Boston Public Health Commission Seeks $1M for Shelters, 12 New EMTs in FY25 Budget

BOSTON -- May 14, 2024, Boston City Council's Ways and Means Committee grills public health officials on staffing shortages, shelter funding cliff, and a $2.6 million mental health pilot. Committee Chair Brian Worrell convened Tuesday's hearing on the Boston Public Health Commission's proposed FY25 budget, which rises 6.8 percent overall and includes a $1 million request for low-threshold shelter sites, 12 new EMTs for Boston EMS, and a new fetal and infant mortality review program to address a Black infant mortality rate of 9.7 per 1,000 live births, more than three times the rate for white infants. Commissioner Dr. Bisola Ojukutu confirmed the commission's 30 public health nurses have been without a SEIU 1199 contract for three years and acknowledged they earn less than Boston Public Schools nurses, saying flatly, "Do we have enough? No." Tim Harrington warned that ARPA-funded Mass and Cass response programs, totaling roughly $10 to $11 million, will need to be replaced by opioid settlement funds at the end of FY25. Public advocates, including the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, asked the council to raise the commission's Peace Institute allocation from $100,000 to $350,000, while the Mental Health Crisis Response Campaign demanded $2.6 million for a non-carceral community mental health pilot, against a currently budgeted $1.5 million.