Boston City Council Hears FY25 Budget Requests From Equity and Inclusion Cabinet

BOSTON — April 23, 2024 — Boston's Equity and Inclusion Cabinet pressed the City Council Ways and Means Committee Thursday for sustained funding as offices warned of a shrinking grant pool and an unfinanced equity study. Executive Director Frank Farrow told councilors that the Office of Black Male Advancement will award roughly $250,000 in community grants in FY25, down from more than $500,000 distributed to over 60 organizations in FY24, because prior-year figures relied on employee cost savings during a staff ramp-up. Council President Ruthzee Louijeune called the reduction "cutting in half the amount that you were able to give out last year — when you've experienced a need that is substantial." LGBTQ Plus Advancement Executive Director Julianne Lee highlighted a $350,000 multi-agency Transgender Emergency Fund investment and a one-time $100,000 salary-surplus redirection that doubled the office's mini-grant grantees. Chief of Equity and Inclusion Solis Barrera said the cabinet's roughly $700,000 budget increase is largely a bookkeeping transfer of five cultural liaison positions from the Office of Neighborhood Services, with new money limited to $50,000 for reparations community engagement and one new Caribbean cultural advisor role.