Boston City Council Backs COLA Base Increase for City Retirees in Unanimous Vote

BOSTON — September 25, 2024 — Boston City Council votes unanimously to demand COLA base increase for city retirees after retirement board rejection. The 12-0 resolution, introduced by Councilors Benjamin J. Weber, Henry Santana, and Edward M. Flynn, calls on the Boston Retirement Board to raise the cost-of-living adjustment base from $15,000 to $18,000 — an increase retirees have sought for more than two years. Weber noted the board has raised the base only three times since 2010, adding a total of just $90 per retiree per year. "We owe it to the people who made our city work to advocate for them," Weber said. Councilor Erin J. Murphy called for a separate hearing to compel the board to explain its vote. The council also passed 12 grant authorizations totaling more than $6.3 million for elder services, youth programs, and early childhood initiatives, and referred a hearing order on eliminating the MCAS as a graduation requirement to the Committee on Education ahead of a November 5 statewide ballot question.