Monday, May 4, 2026, 10 a.m. (Boston time), Boston City Hall, 1 City Hall Square, Boston, MA 02201
Hearing on Dockets #0733-0740, 0754, FY27 Budget: BTD, PWD, Revolving Fund
The Ways & Means Committee, chaired by Councilor Weber, held a FY 2027 budget hearing on docket numbers 0733, 0740, and 0755 covering the Boston Transportation Department, Public Works Department, and the new bikeshare revolving fund, sponsored by Mayor Wu. The Streets cabinet presented a roughly $207 million operating budget (about a 0.8% increase) and a $1.4 billion capital plan prioritizing state-of-good-repair work, ADA ramps, and safety projects, while noting 27 projects removed from the capital plan and two rescinded federal grants. Councilors questioned the panel on parking enforcement, residential permit parking, bike share siting, sidewalk and ramp repairs, staffing vacancies and CDL driver shortages, and summer event preparation for FIFA and Sail Boston. Ten members of the public testified, largely urging the Council not to approve the budget without firm timelines and deliverables for stalled transit and street-safety projects. No vote was taken; the hearing is part of a series running through June.
4:24 um.
4:26 Good morning.
4:27 Happy star wars day.
4:30 Uh, it's MAY the 4th.
4:32 Um, my name is ben weber.
4:34 I am the district six city
4:35 councilor and the chair of the
4:36 boston city council on ways and
4:36 means.
4:39 Today is star wars day, MAY the
4:40 4th, uh, 2026.
4:44 The exact time is 10:05 A.M..
4:45 This hearing is being recorded
4:46 .
4:47 It's also being live streamed
4:51 at boston.Gov/city council tv
4:53 and broadcast on xfinity
4:55 channel eight, rcn channel 82
4:57 and fios channel 964.
4:59 The council's budget review
5:01 process will encompass a series
5:02 of hearings which began in
5:03 APRIL and run through JUNE.
5:05 We strongly encourage residents
5:07 to take the time to engage in
5:08 this process by giving
5:10 testimony for the record.
5:11 You can do so in several ways.
5:14 Uh, you can provide a public
5:15 testimony or one of our
5:15 hearings.
5:18 You can do this uh, by uh,
5:20 showing up at the hearing and
5:22 signing in on the sign in sheet
5:23 uh, over at the entrance.
5:28 Um, you can also, uh, show up,
5:29 uh or you can I'm sorry.
5:31 Uh, you can show up at one
5:32 of our public testimony
5:33 listening sessions.
5:35 The fourth and last of those
5:36 listening sessions is going to
5:37 be here in person in the
5:39 chamber on thursday, MAY 26th
5:40 at 6 P.M..
5:44 You can also testify at any
5:48 hearing uh, via zoom uh uh for
5:49 virtual testimony you can sign
5:51 up using our online form and
5:53 our council budget review
5:55 website or by emailing the
5:57 committee at sequim at
5:59 boston.Com or by emailing
6:02 christmas show on that's k r
6:06 isma dot khou and@boston.Gov.
6:08 When we are uh when you're
6:09 called on to testify please
6:11 state your name and uh
6:13 residence or organization
6:14 affiliation and limit your
6:16 comments to two minutes.
6:19 Um in lieu of uh testifying at
6:20 the hearing, you can submit
6:21 written testimony to the
6:25 committee at 6am@boston.Gov.
6:27 You can also submit a two
6:29 minute video of your testimony
6:31 through the form on our
6:31 website.
6:33 For more information on the
6:35 council budget process and how
6:36 to testify, please visit the
6:38 city council's budget website
6:39 at boston.Com.
6:40 Slash council budget.
6:43 Uh in-person public testimony
6:44 will be taken after the first
6:45 round of council questions.
6:47 Individuals we call down the
6:48 order in which they've signed
6:49 up and have two minutes to
6:50 testify.
6:52 Uh, again, if you wish to sign
6:53 up for public testimony have
6:55 not done so already, please
6:56 email or director
6:57 of legislative budget analysis
6:59 christian cho on at.
7:05 Car is marco you h a
7:07 n@boston.Gov for the zoom link
7:08 and your name will be added to
7:09 the list.
7:11 This morning's hearing is on
7:15 docket numbers 073320740 and
7:17 docket number 075 for an
7:20 overview of the fy 27 operating
7:22 budget for the uh boston uh for
7:24 the boston transportation
7:25 department and the public works
7:26 department.
