Boston Council Hears $47 Million Snow Removal Supplemental Funded by Free Cash

BOSTON — May 27, 2026 — Boston's Ways and Means Committee heard a $47.1 million supplemental budget request Wednesday to cover snow and winter management costs for fiscal year 2026. Budget Director Jim Williamson and Chief Financial Officer Ashley Groffenberger told councilors the appropriation, funded by free cash, is needed to close the books before June 30 without pushing the city into deficit — a result they warned would threaten Boston's AAA bond rating. The city recorded 61.6 inches of snow this past winter, the snowiest in 11 years, including 23.2 inches from a single January storm and 17.1 inches from winter storm Hernando in February; Suffolk County was denied FEMA reimbursement for both events. Combined with a separate $22.8 million Boston Public Schools supplemental set for an afternoon hearing, the two dockets would draw roughly $110 million from the city's $601 million certified free cash balance. Groffenberger said Moody's places Boston's overall reserves at 30 percent of expenses, above the 25 percent floor the agency expects of similarly rated cities. Boston Policy Institute executive director Gregory Maynard testified that the deeper driver of the FY26 deficit is health insurance overspending, citing Mayor Wu's own supplemental letter describing a "spike in health insurance costs" as a "current year issue."