is about considering how to increase access for our students with disabilities as well as the context beyond the resources and mandated Services often times when you hear about special education you're constantly hearing about timelines compliance we go above and beyond just looking at the regulations but we're looking at our students as to what their needs are in order to break the historical barriers that have kept them in more restrictive settings across this District we're also committed to moving forward in terms of looking at our multilingual Learners with disabilities and it's important for you to also understand that when we did this work this happened at central office in terms of our placement and assignment process our students disabilities across all of our schools were assigned through an assignment process out of our central office that in itself is a barrier we also took into consideration that we cannot continue to do things the way that we often had before because we need to see the outcomes for our students as as I said before while we have served compliance efficiencies it resulted in unintended separation of students and limited access to grade level learning alongside their peers and that is the body and the goal of our inclusive plan throughout the district we also took into consideration various reports and evaluations that were done at the Boston Public Schools as we carved out this inclusive plan across our schools this work must be rooted in the team's closest to our students while also ensuring systems and structures that provide all of our families Choice as well as consistency in what they can respect across all of our schools and within our schools as we look at those targeted grades and we look at the shifts for k0 K1 K2 and grade seven it's also important to note that we look at accessibility in terms of how we redefine inclusion by the time spent in classroom not classroom types and also not by labels of identifying our students by certain disability categories but looking our students as all Learners by beginning the transition of all general education and inclusion classrooms to an inclusive learning environment as well as more schools will have structures to meet our diverse learning needs as well as a collaboration that was really the Forefront of this plan in terms of how we work strategically within our district with all stakeholders within central office as well as within our schools to build that continuing level of supports collaborative teaching teams for students of all Learners continuous Services goal by region as well as an alignment of our qip plans of our school leaders to embed these processes as well as these targets and these goals as well as most importantly how we progress monitoring our students as well as looking at what we need to do in regards to allocation of resources for positions as needed in order to achieve these goals next slide please as we look at the other um slide and you think in terms of the collaborated collaboration in terms of the vision um including all of our Learners and through the IP process says it was so important for us to invest in diverse set of stakeholders including our family members this slide shows IP process timelines but also it shows us that we work closely with our coaches as well as making sure that we met the targeted goals of our schools we also appreciate the challenges in working with the ipts and engaging in terms of looking our regional teams and when we look at the timelines we also must make sure that we have effable resources for Distributing resources prioritize requests for student facing inst instructional staff other staff requests were important but not prioritized some requests were outside the scope of inclusive education requests came in outside of those grade levels and also you must take into consideration that requests reflected efforts that were sustained by S positions we work this we know that this work is complex and messy and reflects new work we're doing for which there is no Playbook however the work is grounded in doing what's best for our students what we continue to learn is that given historical funding patterns and types of programs in our schools every school has a different start in place another layer is the sunsetting of our ESS funds as I stated before we also continue to learn how mindset knowledge and capacities vary across the system and also within our schools which is why we continue to prioritize providing professional learning and instructional resources as we work as a multicross conditional cross functional team and we are currently whirling out our 12 hours of professional learning across our schools to our staff as well I will now hand it over to David Bloom who will talk more about the budget components of their inclusive plan for fy2 our proposed budget reflects 20 million dollar of Investments above and beyond our current maintenance budget for inclusive education 15 million in positions allocated through the IP process that Chief seal just described um this is above and beyond what is required for Baseline services for students with disabilities and multilingual Learners $2.7 million on top of that for additional supports for multilingual Learners with disabilities and another 2 million or so in reserve to meet the needs of schools as we go through the assignment process and learn more about which students are going to which schools one big thing to note about this slide we are prioritizing a team-based approach to instruction for instance every classroom that has a home has a Home Room teacher that's serving a diverse group of students they then also have a complement of teachers with experience in specially designed instruction for students with disabilities or ESL to provide additional language development of multilingual Learners finally I wanted to briefly touch on our work to expand the upk program BPS and the city have continued to be working collaboratively to expand our upk program as you know this program ensures high quality early childhood education across multiple settings from BPS schools to family child care centers and Community organizations in addition to our BPS programs that we're here to talk a lot about today we offer you we expect to offer upk at 57 sites next year reflecting approximately 1500 seats in the upcoming school year and with that we will welcome your questions uh again thank you to the administration for being here um just for my colleagues uh superintendent Skipper does have a stop at 4 p.m. so um please make let's make you of of her time um starting with councelor Flynn the floor is yours thank you Mr chair and thank you to the superintendent in your team for the important work you're doing um superintendent I had a special education teacher reach out to me recently about the Massachusetts inclusive concurrent enrollment initiative which grants College school Partnerships to support eligible public high school students with intellectual disabilities however the teacher inform that uh students with with disabilities were only offered two seats for the entire district and that a her student student wants to access this op opportunity the high school must pay $1,200 for one semester um basically she is asking for my help I'm asking for bps's help can we help the student do her job more effectively by seeing if we're able to help with this situation uh thank you Council f for the question so we're aware of this I've actually been in dialogue with the staff member um we are committed to expanding this what I need to figure out is the process for that um just given it's been such a small number previously uh so that's something we're actively looking at within special ed but we are committed to expanding it and we will expand for uh within the current budget we will do some additional allocation for it for this budget we'll try to get funding there correct I just want to make sure the process speaks to one of equity just given that when you start having more schools involved in it you need a clear process thank you super attendant I appreciate that you're welcome um as you know one of the issues I've focused on is um supporting English language Learners with disabilities uh especially in my district in Chinatown or the south end or or public housing developments um what do we what do we doing in this budget to ensure that immigrant students English language Learners with disabil ities um are able to receive a quality education with support services for them in their families as well so I think I'll probably start then and then uh I'll tag in uh Chief Comm so I think I think first is um we've been a great deal of the omme work was done off of Asser so we've taken that into this budget and that includes not just direct service but it's also building capacity of staff so instructional coaches for uh the various language specific strands uh looking at newcomer programming entrance exit criteria and materials uh looking at instructional coaches for the Dual language which is something uh recent uh looking for uh this is all building capacity of the adults to be able to support the various programs uh additionally within the office of omme it's a shared position with om and special education but there is a directive specifically for multilingual Learners with disabilities so this is our population that actually is um lowest performing which in my mind is uh translates to not supported enough so uh this is uh this is what I'm sure um Chief K could and actually uh Chief SE could both comment on this uh and the additional supports besides the uh adult capacity that we're attempting to build materials and curriculum that we've purchased through EST dollars to make sure that each of the programs has what they need sure thank you superintendent um thank you uh councilman Flynn for your uh question yes it is Chief seal and I always talk about how we're kind of like married in terms of we share a joint population of students our students who are multilingual Learners with disabilities and I think on a central front we are working to ensure that we provide support districtwide so we do have as a superintendent said the new position that is created or the position that we're going to fill which is the um director of uh supports for multilingual Learners with disabilities and working with that person there'll be two supervisors and so in addition to our regional support model where we have supports for teachers and and superintendents and and school leaders um they'll be in classroom supports coaching that will be available for um schools as well but then also um as David had spoken um Chief David had spoken about the teaming approach of thinking of how because we really need to kind of think how we approach the instruction of students and so it's just not one person who's responsible we all take accountability for our students but taking that teaming approach of a special educator uh um a special education educator uh someone with ESL licens and supports for students and then also the classroom teacher of really looking at the needs of the students and supporting that student instructionally as we're providing tier one access for the students and also highquality instructional materials thank thank you and my my final question on my final question um and thank you for that answer is when we're educating those students I also know that it's important to provide their family with servic as well um you know that's a critical part of the education process is is supporting the family um especially our immigrant neighbors as well um what do we offer a parent a guardian that need that desperately need Social Services we need to get them that those social services so they're they can be successful but also for their children to be successful yeah um that's a very important question and actually on my way here to my um I saw I was crossing the street and I saw a family a mom of a student who came here um in February and so in February we had a huge welcoming registration at bowling for the newly arrived um families migrants that are housed at The Melia C and I I saw her and she looked familiar um but she just looked so much more vibrant and happier and so I said hey I said in Haitian cre her hey K how how are you and so I asked her about her daughter Franchesca so then she said she's doing very well so I just think of the process that we had for those you know we had to Pivot where we had 31 families where we had to register them finding out families did not have it was a clothes that there were on their backs and so really helping them having a welcoming environment getting them housing um not housing getting them uh enrolled for their children and for many of them they're coming from from Haiti through Chile through Brazil and their main goal is really to ensure that their child their children um is successful and schooling was one of those huge ticks you know check marks for them and so working with the families as they arrive working with each School the family Liaisons working with social workers that are at the school to really help support and meet the needs of the families and so this mom her daughter was thriving at the school that she's enrolled in mom has a job now and she's working and so I'm not saying that's the case for every family but we definitely are putting a lot with the office of Engagement working with families and um you know providing social emotional supports for families and really thinking of like a a wraparound system for the family because we know if the family is not okay then the child's not going to be okay just one uh point on this that it's a point of Pride within uh the BPS uh Community but in many districts it was weeks and months before students who recently arrived were enrolled in in the migrant shelters it was is on average 72 hours in our district from start to finish the other last thing is that there's about 2.1 million that was represented on a slide uh Council of Lin which is specifically to increase the uh language development services for multilingual Learners with disabilities thank you superintendent and thank you to your team thank you Mr chair uh thank you Council Flynn now we'll go to councelor Santana the floor is yours thank you Mr chair and um thank you to um thank you superintendent and your team for being here um today um before going into my questions you know I think in superintendent you know this you know as a new city counselor um at large here my number one priority is our youth um and that's something that I've been very vocal about and um want to thank you and your team for BS beinging um extremely accessible to me and my office um you yourself meeting with me but also want to you know um shout out Anna y from igr who's been um incredible um and very accessible um with that um you know I often share you know my personal story and you know me being um a kid from Dominican Republic um who didn't know neither English or Spanish growing up right and um had a speech impediment and um I went to the windship school um where I got one-on-one um help um from um from from professionals there and then I I transferred over to the blackone school where um every teacher every um administrator my principal um lunch mother custodian spoke both English and Spanish right and um that really helped me um in my journey to now you know be U um someone who can both speak English and Spanish um um at a high level so um and really struggled when I went to the dealo in school because that wasn't available to me anymore so uh my questions um today are around um that and kind of what we're doing for our students um our multilingual students um here in the city so um you know I got the opportunity to um to review this budget um you know would like to ask and and and it's open to anyone here who can who can answer these questions um how does this budget fund um inclusive education for students through spe um specially design instruction for students with disabil ities and multi multilingual Learners without Simply Having teachers obtain U more licenses right um it is my understanding um that BPS is requiring teachers to obtain moderate disabilities and ESL licenses um to um to keep their positions and and to continue working um so just we kind of just like um Reflections on on that sure so I I can start with that and then um probably Chief seal you you you can probably chime in on this so uh really with inclusive education we're working to a team approach uh and that is across classrooms and and it could be two or could be four the idea is really to have access to general education special education which would be for instance uh you know if a student needed specialized instruction uh and or uh ESL if it is student is a multilingual learner it's really that collection of adults working together our schools 119 of them are all at different places places as is their Staffing so we're just trying to offer as much as possible when it comes to training and learning for our teachers uh and our par professionals so that uh every adult that students come in in process with and in contact with can add value right to to who they are but we um I think as uh Chief CFO Bloom said we added in resources in any situation where there was a general education Home