City Council

Wednesday, May 20, 2026, 12 p.m. (Boston time), Council Chambers

Video of the meeting

On the agenda

Roll-call votes

Documents

Summary

The Boston City Council's May 20, 2026 meeting covered grant acceptances, committee reports, and a lengthy debate over the FY27 budget. Councilor Worrell moved to suspend Rule 24 to force a vote on rejecting the mayor's proposed operating budget; after extensive debate, the motion failed 6-6 on a roll call and the budget dockets remained in committee. The Council passed several grants and resolutions, including YouthWorks funding, World Cup watch party funding, an age-waiver home rule petition for a veteran seeking to join the Boston Police Department, EMS Week and Bike Month resolutions, an Immigrant Heritage Month resolution, a Memorial Day resolution, and a retiree COLA support resolution. A resolution to rescind elected officials' salary increases failed on a 9-3 roll call. The Council also honored the Boston Debate League's 20th anniversary and welcomed Fire Commissioner Rodney Marshall, the department's first Black commissioner.

Transcript

2:12 law.

2:15 Good afternoon everyone.

2:17 I call to order today's meeting

2:19 of boston city council.

2:20 Viewers can watch the

2:23 council meeting live on

2:25 youtube@boston.Gov backslash

2:26 city council dash tv.

2:30 At this time I ask my

2:31 colleagues and those in the

2:32 audience to please silence

2:33 their cellphones and electronic

2:33 devices.

2:37 Also pursuant to rule 42 I

2:39 remind all in this chamber that

2:41 no demonstration of approval or

2:42 disapproval from members of the

2:44 public will be permitted.

2:45 Thank you.

2:48 Mr kerr, could you please, uh

2:49 uh, take a roll call vote to

2:51 ascertain the presence of a

2:51 quorum.

2:55 No.

2:55 For all?

3:04 Councilor breadon here.

3:07 Council of color as a part

3:08 of council culpeper here.

3:09 Councilor durkan.

3:11 Councilor fitzgerald if

3:12 council.

3:12 Flynn.

3:14 Councilor louijeune here.

3:15 Council me here.

3:16 Murphy.

3:16 Councilor.

3:17 Councilor.

3:17 Pippin.

3:18 Councilor.

3:19 Santana.

3:20 Councilor.

3:20 Weber.

3:22 And councilor earl.

3:24 A quorum is present.

3:25 Thank you, mr sherk.

3:28 Um.

3:29 MR.

3:30 Um.

3:31 Thank you.

3:32 i've been informed by the clerk

3:33 the decorum is present.

3:35 Uh, no.

3:36 It is my pleasure to introduce

3:39 this week's clergy invited by

3:40 councilor uh louijeune.

3:43 Uh, reverend caitlin hall

3:43 givens.

3:44 Uh councilor.

3:45 Uh louijeune.

3:46 Would you like to come up and

3:49 introduce your clergy and

3:51 following, uh, the invocation

3:53 we will, uh, have the pledge

3:53 of allegiance.

3:58 Thank you, MADAM PRESIDENT.

4:00 And good afternoon everyone.

4:03 I'm very happy to welcome back

4:04 into this chambers and into

4:05 this body.

4:07 Reverend caitlin givens, um,

4:08 who is just, uh, a

4:10 transformative leader here in

4:12 our city and in her east boston

4:12 community.

4:14 Uh, she was here with us last

4:14 year.

4:16 You know, MAY, uh, obviously

4:17 asian heritage month but it's

4:19 also asian-american and pacific

4:21 islander, uh, heritage month.

4:24 And having her here, uh, is a

4:25 testament to the diversity and

4:26 the greatness of our city.

4:28 Um, and I'm just grateful to

4:29 have you back here.

4:31 I'm also really grateful

4:32 because coincidentally you've

4:34 just been even when I'm posting

4:36 about hey, we need people to

4:37 call members of congress to

4:39 support uh uh, extending

4:40 temporary protected status for

4:42 the haitian community and I

4:43 know if it would for any other

4:44 community you would do so I

4:47 would get messages saying hey,

4:48 I just spent 30 minutes of my

4:49 morning making these calls and

4:51 with you in this fight and so i

4:52 just want to say thank you

4:54 because that work of solidarity

4:57 building across identity multi

4:59 multiracial uh solidarity and

5:01 building the just world and the

5:02 just country that we want to

5:03 see you exemplify that both in

5:04 your work as a religious leader

5:06 and as just as a compassionate

5:07 person here in our city.

