City Council

Name: Boston City Council meeting
Start: 2026-02-04T17:00:00+00:00
Location: Council Chambers

Wednesday, February 4, 2026, 12 p.m. (Boston time), Council Chambers

Video of the meeting

On the agenda

Roll-call votes

On the order, referred on January 28, 2026, Docket #0157, to adopt Rules for the Boston City Council for Municipal Years 2026-2027, the committee submitted a report recommending that this matter ought to pass in a new draft. Councilor Mejia offered an Amendment to Rule 36, seconded by Councilor Murphy. The amendment was properly before the body. A roll call vote was taken; the amendment did not pass; yeas 6 (Culpepper, FitzGerald, Flynn, Mejia, Murphy, Worrell), nays 7 (Breadon, Coletta Zapata, Durkan, Louijeune, Pepén, Santana, Weber). Recess. Councilor Mejia offered Amendment A to Rule 36, seconded by Councilor Flynn. The amendment was properly before the body. A roll call vote was taken; the amendment passed; yeas 12 (Breadon, Coletta Zapata, Culpepper, FitzGerald, Flynn, Louijeune, Mejia, Murphy, Pepén, Santana, Weber, Worrell), nays 1 (Durkan). Councilor Durkan moved to limit debate to one hour, seconded by Councilor Coletta Zapata. Motion failed; yeas 7 (Breadon, Coletta Zapata, Durkan, Louijeune, Pepén, Santana, Weber), nays 6 (Culpepper, FitzGerald, Flynn, Mejia, Murphy, Worrell). Councilor Mejia offered Amendment B to Rule 36 (Version 2), seconded by Councilor Murphy. The amendment was properly before the body. Councilor Weber motioned to lay the amendment on the table. The motion passed; yeas 11 (Breadon, Coletta Zapata, Culpepper, Durkan, Louijeune, Mejia, Murphy, Pepén, Santana, Weber, Worrell), nays 2 (FitzGerald, Flynn). Councilor Mejia offered Amendment C to Rule 36, seconded by Councilor Murphy. The amendment was properly before the body. A roll call vote was taken; the amendment passed; yeas 12 (Breadon, Coletta Zapata, Culpepper, FitzGerald, Flynn, Louijeune, Mejia, Murphy, Pepén, Santana, Weber, Worrell), nays 1 (Durkan). Councilor Mejia offered Amendment E to Rule 36, seconded by Councilor Flynn. The amendment was properly before the body. A roll call vote was taken; the amendment passed; yeas 11 (Coletta Zapata, Culpepper, FitzGerald, Flynn, Louijeune, Mejia, Murphy, Pepén, Santana, Weber, Worrell), nays 2 (Breadon, Durkan). Councilor Mejia offered an Amendment to Rule 35, seconded by Councilor Flynn. The amendment was properly before the body. Councilor Durkan motioned to lay the amendment on the table, seconded by Councilor Coletta Zapata. The motion passed; yeas 8 (Breadon, Coletta Zapata, Culpepper, Durkan, FitzGerald, Louijeune, Pepén, Weber), nays 3 (Flynn, Murphy, Worrell), present 1 (Mejia), not present 1 (Santana). Councilor Mejia offered an Amendment to the First Paragraph of Rule 36, seconded by Councilor Worrell. The amendment was properly before the body. A roll call vote was taken; the amendment passed; yeas 10 (Coletta Zapata, Culpepper, FitzGerald, Flynn, Louijeune, Mejia, Murphy, Pepén, Weber, Worrell), nays 2 (Breadon, Durkan), not present 1 (Santana). Councilor Mejia offered an Amendment to Rule 39, seconded by Councilor Murphy. The amendment was properly before the body. A roll call vote was taken; the amendment did not pass; yeas 6 (Culpepper, FitzGerald, Flynn, Mejia, Murphy, Worrell), nays 7 (Breadon, Coletta Zapata, Durkan, Louijeune, Pepén, Santana, Weber). Councilor Culpepper offered an Amendment to Rule 4, seconded by Councilor Durkan. The amendment was properly before the body. A roll call vote was taken; the amendment did not pass; yeas 6 (Culpepper, FitzGerald, Flynn, Mejia, Murphy, Worrell), nays 7 (Breadon, Coletta Zapata, Durkan, Louijeune, Pepén, Santana, Weber). Councilor Worrell offered an Amendment to Rule 23, seconded by Councilor Mejia. The amendment was properly before the body. A roll call vote was taken; the amendment did not pass; yeas 6 (Culpepper, FitzGerald, Flynn, Mejia, Murphy, Worrell), nays 7 (Breadon, Coletta