By Eliza Parad

I’m sure most of you by now have heard about this contentious city budget cycle. The Mayor released her proposed budget in April, cutting many of the areas that Bostonians support as top investment priorities: affordable housing, jobs for teens, immigrant support, elder support, food access, and participatory budgeting. In a city-wide survey by the People’s Budget campaign, and in the city-run participatory budgeting process in January of this year, thousands of residents are speaking out for these priorities.

I have the honor of coordinating the Better Budget Alliance, a city-wide coalition of grassroots community groups working to ensure that Boston’s budget better meets our needs and is decided directly by residents. I have spent the last few years talking to people from every neighborhood, age, and background about the budget and what I continue to hear is: (1) people think the police budget is much too high (2) people are really struggling to afford rent, groceries, and other necessities (3) people have so many beautiful and creative ideas for how to spend our budget that support their communities.

This budget season I have been especially inspired by the young people (mostly from Roxbury, Dorchester, East Boston and Hyde Park) who are showing up every day at community meetings, hearings at city hall, and talking to their friends about the budget. This work isn’t easy on top of all their other responsibilities and stressors. I hear their deep frustration at feeling ignored when they ask for the same investments and divestments year after year. I see their joy when we take collective action. They are being brave and asking Councilors to be brave too.

It’s true that there’s less revenue this year than past years, higher health care costs, ARPA funds are almost all spent down and we can’t balance the budget without some tough decisions. The challenge of this years’ budget means we either need to use a little bit more of our reserves to meet the multiple crises of the moment, or we need to decrease the police budget, or both. Neither solution is easy politically, but we can’t abandon our city, our youth and our potential.

I know there are a lot of battles my JP neighbors are fighting to preserve some semblance of real democracy in this country and appreciate all your work. If you love Boston and believe in our ability to truly stand up for people locally, as I do, please also take a moment to hold our elected officials to investing in affordable housing, food access, immigration support and youth jobs. These proposed cuts set a precedent for the next few years when city budgets will likely get even tighter. In our city, we need to double down on supporting and protecting our most vulnerable neighbors who are also under attack by the federal government. Call or email Mayor Wu to ask for more revenue and to restore the cuts she proposed to all of these areas. 

Eliza Parad is a resident of 20 years of Jamaica Plain.