Boston City Council opens 2023 with school funds vote, Lawler pension fix

BOSTON -- January 11, 2023, Boston City Council opens 2023 legislative session with unanimous votes on worker back pay and a widow's pension fix. The 13-member council, presided over by Council President Edward M. Flynn, unanimously approved two appropriations totaling $110,160 to deliver retroactive raises and a new night-shift differential to 86 Boston Public Health Commission employees under an SEIU Local 888 contract covering October 2020 through September 2023. Councilor Kenzie Bok, who moved for immediate passage, said the deal mirrors a citywide pattern of 2 percent, 1.5 percent, and 2 percent base wage increases. The council also passed a home rule petition championed by Councilor Michael Flaherty to correct the survivor benefit of Donna Lawler, widow of 34-year Boston Police veteran Robert Lawler, after the Retirement Board assigned benefits under the wrong option at his death. A $21.6 million school boiler and building-envelope appropriation was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, while more than 30 refiled hearing orders on gun violence, housing, school safety, climate, and beekeeping regulation were distributed to committees, setting the council's work agenda for the year.