Boston Spending Freeze Hits Most Departments as FY27 Budget Pressure Mounts

BOSTON -- March 23, 2026, Boston Ways and Means committee hears blunt warning: city surpluses have shrunk from over $100 million in FY23 to $22 million in FY25, with FY26 trending tighter. Chief Financial Officer Ashley Roffenberger and Office of Budget Management Director Jim Williamson told the committee Monday that a midyear spending freeze, formalized in a March 12 memo that was not shared with most councillors until the day of the hearing, covers virtually all city departments except the council, the Finance Commission, and Boston Public Schools, freezing 100 percent of balances in food, travel, and office supplies and 50 percent in repairs and contracted services. Health insurance premiums are set to rise 22.6 percent for FY27 after the city's self-insured trust fund ran through its surplus, driven in part by two individual claims of $3.5 million each and surging GLP-1 drug use. The city expects roughly $12.5 million of a $46 million federal FEMA award tied to World Cup expenses, less than half the $24 million Boston had sought. Revenue growth for FY27 is projected at only 1.5 to 2.5 percent, while pension, debt, and service contracts all escalate faster; the full FY27 budget is due April 8.