Boston City Council Hears BPHC FY27 Budget, EMS Union Demands Pay Parity

BOSTON -- May 21, 2026, Boston City Council's Ways and Means Committee grills BPHC officials on FY27 budget as EMS union warns of 60 percent pay gap with firefighters. The morning hearing, chaired by District 6 Councilor Ben Weber, covered the Boston Public Health Commission's proposed budget, which reflects a 1.6 percent year-over-year increase after the Office of Budget Management restructured how fringe benefit costs, including a 20 percent health care premium increase, are treated in the appropriation. EMS Chief Jim Hooley reported that citywide priority one median response times dropped from 7.5 to 6.8 minutes in the first half of 2026, a 9.3 percent improvement, while his department responded to more than 141,000 incidents in 2025. BPPA EMS Division President Jason Yutkins testified that a five-year Boston EMT earns "nearly 60 percent less than a firefighter," warning that experienced clinicians "leave because they simply can't afford to stay." Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, BPHC Commissioner, cited a 39 percent decrease in overdose mortality from 2023 to 2024 and announced a $600,000 opioid settlement community-response RFP expected in June, drawn from a roughly $18 million settlement fund budgeted through 2040.