7:27 This hearing will also
7:28 cover the bikeshare revolving
7:29 fund.
7:31 This is one in a series of of
7:33 hearings to review the fy 27
7:35 budget for my colleagues
7:36 information, this is the
7:37 inaugural fiscal year of the
7:39 bikeshare revolving fund.
7:40 These matters were sponsored by
7:42 mayor michelle wu and referred
7:46 to the committee on APRIL 8th,
7:46 2026.
7:48 I'm joined by my colleagues in
7:49 order of arrival
7:51 councilor murphy,
7:52 councilor flynn and
7:52 councilor breadon.
7:55 Uh, we waive opening statements
7:56 at these budget hearings.
7:57 So I'm going to introduce the
7:59 panel and then, uh, hand it
8:00 over to you.
8:01 Uh, today we're joined by
8:03 interim uh, chief of streets
8:04 that uh okay.
8:06 Nick gove said the right title
8:07 Yes.
8:07 to him.
8:08 okay, great.
8:10 Um, director of finance and
8:11 budget.
8:13 Omar, uh, chauffeur.
8:15 Uh, interim deputy chief
8:16 of streets, uh, infrastructure
8:20 and design amy cording um,
8:21 superintendent of street
8:23 operations daniel nee.
8:26 Uh uh, john romano director
8:28 of operations and capital
8:31 projects design director lydia
8:31 postle.
8:33 I have that is that pronounced
8:33 right?
8:34 Housley.
8:35 Sorry I apologize.
8:36 Um, okay.
8:38 So, uh, we're just going to go
8:40 to the, uh, panel and then
8:41 we'll get to our questions.
8:45 So, uh, interim chief uh,
8:45 dickov here.
8:47 Great floor is yours.
8:47 Thank you chair.
8:48 Appreciate it.
8:50 Uh good morning everybody.
8:51 Uh, thank you for the
8:53 opportunity to discuss the fy
8:56 27 streets uh, budget today.
8:56 Um.
8:58 The team and I look forward to
8:59 answering any questions that
9:00 you MAY have.
9:02 We have a couple other folks
9:03 joining us today who aren't
9:04 here on the panel, but I do
9:08 want to recognize, um, uh,
9:09 dennis roach is the
9:10 superintendent of waste
9:11 reduction and code enforcement
9:11 .
9:13 Uh, our chief engineer norman
9:15 parks, robbie pardo, uh,
9:16 director of central fleet
9:17 management management.
9:19 Mike donaghy, superintendent of
9:19 street lighting.
9:22 Tom mckay, superintendent of
9:23 buildings and bridges, our
9:24 parking clerk and director
9:25 of parking and curbside
9:25 management.
9:29 We have a capone, uh, director
9:29 of parking.
9:30 Uh.
9:30 Excuse me.
9:34 Um, manager of the signals and
9:35 side shop, uh, john luke
9:36 teixeira.
9:38 Uh, and brian davis, our
9:39 interim director of air.
9:41 Uh, and and roach.
9:42 Uh, director of communication.
9:47 Uh, and I believe kathy garcia
9:48 from our permit office is also
9:49 here as well, so thank you.
9:51 Thank you to this group.
9:53 Um, this is the group that
9:55 leads the day to day operations
9:56 of this cabinet and supports
10:00 the work of the 783 uh, team
10:00 members and streets.
10:03 Um, they're the ones who
10:04 deliver the essential city
10:05 services that keep boston
10:07 moving clean, safe and vibrant.
10:09 Uh, we are incredibly fortunate
10:11 to have this talented,
10:12 hardworking and dedicated team.
10:14 I credit the work of this
10:15 cabinet to them.
10:16 Thank you for all the into
10:16 every day.
10:20 Safe streets start with getting
10:23 the basics right sanitation
10:23 snow and ice removal.
10:26 Street sweeping filling
10:27 potholes resurfacing streets
10:28 refreshing pavement markings.
10:31 Maintaining street lights and
10:34 traffic signals, parking
10:35 code and permit enforcement.
10:38 Public works and bpd manage
10:41 over 200,000 311 cases uh.
10:42 Each year.
10:43 that's 70%.
10:46 Of all the 311 cases across the
10:46 city.
10:48 These data points represent not
10:50 only the cabinets mission
10:52 critical work, but the civic
10:54 commitment of the residents who
10:55 support us in the system.
