Boston Weighs 11 Percent Cut to Participatory Budgeting Office Amid Council Debate

BOSTON — April 23, 2026 — Boston City Council committee scrutinizes 11 percent cut to participatory budgeting office. The Committee on Ways and Means held an April 23 budget hearing on the Office of Participatory Budgeting's FY27 proposed operating budget of $1,891,561 — down $242,690 from FY26's $2,134,250 — driven by a personnel reclassification and a $200,000 reduction in the special appropriations line. Director Renato Costello said the cuts will not affect the $2 million slated for the next project cycle, which will draw on a special revenue fund projected to hold roughly $3 million at the start of FY27. The office's most recent cycle collected more than 1,200 ideas and awarded eight projects totaling $2.2 million, topped by a $400,000 immigrant legal defense fund initiative with 3,700-plus votes. Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson Culpepper called for raising the project budget from $2 million to $10 million and ensuring every council district is represented in all three phases of the process, citing the absence of Roxbury from the cycle two proposal development forums. Councilor John Flynn objected to allowing residents as young as 11 to vote on public fund allocation, while Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata and Councilor Erin Murphy Braden expressed strong support for the program. Chair Ben Weber pressed Costello on whether the office is fulfilling the ordinance's mandate to feed resident priorities into the city's broader annual budget — a function Costello acknowledged lacks a formal enforcement mechanism.