Special to the Times-Free Press
Boston City Councilor Gabriela Coletta is prioritizing budget allocations for a range of matters, emphasizing better city services like the repaving of streets and general public realm maintenance.
During the Capital Budget overview and the Public Works budget hearings, Coletta uplifted residents’ concerns about the poor quality condition of the District’s streets. Additionally, she questioned the administration on whether investments would increase for street repaving and if goals are set and met for miles per street and sidewalks being repaved per year. The administration shared they are investing $43 million dollars for sidewalk and ramp work and are increasing roadway resurfacing funding by 7% in this budget.
“District 1 is a highly walkable district. Unfortunately, our streets have taken quite a hit; we have a lot of utility work and the subpar quality of work is manifesting and residents are concerned. Our office receives calls daily about the condition of our streets and sidewalks. During this budget cycle, a top priority of mine is that we are investing more money into the repairing and maintenance of our streets and establishing accountability for bad actor contractors regarding utility work,” said Councilor Gabriela Coletta. “I look forward to continuing to discuss budget investments with city departments and working with my council colleagues for a budget that addresses the ‘nuts and bolts’ issues and delivers vital services so our city functions effectively.”
Throughout each departmental budget hearing, Councilor Coletta has also made various budget asks to efficiently and effectively meet the needs of the District. Budget asks include:
• Climate Infrastructure to fortify our coastline and Green Infrastructure that allows the public to effectively and safely traverse our streets in place of flexible posts for Vision Zero;
• Contract software to facilitate the mattress pick-up processes, establish trash containerization to mitigate rodent infestations, and increase the number of streets that are on the list to get repaired in East Boston;
• Increase in Parking Enforcement Officers, conducting parking regulations audits, and tracking trash trucks and street sweepers to facilitate parking for constituents;
• Translation of community resources from the Fire Prevention Division into primarily spoken languages in Boston; building another Firehouse, and possibly a Fire Boat in Charlestown to increase emergency response capacity;
• Expand Boston’s Tree Canopy;
• Additional staff capacity in the Office of Housing Stability to meet growing housing needs and demands;
• Build another Boston International Newcomers High School in East Boston, increase salaries and resources for BPS Family Liaisons to support families with high needs and streamline connection to City resources and professional development;
• Increase Building Inspectors to proactively prevent building collapses, monitor non-compliant short-term rentals, and provide training for the Zoning Board Appeals for accountability to new zoning, i.e. PLAN: East Boston;
• Prioritizing cost saving efforts such as cuts to snow removal and working on the acquisition of units to secure affordability; and more.
The Boston City Council commenced its budget hearings on April 22, 2024, and all hearings are led by Councilor Brian Worrel (D4), chair of the Committee on Ways and Means. This cycle is the third time the Boston City Council can reject, reduce, pass, or amend line items (i.e., accounts such as personnel, contracted services, equipment, etc.) in the City Budget. To prepare for the budget cycle, Coletta hosted a round of budget town halls across the district to gather feedback from residents about their priorities for the fiscal year operating and capital budget.
The Boston City Council will continue to have departmental budget hearings throughout May. There will be a hearing dedicated solely to Public Testimony on Tuesday, May 28 at 6pm in the Iannella Chamber of City Hall. To learn more about the budget process and how to get involved, please visit https://www.boston.gov/civic-engagement/fy2025-city-council-legislative-budget-review.
For additional information please contact the Office of Councilor Gabriela Coletta by phone at (617) 635-3200 or by email at [email protected].