Room teacher and there were going to be students in the classroom who required any kind of specialized learning or any kind of ESL those were those were actually positions we added into so there were over 200 positions that are specifically around special education uh Andor ESL that are added into the budget to be able to support we really relied heavily on schools through their IP process to um help us understand what they were thinking and what their current environment was and in that process we realized how different they are some had already started inclusion others had started inclusion with particular grades uh some wanted to go faster slower so we've really had to do a very customized like approach with the with the schools in this way um but the the the certification programs we're offering are for teachers and Par professionals who want to get additional supports and training um it's you know we've said we're not going to require our staff to be duly certified in a team approach we're going to add in if in fact there isn't enough uh certifications to provide specialized learning uh Andor ESL to provide service and chief S I don't know if there's anything on the ground level yeah absolutely thank you thank you superintendent Skipper I also want to add one of my colleagues is also here um Dr lesie Miller and it's important for us as we understand specially design instruction it's a methodology okay and it's a method technology that we use as special education teachers as to how to reach and teach our students with disabilities and it really it expects and the expectation and the requirement is really making sure that we have skilled professionals that know how to differentiate know how to provide the accommodations and modifications so through the partnership in terms of our cross functional team through the leadership Dr Leslie Miller um myself and also om and also several other stakeholders in the district we have worked strategically to put together a professional development plan as we launch this inclusion plan to be parallel in terms of how we need to move forward and making sure that all of our teaching staff as well as our support staff that they have the tools and they have the skills in order to really improve and accelerate learning for our students so that is that is a huge lift for us as a district we're also focusing on equable literacy and also um part of the indicators for that is our school Improvement plans there's a alignment of that goal in terms of outcomes that each and every one of our schools have identified as a priority area to improve outcomes for all Learners so it's really a collaborative effort within the district as to how we're working strategically to improve outcomes not just for students with disabilities and multilingual learners but also set some metrics as to what we need to do to accelerate learning for all students across the district but most importantly it's the IEP the individualized educational plan that is a road mapap for our students that really drives what we do for specially design instruction yeah and I know we've had conversations about reading and reading instruction so that's an example where through the eser dollars not only were we able to increase reading Specialists which we've now moved onto the hard budget um but we more importantly we built capacity in our teachers and so that means getting Wilson certified trained teachers OG certified trained teachers uh having materials for for reading uh supports and Remediation in place those were all things that we were able to do through Esser so we have a stronger teacher core in that way right that's able to see reading not as something that happens just over here but something that happens within the context of the classroom great thank you Chief and thank you superintendent um superintendent you you touch on the aser funding and I I'll kind of skip one of my first questions and go right there right I mean I know that s funding is been taken away now and the BPS has tried to identify um where um you know the Investments That s funding was making and try to continue those programs outside of Sr funding so let's take that away um has there are there any schools that are still receiving less funding um outside of the S funding so like is there any school going into this year um with less funding than they expect you want to take that thank you or sorry not that I think most schools want more money right every school want just to be more clear is there any school that's getting less money than the previous year outside of the SR funding the answer is yes yes there may be different reasons and I think that's what you're going to yeah so the um as we've been implementing our new approach to funding movie away from weighted student funding the thing we did this year is a little bit different and I heard your point so putting answer to the side is we started with every school's current year general fund budget so they started by saying okay let's start with what you got this year and move it forward to next year with the new any changes to salaries that we need to build into that then we did make some adjustments to that for a few reasons the first being sort of the main one being enrollment based adjustments so a variety of our allocations to schools are based on rules for a number of students so the biggest example of something is uh we did some classroom consolidations so essentially you can imagine right a school that historically had 35 or 40 students in kindergarten and over the past few years has gotten down to 15 or 20 that school is going to move from having two kindergarten classrooms to having one so that is a budget decrease at that school it's a real decrease and I don't want to take anything away from the cut or the experience of the school losing that position but from the student experience lens no student is having a lesser experience because of that right they still have their classroom teacher they still have their social worker they still have their librarian that was on the general fund now they are losing resources that they had this year from Esser and those are real too I was trying to stay away from Esser but in terms of the sort of noner positions the main thing that was reduced this year were those Home Room teachers for classes that sort of no longer had the enrollment to support them great thank you Chief was that my time Mr chair yes wow time FES um sounds good I wait for a second round thank you very much thank you Council Santana um now I go to my vice chair uh Vice chair Pepin the floor is yours thank you chair um thank you to the BPS staff that are here today thank you to the superintendent but I also want to take a moment to thank um you know this as counselor Santana mentioned I always tend to just forget how similar stories are I went to school up the street from the Blackstone which was the Hurley School um a Bilingual School also everyone spoke Spanish and English and the classrooms were very small um and this Friday I got to visit a similar school which was the Roosevelt School in High Park which I believe is one of the first fully inclusive schools in the district amazing program by the way I was very impressed um but I got some concerns from the teachers of the future of IEP classrooms and it's the size of the classrooms the fact that I believe it it's been proposed or about to happen that they will increase the number of students in each I AP classroom um and then in the same regards I got an email from a teacher at the bait School in Rosendale another beautiful School in my district where she voices that the concerns of one siiz fits-all model is very concerning because not every single student body in the district is the same the needs are not the same and the teachers are not the same and you mentioned something that the resources will not be taken away but some some teachers feel like by adding more pressure to them they do feel like they're going to need more resources so my question SL ask is how are we responding to those teachers and to the power professionals that feel like they've already been so overworked but now they're going to have more students to take care without the appropriate funding so um I'll start and I think actually on the ground side on special education it would be good to maybe us to frame it as what that new experience will be right or different experience so I think what sort of led us to the inclusive Ed plan was that we were identified as having over representation uh for special education of too many students in small settings uh the students who are in substantially separate which is a more restrictive environment than what actually they needed and as a result for those families and for those students their choice their ability to be able to access schools across the district was very limited they also are the ones that end up on the buses for the longest amount of time to get to their schools so when Council great City Schools came in they worked very hard with our special Ood Department specialized Services Department as well as with our office of our omme to be able to think about how could we uh do this differently and that's what sort of led us to a 3 to four year kind of plan of how to be able to phase in not all students on IEP but students who are in a substantially separate setting who based on their IEP and their team is and their parent is deemed that they could actually access a gened class that could be part of the day that could be all of the day it really depends on what their IEP calls for that option was never previously there for a team to consider for a family to consider or a student so the that's kind of what sort of has us here um when we look at those same students we also see that in general access to grade level material grade level instruction was also limited often those substantially separate classes are multi multi-g grades so we knew change had to happen and change is always hard when you're phasing it in the question was the pacing and the resources to follow I think the IP or the in inclusive planning teams the goal was not to do one size ofits all it's actually impossible in our District to do one size itss all because there's 119 schools all of whom in this area do in do inclusion or are set up for inclusion in very different ways so the idea was to look at the plans and to see how we might be able to leverage the resources that are out of school across the district and add in resources where we needed to to be able to provide that inclusive setting we're doing that at the same time that we are still holding together the substantial separate system it's not a light bulb or a switch it's not going to turn all of a sudden in fact it's really up to the parent and the team when a student's IEP convenes as to whether they want to consider an inclusive setting or not so where we're predicting uh or creating the capacity for inclusive Ed we may not actually fill that in fact the likelihood is we won't because there'll be more parents who may be kind of slower to adopt it or want to sort of see what happens and we've also resered dollars which is on that slide that's up there now 2.2 million so that when and if we get students who have greater need being included we have some funds to draw from to be able to add additional resource in so we we're trying to be deliberate and we're trying to be um intentional about the steps we're taking with it most importantly we're trying to have the school leaders working with their community and their IP team which this past year met regularly and will again there money in the budget for them to do so next year have them really take into consideration the culture of the school the setup and the resources that are there now what we're adding in to be able to deliver that but this is going to be something that we're going to be working counselor for a number of years to make sure it goes right uh and I think the team sense is that it may actually go slower than what the capacity that's there is for thank you for that detailed response um guess my ask to you is just to make sure that I those teachers that are in this program feel heard absolutely but also acknowledges I'm hearing it from different sides of my district that absolutely teachers are frustrated yes um and I think that I just want to make sure that our students feel feel like they have the right resources and the parents as well that's right so look forward to contining that conversation with with you and your team you bring up the conversation of Transportation too um which has been a priority of mine since starting in the council um and I do know that they do face the biggest challenges from getting two in from school are you working on any opportuni to see what issues can can be alleviated um specifically working with the BPS hotline or just new resources new programming that are BPS transportations does not currently use sure so I think this is where inclusive Ed is we see this as a potential going forward for this exact thing the closer to home that we can give students choice to a quality seat then less time on the bus uh could be less buses but certainly more efficient less time so that's kind of but that again like that's going to take a few years for those changes to actually be implemented um I I think the transportation thing is one that our team both in the work we're doing with the union we were able uh in this last colle in this last bargaining with the drivers to be able to get a lot of kind of new revisions in there that allow us to uh have more accountability around ontime percentage making sure buses get to where they're supposed to be less Mis Roots uh and in our case uh what I think is going to be one of the most one of the biggest potentials is around ridership um we have a number we just have a lot of students that don't use the bus so they're entitled to the bus we want it's there for them but they don't use it or they don't use it regularly at all and so what happens is when you route a bus you're making all those stops and sometimes there's not even kids at the stop because they don't use it we've never had a way to measure ridership on a daily basis so we're uh We've Incorporated a new technology that that's going to be on the buses um with pads to be able one from a safety perspective know exactly when students get on and off the stops every parent wants to know that we want to know that uh but then secondly for students that aren't using it it gives us the data to go back to the parent and say can we discharge the student uh if you want the bus that's fine but if you're not using it here's what it means to all the other kids who are using it it takes them longer to get to school we have to Route further so we're actually doing that pilot in the summer with our esy with our um extended school year for our special education students and we have parents actually responding really favorably to it and saying you know what I actually don't need the boss um and so it's going to be steps like this that are going to enable us to get that ontime percentage up as high as possible misted roots are at kind of all-time low for us that's because we started the year different from most urban districts completely full with our drivers when everybody was struggling that's been through a lot of recruitment same with our bus monitors uh we we're now like we're not AC capacity but we're moving in that direction much different than it was pre pandemic and that we train our monitors to make the buses safer for our students to make sure there good communication with families uh we incorporated a transportation advisory Council that parents are on as well and that there is the one that that's really thinking about ridership and other kinds of changes to policy that could be helpful overall to the district so I think there's just a number of areas that we're working kind of all around to try to get to the point where choices closer to home and it's quality choice if you're riding the bus when you're riding the bus it's safe it's you know on time and uh we're responsive to families through our through our hotline um you know we staff that now I think there's uh 20 20 someone languages that are represented on the on the hotline for the parents and we look at the time for waight for a parent in most cases it's a minute or two at most so it's these things as a customer service agent which is what we are uh that we're trying to do our best to evolve yeah and I think that that lack of trust from parents to not send their kid on the school bus is based on the lack of being able to properly track their child on the bus is I mean it's something that I brought up as a hearing order idea um on the floor where I mean I can I always joke around about it but I'm not joking around so I can track my lunch real time when where it's coming when the driver's stuck when it's being when it's delivered but our par our parents can't do that real time with with our students so I think that the quicker that we actually expedite the new the new system in place for our school buses to be tracked the more trust that we'll build with our parents in the system hence I will lead them to actually using the bu system and lead into less issues with this thank