Boston City Council Votes 11-1 to Accept $13.3 Million Homeland Security Grant Amid Process Debate

BOSTON — January 31, 2024 — Boston City Council accepts $13.3 million homeland security grant on an 11-to-1 vote after a sharp process debate. Council President Ruthzee Louijeune presided over the January 31 meeting as the newly seated body pulled Docket 0134 — a fiscal year 2023 Urban Area Security Initiative award from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security — from the Green Sheets for an immediate floor vote at the urging of Councillor Edward M. Flynn, who warned that roughly half the funds flow to surrounding cities including Chelsea. First-term Councillor Julia M. Mejia, who voted present, called the move a threat to council integrity: "I don't want to set the tone that that's how we're going to operate." Councillor Liz Breadon, also voting present in effect by recording present, cited a "significant deficiency" flagged in the city's fiscal year 2022 audit of prior UASI grants. The council also passed by unanimous roll call a resolution supporting the state CHERISH Act for debt-free public higher education, and first-term Councillor Benjamin J. Weber delivered a maiden speech introducing a right-to-counsel pilot hearing order, citing Massachusetts data showing 95 percent of landlords have attorneys in eviction cases while fewer than 4 percent of tenants do, and a 40-plus percent rise in Suffolk County eviction filings in the past year.