Special to the Regional Review
Boston City Councilor Gabriela Coletta recently held five Budget Town Halls Tour in District One, where she outlined the City’s budget process, discussed initial priorities in advocacy, and solicited suggestions from constituents about their priorities in the upcoming fiscal year 2024 budget. Each town hall focused on specific issues related to Charlestown, East Boston, and the North End, as well as immigrant populations and our youth.
“Thank you to the neighbors and advocates that joined my budget town halls across the district. Boston’s budget is a fiscal document demonstrating our City values. It was a pleasure connecting about affordable housing, expanding our tree canopy, pest control, stormwater infrastructure, parking enforcement, climate resilience, and much more,†said Councilor Gabriela Coletta “As budget season approaches, I look forward to continuing to discuss budget priorities and encourage you all to get involved in the upcoming hearings held in the Boston City Council.â€
This cycle is the second time district and at-large councilors have the ability to reject, reduce, pass, or amend line items (i.e., accounts such as personnel, contracted services, equipment, etc.) in the City Budget. After being in office for over a month in 2022, Councilor Coletta secured funding for expanding our parks and tree canopy, trash pick-ups, reforms to the BOS:311 platform, and the Immigrants Lead Boston program.
During Councilor Coletta’s budget town halls, constituents were able to learn more about the city’s budget process, ask questions about the fiscal year operating and capital budget, and how allocations are decided to different city departments. The Budget Season will commence on April 12, 2023, with hearings where all are welcome to attend and offer their testimonies at the upcoming budget hearings to share their budget priorities. To learn more about the budget process and how to get involved, please visit https://www.boston.gov/finance/fiscal-year-2024.