Weekly Transcript Round-Up: March 8, 2024
Councilor lays out BPS budget priorities to BSC, as hearing on budget looms; PLUS: Council wants to learn more about CRE revenue, looks to go over 20% on IDP, demands 'Sundays for All' info
UPDATE: The Boston Globe & Boston Herald reported that after 5 PM on Friday March 8, 2024 Education Committee Chair & Councilor-At-Large Henry Santana cancelled the March 18 hearing about the ‘Sundays for All’ program - check out the agenda on the City’s website here. BPI wrote about the 17F request in this issue, and made a note in the body of the post.
This week’s Round-Up looks at a jam-packed City Council meeting on Wednesday, plus a few odds and ends - here is what is in today’s issue:
Council Budget Chief Brian Worrell laid out his colleagues’ budget priorities & future plans for BPS’ budget to the School Committee in public testimony last week;
The City Council cited BPI’s Office Values Report in actions it took on Wednesday to learn more about CRE tax revenues and office vacancy;
The City Council is looking to move the inclusionary zoning requirement above the 20% threshold set late last year; and
The Council demands financial information from Wu administration about “Sundays for All” as March 18 hearing approaches.
There are two important meetings that aren’t in today’s Round-Up but will be in a future issue:
Today at 10 AM, the Government Operations Committee is hosting a working group session on the planning department ordinance. Make sure to read Chris Lovett’s in-depth look at the Article 80 modernization process in the Dorchester Reporter - read what BPI wrote about last week’s hearing on the ordinance
Next Thursday at 2 PM, the Ways & Means Committee is hosting a working session on the Boston Public Schools’ FY25 budget - Look for a BPI briefing on how the BPS FY25 budget addresses the BPS-DESE agreement
Before we get into all that, congratulations to District 5 City Council Enrique Pepen for giving his inaugural speech this past Wednesday - he is Speaker 14 in the transcript and the speech starts at the 01:14:57 mark.
SCHOOL COMMITTEE GETS SURPRISE GUEST: COUNCILOR & BUDGET CHIEF BRIAN WORRELL
Last week at the School Committee’s regular meeting on Wednesday, February 28, 2024, there was a surprise guest: District 4 City Councilor Brian Worrell. His appearance before the School Committee is part of his push this year to get the Boston City Council more involved in the creation of Boston Public School’s budget. As the Chair of Ways & Means Committee, Councilor Worrell held a request for information meeting earlier this year for Council members. He is Speaker 20 in the transcript and begins speaking at the 02:10:06 mark, and his remarks can be seen in the clip above.
Councilor Worrell laid out his colleagues’ priorities in the coming hearings, including understanding full-time employees cuts at schools, the long-term fiscal health of BPS in the face of enrollment declines, and the readiness of schools to expand inclusive classrooms.
This testimony from Councilor Worrell is likely a preview of the working session that the Ways & Means Committee is holding next Thursday, March 14, 2024 on the BPS FY25 budget.
COUNCIL TALKS BPI REPORT IN TAX REVENUE & OFFICE VACANCY ACTIONS
BPI released our report ‘Fiscal Fallout of Boston's Empty Offices’ more than three weeks ago, but it is continuing to drive the public conversation. This week, two actions in the Council sought to quantify the impact of falling office values, and figure out a comprehensive response.
The first action was docket #0479 from Councilor Worrell: an “Order for a hearing to discuss projected commercial property tax values in Boston.” Councilor Worrell is Speaker 18 in the transcript and starts speaking at the 02:59:46 mark. He gave a short speech that asked an important question: “What can we do to help it [the downtown] bounce back while protecting vital city programs?” District 6 City Councilor Ben Weber, who is Speaker 6 and started speaking at the 03:00:57 mark, also discussed the order saying: “I believe that we must be proactive in addressing this and look forward to exploring all the opportunities to ensure that our city departments don't find themselves facing budget cuts.” The order was accepted and sent to the Ways & Means Committee - BPI will include information about the hearing as soon as it is available.
The next action driven by BPI’s report, docket #0485 from District 2 City Councilor Ed Flynn, is a little different from Councilor Worrell’s action. This one is a “Resolution in support of establishing a blue ribbon commission to study strategies in filling downtown office vacancies.” Councilor Flynn recognized BPI in remarks about the Resolution. He is Speaker 13 in the transcript and begins speaking about the item at the 3:20:41 mark:
As you also know, Boston Policy Institute and Tufts University have researched recently and found due to the decreasing value of office space, there is a potential shortfall of $1.2 to $1.5 billion in city revenue over the next 5 years. The report highlighted that an environment of remote work and high interest rates have created an economic act of God, which made commercial buildings less valuable, which in turn will impact the city's tax base.
Councilor Flynn highlighted the role that terrible traffic has on downtown Boston, and pointed to his own work on the issue back in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. The resolution was passed by the City Council - BPI will include information about further action on the Blue Ribbon Commission as it becomes available.
COUNCIL CONSIDERS INCREASING AFFORDABLE HOUSING REQUIREMENT ABOVE 20%
City Council President Ruthzee Louijeune and District 9 City Councilor Liz Breadon offered docket #0488, a “Resolution calling for further measures to supplement inclusionary zoning and advance affordable housing in the city of Boston.” Reading the resolution’s texts, one section stands out:
RESOLVED: That the Boston City Council expresses its intention to seek periodic review of inclusionary zoning requirements beginning no later than the year 2026, using data on housing affordability, demand, and construction costs to inform feasible and effective timelines to phase in future increases beyond 20% of affordability. [bolding added for emphasis]
Councilor Breadon starts speaking about the resolution at the 3:53:02 mark and is Speaker 17 in transcript. She gives a history of IDP - short for ‘inclusionary zoning policy’ - in Boston that ended with a call for more deeply affordable units and going above the currently required 20% to an even higher number. Councilor Breadon did not mention that Boston’s current IDP policy is at odds with recent academic studies including one done here in MA that suggest the policy does not increase the amount of affordable housing unless combined with density bonuses and other incentives for the builder.
COUNCIL SEEKS “SUNDAYS FOR ALL” FINANCIAL INFORMATION
The fight over “Sundays for All” continued into a second regular City Council meeting, with a 17F request being approved by the City Council. 17F refers to the City of Boston’s charter and states that: “at any time the council may request from the mayor specific information as it relates to city business.”
“Sunday for All” is a program that Mayor Wu announced in her SOTC earlier this year that allows some Boston elementary and secondary school students to visit local museums and other cultural institutions. The program’s limited nature has provoked controversy, with students who attend charter schools, private schools, and METCO all not included. Commonwealth Beacon wrote about this earlier this year.
A hearing about the program is set for March 18th and Councilor Flynn indicated during this week’s hearing that he needed this information to prepare. Councilor Flynn is Speaker 13 in the transcript and speaks about this action at the 04:09:41 mark.
UPDATE: The Boston Globe & Boston Herald reported that after 5 PM on Friday March 8, 2024 Education Committee Chair & Councilor-At-Large Henry Santana cancelled the March 18 hearing about the ‘Sundays for All’ program - check out the agenda on the City’s website here.
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