10:58 We've had a busy year and
10:59 streets.
11:00 We managed a historic winter
11:03 with 63in of snow the toughest
11:05 winter we've seen since 2015.
11:07 I want to recognize the work
11:09 of danny and the entire public
11:10 the.
11:10 works team, including.
11:10 Leadership of.
11:12 norman clarance perkins and
11:14 gilbert and their work.
11:16 Um, this winter was was
11:17 outstanding.
11:18 Uh, I also want to recognize
11:19 the amazing job public works
11:22 has done uh, to clean up
11:23 following this winter despite a
11:25 delay uh, to the start
11:26 of street sweeping.
11:28 They did an amazing job
11:29 cleaning the city up and got us
11:30 to where we are today.
11:33 Um, last year we invested.
11:35 Heavily in state of.
11:35 Good repair work.
11:37 we resurfaced 50 miles
11:38 of roadway.
11:39 We rebuilt.
11:40 37 linear.
11:42 37,000 linear feet of sidewalk.
11:46 We constructed a record 1723
11:47 ada compliant ramps.
11:48 We filled.
11:50 More than 4000 potholes with a
11:52 case closing rate uh, of just
11:54 under 19 hours we.
11:56 Upgraded over 2500 light
11:58 fixtures along major corridors
11:59 like blue hill.
12:02 Have we refreshed 1694
12:04 crosswalks across the city?
12:07 We hired a record number 135
12:09 parking enforcement officers
12:11 restoring uh staffing levels to
12:12 pre-pandemic levels.
12:15 We installed over 5600 signs
12:18 and installed 1468 sign poles.
12:20 We maintained 50.
12:23 Over 5200 signals, controllers
12:25 and pedestrian buttons and
12:27 completed 35 miles of double
12:27 yellow.
12:30 And 73 miles of lane markings.
12:34 Fy 27 budget will continue this
12:35 important work.
12:37 The streets our fy 27
12:38 recommended budget continues to
12:40 prioritize basic city services
12:43 state of good repair,
12:44 accessibility, traffic calming
12:46 and safety improvements for.
12:47 the.
12:47 Operating budget.
12:49 That means maintaining core
12:51 services including waste
12:53 reduction and sanitation,
12:54 street sweeping, parking
12:56 enforcement, roadway and asset
12:56 maintenance.
12:58 On the capital side.
13:00 We'll continue to prioritize
13:02 investment in ramp and roadway
13:04 reconstruction, resurfacing.
13:05 And building neighborhood
13:06 safety projects.
13:08 Here I'm going to pass it off
13:08 to omar.
13:10 Thank you chief.
13:14 So I'll try to make this as
13:15 accessible and simple as
13:16 possible I there's a lot
13:18 of text on the slide, but our
13:20 operating budget for the entire
13:22 cabinet is around 207 million
13:24 for this, uh, fiscal year.
13:26 Uh, for the next fiscal year
13:27 recommended.
13:30 And that's about 2 million or
13:32 current year.
13:32 point 8% increase over this
13:35 Um, really in a time where a
13:36 lot of city departments budgets
13:39 are going down and maybe not
13:41 worthy to see that ours is
13:42 going up slightly and that's
13:44 mainly because a lot of the
13:46 costs and budgets and contracts
13:47 that we have our
13:48 non-discretionary core services
13:49 contractual increases.
13:51 And so solid waste and
13:53 recycling for example um
13:56 consists of $72 million in our
13:57 $200 million budget.
13:59 Uh curbside management which
14:01 supports our curbside
14:02 management parking ticket
14:04 processing enforcement
14:04 operations.
14:06 That's about 7.5 million.
14:10 Um, that contract supports 66
14:12 million more in revenue that
14:15 the city's operations and park
14:15 and clerk offices uh, produce.
14:16 Each year.
14:18 so we receive the same
14:20 citywide 2% reduction that
14:21 every other department
14:21 received.
14:23 Um, and we worked really hard
14:24 to keep the increase to our
14:27 budget to a minimum despite
14:28 multimillion dollar increases
14:31 in trash, um, recycling and
14:32 other services.
14:34 So just to go through those
14:35 real quick.
14:37 So solid waste collection and
14:38 trash disposal.