you on traic new Sy okay in the fall in this fall nice thank thank you thank you Vice chair uh Council Keta the floor is yours thank you chair and thank you all so much for your work um I will just reiterate what I said in a PM Monte room briefing I I think it was last month and thank you to chair for your lhip for being very proactive about the BPS budget but um superintendent just the the uh positive reviews that I've gotten from parents in my district have been um just um exponential there's a lot of folks that are talking about your leadership and how accessible you are so I just wanted to thank you again um for all the progress even when it comes to the bus technology like that is light years from where we were even two three years ago so just congratulations on that and again thank you all so much for your work um I only have one question and it has to do with something you and I have talked about quite often which is another Boston International High School in my district East Boston has always been welcoming inclusive of immigrant populations and we have um uh I think it's about 177,000 kids who are Ells I I hope I got that right and about 12,000 of them are Latino or identify as Latino and so um we uh we need something in my district at least a high school that um is uh that teaches academic rigor gets newcomers Ready for the World um and so I would love to understand what the progress is on having a dual language program in East Boston we've already raised our hands and said we would love this please let us know what we can do so um would love to get a progress update on that start sure um well I would just say under the leadership of our super attendant um she really has a great pulse of what the needs are for schools um and that's something that is very refreshing I went on a tour at a Saratoga Street um site where you know in in things in terms of thinking for our secondary multilingual learner population there is definitely a need so at Bata um they're doing a really great job in terms of um educating our students are especially our older students but the majority of them are coming from East Boston and in speaking with East Boston high school for our newcomers program they're kind of busting at the seams and so the superintendent has um you know working with the various School leaders and really identifying this need looking for additional sites in East Boston so that we can serve our secondary multilingual Learners um right currently right now in terms of for dual language we have the margarita mun kind of like the Fe the source for many of our Spanish dual language programs for high school um but as we I would say under my leadership and working with the district um and and even prior to me coming is really looking at the expansion of providing more native access you know native language access supports for our students and native language access instruction for our students and really looking at each region and how we can better serve and provide more access for to native language literacy and native language in instruction for our students across the district and so that is definitely um something that's at the Forefront of what we're currently working at right now yeah and I would just um I would add that one slice of um High School population that we see that we haven't had a good solution for is our overage multilingual Learners who are coming in at a newcomer level they're 18 um they you know by the state standards of passing mcast learning English enough to be able to pass mcast it's very difficult if they're 18 or older to be able to do a traditional course uh so what we often find is they will stay for like a year they'll learn enough language to be able to work which is what they need to do because they're often the head of their household and or they're unaccompanied and then they have to drop out and we should never be putting our young people in that position so uh you know we know that bada in Dorchester works but we also know that the vast majority of the students who are overaged in multilingual Learners coming in uh are really located on the East Boston side and the commute over to bada every day is just too long so by opening the bada East which is what we'll be opening um that's going to really allow probably about 120 students to be able to go there we'll also put an adult ed site there so that as students transition and if they're 22 and they haven't been able to finish what they need to Adult Ed is right there as well so the idea is we'll have social emotional support there'll be really a wraparound Center uh this will also help the East Boston the Charlestown highs the uh the other uh schools who for them uh they try to do everything they can but the young person just really needs to work and so they just we we kind of have too narrow a solution set so we're excited about this it goes back to a conversation we had when I first came in um and the data is really starking compelling and I think this is going to be a great solution for our young people thank you so much rendant and this is exactly what I'm talking about we had this conversation last year I'm not sure if it was already in the works but I had said we need a Binga 2.0 or what did you call it B East Boston and it's you know it's already off the ground and running we are very lucky that we have a dual language program at the umana um but doing the math just on Google Maps really quick if I'm an orian Heights resident and I need a dual language program it takes an hour and a half to get to TOA and so having this is absolutely huge for our district so I just want to say thank you and wondering about timeline if I have if I have more time myself on when this will um get open yeah so so the latest would be January but we're looking to do it as early in the fall as possible um so that young people don't have to enroll at East first and then go over they'd be able to go straight to Vada V East great thank you so much thank you chair thank you councelor Kaa uh councelor M here the floor is yours thought you were going to get to leave before 4:00 I would never coun uhhuh Mary was like oh I hope 4:00 comes before counselor here goes not your lucky day today it is my lucky day hello it's good to have you all here again and I feel like I've been Unleashed cuz I'm no longer the chair of education so I can go back to being a community organizer and I know all the parents are really happy to know that I'm back um so I do have a lot of questions and I'm very concerned about the multilingual you know the inclusion and all this stuff that has been bubbling up to the top and you said something earlier around this team approach and I'm just curious from a Workforce Development standpoint are we short changing our staff and our students in creating an environment um in which there's the shared responsibility like how how does that look like from a Workforce Development and the impact that it has on our teachers sure so I think um I think if we were asking teachers to through certifications do two or three jobs that would be extremely difficult I think the idea of the team based is to really leverage the expert content knowledge of two or three different staff in an area and be able to come together around the students with it um in Chief s this might be a good example to seen um examples like how did you land here there's a number of our schools that already do it um so you could look at uh let's see in East Boston you have um Jason school um where's my mind going BL the McKay sorry the McKay uh would be an example I think you could look at um Katie grass's School the curly as an example um there's there's actually more schools doing a team approach as opposed to a co- teing and it's a little confusing because when we say co- teing everybody jumps to this idea of two adults in the classroom co- teing is really just that it's teaching together and that is what a team- based approach is it's just how you get at that can vary uh there are schools that have co- teing meaning just two adults in the classroom but the data at least on the student outcome isn't doesn't say that one particular style is better than any other and chief seal or chief kir if you want to no that's okay we we good CU I don't have a lot of time but I do have another question and this is um can you just talk to us a little bit about how many actual not just coded right bilingual teachers and how many actual bilingual Paras does BPS have now that's a David question and so while you're looking for the data cuz I I Don't Want to Waste My Moment here with you all can you tell me what is the exact um change in the number of actual bilingual teachers and the change in the number of actual bilingual Paras in the proposed budget right now so that's also part of the the question yeah so um for the number in terms of the budget I can only give you the the coded budgeted positions because a lot those teachers are still being hired I can give you that um and then I will get you the I will get you both of those okay so there has been some analysis showing the racial and ethnic gap between teachers and students for each school and we need to see the language gap between teachers and students by school can you provide us that data so this gets into how teachers are coded um and whether or not they're coded where we don't currently capture their language or the proficiency piece that is something we're working on um with with our Union but like also ourselves internally within the system uh we have a commitment we want to be able to hire as many bilingual and multilingual Educators as we can in all facets but particularly student facing classroom par professionals social workers um but the system hasn't been built in a way to easily code that or track it you in fact it's one of the things that when you see a decrease in bilingual Educators it's mostly because we've changed the coding not because the educator is leaving or different okay so let's talk a little bit about the curriculum and the materials right um BPS says that there must be high quality instruction materials and we really do appreciate that but does this include curriculum materials in major native languages that are used by BPS students Chief mayor um and what is the commitment to having curriculum materials in native language what does that commitment look like um what is the current status and what is the funding in the current budget for this and what are the smart goals how are we measuring success that's a lot and I want you to get through all of it before I have my other question let's go at it okay so um yes native language curriculum all schools no or just where we have the highest level of concentration of students who native speakers sure so I I will start off with the Dual language programs so the Dual language programs they all have um curriculum that is reflect the native language of the students that are in the program but what about students who aren't in those dual enrollments like those are the ones that usually fall through the cracks those are the ones that come here and you get what you get and you don't get upset so what happens to those so I just I I started with the Dual language program so all of those programs of provision for native language we are working shout out to um our early childhood Department in terms of working on creating more access for native language so looking at our Focus curriculum and providing more access for students who are not necessarily in dual language programs uh so I know a lot of our upk programs are using dual language access programs um curriculum for our early childhood students their resources and access to native language as our ESL um we have coaches that are in our department how many we have currently we have 11 coaches uh instructional coaches that work on Regional model so they can work with the superintendents Regional superintendents and teachers um and really providing professional uh professional learning opportunities for our schools and many of them for have been actually in the language of to just model the language of the students so we've been providing professional learning in Spanish or in Haitian Creo for the teachers to really model what the needs of the students are and we are doubling down in terms of creating more access and creating more curriculum so like for the cape Verdian Community they've been asking since the Haitian Community before they even started the Dual language program have been asking and so we are working and develop developing curriculum for our students as we would hope to create a dual language program and have it in in Creo and who's who's who's accountable for closing the language diversity gaps in school Staffing and how are we holding those folks accountable because it seems to be the revolving door at BPS right like every time I turn around I got a new set of characters I just it's hard to keep up with all the Staffing changes and every time there's a staff change there a whole new PowerPoint presentation and a whole new world and we got to catch up to y'all but here we are I'm here again we we don't know how long they're going to leave you here for I will be here so well I hope let just hope that that is the case because the way things are happening at BPS you just never know so I'm I would like to know who is accountable right now for language diversity in school Staffing and how are they going to be held accountable so I will definitely say that I am holding myself accountable to providing supports and services for the students in of the city of auson I although it may be a new face but I have been here I'm back um I worked in this office for three and a half years I believe in this office so much I believe in this office that I went to a school to create a dual language program and then I came back to this office because I feel like we do need to you know double down on the supports that we need for our students I think with the executive team that we have in Boston public schools and then really working to support the teachers it's really important um you know my my soul is is really aligned with schools and really and I think of when I'm working on expanding a dual language program or providing more native access for students or working with families it's because I know what those outcomes can be cuz I've seen it I know and we're lucky to have you right so I'm a English language learner I'm also one of those students that was chronically absent my mom still to the day doesn't know how to speak English so when I ask these questions understand that for me it's all of this is that I'm carrying into this chamber because this is a reality years later that BPS is still have yet to meet the moment right and so that's why we have to be aggressive right um superintendant and then what what really worries me right is I was also appointed to the elll task force and we've had a mass Exodus of folks who sat in that space who I was close in relationship with and it's hard for us to trust a system that has yet to find a way to really deliver and so I need to hear from you superintendent and I'm really not happy with the fact that this was a hearing right and I know you have things to do but you're going to leave here at 4: we're not going to have our full time with you and it just we we need to do better at making sure that we're fully present for these hearings because they matter to us and I'm just curious about what is it going to take for us to really restore the trust here so I I want to go back to your specific questions just to make sure we get the answers so I think that there's a combination on the accountability side so one is we're talking about due language a transitional bilingual and the language specific Pathways that's going to be something that om and Joel are going to be monitoring human capital will play a role in this as we look forward to making sure we're expanding and keeping track of how many of our staff teachers student facing teachers par professionals are bilingual that's an active conversation right now um so I think that will get reported out in a couple of different ways um I think the answer to your other question really quickly David if you have that that was a more pointed so um yes so the short version is at the at the end of it when you look around um your point about just not just what's coded in the system but what's actually happening um there were 13 positions that were closed uh almost entirely due to classroom consolidation for staff now I don't know whether those staff in particular were bilingual but those were staff whose job primarily was to work in a uh uh multilingual learner program so because we don't necessarily have the data on staff language capacity know why we don't have collecting it or it was never collected is that something that we're going to we're going to it is but it's something corrective action right we're going to well it it's actually not corrective but it's corrective on our own part yes but moving forward we're not going to have those yes it's something we're working with the Union on yes it it be I know my time is up and I want to be respectful of the fact that I have other colleagues can I just just your last Point Council Mia so um I I also think that in the in the