Boston Council grills DOIT over federal funding cuts, AI use, and cable revenue decline

BOSTON — April 27, 2026 — Boston's Department of Innovation and Technology told the City Council's Ways and Means Committee Monday that it saved $1.2 million by migrating its employee self-service HR portal in-house and a further $1 million by handling a cloud data warehouse transition internally, saving roughly $200,000 a year in ongoing licensing costs. Chief Information Officer Sandy Garces, appearing virtually, said the department is on track to replace the aging Lagan 311 constituent management system — which suffered roughly 30 days of partial or full outages in the past year — with a new platform by fall 2026. The proposed FY27 budget absorbs a nearly $3.7 million drop in external federal funding, which Garces acknowledged will limit new digital equity initiatives even as the department continues serving about 50,000 to 60,000 monthly unique users on its Wicked Free Wi-Fi network. Boston Neighborhood Network director Glenn Williams told councillors he is heading to the Massachusetts State House on May 6 to push for legislation requiring streaming services to pay franchise fees of 3.5 to 5 percent, the same share cable companies have historically paid to fund public-access broadcasting — revenue that has declined 10 to 15 percent annually for the past five to six years.