Boston City Council Approves $79 Million in Federal Housing Grants for Fiscal Year 2026

BOSTON — June 24, 2026 — Boston City Council approves roughly $79 million in federal housing grants and a new inflation-linked senior property tax exemption at its June 24 session. The five U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grants — covering homelessness services, affordable housing, community development, AIDS housing, and emergency shelter — each passed by 11 or 12 votes and will be administered through the Mayor's Office of Housing. A separate 12-0 vote adopted Docket 0697, accepting MGL Chapter 59, Section 5, Clause 41D, which ties Boston's senior property tax exemption income and asset limits to the annual Consumer Price Index effective fiscal year 2027; lead sponsor Councillor Ruthzee Louijeune noted the current one-person income limit stands at $26,000 and would have reached $40,000 had the city adopted the same option when it became available in 2003. The council also passed a $1.2 million Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism FIFA World Cup public safety grant for the Boston Police Department and confirmed the renewal of seven Inspectional Services constables. The session's most heated exchange came during debate on the mayor's returned FY2027 budget, where Councillor Michael Flaherty Flynn argued the council had shown greater urgency protecting Boston Transportation Department jobs than it had fighting layoffs of Boston Public Schools paraprofessionals and bus monitors — workers he said would not know their fate until September or October.