issue of multilingual Learners I think we have taken a lot of feedback from the community and we've now I think course corrected and are moving at a more intentional but reasonable pace about how we're rolling out our multilingual Le education we are still taking great deal of steps around making sure our newcomer and our s programs have the right entrance and exit criterias and students aren't going to stay in them for too long which was what was happening but the issue of increasing and investing in native language and dual language both loow incident languages and majority languages those are ones we're actively having those convers conversations and will with the community to make sure that we're going together and that's something you have my word on thank you councilman here um just want to acknowledge that we've been joined by councelor Weber and also council president Louie Jen uh councel fernance Anderson the floor is yours thank you Mr chair um sorry I was looking for attendance because everybody knows I'm bad with names superintendent You're The Only Name that I remember all good I apologize um oh missil um superintendent Skipper and David I know David okay and uh sorry Kristen no Joel G here that's a different I know that one okay Joel yes Joel um Miss G sorry um thank you uh so for such a thorough um explanations or responses to the question um really want to dig a little bit deeper just get a more a bigger picture or more thorough picture on as as far as how we going to address inclusion especially with the phasing in especially with understanding this $2.2 million allocation that is going to be um in reserve for resources um I'd like to understand from um special ed in terms of resources that we're supporting one in terms of resources that we're supporting parents with um to understand their child diagnosis and um plan right um specialized plan and um sorry individual plan and um as well as any sort of you know homeschool connection that will un that will support with not only identifying those diagnoses but also supporting um with monitoring and uh sustainability of those um action plans for at home um so if we could start there um also how many um elll do we have some sort of idea of multilingual students number of multilingual students and then the 2.1 million um specifically for elll um from title 3 um what um how many how many um teachers are we looking to build capacity in order to address um those students needs great that's a great question so first let me start by saying that as we look at the implementation grades for this coming school year for 2425 um keep in mind that we're not saying that all students in those grades will be in inclusive learning environment it is an IEP decision for each and every one of our children right so there is relevant members of the team that will be involved in making that decision we also need to make sure that we're evaluating our students and helping using that information to help guide us in terms of what are the level of needs of our students and where they should receive the services right the who what and where here thank you missil really familiar with this topic um you can go straight to straight to the point so straight to the point in terms of what we're doing in terms of specially designed instruction and resources for our families and also for our teachers I said earlier that we're building a thoughtful professional learning plan for our teachers and in which to strengthen their skill set and the superintendent had also mentioned in terms of specialized instruction like our Orton Gillingham and our Wilson language we also need to realize that we are looking at the younger grades for our students so we're looking at what using for our curriculum through the focus 3 and focus 4 um we also know that we have really worked strategically so that it's not just under the umbrella of special education but we're working with teaching and learning we're also working with looking at tiered interventions through multi-tier systems of support as to how we're going to Target intervention for students because we do have students with disabilities that are also in general education settings right so in terms of making sure that our families are engaged we're really working strategically with our coordinators of special education because they are the point of contact they're really working closely with the school leaders but also they're the design of special education to make sure that they're providing the information because if you're a parent and you're finding out for the first time your child has a disability it can be overwhelming so we have done extensive training since the fall with each and every one of our coasts to really make sure that we are providing the support and the resources that they need because they're facilitating those team meetings in order to write those IEPs allow me a moment M thank you um so with the coordinators and we know that they're inundated they are overworked um and you know this cuz that's your area um how are we supporting with the homeschool connection though are there other types of Support Services social workers types that are actually sitting with parents and saying let me help you understand what your child's uh plan is in terms of from diagnosis to treatment to action plan so I I'm going to say that um we've really worked hard throughout the District especially with providing a monitoring system to make sure that our coasts are not inundated and that they have a case load that is manageable um I also want to say that it's really hard to say that our family layons are working with our families to help them to understand the IEP because that's not their area of expertise so it really falls under the responsibility of our coordinators of special education and also our school leaders right because our school leaders must provide assurances that those educational plans are being implemented with Fidelity so we have provided support to our Coast as I said we started training since August um and really making sure that um we are prepared because this District as many districts in the Commonwealth are going through the new IEP process and I think the new educational plan that the Commonwealth has written for for this district is really going to be focusing on the vision of the child and also how we need to work more closely in engaging our families I do appreciate the different tear that holistic approach of the whole child and going from phase to phase I appreciate that a whole lot it feels wraparound but wraparound by through it true meaning means that you're working with families and so I try to encourage folks not to go too toward that because if it's not that if you're not working with the whole family um but in in this case you have the coordinator you have you then you need an interpreter possibly um and or translation um then you also have the liaison that could connect you schedule contact parents um just feels like there is a missing link because outside of the work in in in school um parents go home to left to understand this package that's very intense right if you if you're not a a practitioner um and so I think there's you know there's an opportunity there for us to consider absolutely um and I don't I don't I'm not a proponent of making schools into a clinic cuz I think that it's that's not your job um but that that opportunity to collaborate with outside sources to make sure to ensure that there is that connection and understanding without the families I don't need to tell you this you know this more than I do absolutely doesn't work therapy doesn't work the IP doesn't work it just doesn't work um and so I'm really interested in The Homeschool uh connection piece um but can can we move on to the numbers questions yeah sure I just want to also add Joelle and I just recently also did a a training with all of our family lisons to kind of help them to understand this whole IP process and also for us to partner with them and helping to work with our families as well as working closely with our um student Support Services as well I like it um I think you know I had a lot of concerns about it right um I think you know in terms of like where are the best practices where can we prove that this works or this doesn't work and after understanding a little bit more thank you so much um superintendent skipper for making yourself accessible um in terms of phases in terms of it being an option in terms of actually transitioning in terms of readying professional development with the teachers and then while building capacity while building this collaboration homeschool connection it does feel like I can see the whole child I can see the holistic um working on different domains of the child right so Community Home school um so I personally have a deep appreciation with the approach that you guys have just I I want to understand like in terms of budget today um are we addressing it with you know proper numbers have we taken into account how many children estimation of uh kids with disability and how yeah um I'd love to address that briefly if it was okay um I think one thing that we did this year through this sort of inclusive education process is really revamped some of our process and procedure around planning the budget for English Learners with disabilities so um in particular in each of our schools we did an analysis of the number of English Lear disabilities and created sort of separate um sort of service groups for them with the expectation they might be served differently especially with those who are are highest need um English disabilities in substantially separate settings and identified specific staff that were plann to support students in those programs so try um is this supplemental to the classroom yes so that's not the that's not their home room teacher um so you can imagine potentially a substantially separate strand that has four or five classrooms now might have in addition to the Home Room teacher in each classroom they might have an additional um educator who's just focused on ESL and English language acquisition for those students disabilities teacher teacher parer and specialist right and that that person might not be full-time in one room right they might be moving between those four different rooms depending upon the exact needs of the different um students in each room um because many of the students require sort of 45 or 90 minutes a day so then you know you can cover a couple rooms um with one teacher but the idea in this year's budget and what you saw on the $2.1 million of new investment was to make sure that every school had those specific targeted resources and um Joel's team was in each of our meetings making sure that um each school had a plan for providing services to multilingual Learners with disabilities um sort of in tandem with their plan to providing services to multilingual Learners without the schill thank you it's my time yes right I was just going to wrap up and say second round really interested obviously in measuring efficiency and what plans you have for those metrics and that question is Broad so uh looking forward to the second round thank you perfect thank you Council Fitzgerald the floor is yours thank you chair I appreciate everyone on the panel thank you for coming today um I'll get right into some sort of high level general questions that I think folks are asking as I don't have to tell some of you but as many of you know I have two kids at BPS as well and hopefully a third on the way um so I am your biggest cheerleader and fan and there's nothing more I want than for all of us to succeed right um but uh I guess one of the questions that why push inclusion Now with uh the budget cuts and lack of Staffing and I'm asking for you to have that opportunity to answer because I think that's what some people who don't understand it as deep um of sort of just asking on a high level of me um so uh push inclusion now with the budget cuts and lack of Staffing why was why was that decision made so um when we look historically at our special education and multilingual Learners with and without disabilities uh who are in for the most part are black and brown kids what we see is a legacy of decades and Decades of underperformance and lack of support and so um this this was part of the area that the state brought to us uh when the conversation was happening around receivership with the district uh and asked us to really take a hard look at this because they felt that um you know we we could no longer continue to perpetuate what we were doing that led us to look at what other large districts like ourselves are doing around the country the involvement of the Council of great City Schools who sees the world from the 80 largest districts and what we we got back from the amount of time that they came in and they looked at our systems was that our systems were in fact very broken uh they were broken for our kids our special education and multilingual learner students were not getting access to the same highquality grade level because they were in these small substantially separate settings and they were just not getting access to what their non-disabled U counterparts were getting so and that panned out in the data as well right like we saw that so that's where we began the Journey of the plan and it's actually a plan that was they looked at our enrollment they looked at how we enroll students they looked at How We Do choice they looked at our schools and the programs and where they are and they actually said you can't fix this all at one time this is going to take four to 5 years of phasing in intentionally and they were the ones that came up with the grade level conf configurations so that it's k z K1 K2 7th 9th and then the following years it starts to roll up uh so that the full implementation you know will ultimately take including the planning year 5 years so that's why we are where we are thank you um and is there a reason we're not in a in a pullout model uh for both special ed and elll where you know the students can work in the small group I know you just mentioned that in those small sub separates that they weren't getting the the access to the quality education that they need but in the what I see is in the inclusion models there's still the you know for the record to my wife is a special education teacher right so these these questions are definitely mine these are my questions um why is it not a the the pull out model where they're in with the general ed class and then they pull out to work on whatever area they may be spe need specialization in yeah so you actually have a lot of different models going on you actually do have pull out happening in both ESL and in special education uh it really depends on like if you have a critical mass of students if it's one or two what the schedule looks like uh who the resources on the ground are uh we really try we have 119 schools we have to work across them to what's going to make the most sense for the students and the Educators so can I also add I just want to say that the inclusive educational planning team in their school document they identify what resources and what services they're going to deliver so we do have kids that are in partial inclusion so we have full inclusion which there is um Team teaching or there's a teacher going pushing in or pulling out and then we do have some kids that have IEPs written still if your if your wife is a special education teacher that's getting those level of services so they're also still getting some pullout Services as well okay so the the inclusion and the pullout model can are can coexist yes correct okay and that's what's currently going on as well with this phased in approach correct okay understood um what is the inclusion model going to look like in terms of support staff and I know you touch on it briefly and and how often there will be an additional teacher and I know that you just brought in this co- teing model too so I guess explain to me how co- teing works with inclusion in terms of having multiple set because the way I think people feel about this is if you're going to do inclusion you have to have more more adults in the room right to to to kind of take care of folks that might need the inclusion teaching or the special ed and then but still continue the general ed class as you go on um and teachers times aren't being divided that way right um and so between co- teing and the additional teaching in the room uh what does that look like in terms of support staff and how does that how does that classroom operate right so it's really about a how the Educators work together as a team and so um depending on the students that are in that class and what their individual needs are you might have you know students who have emotional impairment and they're going to need uh you know a different kind of support around accessing uh you know uh the the curriculum but through their behavior piece like Behavior Support uh whereas if you have students with reading um you might need you know more of a specialized learning situation it's really going to depend on the students in the students need same if you have multilingual Learners who are in the classroom or multilingual Learners with disabilities um you know you may