Zapata, Durkan, Louijeune, Pepén, Santana, Weber). Recess Councilor Weber moved to take Councilor Mejia's Amendment B to Rule 36 (Version 2) from the table, seconded by Councilor Santana. The motion passed; yeas 11 (Breadon, Culpepper, Durkan, FitzGerald, Flynn, Louijeune, Murphy, Pepén, Santana, Weber, Worrell). A roll call vote was taken; the amendment passed; yeas 13 (Breadon, Coletta Zapata, Culpepper, Durkan, FitzGerald, Flynn, Louijeune, Mejia, Murphy, Pepén, Santana, Weber, Worrell). Councilor Durkan moved to vote to accept the report and pass the order in a new draft as amended, seconded by Councilor Murphy. The report was accepted, the order passed in a new draft as amended; yeas 11 (Breadon, Coletta Zapata, Culpepper, Durkan, FitzGerald, Louijeune, Mejia, Pepén, Santana, Weber, Worrell), nays 2 (Flynn, Murphy). Later in session, Councilors Murphy and Flynn moved to reconsider their votes. The order passed in a new draft as amended; yeas 13 (Breadon, Coletta Zapata, Culpepper, Durkan, FitzGerald, Flynn, Louijeune, Mejia, Murphy, Pepén, Santana, Weber, Worrell).: Accepted 13-0
Message and order for your approval an order to reduce the FY26 appropriation for the Reserve for Collective Bargaining by Eighteen Million One Hundred Eighteen Thousand Four Hundred Eighty-Eight Dollars ($18,118,488.00) to provide funding for the Fire Department for the FY26 increases contained within the collective bargaining agreement between the City of Boston and the Boston Firefighters IAFF Local 718. Filed in the Office of the City Clerk on January 26, 2026.: Accepted 13-0
Message and order for a supplemental appropriation order for the Boston Fire Department for FY26 in the amount of Eighteen Million One Hundred Eighteen Thousand Four Hundred Eighty-Eight Dollars ($18,118,488.00) to cover the FY26 cost items contained within the collective bargaining agreement between the City of Boston and IAFF Local 718. The terms of the contracts are July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025 and July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2028. The major provisions of the contracts include a base wage increase of 2.5% to be given in July of 2024, and a base wage increase of 2% in July of each subsequent fiscal year of the contract term. The agreement also includes salary adjustments in January of 2025, starting at 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 years of service.: Accepted 13-0
Message and order for your approval an order to reduce the FY26 appropriation for the Reserve for Collective Bargaining by One Million Three Hundred Seven Thousand Nine Hundred One Dollars ($1,307,901.00) to provide funding for the Boston Public Schools for the FY26 increases contained within the collective bargaining agreements between the School Committee of the City of Boston and the Boston Association of School Administrators and Supervisors (BASAS). Filed in the Office of the City Clerk on January 26, 2026.: Accepted 13-0
Message and order for a supplemental appropriation order for the Boston Public Schools Department for FY26 in the amount of One Million Three Hundred Seven Thousand Nine Hundred One Dollars ($1,307,901.00) to cover the FY26 cost items contained within the collective bargaining agreements between the School Committee of the City of Boston and the Boston Association of School Administrators and Supervisors (BASAS). The terms of the contracts are September 1, 2024 through August 31, 2027. The major provisions of the contracts include base wage increases of 2% to be given in September of each fiscal year of the contract term. The contract also adds a new step in FY27 and a new degree to the education differential.: Accepted 13-0
Resolution recognizing Black History Month in Boston.: Adopted 13-0
Resolution in support of establishing a District 7 White Stadium Task Force.: Adopted 12-0
Resolution denouncing the termination of Temporary Protected Status for Haiti.: Adopted 13-0

