Boston Mayor Michelle Wu says federal funding uncertainty will result in ‘lean’ metropolis finances

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu stated she’s assembling “as lean” a metropolis finances as potential for subsequent fiscal 12 months, together with by eliminating lots of of vacant municipal jobs, to arrange for uncertainty round threatened federal funding reductions.

Wu and the Boston Metropolis Council exchanged letters Tuesday that embody a shared deal with how town ought to look to rein in spending for the upcoming fiscal 12 months in mild of the mayor’s plan to roll out her finances proposal subsequent Monday.

“With over $300 million in federal funds supporting critical city services each year and with likely impacts from federal tariffs and other policy changes to the broader economy, we must exercise caution to ensure stability for our communities — preparing for worst-case scenarios while refraining from preemptive disruption of city services,” Wu wrote.

“This year’s budget must reflect fiscal discipline to protect Boston’s community and economy in the face of federal uncertainty,” the mayor’s letter states.

Wu’s letter was responsive to at least one despatched to her earlier within the day by Council Vice President Brian Worrell, Methods and Means committee chair, on behalf of the whole physique — which has the authority to amend, reject or approve the mayor’s metropolis finances proposal.

“Based upon the current federal environment, we advise the city to limit its overall budget growth in order to stay nimble enough financially to backfill critical city services for any federal funds that are lost in FY26,” Worrell wrote.

“Last fiscal year, the city saved tens of millions of dollars in salaries, and in order to achieve the City Council’s limited requests, we suggest leveraging payroll from the nearly 2,000 vacant jobs in the city,” his letter states.

The Council’s acknowledged finances priorities focus on funding will increase for housing and meals insecurity initiatives, variety and inclusion protections, elevated high quality of life investments, expanded applications for metropolis youth, neighborhood security commitments, small enterprise help expansions, authorities productiveness, and various capital tasks at parks and buildings all through town.

Whereas not committing to the Council’s particular spending priorities, Wu did say that she was planning to eradicate, slightly than fill, long-term vacancies “to constrain growth,” and that her finances proposal wouldn’t embody any new metropolis positions.

Wu wouldn’t affirm the Council’s determine of two,000 vacant jobs that may be taken off the books when requested at a press convention in Roxbury, saying that she wished to confirm the precise numbers forward of submitting her finances plan with the physique Monday.

“Some of what the city has been doing … is ensuring that we are just presenting as lean a budget as possible, so that we can be prepared for worst-case scenarios with federal funding,” the mayor stated.

Wu stated the finances can even embody focused reductions in non-personnel gadgets like gear and provides in varied departments, and restrict new investments to occasions when such extra sources are essential to additional primary metropolis providers.

Whereas town’s budgeted headcount might be lowering in fiscal 12 months 2026, the mayor stated there are not any quick plans for a hiring freeze, the place “critical roles” wouldn’t be crammed if a metropolis worker have been to go away that sort of job.

“We’re not at that point,” Wu stated.

Wu’s plan to tighten metropolis spending represents a stark distinction to the previous couple of years, when her administration added roughly 300 positions to town payroll. A 3rd of these newly created positions included six-figure salaries.

The mayor’s rejection of calls to chop this fiscal 12 months’s $4.6 billion finances, which grew by 8%, was criticized by opponents of her stalled plan to lift business tax charges. The laws, stalled on the State Home, is geared toward offering reduction to householders.

Josh Kraft, Wu’s mayoral opponent, weighed in on X, saying, “Today is the first time I’ve heard Mayor Wu use the term ‘fiscal discipline.’

“This is from a mayor who couldn’t find a single penny to cut from a $4.5B budget and yet residential taxes continue to go up,” Kraft stated. “Who’s looking out for hard-paying taxpayers?”

Wu’s belt-tightening comes as she has battled with the Trump administration, partially over town’s so-called sanctuary standing that limits native cooperation with federal immigration authorities, for the reason that president took workplace in January. The mayor shared a cozier relationship with the Biden administration.

Federal officers, together with Home Republicans who sit on the Congressional oversight committee that grilled Wu and three different sanctuary mayors final month, have threatened cities with unlawful immigration protections like Boston with decreased federal funding.

“I think we’re seeing in a lot of different sectors that federal funding is on the line and being used to inject some unpredictability, whether it is in the higher education sector or law firms or in city and state governments,” Wu stated.

Previous to the day’s press convention, the mayor stated she was assembly with neighborhood organizations in Roxbury who characterize immigrant communities.