Coletta Announces Several Community Budget Town Halls

Special to the Patriot-Bridge

 Boston City Councilor Gabriela Coletta is hosting a series of Budget Town Halls in District One. This is an effort to hear directly from constituents about their priorities before entering into Council’s annual budget review for fiscal year 2025 – 2026.

“I’m excited to host a second round of budget town halls in every community. Last year, we built a platform of advocacy together that centered around prioritizing enhanced capacity for faster street and sidewalk repairs, additional inspectors for pest control, additional transportation parking enforcement officers, expanding our tree canopy, and more,” said Coletta. “It is essential that we leverage investments that enhance vital city services and address systemic issues like housing affordability, climate preparedness, and equitable access to a high-quality education.”

This will be the third year the Boston City Council can reject, reduce, pass, or amend line items in the city’s operating budget. The Mayor’s Office will submit the first iteration of the operating, capital, and Boston Public Schools budget to the Council in April. Budget hearings, chaired by Councilor Brian Worrell (District 4), will begin shortly thereafter and continue until July. The body historically votes on a finalized budget at the end of June, and if approved, goes into effect on July 1st, 2024. 

This budget cycle will include the first city-wide participatory budgeting cycle with the Office of Participatory Budgeting which allows residents to engage and make recommendations in the budget process. For more information on how to get involved in Participatory Budgeting, visit boston.gov/departments/participatory-budgeting 

The Budget Town Halls will take place on the following dates. 

• North End/Wharf District on Thursday, March 7 at 6pm at the Nazzaro Community Center

• Latinx Community on Saturday, March 23 at 10am in the East Boston Public Library

• East Boston on Monday, March 25 at 6:30pm at BCYF Paris Street

• Charlestown on Tuesday, March 26 at 6pm at Knights of Columbus

Translation, babysitting, and food will be provided at all budget town hall meetings. Community members are encouraged to RSVP at https://bit.ly/Coletta_Budget.