Boston Council Reviews $53.6M Housing Budget Amid Shelter Crisis

BOSTON — May 20, 2024 — Boston City Council housing panel examines $53.6 million FY25 Mayor's Office of Housing budget amid shelter emergency. The Ways and Means Committee, chaired by Councilor Brian Worrell, heard from Chief of Housing Sheila Dillon and BHA Administrator Kenzie Bach at the May 20 budget review hearing. The proposed budget is a $4.1 million, or 8.4 percent, increase over FY24, anchored by a $2 million seed investment in a new Housing Acquisition Fund the administration wants to scale to $25 million. Bach disclosed that 42,000 households sit on BHA's public housing wait list against roughly 14,000 available units, with annual turnover at just 2.5 percent because, as she put it, "making a bit more money doesn't give you an option in the city of Boston beyond public housing." Two homeless Boston residents, David Lopez and Wilfred Rhodes, testified at the session's opening, each describing failed attempts to access vouchers and shelter placements.