Boston Council Panel Advances Three Federal Public Safety Grants to Full Council

BOSTON — July 19, 2026 — Boston's Public Safety Committee advances three federal grants covering homeland security, e-citations, and regional disaster planning. Committee Chair Bill Flaherty convened the July 19 hearing on Dockets 0108, 0109, and 0110, with Jermaine Benford of the Office of Emergency Management and Deputy Superintendent Christopher Walsh of the Boston Police Department presenting. The largest grant, $13.52 million in Urban Area Security Initiative funds for fiscal year 2022, flows through the nine-city Metro Boston Homeland Security Region and covers soft-target hardening, intelligence sharing, domestic violent extremism response, and community preparedness — with Benford noting Boston's federal threat ranking climbed from 12th to 11th nationally this year. A separate $567,000 State Traffic Safety grant will install mobile printers in up to 564 Boston Police cruisers, replacing handwritten citations with an electronic system that transmits data in real time to the RMV Merit Rating Board. Council President Ed Flynn pressed Benford on school safety, citing an elementary school with 49 exterior doors, and received assurances that community preparedness funding could support a cross-agency volunteer corps approach alongside Boston Public Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper and Commissioner Michael Cox.