Boston Council's Final FY2027 Budget Hearing Draws Overflow Crowd Opposing Mayor's Cuts

BOSTON — May 26, 2026 — Boston residents flood City Hall to oppose Mayor Wu's proposed FY2027 budget cuts. The Committee on Ways and Means, chaired by District 6 City Councilor Ben Weber, held its fourth and final public testimony listening session Tuesday, drawing an overflow crowd that required fire-safety crowd management and multilingual interpretation in Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, and Haitian Creole. Speakers spanning East Boston, Dorchester, Roxbury, and Jamaica Plain testified against reductions including a $6 million cut to youth employment funding — from $23.4 million to $17.4 million — and a cut to the housing office budget from $54.47 million to $49.22 million, a reduction of more than $5 million. Boston Teachers Union Executive Vice President Leah Serena warned that more than 400 educator positions would be eliminated and that over 100 paraprofessionals had just learned they would not be called back, telling the council that "80 percent of BPS students are classified as high needs." Councilor Ricardo Arroyo called restoring the 1,800 youth jobs "the difference between life and death," while Councilor Julia Mejia announced her office had filed amendments that go beyond restoration of existing cuts. Weber said the council's formal amendment process would begin this week.