At the council's rat hearing, Flynn renews his 'rat czar' call and Durkan points to trash bins. His pest control ordinance has waited 262 days

At a City Services Committee hearing on the status of the Boston Rodent Action Plan, City Councilor Ed Flynn renewed his call for a standalone city pest control department and a "rat czar," The Boston Sun reported on Friday. Flynn also proposed a multilingual public awareness campaign and more city inspections. He said the problem is getting worse and pointed to Boston's recent ranking among the 10 most rat-infested U.S. cities, the Sun reported.

City Councilor Sharon Durkan urged the city to look at standard trash containers and same-day trash pickup, while acknowledging the cost, the Sun said. People who testified said trash bags left on the street drive much of the problem and that enforcement is weak. Ideas included moving the set-out time to 8 p.m. the night before pickup.

The 2024 plan's author, rodent expert Bobby Corrigan, also recommended a city rat czar, the Sun reported. The city hosted the second National Urban Rat Summit in September.

For residents, the question is whether the 2024 plan is reaching their block. Council President Liz Breadon, the hearing order's lead sponsor, said in September that Allston-Brighton and downtown's Ward 3 had been named the top priorities and that promised rodent-resistant trash cans in Allston Village had not been installed (watch at 2:26:15).

What our records show

The hearing order. Breadon's order (docket 1804) has 12 sponsors. It went to City Services, which Flynn chairs, on Sept. 23, and the hearing was posted for Oct. 23 (meeting page). The order stays in committee until Flynn reports it back. The city has not posted video of the hearing, so we do not have a transcript yet.

Flynn's ordinance. Flynn's ordinance to create an Office of Pest Control (docket 0324) has nine sponsors. It went to the Committee on Government Operations on Feb. 11 and has waited 262 days. A 2025 ordinance to create the same office was closed out ("filed") in the council's records without passing.

Leptospirosis. Flynn's order for a hearing on pest control and the discovery of leptospirosis, a disease rats can spread, has been in City Services since Feb. 4 (docket 0281). The council's record lists it as remaining in committee as of March 18.

Durkan's trash proposals. In 2025, Durkan filed orders for a hearing on a waste containerization pilot and on same-day put-out and pickup for residential trash. Both were closed out ("filed") in the council's records, and we found no 2026 version of either.

What the city reported in May. At a May 4 budget hearing, Inspectional Services officials said the rodent team had done almost 15,000 rodent control inspections. In 2025, they said, that included more than 6,000 inspections in response to complaints and 4,000 proactive site-cleanliness inspections (watch at 21:33). A city official said rodent-resistant barrels had been installed in Chinatown, the North End and on Boston Common, that money was set aside for Mattapan Square, and that a containerization pilot was under way (1:25:41).

What's next

We will add the hearing transcript when the city posts the video. Residents can report rats on public property, open dumpsters or overflowing trash through 311.