need you and depending on their level ESL teacher could rotate in a special education teacher or different special education teachers could rotate in you might have speech that rotates in um or you know so it really everything gets driven by the student and the IEP is kind of the student map to what is needed so that may answer my next question where special ed students and E students needs are different right and so is the inclusion teacher if you will supporting both student types or is there any L support teacher and are there any other small groups in separate settings happening I think you've sort of answered all those but still if you could just touch upon it in general yeah so it definitely could be small group that's happening there could also be an inclusive Strand and a substantially separate strand in the same school like that can exist where there's inclus inclusion or inclusive Ed happening in a classroom I think one of the things that CF CFO Bloom kind of first started with was when we did the initial blesso when we did the initial allocations um though around just kind of compliance of the actual Services everything we did with inclusive Ed was over and above that so that's where we added nesl that's where we added in special education as a way to allow inclusive Ed to happen um so in in that particular case there's almost always additional support going into the school or into the classroom one last question then a comment um what kind of interventions are in place for the regular ed students who are not making benchmarks Mark um and I guess there's the you know specialist in reading and things like that but um how how do they who do they go to or how are they being held to standard right so the the issue we were having in BPS um where students all students we're not getting access to grade level highquality instructional materials in order for us to lift the system it's not just inclusive Ed it's actually looking at the foundation and saying kind of from a multi-tiered student support side what does every student need and so we have now mtss uh in every school we have a team that looks at what those supports are they are intimately married with student support in looking at students who are brought to the table that might be struggling could be a gened student could be a special education could be a multilingual learner who are struggling to either uh you know gain momentum academically or they might be having some Behavior challenges or just socialization the first place that comes is to mtss and student support and they're working to make sure that the the menu of supports the school has it could be a mentoring program it could be a reading Specialists it could be a um uh an you know a a be like a a behavioral consultant like it could be a variety of different kinds of supports that they build their menu out and then as a students the student support we try to identify what's going on for that student a lot of times for instance if there's behavior and say it's a gened student and that's how it's manifesting what's underlying it is often a reading issue a literacy issue or it could be a social emotional like a trauma issue so that's where that mtss team is really there to kind of develop the menu and student support works with them that has the nurse on it that has the school psychologist on it right to sort of say what are we seeing at the student level does that menu actually work for the kids that are in that school right that's that's the work we've been working to raise right the field for the last couple years I'll just say in my comment before I return it back over is it I love it right it's all great stuff in making the kids my my fear is each parent and even each classroom not knowing because it's so specialized and because each school can be different it's who you got what issues they have and what are the specializations that they need and tailoring this menu which is great for each individual kid but then all of a sudden the parents say well what what classes what rout is our class taken right and it's different from the other class uh that could be the other third grade and so the parents don't have that camaraderie of saying oh well what are you like we're not going through the same thing because we're having a different specialization and it's almost like there's no um fundamental like theme throughout where all BPS parents could come together and say oh yeah I know what you're talking about well no cuz we're doing it different at this school or even in this grade and I guess it gets confusing even the way you described all the different ways you could give the services to the kid um to any individual kid right it to me it's like oh man that could get overwhelming fast for an individual parent and to to understand what it means for their child versus the child leing next to their kid right um and so it might be a future issue to you guys there all I think that's a fair point and question and concern but I I do think that what the superintendent is saying that there are um kind of like standardized approaches in terms of what the school can provide in terms of support so every school has an mtss system every school has a student support system um with this implementation of inclusive education I think that it will provide us to be able to leverage when we think of the team approach it gives us an opportunity to leverage other members of the team so I think of the school that I I just came from and and I I gave a presentation to um some central office staff the other day and I was saying that you know people are afraid of inclusive Ed you hear like what is how is it going to affect my child my child doesn't have an IEP my child's not a multi multilingual learner how is it going to affect my child but I just want to say like it's possible it's happening and it's working so like a school like the Mata hunt which is definitely where the district wants to go in terms of this inclusive Ed approach we've got dual language we've got ABA we've got inclusion classes we've got run the gamut of what there is but then you think of a student who I have one student in my mind who just recently got accepted to the um o'briant school and when he first came into the Mata hunt um he transferred over to the um Mata hunt school because his mom became a par at the school and the school that he was at before didn't have the structures that we had um and so he was kind of like slated to be in a sub separate classroom but the structures that we had at the school we're able to look at our intervention team looking at the mtss looking at student support what we looking at his individual needs through progress monitoring all the students take the map this is where this student is how can we help support him and his peers create a group for intervention provide those intervention supports okay map testing for mid year where is he now where is he in end of the year and so kind of taking those structural that we have in place that will be at all schools how can we make it tailored to help support that individual student and so here we have the student who was supposed to be slated for a sub separate classroom who is you know on his way to going to an exam school next year so we do have or we're creating systems that are um standardized across the district but we're creating systems where each school can leverage the staff members that they have to provide that menu that the superintendent is talking about thank you I would just keep heiring home the fundamentals of that structure right in simplest way so the parents going to say but that's a great success story thank you for up thank you chair thank you uh council president Louis Jen the floor is yours thank you uh Mr chair and I want to thank everyone for being here just a few things I want to highlight I think councel pan when he was asking about Transportation Dan Rosengard I just want to Big him up I had a meeting with him and Carla tinle and I really do think that although we as counselors when we experience the transportation issues it looks like a mess and it often is a mess but I do think that there's like really serious work being done there to make sure that we are efficiently using our resources to make that sure that we're using technology and advancements and improvements to make sure that our the money that we are using for transportation is more effective and going to those who are actually riding the bus right because there's a lot of inefficiencies because it's covering more so I wanted to shout out Dan for that um uh Chief so happy happy to see you and I just want to Big you up for all of the work that you did at the mat hunt that really is an exceptional school um there aren't actually enough dual language seats in the madun because I'm always trying to refer a new arrivals to see if they can and there just aren't enough seats and so I just think that um it is just really a model not only for the city of Boston but for the country I also believe recently in an educa in one of these settings um we talked about how how the data actually shows that students gened students in inclusive classrooms perform better which I think is really interesting when you're talking about what diversity means and all sorts of diversity and exposure to that diversity everyone right we all do better when we all do better and I I I think I just want to highlight that and I want to continue um studying that to make sure that that is it Remains the Same um I also just want to shout out cuz I always want to shut them out the school librarians I was just talking to them and we have a lot of work to do still I think there was a promise made by the school committee to make sure that every school has a library and a librarian and we're not there I think we're still a third of the schools without libraries um in other here and the hearings to follow I will continue focusing on our buildings um building new buildings for our kids making sure we're getting the number of schools right so that we are not only being cost effective but making sure that our schools have everything that our kids need and our classroom a gym uh library and we're missing the mark uh too many times so I I want to my first question I think I want to thank my colleagues I have a lot of questions about the inclusion model to make sure that we're getting making sure they're adequately resourced you know as much as I think the data shows that gened students do better need to make sure that they're adequately resourced and we also need to make sure that we are providing the right professional development initiatives for our teachers in inclusion settings really in all of our schools but we need to be make sure that we are doing that are we working in part parnership I I know that there are new Partnerships with Carol school like what else are we doing internally to make sure that are we're preparing our students for inclusion classrooms sure so um I want to say that as I said before that we are working as a cross functional team um we recently also had conversations with Landmark because we know as our kids get older that they need support and executive functioning right so we're working really closely in terms of focusing on reading comprehension written expression but also and that's what the staff is that via the staff that you're focusing on that with staff so that they can focus on it with like teachers and parents yes so we're looking at building um professional development modules for our teaching staff and our support staff in those areas um to really be explicit especially at the secondary level for some of our students who are moving on and the Gap in terms of their readability is so wide um so I want to say that we're not focusing on the Carol school because it's not a certified school um for students with um disabilities um but we have worked in partner with right now we're looking at Landmark we also have worked with other um Wilson language um we have a contract with them and their training for our teaching staff um we also have a study that we're working with Mass General Hospital with our dyslexia study so we have lots of Partnerships in the community um that we're looking at what we need to do to build our capacity but also look at screenings for our students with language based disabilities so I think that as we move forward and we look at our instructional methodologies we want to make sure that we really have some structures and systems in place as to how we're evaluating our students because we don't want to evaluate students and identify them for a disability if in fact they do not have a disability we want to make sure that we're really focusing and when we talk about that lease restrictive environment and eligibility so those are some of the things that we're looking at um but we are partnering within the district but we're also working closely with our partners in teaching and learning to build that capacity around Equitable literacy and reading and language development across the board from Early Childhood all the way up through elementary school so those are some of the initiatives that we're currently doing thank you and then a followup to that is I know that I was visiting is a Kennedy School and heast Boston and he talks a lot about the burnout that our staff is facing and I think this inclusion model and you know adapting to new arrivals I was just speaking this past weekend in Dorchester to a teacher who was at the Trotter and who was doing her best to like welcome in um uh the new arrivals I'm thinking about what we are BPS is doing to address the the new burdens that we have have on staff on our teachers and how we're dealing with that burnout we I think I was there in part we talking about tutoring models and how outside tutors and how maybe in certain schools it's more palatable now because it's harder for teachers to you know they teach teach the class and then afterwards you know folks aren't as interested in sort of the additional just because of of experiences of burn not so what are we doing to address that right so I think there there's a number of things and I'm sure you guys want to jump into but um just the answer to the the last one as well is like we also use the PD for teachers it's been dedicated for inclusive Ed and it will be going forward so the mandatory PD um so our what we know is that our principles are trying to carve out as much time we're also looking creatively to see how else we might be able to create more time that all teachers could benefit from PD relative to inclusive ad uh and that's something we're working on with the Union um terms of the the teacher piece we we're I mean are we're trying with our rcd with our cultivation um in diverse unit to make sure it ranges from support for teachers who in the pandemic were licensed under emergency licenses and now extremely stressed and trying to figure out how do they maintain and continue to supporting them so that they can get their lure to offering uh lots of creative Partnerships with our post secondary uh be it Simmons be it Leslie I mean there there's just so many of them that we then offer for teachers who want additional training uh deescalation is something that we now offer for all staff that are student facing uh and we're even looking at like our safety care and how to expand that for teachers who tend to be in like our ABA or our EI kinds of strands that might um need additional deescalation supports so it's really trying to look at where the teacher is what type of classroom they're in uh the kind of support we're giving I think the other is we have an employee assistance for staff that came out of lots of conversations with our Union on that um and you know really just trying on the regional support network model to identify the group of schools that a regional soup has they have some uh dollars in budget themselves under Dr eon's uh supervision and Leadership to be able to then give those dollars depending on what the need is for teachers so if they see like I know in region one several of the regions actually did a big training for their Paras because they felt that for classroom teachers if the more they can invest in the par professionals the more support the classroom teacher with a par would have um we also just got like a $6 million Federal grant through the state uh state and federal to be able to do a pipeline for Paris to become teachers so the more training that we can provide Additionally the more supports social emotional supports we can give uh in the form of our social workers our bilingual supports uh social worker uh in the S programming depending on the program the more wraparound support we can give and the more capacity building we can do for teachers to give them the skills to be able to support their classes then you know the the better the field goes so it's something we're very active with and and constantly trying to listen and hear what those need points are thank you superintendent I believe my time is up I have questions for you uh that I'd like to ask around Equitable Services but I can hold those off and I asked in another hearing if um at a hearing we're talking about our school buildings we could have from you numbers we're still waiting to figure out what schools are