5:08 So I want to thank you as she's

5:09 lived here in boston over 20

5:11 years and is a pastor at

5:12 resurrection church in east

5:13 boston.

5:15 Uh, great representation

5:17 of boston's multiculturalism,

5:18 um, and bilingual.

5:19 And I heard you speaking with

5:21 anna spanish before we started

5:23 uh, english and spanish and

5:25 pastor I've, uh, mixed white

5:27 and latino congregation.

5:28 She is passionate about

5:29 building a community

5:30 of americans and immigrants

5:31 that worship together and

5:33 engage strategically in

5:35 neighborhood life advocating

5:36 for justice, supporting

5:37 neighbors in need and

5:38 partnering with local leaders

5:39 for the good of the city.

5:41 It is my great honor to bring

5:44 up to the dais reverend caitlin

5:45 gibbons.

5:58 Good afternoon.

6:01 Um, I want to start by just

6:03 acknowledging that there is a

6:04 lot carried here in this room.

6:05 There are deadlines.

6:07 There are things that you have

6:07 to do.

6:09 There are people who are coming

6:11 to you to be listened to and be

6:12 advocated for.

6:14 And I want to just have us

6:15 arrive here together.

6:16 Let's just take.

6:19 a moment to pause, to

6:19 breathe.

6:26 Thank you for the opportunity

6:29 to be here and thank you for

6:31 the service that you do for the

6:32 people of boston.

6:35 It is a demanding job with

6:39 seamlessly ending needs and you

6:41 are doing it in uh, divided

6:43 time and exhausted time.

6:48 I continue to witness small and

6:49 stubborn forms of hope.

6:52 I pastor a church in east

6:55 boston that is this joyful

6:57 mixture of americans and

6:59 immigrants, and much of our

7:01 recent life together has

7:03 involved accompanying immigrant

7:05 families through seasons

7:06 of uncertainty and fear.

7:09 Recently one of the pillars

7:11 of our church raoul he is a

7:13 husband, a father, a minister

7:15 in training who regularly

7:16 preaches at our church.

7:19 He went to uh, routine

7:21 immigration check in and was

7:22 detained on the spot.

7:26 I was with his wife outside in

7:27 the waiting room.

7:30 His kids were outside of the

7:31 building because they were too

7:32 scared to come in.

7:33 They were with other church

7:35 family members and then the

7:37 moment came that no family

7:39 should have to go through where

7:40 I walked.

7:43 With lillian as she went to her

7:46 kids to tell her that their

7:48 father had been taken away and

7:50 that they did not know when

7:51 they would see him again.

7:54 I will never forget standing

7:56 with them in the parking lot.

7:59 It was raining as they shook

8:01 with the grief there there's a

8:03 12 year old, a 13 year old, a

8:05 one year old in her arms all

8:07 trying to hold onto hope

8:07 together.

8:13 and what followed was

8:13 extraordinary.

8:17 Our small church rose in love

8:19 and in advocacy and in

8:19 generosity.

8:22 So meals were showing up,

8:23 groceries, diapers were quietly

8:23 delivered.

8:25 People were watching kids

8:28 raising funds, attending court

8:30 hearings, searching for legal

8:31 support, writing letters,

8:34 making calls and as people

8:36 of faith we were praying late

8:40 into the night and for this

8:42 minister in training while he

8:44 was detained he began

8:45 ministering to those around

8:46 him.

8:48 He was praying for men who felt

8:49 abandoned.

8:51 He was preaching hope into the

8:52 night when the men would gather

8:53 to worship.

8:55 He was encouraging those who

8:57 had spent months there waiting

8:58 in uncertainty.

9:01 It was astonishing to witness.

9:05 It was amazing to behold love

9:08 taking shape in the very place

9:10 survive.

9:10 where love is not intended to

9:16 Prison is a cold hard place and

9:18 yet I have seen courage and

9:20 hope emerge from there.

9:24 Since then raoul has been

9:25 released and we have continued

9:28 to care for men in detainment.

9:30 We have sent books and we send

9:31 we write letters.

9:33 We send money so that they can

9:35 buy extra clothes because it's

9:36 literally cold in there.

