Boston Council Pushes Administration on Equity Metrics Before FY24 Budget Release

BOSTON -- March 28, 2023, Boston City Council presses administration on equity metrics and data gaps ahead of April 12 FY24 budget release. At a March 28 hearing chaired by Councilor Liz Breadon, cabinet chiefs from equity, finance, people operations, and technology testified that while equity questions are now required in all budget submissions, no standardized scoring rubric exists to evaluate departmental responses, and the city's workforce diversity data conflates race and ethnicity into just four categories. People Operations Chief Alex Lawrence conceded the data "is not where we want it to be," while CFO Ashley Grafenberger described equity as a "factor" in budget decision-making, language Councilor Julia M. Mejia explicitly challenged. The Better Budget Alliance, representing 34 community organizations, called for 1 percent of the budget, approximately $40 million, to flow through the city's first citywide participatory budgeting process, directed to high-poverty neighborhoods including Roxbury, Dorchester, and Mattapan. Two public commenters urged $2.6 million to fund a community-designed mental health crisis response model that excludes law enforcement.