Boston City Council Scrutinizes Law Department and Worker Protection Budgets for FY26

BOSTON — May 12, 2025 — Boston City Council scrutinizes $10.9 million Law Department and $1.9 million worker protection budgets amid federal legal battles. The Committee on Ways and Means, chaired by District 4 Councilor Brian Worrell, heard Monday that the Law Department has spent approximately $2 million on outside counsel so far in FY25 and filed suit as a plaintiff to protect $48 million in federal grants for residents facing homelessness, while also leading or joining amicus briefs on NIH funding, CHNV parole, birthright citizenship, and Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelans. Corporation Counsel Adam Sederbaum confirmed roughly 290 to 300 lawsuits are currently pending against the city, with $21 million paid out through execution of courts in FY25. Council President Ruthzee Louijeune pressed Sederbaum on diversifying outside counsel toward women- and minority-owned firms, while Councilor Julia M. Mejia called for a residency verification amendment to the Boston Resident Jobs Policy after hearing that women have reached only 7 percent of monitored construction hours against a 12 percent target.