Documents

Summary

The Boston City Council met February 4, 2026, in a marathon session chaired by Council President Liz Breadon. The centerpiece was Docket 0157, adoption of council rules for municipal years 2026-2027, which drew roughly four hours of amendment debate — including a contested proposal by Councilor Mejia to give the Education Committee jurisdiction over the Boston Public Schools budget, which failed 6-7. Several Mejia amendments to the Education Committee description passed, as did amendments on committee chair terms; amendments on rule 35 records posting, rule 4 referral appeals, rule 39 debate limits, and rule 23 hearing timelines failed or were tabled. The rules ultimately passed 11-2, with Councilors Murphy and Flynn later changing their votes to yes. The council also unanimously approved the firefighter collective bargaining contract with IAFF Local 718 (Dockets 0124-0127), adopted resolutions on Black History Month, Lunar New Year, Haitian TPS, a White Stadium task force, and Black veterans, and referred numerous hearing orders and ordinances to committee, including Culpepper's ordinance restricting ICE use of city property.

Transcript

1:56 i work every day.

1:58 No come back if you.

2:04 Hate your console.

2:09 Reduce.

2:14 Yeah.

2:15 Okay.

2:18 Thank you.

2:18 Yeah.

2:19 He just walked through the

2:19 house.

5:24 Good afternoon everyone.

5:27 I call to order today's meeting

5:29 of the boston city council.

5:31 Viewers MAY watch the

5:32 council meeting live on.

5:34 Youtube@boston.Gov.

5:38 backslash city council tv.

5:40 At this time I ask my

5:41 colleagues and those in

5:43 attendance to please silence

5:45 your cell phones and electronic

5:45 devices.

5:49 Also pursuant to rule 42 I

5:51 remind all in this chamber that

5:53 no demonstration of approval or

5:54 disapproval from members of the

5:56 public will be permitted.

5:57 Thank you.

6:00 Mr clerk, will you please call

6:01 the roll to ascertain the

6:01 presence of a quorum?

6:05 Oh.

6:07 Look at the mic.

6:08 Thank you.

6:12 councilor breadon here.

6:17 Councilor colletta as a part

6:18 of councilor culpeper.

6:19 Councilor durkan.

6:21 Councilor fitzgerald.

6:22 Council.

6:23 Councilor.

6:24 Louijeune.

6:25 Yeah.

6:25 Councilor.

6:26 Mejia.

6:27 Councilor.

6:27 Murphy.

6:28 councilor.

6:29 Pepen.

6:30 Santana.

6:30 Councilor.

6:33 Councilor weber and

6:34 council were out here.

6:35 A quorum is present.

6:37 Thank you, mr clerk.

6:40 Yeah.

6:42 I've been informed by the work

6:43 that a quorum is PRESIDENT

6:43 Present.

6:46 Now it is my pleasure to invite

6:49 our colleague reverend uh,

6:51 councilor culpeper to the dais

6:52 to introduce, uh, our guest

6:53 clergy today.

7:00 Following the invocation we

7:01 will recite the pledge

7:02 of allegiance.

7:03 Thank you, MADAM PRESIDENT.

7:08 It is with high honor and my

7:11 pleasure to introduce you this

7:11 morning.

7:12 Ah.

7:15 Uh, yes, pastor who will bring

7:17 the invocation reverend laura,

7:20 the past of the united baptist

7:21 church and to make it plain I

7:23 have known her all of my life

7:27 and we have had many wins, many

7:28 victories.

7:31 And so this morning I introduce

7:33 and present to others the

7:35 beloved reverend laura's.

7:45 Good afternoon.

7:50 To all the councils and their

7:50 representing districts.

7:52 I greet you this afternoon and

7:54 the only thing that matters is

7:55 my lord and savior jesus

7:55 christ.

7:57 It's an honor to be here once

7:57 again.

8:00 I was here years back when

8:01 COUNCILMAN Young the PRESIDENT

8:03 Was here and john laverty as I

8:05 just want to offer a word

8:06 of encouragement before we pray

8:07 and we're living in a time

8:09 where there's so much chaos and

8:10 so much turbulence.

8:12 Um, and so we need to we're

8:14 better together than we are

8:14 apart.

8:16 And that's not just being

8:17 COUNCILMAN But community family

8:19 wise, uh, church family

8:21 wherever you attend or don't

8:24 attend a church, it's okay, but

8:26 we need to be unified and we

8:27 need to be on the side of not

8:28 right or wrong but just sort

8:29 of light.