closing what's not like what what do we feel like the cost of iny is for the city like what are the number of schools that we need we're still waiting on that sort of what is the plan and I'd like to know what those what that is and what we're think about in terms of um our school buildings sure May 22nd we're going to be updating school committee publicly with um what we see as this first phase of the long-term facilities plan um I'm happy to have a we'll be coming back here May 21st yeah coming back here to do the same 23rd 23rd 23rd even better thank you yeah yeah so after they yeah after they after the superintendent updates the school committee uh she'll be returning here to update us on the long-term facilities plan awesome thank you great uh counselor Weber the floor is yours thank thank you chair I just superintendent you do you have a few minutes I do yeah I I'll definitely stay for first round yeah okay uh I just I didn't want to take up the chair's time with the superintendent but um so yeah thank you very much for coming uh you know I'm a BPS parent uh I had uh two kids um who were both in BPS and they both went to the Mission Hill school so some of my questions are based on my experience with the school so we're talking about inclusion you know my experience at Mission Hill was as a full inclusion school it resulted in some good things and some Terrible Things uh and so what is you so when I hear inclusion I think this is a great idea but you know for someone who went through that uh what is your um you know how how are you going make sure that the same issues don't come up I mean it just seem like they wanted inclusion but they didn't have the infrastructure in place uh and there was a you know sort of uh they didn't want to give kids IEPs it just seemed to not they didn't have enough resources so what's your response sure so I I think the difference it's night and day right to hear uh which is you know all 119 our schools will be participating there's uh be a continual progress mod monitoring on inclusive planning the IPS are a good check and balance in every school that uh the schools clear in what they're trying to accomplish how they're using resources what their resources are and where there's issues so those are going to all get reported back the regional structure the the way that we're doing that as well it really lends itself to an accountability that hasn't existed in the past in the same way because you've got a school soup and a team of uh District folks who are supporting Ing and therefore to see things and for problems so um I do think that the broader field or context is very different than the context from autonomous schools or any school in the past where they sort of had their own charge their own thing that they were doing um but there wasn't necessarily a tie back to The District in all of that okay and I I guess um uh for for chief seal I do do you think that there do some schools have a reluctance to give ie P have have in the past that's a difficult question because I I don't I I I I gringe and I think about oh my God there's no such thing as reluctance right because um we're obligated we're obligated to make sure that we've ensured free an appropriate public education for our students if they have a suspected disability and we're obligated to make sure that we've evaluated the students with a comprehensive evaluation to make that determination so um in answering the question I I would say absolutely that should not be a practice because that is not the best practice and it's also illegal um so if there is a process for us to evaluate our students and if we're not providing IEP services or finding students eligible in providing those services and I think we have a moral obligation as well as we have a legal obligation to make sure that we've identify our students to receive those Services yeah okay I'm again I'm asking about this based on firsthand experience just just for something that's a little bit different than what was happening at the time when what happened in Mission Hill was happening on the back end so obviously CH knows all the instructional stuff about special that I don't know but the thing that I do know from the the backend operational side is for a long time BPS created systems and structures that divided kids based on their disability and said you can go to school here you can't go to school there because your IEP says this that or the other and that put pressure on schools to say that we want our I process to say something different either so that the kid can stay or that so that the kid has to leave both of which are bad and the big thing about this new process that's different is for the vast majority of kids and the vast majority of IEPs nothing changes about where they go to school yeah right and so at at a Mission Hill for example right if something changed about that student's IEP to say they needed majority of their time in substantially separate education they would have to leave Mission Hill the district rule was was they had to leave right that was the old way and that's not the way then going forward right that's part of what's changing that I think will help alleviate some of this pressure to do things that are illegal or just wrong right because they're not the right thing for kids and we're creating the systems and structures to make sure that those incentives are aligned will BPS keep data on uh requests for IEPs that were denied would allow us to 100 yeah do you keep it now I we do yeah yeah no 100% I mean I I think actually I think that was a uh an unfort like a very tragic exception there but what I will say is our data actually points to the opposite which is we too quickly go to an IEP to solve a student's perceived issue as opposed to using multi-tiered student support as it should be so the student can stay in general education yeah thank you and and it just you know my my son after Mission Hills at Boston Arts Academy he's a junior he's having a great experience he gets all the support he needs my my daughter's at the curly so I you know I'm not trying to frame all of BPS uh like this so I I just I had another question so before going to this inclusion model did BPS request uh information from school leaders principles about what kinds of Staffing they would need is just a yes or no yes okay and then so so what I've been told is that BPS is is meeting like 40% of the Staffing requested from the school leaders is that accurate or not 100% I don't you know yeah I mean the thing I can say for sure right is that there's always another thing we wish we could have done there's no way we're if if we're meeting 100% of what people think a kid might need someone's lying right we always wish we could have more money to spend another thing to buy so yes we were not able to meet the needs of every single request that came in because that the job of the schools in this process was to request a lot right and then that gave us the opportunity to review and understand what are the things that are most needed to meet the needs of kids right and then really go back and identify those things that are required and put those in I think there was a lot of blurring in the requests with positions that had previously been funded on Esser and were no longer being funded because Esser went away so what happened was school communities would put those positions onto the IP so I I think the it was a very very thorough process and I think that what at dayn was funded was over and above the compliance of the student the additional supports to be able to do a team approach in the inclusive Ed environment for the grades that we've allocated there were some schools that put forward a proposal to do all grades we can't do all grades right now we're we're really trying to focus and kind of roll out very systematically is there a plan to increase the resources for this inclusion like every year for the next several years this will be what we bring before this body as the major investment yeah okay yeah I just uh I don't know how much time I have left um 30 seconds okay um uh I guess so so I in my in my district uh and we're talking about maybe not using a one-sized fits-all model but parents at the Manning School are very concerned they have an inclusion model they're being told they have to change it you know what's your um response to them I know you looked at this one so there's been um several meetings with the Manning school to look at their inclusive plan and also to look at the level services for students that are at the Manning School once again as we said that there are certain students that have been at the Manning school that needed more services and that we've had to reconvene teams to look at level services for the school is my understanding that the Manning school did receive the appropriate IP allocations for Staffing um given their enrollment numbers and also given their class size in order to meet their obligation as part of the inclusive planning team okay J is are you done with that process or are you going to work is there more work to be done with the Manning there's ongoing meetings with the Manning and also with their student council and working with the um principal but my standing is that the budget process has completed um in regards to allocations I would defer to yeah so the the thing that is ongoing is review of how student needs are changing and additional funding for that so if if if the need if if nothing is changing about the level of need then that that part of the budget is set but we do have money this is the reserve um that was mentioned earlier is um to identify when we identify student needs that aren't able to be met new student needs that aren't able to be met in the existing school or program right then we have money in reserve to hire more teachers or par professionals or other staff to support those needs okay I just close with one comment thank thank you chair I just uh we heard from in the in the capital uh budget hearing that if schools are going to be closed it's going to be maybe announced in May but that those schools won't be closed for another full school year so families will have a chance to you know prepare corre and so I just yeah I that was an answer that I like to hear and I'm glad you're uh absolutely uh supporting that because I thank you thank you Council Weber um a lot of questions around inclusion um my question is H how would BPS measure success for inclusion plans um and how how would you guys track it and communicate you know your success or where we need to improve how you guys communicate that out so measure and then sure so I mean I think ultimately it goes back to IEP goals with the students and if they're if they're making those goals same with language goals for our multilingual Learners if those are being achieved at the student level then we know that we're doing something right I think where we find that there may be situations and the reason we have a lot of the reserve is because there might be students who come in or their needs change and that wasn't able to be considered at the time the IP put its plan forward that's why we're holding those additional resources to add back in but this really is about students from the beginning to the end and whether or not our special education students have the and multilingual Learners have the choices and most importantly are making the academic progress that their counterparts are and may I also add I I really think it's also important when we talk about that Continuum Services then clearly as we look at building our design for service options for our students we want to build that capacity for Continuum services and how are we going to measure that metrics we're going to measure the metrics because we're going to look at our decrease of students black brown elect next students being placed in the most restrictive settings so we're hoping that through our interventions through multi-tier systems of support and also through our investments that we're going to look at providing services to keep our students as close to general education as possible but the IP team makes that determination but we're going to be looking at our reduction of placing kids into the most restrictive setting but once again that is an i team decision and for through the lens for multilingual Learners I think of like Student Success being increase ELD levels through access progress monitoring through map scores for students attendance if kids are happy they're coming to school um Early College access especially for our secondary students in climate surveys the kids from grades three and up are going to tell us how they feel awesome and H how will we report this out oh we'll be reporting this annually right as part of uh school committee we'll also give a written reports to the council or present whichever you prefer awesome um how are we making our classrooms that are staying sub separate more inclusive are we bringing them in with general education students for a lunch recess or we're currently doing that now um there are opportunities for some of our kids and then once again that's done through the IEP process where some of our students may start their day in a Learning Center in a Genet classroom some of our students may be also going to electives like art music gym with their peers to be more inclusive um so that's really the culture and climate of the school but it's also Our obligation in terms of working with school-based teams to make sure that our students have as much access um with their peers as possible and I'm a big advocate for expanding um their learning day um so how are we connecting our you know you know students with uh special who need special education supports with outside tutoring that go beyond the school day right so I think this is really this is exciting and this is part of kind of our Hub model in general is really trying to look at how Partners at nonprofit uh can be for-profit but Community Based are able to sort of help um vacation times evenings after school uh we have all kinds of mentoring tutoring programs going on but we're using the schools is sort of the model by which identifying with the community what they would like so when the community says we want lots of opportunities for that after school period of time then we're in these areas then we're working to bring those in so there's lots of active conversations with the business Community with our nonprofits and partners we had a zoom of it had probably about 400 Partners on it last month that are just eager and wanting to come into BPS um and I do have a few questions for director M Wayne um um but also next year um one of the requests from the council U was to have a budget book um on BPS can we can we yes see that next year awesome for sure heard great question as director mcway comes down um for children on IEPs who might be navigating uh a new school placement what more can we do to support those families um so this would be like a choice I mean it's it's I mean you can speak from the IEP team side right and the supports that are in there with the coast but I think any student that's coming into a new school setting our family Liaisons the grade level teacher it's going to it's an allaround right to help that student feel like hey this is my new school here's the resources that are here uh in a sense of belonging and I'd also add um working closely with our welcome center and our family engagement Center I I see that there's so many initiatives and wraparound services that they have provided to our community and to our families to help them to navigate that process and as I said before we've really work closely with that Center and also with the family lisons to make sure that we've provided the necessary support and trainings to help them understand what they can do to also help to guide families but also to support them along the process as well awesome and then for Universal prek um how are we servicing um special education students and if they're not inside of BPS uh you know program how are we getting them the services that they need sure counselor I actually also want to introduce to Tiara Das who is the universal prek uh director and she's also serving as the interim um director of The Office of Early Childhood at Boston Public Schools so we're going to tag team on the answers tag team it all right um so let let's start with um your question about special education so right now there's a number of ways that we serve young people who have an IEP in our upk classrooms in the community based setting so one is they came in with an IEP maybe they came in at 4: they had one at 3 they've left a BPS School they've come in from a different district and we're able to serve them in our community based sites for speech OT PT and some Behavioral Health Services um Tiara and her team have actually been working on expanding that to doing um some pre-academic minutes um but we haven't yet implemented that so that's young people who come into BPS and into our community based settings already in an IP and I'm going to let Tiara talk about the process for identifying young people if they start in a community based setting and then move um onto an IP yes so if they start the goal is to try and keep them in the setting