is from pages 95 to 100 and is in response to a request from At-Large Councilor Erin Murphy filed on March 6, 2024 about Mayor Wu’s “Sundays for All” program - specifically about how it was paid for and how many students & guardians.
A number of dockets were also in the news this week:
Docket #1218 - Boston City Council declared a public health emergency over the closure of Carney Hospital. Debate on this docket starts at the 1:03:07 mark and goes until the 1:30:02 mark of the transcript. Read more coverage about it in the Boston Herald, an editorial from the Boston Herald, Boston.com, WCVB Channel 5, the Dorchester Reporter, and WBUR.
Docket #1200 - Ordinance to Establish RISE: Reshaping Inequities through Systematic Empowerment, which according to the Boston Globe would: “examine the impact proposed policies and home rule petitions would have on racial and social inequities in the city.” It was offered by District 4 City Councilor Brian Worrell and he said in comments on Wednesday that “RISE aims to create a toolkit for equity by embedding into every by embedding it into every step of the decision making process in our city.” As both the Ways & Means Chair and the Council’s Vice President, Councilor Worrell should have the institutional power to make his vision a reality. Debate on this docket starts at the 1:56:52 mark in the transcript.
Docket #1205 - hearing order on the deteriorating situation at Mass & Cass, which was offered by District 2 City Council Ed Flynn and District 7 City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson. This specific hearing order was filed two weeks ago by Flynn, part of a flurry of new activity and comments from Boston elected officials about the situation at Mass & Cass, starting with an LTE in the Boston Globe from State Senator Liz Miranda, State Representative John Moran, and City Council John FitzGerald, and comments in the Herald from South Boston State Senator Nick Collins. Debate on this docket starts at the 2:23:52 mark of the transcript.
Docket #1207 - hearing order on Boston Police Dept staffing levels, which was offered by Councilors Murphy & Flynn. This hearing order was the subject of sharp push-back from Mayor Wu earlier this week, which was covered by the Boston Herald. Debate on this docket starts at the 2:48:59 mark in the transcript.
**This is a correction - an earlier version said that this ordinance would increase restrictions on construction, not create a one-time carve-out. Thank you to Universal Hub for writing about this docket!
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