8:31 And when you're on a side

8:32 of darkness nothing can get

8:32 accomplished.

8:35 So I encourage you stay

8:37 together, pray together, work

8:38 together and yeah fight

8:41 together to is healthy but in

8:42 everything we do make sure

8:43 something is accomplished and

8:44 nothing goes away

8:45 unaccomplished.

8:47 And I'm going to leave you with

8:48 this one quote from amos before

8:48 I pray.

8:52 And it says but let judgment

8:55 run down as waters and

8:56 righteousness as a mighty

8:57 stream.

9:00 Stay on the side of light and

9:01 leave darkness to where belongs

9:02 in the dark.

9:04 Our father GOD, we come before

9:07 you this afternoon anticipating

9:08 this is going to be a great

9:10 meeting anticipating because

9:12 you're a great GOD and you know

9:15 none other than light and

9:16 you've there is no darkness.

9:18 So I pray for everything that's

9:18 done here today.

9:20 GOD will be done in dc in

9:20 order.

9:21 I pray GOD that everything

9:23 that's done here today that

9:24 something would get

9:25 accomplished and nothing would

9:26 get unresolved, that the anger

9:29 would not be an option but only

9:30 harmony would be an option.

9:31 We pray for the PRESIDENT

9:31 Of this council.

9:33 We pray for all who work with

9:35 her, all who stand with them

9:36 and everyone in this city hall

9:36 including our mayor.

9:39 Will we ask our GOD that you

9:40 move by your spirit in this

9:41 place and if you move by your

9:43 spirit we know surely that

9:44 we've come up with not just uh

9:46 ,just being at a meeting but

9:47 there'll be joy in this meeting

9:49 to be contentment and long

9:51 working with each other that

9:52 you'll go home being with no

9:53 headaches and no frailties.

9:56 We love you and we all knew

9:57 this day in jesus name.

9:59 Amen.

9:59 amen.

10:08 Like diligence.

10:11 Like the united states

10:13 of america and the republic for

10:15 which it stands one nation

10:18 under GOD, indivisible with

10:20 liberty and justice for all.

10:21 Thank you, reverend reeves.

10:29 This morning we now go on to

10:30 presentations.

10:31 We have one presentation.

10:33 I'll invite councilor murphy,

10:34 uh, to come to the dais.

10:37 Councilor murphy, um, to

10:38 introduce your.

10:39 Guests this morning.

10:43 And you've got five minutes and

10:44 councilor fitzgerald's coming

10:44 up as well.

10:55 Good afternoon everyone.

10:57 It's wonderful.

10:59 to be here and the first

11:00 presentation of the new

11:00 session.

11:02 And if you could come up with

11:05 us, pedro, when we rightfully

11:07 say some wonderful things about

11:08 you and the work you're doing

11:10 and I'm joined here with

11:11 councilor fitzgerald to present

11:12 this to you can come right up

11:13 here.

11:13 Yeah.

11:14 okay.

11:17 so before I present this

11:19 resolution I want to say a few

11:21 words about why this work

11:23 matters and why today is

11:23 important.

11:26 Uplifting young people is not

11:27 something we do once a year or

11:28 at a single event.

11:31 It is a responsibility that

11:33 requires sustained attention,

11:34 investment and leadership every

11:34 day.

11:37 When we talk about youth

11:38 engagement we are talking about

11:39 whether young people feel

11:41 valued, supported and connected

11:44 to the city that they all call

11:44 home.

11:48 Pedro cruz understands that

11:48 responsibility deeply.

11:50 His leadership of the office

11:52 of youth engagement and

11:54 advancement reflects a year

11:55 round commitment to creating

11:57 space for our youth to make

11:59 sure their voices are heard,

12:01 give them opportunities for

12:03 leadership and civic

12:04 participation across boston.

12:06 The programs his office

12:08 oversees do not begin or end

12:09 with the summit coming up.

12:11 They are part of an ongoing

12:13 work to ensure that young

12:14 people are seen as partners in

12:14 our city's future.

12:17 The mayor's youth summit is a

12:18 moment to celebrate that work.

12:20 It is a visible, joyful

12:22 gathering that reflects months

12:24 of effort, relationships and

12:25 engagement that happen

12:26 throughout the year.