if possible and so we follow the BP s procedures to have the observations the child fine and an ideal situation as mentioned speech OT Behavior Health we try and keep them in their Center based location awesome and this is I guess a question for both teams uh we might have some mergers which might leave some schools vacant are we exploring um any sites where we can expand uh more upk seats yes always um one of our fastest growing populations are K zero students who need early intervention or substantially separate setting so um we need to look at every place we possibly can um because we we're not going to be able to bring anything like newer buildings online quick enough for the rate of the population that's growing anything from about expansion yeah it's a lot of pandemic delay okay all right well thank you um and when we're exploring s just want to Advocate um District 4 we have a lot of schools um and but also a lot of demand yeah um with that said we'll go to public testimony I know superintendent Skipper you have to leave thank you for being with us thank you to all the counselors for your question you'll be on May 23rd right uh yes whenever you tell me I'm back yes all right thank you um awesome we'll now move forward with public testimony uh when your name is called please come down to one of the two podiums and state your name neighborhood in or organization affiliation um please speak into the microphone and please keep your comments uh to three minutes uh Denise Cabo yeah Ain going to get uh hello good afternoon my name is jasmir Lorenzo and I'm a resident of South End as a mother with um a disability in the past I had my IEP with with the condition of learning of retention that lack of retention and learning I had 136 occupational therapy in the office of special education and also um in the administration in Rehabilitation Vocational School in Puerto Rico so um being able to receive all of those kinds of therapies I was able to overcome little by little all of those um disabilities barriers um and I was able to continue with my studies and also with the help of my mother who was always there for me and I am who I am right now thanks to her [Music] and that is why I'm here today I'm here to raise my voice because there are stories like mine who they cannot speak but I was able to continue with my studies because I was able to receive early intervention and the appropriate support and that's why I'm here I'm asking all of you City Council Members the who represent us I'm asking you to put pressure to the education District so that they can provide everything that the students need the special education students they need to receive this appropriate um Services muchas thank you y Sonia Medina [Music] good afternoon my name is yaha Rea I live in South End I have a daughter who goes to uh the Boston Public School I am here uh raising my voice in behalf of those parents who who couldn't make it messic we want what's best for multilingual learners for um special need education we want more bilingual teachers we want more par professionals we want more par Professionals in the classrooms because there's so many students they're just over they're overworked and there's a lot of students and a lot of demand of the students the teacher has to do double the the work has to be like two two jobs um it because we need more we need more money we need more money in the budget so that we can provide those resources um in in the process of the planification this it the IEP how do you call it the team implementation the plan so we need more um help for that process so when you um approve this budget I want you to please keep in mind the English language learner students I want you all to have them in your minds because we want you to take them into account thank you thank you um yasmir Lorenzo okay okay hortencia Calderon uh I'm going to read a message about a mother her name is Sonia Medina she couldn't be here because she had an emergency with her son but she didn't but she didn't want to miss this opportunity to express her um opinion um so mother I'm a parent mentor and I'm the orchard Garden school so I am here to ask for more budget so I am here to ask for your attention that we need more funds for our multilingual Learners so these multilingual Learners cannot forget their native language this as a mother I want to appeal to ask you to be sensitive because I am a volunteer I am given my time I'm volunteering in a classroom in my son's school and what I'm seeing I'm seeing a classroom that has 25 students and what I'm seeing in those uh class in that classroom is I'm seeing many students that are recent arrivals coming from different countries and this is something very concerning that those kids they cannot understand what the teacher is telling them on December 11 2023 I had an experience that filled me with so much sadness and frustration when I saw the students were taken the map exam or the map test and I saw some of the students they did they didn't know what they were doing they were not able to complete this test just to see in the little faces of those kids to be in front of a computer trying to achieve their goals but they couldn't do anything it was very unfortunate that also the teacher wanted to do her job but she couldn't do anything because she only spoke English and the kids in that classroom speak different languages and we need more bilingual teachers this is not the education that we want for our kids for the future of our students we need you to take this into account it is in your hands to approve this budget to approve this just and fair budget to give better opportunity to our students don't forget them gracias thank you uh Johnny mcginness hold on one more yeah Johnny sorry good afternoon chair warell Pepin and members of the boss Boston city council my name is Johnny McKinnis I am the political director for the Boston Teachers Union I am here representing Educators in the Boston Teachers Union who have shared their concerns about this BPS budget and how it will adequately fund inclusive education special education and services for multilingual Learners the btu believes in inclusion done right which means fighting for fully supported and funded inclusive classrooms the services our students deserve and putting an end to a single teacher having to do the job of two or more Educators at once which deprive students with disabilities and multilingual Learners of the additional specialized support they need and deserve our Educators have shared a few things and these are are quotes from them even when our inclusion planning team presented all the service minutes per grade that are already in students IEPs we were still not funded for the special education services needed that exist another individual next year my class is moving to an inclusion model and I was told my students on IEPs will be supported by a licensed special education teacher who will split their time between my class and another class when they are not supporting my class I will be alone but I am not currently licensed in special education one more I am interested in whether my school will move to a transitional bilingual dual language model and knowing more about the timeline and organizational aspects of the shift to do it right we must have systems materials and training in place with the dedicated leadership necessary today we ask the council to one ensure that this budget will provide students with with Services they deserve without relying on a single teacher to do the job of a special education ESL and general education teacher alone we know of no other District in the nation that does this second ensure that this budget will increase opportunities for students with dis abilities to learn alongside their general education peers third ensure that this budget will provide our multilingual Learners with the sheltered instruction and bilingual education opportunities they deserve and last ensure that this budget creates a more inclusive District without sacrificing the Integrity of the teaching profession and our students Futures thank you thank you Johnny uh glennis MOA they change the order of names but same numbery Stevens roley um good afternoon um City counselors um a part of the parent Mentor program at St Stevens youth program my my name is ortensia Calderon I live in Rocksberry I have two grandkids that goes to the Harley School my granddaughters have had have been so lucky to be able to attend a school like the Hurley because the Hurley is one of the few bilingual schools that the district has my granddaughters speak and they write very well in English and Spanish the example of that school should be seen looked at as a model as a model that can Inspire so that the District of Boston can promote the hiring of more bilingual teachers however the harly school has been seen as a model school but sadly what's happening right now is that they're putting our principal and the governing board in a very difficult situation because they have to make Cuts in their budget and they can't hire more bilingual teachers and Par professionals [Music] I want to ask the members of the council to please to intervene and to think about to make a just a fair budget because this is a dual language school which means it demands to have more bilingual uh bilingual teachers but paradoxically what's happened right now is that a lot of bilingual teachers are being lost for the lack of funds thank you very much for this opportunity to express myself thank you anyone oh John excuse me one more one more okay go ahead [Music] good afternoon my name is Su I'm a um parent organizer with the St Stevens youth program and I am going to read a testimony of theise a parent who was here but she had to leave to pick up her kid okay good afternoon my name is Denise carabo I live in roxburry I have two kids who attend BPS thank you for this opportunity so I'm here today to advocate for my kids one of them is at the black Blackstone school where in less than six months my kid has had three different teachers and right now the one who is in charge of the classroom is a par professional Mr Navaro and thanks to him he is bilingual I've been able to be more involved on what's going on with my son's education but every time there is an evolution this par professional is not authorized to provide some informations or plans about my son's future ucation I am here because I know that they're coordinating in how to create the budget for BPS and I would like to ask the city council to put pressure on the district on the educ educational District so that the district can involve the families about and inform them about the programs that they exist in the schools especially for mult multilingual students such as what are the advantages disadvantages of each program what is BPS doing about the lack of teachers in the different changes that happen in in the different classrooms and that that affects students especially students with an IEP with which these are kids with special needs and that we want schools to have have the necessary staff to comply with the needs of each student as competent uh representatives of the authority please help families to have a budget that can have that can improve the outcome the academic outcome of the students the emotional and social learning development of each students especially the English language Learners and English language Learners with disabilities thank you very much thank you um now we'll go to John Mandel John mud mud yeah mud Mr chair members my name is John mud I'm a longtime education advocate in Boston and um some of you know that I was a member of the elll task force uh of the school committee who resigned in protest over bps's failure uh failed approach to the education of multilingual Learners and multilingual Learners with disabilities by the standard measures BPS has been failing these students for years over 90% of English Learners and over 90% of English Learners with disabilities have failed to pass mcast tests in English language arts and math large portions of English learn English learning students have not met their learning goals uh under the access tests there was a fundamental difference between the approach of the researchers Advocates and uh Educators on the El task force and what BPS is proposing we believe that it is critically important to build on the foundation of native language in the instruction of multilingual Learners as a better way to learn academic English as the basis for becoming bilingual and biliterate for those who want to achieve that goal and as a fundamental way to show respect for the identities and cultures of multilingual students the research the evidence and the data support this approach despite this BPS is implementing English immersion in general education classes with ESL support and let's be clear ESL support is not instruction in native language in fact the research shows that many programs that use native language in instruction from early or late ex of transitional bilingual education various part Mo uh ways of doing dual language programs have better outcomes than English M uh English immersion with ESL support sadly I think the BBS English immersion ship has sailed I don't think you'll be able to turn around it around completely but you can insist on delay until you get answers to critical questions what is actually the evidence that English emerg proposed under the BPS inclusion plan will benefit these multilingual Learners and multilingual Learners with disabilities before a BPS has delayed implementation to just K1 K2 students this year or next year excuse me but before BPS authorizes the expansion of the plan to other grades BPS needs to give you and all of us an updated report on the results of the mcass and access test for this coming year or the the year that is just passed and the reports on those test results uh this coming fall and I would recommend that your committees on education and committees on accountability schedule a hearing to hear those results and if the results are not positive then let's all rethink where we go there I've given you all uh uh copies of the testimony there are critical issues as the parents have pointed out in expanding bilingual teachers and and what are the targets what are we going to do we report on diversity by race and race and ethnicity but we need to report on diversity of language in the Boston public schools and expand that approach thank you very much for indulging me thank you John I'm sorry about um getting your last name wrong listen lots of people can't believe that I have that last name mud isn't too common thank you again sir thank you uh now we'll go to Virtual testimony starting with Roseanne Tong hello I'm one of the nine BPS English learner task force members who resigned last fall since then we've joined forces with the teachers union and Community organizers to form the multilingual Learners Alliance and it is in this capacity that I testify today my comments reflect my research expertise and my experience as someone who lost my first language first I want to share four Undisputed long long-standing facts about multilingual learning being bilingual is good for the brain the more home language used in the classroom the better the outcomes El's who reach fluency outperform those who were never El's and the 2017 look act allows BPS to bring back bilingual programs that develop home language and use it for instruction and to add English but only 7% of multilingual Learners are currently enrolled in them we need to replace regressive policies like English only and leaving multilingual Learners in syn or Swim situations with ones that respect bostonians who bring cultural and linguistic wealth to our communities my two main points today are ask families what they want and provide additive language programs that support biliteracy first the BPS budget should reflect authentic family and educator engagement families and teachers should understand the four Undisputed facts they should know that learning English does not mean you have to lose home language then when presented with what language programs exist and work best families should get to choose which ones they want in BPS schools my second po my second point is given bps's stated goal of biliteracy the budget should reflect more additive program options at each grade level the biggest bottleneck for bilingual programs is Staffing it would be a win-win in terms of cultural and linguistic responsiveness to develop future Educators from our communities for our schools through pipeline programs and bilingual endorsement Pathways that work let me end with the habit of putting ourselves in the shoes of others if any one of us moved with our schoolage child to let's say Norway I'm hoping none of you speak Norwegian what would we want in terms of schooling for them besides learning Norwegian would we want our child to also continue to improve their English would we want our child to be able to communicate with relatives when we visited Boston in the Summers would we at least want that choice I'll just closed with an offer to meet with any of you so that we can have a true dialogue about what evidence-based policies and programs that build on the assets of our residents rather than