9:38 We send money so they can buy

9:41 toothpaste so that they can get

9:44 small comforts like a ramen or

9:46 a coke to go with their meals

9:48 like these huge little

9:50 celebratory things for them in

9:50 this bleak place.

9:52 we've sent christmas gifts to

9:54 their families, we've shown up

9:55 at court hearings and the judge

9:57 is like who are you?

9:57 We're like this.

9:59 We are here to support our

10:00 friend and neighbor because

10:02 what happens to him matters to

10:02 us.

10:06 Small acts invisible on their

10:07 own and yet together they are.

10:10 They form something like a

10:13 stubborn light that refuses to

10:13 go out.

10:17 In our home we have blackout

10:18 curtains that try to keep the

10:20 street lights out at night and

10:23 no matter what we do there's

10:26 always that one sliver of a

10:27 light that sneaks through the

10:28 edge of the curtain.

10:32 It's like that even in places

10:34 that are shaped by fear and

10:36 grief, even within systems that

10:39 can make people feel forgotten

10:43 or invisible, light keeps

10:46 finding a way in even when

10:48 darkness tries to close in

10:51 completely and everything out

10:53 somehow light still comes

10:56 through the cracks a meal, a

10:58 prayer, a ride to court, a

11:01 lawyer offering pro-bono help.

11:03 An 11 year old opening up a

11:05 birthday gift that is from her

11:06 father.

11:09 Someone saying hyman you are

11:12 not forgotten who pray.

11:16 We are with you ken as we care

11:17 about you emmanuel.

11:18 Your life mattered.

11:22 Christians believe.

11:23 That GOD.

11:27 Moves toward people in darkness

11:30 rather than away from them,

11:32 that no person is disposable

11:34 and that some of the clearest

11:38 signs of hope emerge precisely

11:41 in places where the world only

11:46 expects despair in mercy, in

11:48 peacemaking, in people refusing

11:51 to abandon one another in

11:55 suffering the light shines in

11:57 the darkness and the darkness

11:57 has.

11:59 Not overcome it.

12:04 I've watched people see

12:06 strangers as neighbors and real

12:06 family.

12:10 I have watched our immigrants

12:12 lead us in courage and faith.

12:16 I have watched fear loosen its

12:20 grip in the presence of steady

12:21 compassion, the kind of peace

12:22 that allows your shoulders.

12:28 To slowly unclench so that

12:29 people you can finally breathe

12:30 again.

12:35 It is this beautiful thing.

12:37 It feels like glimpsing another

12:39 world breaking into this one

12:41 not one that's built on fear

12:43 and division or winning at all

12:45 costs but one shaped by mercy,

12:47 by mutuality, by a stubborn

12:48 conviction that every human

12:50 being bears dignity.

12:51 It is not charity.

12:53 It's not just doing the right

12:53 thing.

12:53 Check.

12:55 It's something deeper.

12:58 It is a refusal to let darkness

13:00 have the final word.

13:04 It is a refusal to let a person

13:04 disappear.

13:09 It is a defiant act of love

13:10 that says I see you.

13:11 You belong to us.

13:13 Your life is precious.

13:14 This is what christians call

13:16 the kingdom of GOD.

13:18 It's not something far away or

13:18 abstract.

13:20 It is the embodied love of GOD

13:23 in ordinary people its light

13:25 finding places, finding its way

13:27 into places where everyone

13:28 assumed that only darkness

13:29 could survive.

13:32 it is what community looks like

13:35 when love refuses to surrender

13:37 to cynicism.

13:39 And perhaps that's part of the

13:43 calling of public life to

13:45 continue to see one another

13:47 clearly, to resist the

13:49 temptation to reduce people to

13:53 headlines or to issues, to

13:55 remember the humanity behind

13:57 the disagreement, to help to

13:59 build a city where no one is

14:00 forgotten.

14:04 And so thank you for every act

14:06 of care, every time you are

14:08 listening, every time you are

14:09 trying to collaborate, every

14:11 time you are trying to

14:14 carefully deliberate it is a

14:17 beautiful thing privately and

14:18 publicly the way that you are

14:20 working to build our city

14:20 together.

14:21 Thank you for continuing to

14:22 show up.

14:24 MAY you have wisdom and courage

14:26 and compassion as you lead.

14:28 Let us pray.

