Boston Council Budget Session Draws Calls to Restore Youth Jobs, Legal Aid, Mental Health Funding

BOSTON — April 28, 2026 — Boston's City Council Ways and Means Committee drew dozens of residents Tuesday night to a fiscal year 2027 budget listening session, with speakers urging restoration of a $6 million cut to school-year youth jobs, a $450,000 Access to Counsel eviction-defense program slated for elimination, and a $4 million pilot for a non-police mental health crisis response. Committee Chair Ben Weber, who convened the session, noted that roughly 40 departmental hearings are running through June and publicly expressed disappointment that most of his council colleagues did not attend, saying, "I'm not smart enough to be able to make these decisions on my own." Members of the Boston People's Response campaign — citing a city-funded, community-designed model presented to Mayor Wu in spring 2023 — told councillors the roughly $1.3 million allocated so far falls well short of the $4 million needed for full implementation. Members of Boston DSA separately testified that proposed cuts of $500,000 to the parks operations budget and $320,000 to the building operations budget would further erode an already inadequate public restroom network. A second listening session with Spanish, Haitian Creole, and Cantonese interpretation is scheduled for May 26 at 6 p.m.