A summary and highlights of the Boston City Council meeting held on January 24, 2024
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On January 24, 2024, the Boston City Council met for its first weekly meeting of the year. It was an important first step for the body, with Council President Ruthzee Louijeune formally submitting Committee assignments as well as the rules the Council is to abide by for the upcoming year.
While this meeting certainly doesn’t define the entire legislative agenda of the Council, it serves as a good indication of what their priorities and overall temperament is heading into this year.
BAN understands that not everyone can tune in on Wednesdays at noon to watch the meeting live, and it’s often difficult to find time to sit down and review the archived video online throughout the week.
As such, here are some highlights you may have missed from last week’s meeting:
Grants
The Mayor sent over eight separate grants to the Council for approval. The Council approved 3 during the meeting and sent 5 others to various committees to be debated before voting on whether to accept the funding. The somewhat controversial grant for the “Urban Security Initiative” was sent to committee, despite a letter from State Representative Jake Auchincloss urging them to approve it.
Another sent to committee was $146,089.77 for a STOP grant, specifically the “Violence Against Women Act.” This grant intends to fund a “Civilian Domestic Violence Advocate” to provide services for victims in Jamaica Plain, East Boston, and Charlestown. Why, exactly, the Council was unwilling to accept these funds intended for battered women is unclear at this time. However, they were quick to accept $45,000 for the “Accelerating Climate Resilience Grant Program.” The Council also accepted a donation of 10,000 coats from Project Warmth “in support of the migrant crisis.”
Appointments
The Mayor also forwarded the Council a list of new appointments and re-appointments of individuals to various commissions and trusts. One of these re-appointments was Brianna Millor, the Chief of Community Engagement for Mayor Wu, as a trustee of the “Make Boston Shine Trust Fund.” Millor has recently been the subject of scrutiny after it was revealed the city paid a $40,000 settlement to a former employee after they accused Millor of sending them sexually explicit messages and creating a “toxic work environment.”
Absences
District 2 representative Ed Flynn was the only Councilor absent from this week’s meeting. In a letter sent to Council President Louijeune, Flynn notified the body of his absence due to his attending a trip to Israel with leaders from across the United States.
Legislation
The Council reviewed a series of ordinances but were hesitant to pass much during this first meeting, opting to send the majority to committee. Of the ordinances, the focus was on formally creating an “Office of Food Justice,” amending the zoning code to allow for honeybees, and changing the Boston Municipal Code to allow for “non-motorized” food carts throughout the city.
There was one home rule petition filed by Councilor Brian Worrell that was also sent to committee. Worrell’s petition was filed “to ensure that future inauguration dates do not fall on a federal holiday.”
There was also one 17F filed by Councilor Liz Breadon. A 17F is a request for information from the Council to the Mayor. If approved by the Council, the Mayor then has one week to provide them with the information requested. Breadon’s 17F was related to response times for Emergency Medical Services.
The Council also assigned a host of hearing orders to various committees, which you can find in the summary below.
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