12:28 It brings together young people

12:29 from across our neighborhoods

12:31 to be recognized, to connect

12:32 and see themselves reflected.

12:35 This resolution that we're

12:37 going to present to you and

12:39 later in the council meeting

12:40 will hopefully all suspend and

12:43 pass recognizes the 2026

12:44 mayor's youth summit.

12:46 That is the third annual and

12:48 thank you to you pedro and your

12:49 office for bringing it back.

12:51 Um, mayor menino had it for

12:53 many years and it took a little

12:55 hiatus but this will be the

12:55 third consecutive year.

12:58 But it also recognizes the

12:59 consistent work behind it and

13:00 the leadership that makes it

13:01 possible.

13:03 So I'm proud but before I

13:04 present it I will let my

13:05 colleague councilor fitzgerald

13:06 who's joining me in presenting

13:08 this to you today.

13:09 Thank you and thank you,

13:10 councilor murphy for allowing

13:11 me to come up here today.

13:13 Uh, not new to any of my

13:14 colleagues but for anyone else

13:16 I am a, uh, former alumni or

13:17 I'm an alumni for I'm a member

13:19 of the mayor's youth council.

13:21 Uh, class of 1999 I believe was

13:23 the last time and I actually

13:24 was the host of the mayor's

13:25 youth summit and that was one

13:27 of the last ones we had before

13:28 pedro here uh, with lindsay did

13:30 a great job about bringing this

13:30 back on.

13:33 Um, if you look at that tape,

13:34 uh, they will tell you, uh, how

13:36 not to host a massive summit.

13:37 Looking back.

13:39 Uh, mayor menino was the mayor

13:41 at the time and, uh, if I could

13:42 tell you the whole story

13:43 looking back on it, it's

13:43 amazing.

13:44 I even got a job at city hall

13:45 in the first place.

13:47 Uh, given, um, some of my

13:48 antics up there.

13:51 But, um, that being said, I

13:52 just want to thank pedro and

13:53 the work he did.

13:55 Uh, whether it's going to the

13:56 support that you give our youth

13:58 is why I continue to show up

13:59 for you and for lindsay.

14:00 And it's because whether it's

14:02 an alumni event, whether it's

14:03 the mayor's youth summit itself

14:05 or any of the multitude

14:06 of things that we offer our

14:07 youth the future of our city.

14:09 Uh, I want to make sure that we

14:10 are all there to support it.

14:12 So pedro, thank you for your

14:12 efforts.

14:12 Lindsay.

14:13 Thank you for your efforts.

14:14 Uh, and continue doing the

14:15 great work that you do.

14:19 So before we hand the mic

14:21 microwaved the microphone over

14:22 to you I do just want to read

14:23 this official resolution.

14:26 It's presented by myself and

14:27 councilor fitzgerald and the

14:29 entire city council to pedro

14:31 cruz, to lindsay and the entire

14:33 team for your leadership and

14:34 dedication to uplifting

14:36 boston's young people and for

14:37 your work advancing youth

14:39 engagement, civic participation

14:41 and leadership development

14:43 across the city of boston,

14:44 including your support to the

14:46 mayor's youth summit, which

14:47 we'll talk about later in the

14:47 council meeting.

14:49 But hopefully we'll you'll see

14:50 all of us there supporting you.

14:52 But you have the microphone so

14:53 congratulations.

14:54 Thank you.

14:56 um thank you.

14:56 Thank you so much.

14:58 Um appreciate it.

14:59 Um.

15:00 I didn't know I was going to

15:01 have to talk.

15:02 We were just speaking from the

15:02 heart honestly.

15:05 Um, building this office these.

15:07 Last two years has truly been.

15:09 The best job that I've ever

15:09 been assigned.

15:11 And I feel like everything I've

15:13 done since I was a young person

15:15 working a summer job up until

15:16 those three years ago, it's

15:18 literally worked my way up to

15:18 that.

15:19 I feel like this has been my

15:21 dream job um, being able to

15:22 serve every young person across

15:24 the city with no limitations as

15:26 long as you live in the city

15:26 and you know what?

15:28 The age bracket is truly been a

15:29 blessing and I couldn't have

15:30 done any of that.