14:41 Luckily two years ago through
14:42 the efforts of our waste
14:44 reduction team under dennis and
14:46 my team trash collection is
14:48 stable in boston today because
14:49 we were able to negotiate long
14:51 term collection contracts with
14:54 our collection company and that
14:55 helped us to avoid the same
14:56 disruptions.
14:57 That impacted republic
14:59 customers last year.
15:00 If you guys remember for more
15:03 than 11 weeks, however, we
15:04 continue to see significant
15:06 cost pressure on our sanitation
15:06 contracts.
15:08 So for example our trash
15:10 disposal contracts are up next
15:10 summer.
15:12 We've had those contracts for
15:13 the last seven years.
15:15 So since pre-covid we've been
15:18 locked in at 2 to 2 to 2 to 3%
15:18 increases.
15:21 That's going to change once we
15:23 contract.
15:23 rebid or renegotiate that
15:27 Uh moreover, the state is
15:28 requiring us to isolate more
15:29 waste streams from the trash
15:31 like mattresses a couple years
15:33 ago our food waste in the
15:33 future.
15:37 Recycling processing is at $90
15:37 a ton.
15:39 that's about the same cost that
15:40 trash is now.
15:43 The recycling markets are very
15:44 unstable with what's going on
15:46 overseas and tariffs and that's
15:47 changing month on month.
15:48 Every month we get a different
15:49 price for recycling and it
15:50 keeps on going up.
15:52 So it makes it hard to forecast
15:53 what the cost of recycling is
15:53 going to be.
15:54 But next year we're think it's
15:56 going to be about 3.5 million
15:58 snow and winter management.
16:01 Uh as we saw this year historic
16:04 winter our snow budget is at 23
16:05 million and that's because our
16:08 budget is set on a historical
16:09 five year rolling average.
16:13 And so this year it was
16:13 definitely wasn't enough.
16:14 In previous years there was
16:15 more than enough.
16:17 And this is kind of sent
16:19 centrally by the budget office
16:19 .
16:21 We're working through our fy 26
16:23 payments to determine the final
16:24 number for this fiscal year.
16:26 But this number is also uh this
16:27 is an account that we can spend
16:28 at the deficit.
16:29 So we're not constrained by
16:31 that 23 million streets we've
16:34 been essential at 7 million day
16:36 and night sweeping maintaining
16:36 near current levels.
16:39 Sidewalk repairs this is a an
16:41 of years ago.
16:41 investment that we got a couple
16:43 This is a very small portion
16:44 of what we spend on sidewalks.
16:45 Most of our spending on
16:45 sidewalks.
16:47 More than $50 million actually
16:48 occurs on our capital plan.
16:50 But we have this contract on
16:52 the operating budget for small
16:54 sidewalk repairs concrete or
16:56 mostly brick actually um that
16:57 aren't capital eligible.
17:01 So just to speak to some of the
17:01 efficiencies, right.
17:04 environment.
17:04 Uh, in a very tough fiscal
17:07 Our cabinet was able to save
17:09 again with the waste reduction
17:11 teams help three quarters of $1
17:13 million by rebuilding our
17:14 mattress collection contracts
17:15 and actually we're able to
17:16 engage minority owned
17:17 businesses.
17:18 And two of them won three
17:19 of those contracts.
17:21 And by having a competitive bid
17:23 process that budget those
17:24 contract actually went down
17:26 from three years ago which is
17:26 um unheard of.
17:30 Um, john uh team is installing
17:31 new parking meters this year
17:32 and we're going to hopefully
17:33 complete them in the coming
17:33 year.
17:36 That reduces, uh, meter repair
17:36 cost significantly.
17:38 We were paying half $1 million
17:39 or so in meter repairs.
17:40 We're going to have new multi
17:40 space meters.
17:43 Um they're going to be new so
17:43 less costs.
17:45 Uh other costs like related to
17:45 blue bikes.
17:47 We're going to be able to move
17:47 on to our revolving fund.
17:49 So we're able to save some
17:50 money there to offset which
17:52 keeps our budget pretty low.
17:54 On our capital plan.
17:56 1.4 billion it's about a third
17:57 of the city's capital plan.
17:59 It's actually the largest
18:00 portion of the city's capital
18:03 plan by cabinet 79 projects and
18:04 programs.
18:06 Um, here I just have a rough
18:06 breakdown for you.
18:08 all of the assets that are
18:09 being addressed through those
18:11 and the money the portion
18:12 assigned to those assets.
18:14 So roadway resurfacing and