14:35 GOD of wisdom and mercy we pray

14:37 for the leaders gathered in

14:39 this hall today.

14:41 Would you grant them flaherty

14:44 where there is confusion, peace

14:47 where there is tension

14:48 steadiness amidst all of the

14:51 noise and the urgency of this

14:52 time?

14:54 Help them to listen well and

14:55 not just to the loudest voices

14:57 but to the perspectives that

14:59 are different from their own to

15:01 the needs of the communities

15:03 beyond their immediate view.

15:06 MAY they remember that wisdom

15:09 is often found not in standing

15:11 alone, but in learning from one

15:13 another and seeking the good

15:14 of the whole.

15:15 GOD, we ask that you would

15:17 protect this city, that you

15:19 would strengthen its

15:20 neighborhoods, that you would

15:23 comfort all who are fearful and

15:24 suffering, that you would

15:27 continue to kindle courage and

15:29 compassion and hope and bring

15:31 light in every corner

15:32 of boston.

15:33 Amen.

15:39 pledge allegiance to the

15:39 flag.

15:40 Of the.

15:41 United states of.

15:43 America and to the republic for

15:45 which it stands one nation

15:46 under GOD.

15:48 Indivisible with.

15:50 for all.

15:50 liberty and justice.

15:56 Thank you reverend caitlyn for

15:58 your words of wisdom and

15:59 encouragement.

16:02 Um, I.

16:04 We have two presentations but

16:07 we also want to recognize our

16:08 ems workers.

16:09 Uh.

16:11 we have a will be voting on

16:13 a resolution later in the the

16:15 meeting but if we invite our

16:17 ems workers to come up and I

16:18 think councilor pepen, you were

16:19 the lead sponsor and our

16:20 colleagues to come up and get a

16:22 photograph with the ems workers

16:24 and then we'll go on to

16:24 presentations.

16:30 We got anybody from you that.

16:32 Want up.

16:32 come on up.

16:40 Just a picture.

16:41 Yes.

16:43 We have two presentations after

16:43 this.

16:44 So, um.

16:49 Yeah, right up front and center

16:51 will be recognizing the work

16:53 of our ems workers in a

16:54 resolution later.

17:01 yeah.

17:04 I need a stool to stand off

17:05 of the.

17:05 of its tall guys in front

17:13 Wonderful.

17:17 Thank you.

17:19 so.

17:34 good.

17:35 Uh, we.

17:39 Have we have two presentations

17:39 today.

17:42 Um, councilor flynn is

17:43 recognizing the boston debate

17:44 league.

17:45 Councilor flynn, would you like

17:45 to come up?

17:48 Um, with your honorees and

17:51 then, uh, councilor culpeper is

17:52 also going to recognize

17:53 followed commissioner rodney

17:54 marshall.

17:56 So councilor flynn, you're up

17:57 first.

18:05 Is that.

18:07 Thank you, MADAM Chair.

18:11 We have a city

18:12 council resolution to recognize

18:14 the 20th anniversary.

18:16 Of the boston debate league.

18:19 Many of them are here now and

18:20 I'd like to ask them if they'd

18:22 please come to the dais.

18:22 Please.

18:26 Yeah.

18:27 yeah.

18:36 Thank you to, uh, cam and jack

18:38 ni and the entire leadership

18:39 of the boston.

18:42 Debate league for their

18:42 exceptional work.

18:46 Um, thank you for joining us

18:46 today.

18:48 We had a wonderful reception

18:50 this morning in the curly room,

18:52 but we wanted to formally

18:53 recognize the.

18:54 Boston debate league.

18:58 Um, since 2005, the divisive.

18:59 Debate debate league.

19:02 Has empowered thousands

19:03 of students across greater.

19:06 Boston for their transformative

19:07 ,transformative power of.

19:09 Debate preparing young people

19:09 for.

19:10 College career.

19:11 Civic life.

19:12 Through the.

19:14 after school debate debate

19:15 inspired classrooms.

19:17 And resolved problems.

19:19 This organization equips.

19:20 Students with.

19:22 Critical thinking, research.

19:25 Communication and skills

19:26 essential for success.

19:29 The boston debate league.

19:30 Partners with more than.

19:31 30 schools across.

19:33 here in.

19:33 the region, including right

19:34 Boston public.

19:35 school system.

19:37 Some of the students here uh,