15:32 First and foremost without my

15:34 team who shows up every single

15:36 day and dedicates a life to the

15:38 work and trust is my crazy

15:40 visions and ideas and and

15:42 seriously the leadership you

15:43 know on the chief of my soul

15:45 and lisa connolly just for the

15:46 support they really put me in

15:48 the position I'm in and just

15:49 kind of let me run with it.

15:51 And then also the council truly

15:52 man, every single one of you

15:54 have shown up individually

15:55 whether it's coming to the

15:56 events, whether it's giving

15:57 me guidance, whether it's um

15:59 pushing me in a healthy manner

16:01 or hold of me accountable I

16:02 couldn't have done any of that

16:03 with all of you that are

16:05 sitting here today, so I

16:05 appreciate it.

16:07 I'm looking forward to the next

16:08 few years and the work's only

16:09 just getting started.

16:11 I appreciate being codified

16:13 recently, which really puts us

16:14 in play in terms of for the

16:15 future of the city.

16:17 So it's just one big thank you

16:17 to all of you.

16:19 Seriously man, I can't thank

16:21 this leadership enough for this

16:21 council enough.

16:23 And I look up to all of you and

16:24 just look forward to continuing

16:26 the work and hold

16:26 me accountable.

16:28 Put me to work.

16:28 Appreciate you guys.

16:34 And I invite lindsay.

16:35 and my colleagues uh, from

16:36 city council.

16:39 to come up for a formal

16:39 thank you.

16:43 So I wanted to with you.

16:46 Sweetheart now officially

16:47 council thank you.

16:48 Thank you so much.

16:49 Appreciate you.

16:53 Thank you.

17:01 Just no one else.

17:02 I'm good.

17:02 That's good.

17:03 Yeah, it's.

17:06 Yeah.

17:14 Thank you thank you everyone.

17:15 Thank you thank.

17:29 y'all go ahead.

17:34 Yeah okay so I think that's.

17:35 that's what I was kind

17:35 of remind.

17:36 It was you.

17:50 Do.

17:55 Yeah okay so I'm this.

17:59 Is no.

18:05 I don't have any I.

18:20 Everybody's here um.

18:26 So thank you everyone

18:27 unfortunately ellen our

18:28 stenographer is still under the

18:30 weather and she will again be

18:33 working remotely to ensure uh

18:35 and also to ensure that we have

18:36 meeting.

18:36 stenographic record for this

18:38 Uh, we wish her a very speedy

18:40 recovery and look forward to

18:41 seeing her back in the chamber

18:43 next week and we all send her

18:45 our best wishes ellen for a

18:46 speedy recovery and hope to see

18:47 you very soon.

18:48 Uh, before we approve the

18:50 minutes, I'd like to call and

18:51 short statement.

18:51 councilor durkan to make a

18:53 Councilor durkan, you have the

18:53 floor.

18:57 Thank you so much.

18:58 Council PRESIDENT Bratton as

19:00 required under rule 38 I do

19:01 want to offer an apology to my

19:02 colleagues.

19:03 Although it wasn't captured on

19:05 the record, our body had a

19:06 moment of reflection during

19:08 last friday's hearing one where

19:10 many of us paused, acknowledge

19:11 areas of improvement and

19:12 recommitted to working

19:12 together.

19:15 I apologize at that time but I

19:17 want to reiterate that here um

19:18 I recognize my behavior wasn't

19:19 a right way.

19:20 To kick off the term.

19:21 I also want to thank

19:22 councilor bratton for her

19:23 thoughtful leadership and

19:25 helping guide and refocus us on

19:26 our shared responsibilities.

19:28 I think we've been in

19:29 conversations over the past

19:31 week, and I think it's really

19:32 important that we have a leader

19:34 that really does care about

19:37 every single person's opinion.

19:38 Um, and.

19:39 i look.

19:41 forward um, to passing the

19:43 council rules today and moving

19:44 forward with the important work

19:45 our constituents deserve.

19:47 Um, and just wanted to say a

19:49 note, um, to my, uh, dear

19:50 colleague councilor fitzgerald

19:50 .

19:53 Um, I definitely uh there have

19:57 been times um, where we you

19:59 know, it's we are all going to

20:00 be on different sides

20:00 of different things.

20:02 But I just want to say that I

20:03 really value your leadership

20:06 and, um, in this moment, um, I

20:07 think the city wants to see us