take them away thank you thank you Rosanne uh Jakira [Music] Rogers good afternoon my name is Jakira Rogers and I am an East Boston resident additionally I am a member of Boston education Justice Alliance and committing to advancing educational Equity students with disabilities are entitled to receive a free and appropriate education and this budget process must include Equitable Investments to meet the individual needs of all students this budget process M must acknowledge and affirm the intersecting identities and needs of all students with disabilities this process must Advance systemwide efforts that celebrate and honor neurodiversity in BPS so that every BPS school and every BPS classroom is equipped to meet the individual needs of all students with disabilities disabilities cannot be ignored to balance the budget Equitable inclusion cannot happen if there is an absence of investment and our young people with disabilities who can and will Thrive if offered high quality services and support that are tailored to meet their needs all students deserve access to the least restricted education setting both historically and presently black and brown students have been over represented in substantially separate learning environments not only only does this budget need to address educational segregation the district must meet the needs of these students who have experienced the most disinvestment this budget must be rooted in equity repairing harm and meeting needs this budget must strategically address the lack of educational access that black and brown students have it must address the various ways that black and brown students with disabilities are excluded and pushed away from their education simply placing students and general education settings is not enough how is its budget going to address the exclusionary practices Prejudice and that exclude these students in the first place what is the investment in addressing education equities and disparities that exist today for black and brown students that are rooted in racism and anti-blackness what professional development and un what does professional development and unlearning look like to dismantle the racial disparities seen within the district through the inclusive education plan the student makeup of classrooms will look different how does a budget ensure that these students with disabilities are psychologically safe and the budget process can be an opportunity to reimagine what access and opportunity looks like for students with disabilities additionally this process can work to address long-standing systemic issues that have led to the achievement Gap and education disparities that exist in BPS today thank you thank you and now um we'll go to the additional t testimony we have a few recorded videos that will be played now good afternoon my name is Paula or and I live in Dorchester my children studied at BPS and today I'm here to advocate for the school of my nephew jomez because my sister feels very good about the education the bilingual education that he is receiving at the Hernandez School because my nephew has a good um communication with um us as family that don't speak English but next year they're cutting positions in This Magnificent School and today since you're talking about the budget and um I'm here today to ask you that as you are approving this budget think about the benefits for this incredible School that has this incredible Duo language program um and support for all so please don't um don't cut the the money or the positions the Boston Public Schools budget is now in your hands and I want to ask you that as you approve it please don't forget about the multilingual learner students and the multilingual Learners with disabilities they need your support thank you good afternoon my name is Sim Rodriguez and I am an immigrant from the Dominican [Music] Republic I work in an inclusion classroom at one of the Boston public schools in the first grade I am here as a mother advocating for more support for students who are English language Learners this can be accomplished through a fair budget our school like so many schools in Boston is being affected by a lack of Staffing and a lack of resources the lowest graduation rate is that of multilingual students you have the power to change this thank you good afternoon my name is jolanda seos from Dominican Republic and I am representing I'm representing my grandchildren I am here today giving testimony that the budget the Bost for Boston Public Schools needs to take into account our students who are MultiLing who make up more than 40% of students in Boston and they need to be given more consideration and better resources graas thank you my name is Carla C I am a parent at Roger clap school as a parent we need to be involved in the decision making and how Title One money is spent we also need to know what is happening with the unspent money of the title one budget why is that money's not being sent title one should be spent for multi lingual learning needs staff and service my name is ikam I have student in public school I'm so happy to give my testimony today uh I will talk about my experience like a mom who has IEP student all student who has IEP need support like emotional support to avoid any problems with their personality um that's why I'm here to tell you that when approving their budget for Boston Public Schools uh you need to remember our special education students they need more attention better program thank you hi my name is apra mall I'm a parent at Roger clap elementary school and I feel we need to have a conversation on what programs are in our schools and we should be able to make the information and decisions and way the pros and cons of each option we ask that the BPS develop a school um by school process that engages families in educations to understand the benefits of bilingual and create a program based on the needs and best interests of the families thank you good afternoon city council my name is Jessica stasio as a parent of a VP um as a parent of a VPS student I am of behave supporting parent on the multilingual plan learning program so that they use to allocate budget according and ACC currently in the native language of our children Implement them as a teaching in the first years of elementary school as well as for students who have immigrate to this country for the first time and are faced with the reality of learning a new language like is English thank you very much good evening my name is Elsa Cru I'm parent Mentor in ocher Garden school I do my support the multilanguage learn program because when I come from cavor two years ago my daughter had a problem interacting in her classroom she didn't speak English and her teacher only spoke in English she didn't have any support so I support family with the same problem I ask for your attention and to take into account this cases had have been happening in order to reduce cases of frustration our student thank you for opportunity I want to thank everyone who came to testify um I think we just had a hatrick we had in person um recorded um and also written testimony and that it's encouraging and makes me excited and happy um so thank you for everyone who submitted testimony wrote in or showed up today I'll now like to turn it back over to my colleagues for another round of questioning um we'll probably have another two hours so hopefully those I'm I'm joking Bo my wife might actually kill me if that's true uh so Vice chair Pepin the floor is yours thank you chair [Music] so I just recognizing the fact I love getting the fact that we have Spanish speakers here I don't always get that in the council chamber so just want to thank them for that um I believe it was councelor Anderson that brought up the question about data um how do we just keep data of the IEP students and their needs and how can we better serve them and it made me think about um our the disconnect that exists between the Health Care system and our schools in general um has BPS considered the idea of partnering with our local hospitals thinking specifically BMC who have a lot of community health workers and social workers who are already doing a lot of Outreach to the families and understanding the exact needs each family have um I understand that there there may be obstacles such as fura and Hippa that you know we have to work around with the state to make sure that we are in accordance with that but there's currently Six States Massachusetts not being one of them that are currently using the inck model the integrated care for kids model um where there is a health system that has integrated school and health records for all kids which has led for the public school system of those six states to just have a broader understanding of the exact needs of each of their students have we explored that idea or anything similar to that I I was I don't think we're quite the right people to answer that question for you but we'll take it back and certainly get you an answer absolutely what I'll do is I'll give it to the chair and that would be great hopefully get a a question for you all for sure um and then my final question is how does this budget reduce the over representation VPS students in substantially separate classrooms and increase inclusive opportunities specifically for Black and Latino male students and English Learners do you want to take well I'll start with uh multilingual Learners I think the approach that we're taking with this inclusive Ed is really intentional in terms of providing services for students and I think with my department really thinking of how we can Branch out more native language access for students across the district I think it's really going to create better outcomes more intend like more successful outcomes for our students cuz when we look at the data of where we are especially for our secondary students it's not where our families intended their children to be right so I was talking about that parent earlier that came in and their number one they're number one concern is education for their children and they want to see their students have joy access to native language support they want their child to graduate they want their child to have as many opportunities as their monolingual peers as in Early College access um AP courses so those are the things that I think my department and and this inclusive Ed plan is really ensuring that there's more access for the students across the district because before and traditionally when we look at the data it it wasn't really existing for our students and and I would briefly add I think that what's really impactful is the fact that we're leveraging our resources there's so many resources and um services in BPS from our strand Specialists to our inclusion coaches to our mtss coordinators and I think what this plan's going to do is going to leverage those resources so that we can work strategically to meet the needs of all of our students and and also in terms of making sure that as we do that that we build capacity and relationships with our families moving forward thank you so much for that you're welcome um with that I I don't have any further questions I all you with my time to the chair thank you uh Vice chair um now we'll go to council FIS jerro the floor is yours thank you chair uh as you guys have gone through this you know the going into the inclusion model and identifying ways that we help help this transition occur what are some of the the the secondary or tertiary effects that we should keep an eye on that we you guys must have identified hey you know it's not all great news right as we go forward here are the here are the potential hurdles that we can have do you have you guys identified anything like that and can you educate educate us on what some of those might be um I typically ask departments to sort of right like just be honest with us in terms of what we see as the hurdles ahead and so that we can be ready to either help um in any way that account can right and as a body to support um mitigating those impacts or potential future issues I think we talked about it here before I think partnering with our families and our parents and our caretakers to really value the importance of attendance when we look at one of those drivers if our kids aren't in school and if we're not motivating engaging them and working in partnership with our families to get them to school that's going to be a huge huge challenge for all districts so I really just as a community just really instilling the importance of us working with our families to help and support them so that our attendance rate can improve because we need to get our kids to school in order to reach and teach um the other factor is just working closely as a multidisciplin cross functional team to really make sure that we continue to build that coherence so that we're um working closely with our school leaders and part of the levers of our quality School Improvement plan is really looking at those levers in terms of attendance and also equal literacy so to me those are the key factors reading literacy language development for our students and also being culturally responsive um to the diversity of our families are really some of the focus areas that we're working towards collectively to really develop those relationships and also commitment to our families and to our students great thank you uh chair no further questions council president thank you so much um Mr chair for uh leading this and for honoring uh public testimony um and thank you everyone has left I was going to use my little Spanish and say um I I I guess I would if there can I ask this is the right panel and the right meeting to be asking about Equitable Services correct given that students disability yes um I have questions about what we're missing out on uh administratively when we are not and to the district when we are not being responsive to the needs of students with an i AP or with a learning disability within BPS in the right framework that then Force es them to go out of District or not forces them to go out of District but let's say you know I know that there are certain time windows in which we must respond to a family's request for placement or assistance for IEP and if that doesn't happen if they find an out of out of District either private school or another school district that can accommodate them not only do we have to pay for that education that is sometimes upwards of 50,000 or however much a year but we're also on the hook for transportation and that is Department in BPS that I think has a lot of those inefficiencies for us when it comes to Transportation when it comes to how much we're spending on students so I'm wondering if I could get an assessment from BPS about what we're doing to really restructure the Equitable Services Department to make sure that we aren't unnecessarily spending for students to be educated outside of BPS when we have the classrooms the ability and the wherewithal to teach students not all students with disabilities perhaps there are going to be other programs at other schools that are better models for them but I know that there are a lot of students that are receiving Services out of District that we could be teaching in District so I I do know that as we look at our out of district and we look at the students that are placed out a district that we started to analyze the the level of needs of those students and what we need to do to build capacity to re-enter them back into BPS um there is the process as you did mention chair that um parents do have a right through the Bureau of special education appeals to reject IEPs and we do have a process where we do work with our parents to validate the fact that we do have the services and the resources and often times it it's typically most likely due to compliance and non-compliance exactly that's non-compliance as to why sometimes the decision is made for a family member to um to file a complaint against the district for not providing the services um so we we recognize that as an area of priority for us and we're really trying to work strategically to build capacity within our schools and also within our staff to make sure that we're monitoring the progress of our students that we're ensuring that our students receive the services and that we work with the school leaders and the school-based teams to be more proactive instead of being reactive and as well as working with teaching and learning to look at what are the tiered interventions that our kids need and the mental health support that they need in order for them to meet with success okay I have a I I've never done this before I have a bit of a trick question for you so well W pass it that David no no no it's for you I'll give trick question so what are the questions so let's say we're meeting now and we have a we're meeting again on this in 6 months or like unfortunately let's say next year what are the questions that I should be asking you in 6 months time or next year to make sure that we are actually trying to make good on this promise of getting better at meeting those needs of our students in house and in District so that's a huge ask right and and there's so many deliverables that we're looking at I I really think that if you're looking at just outcomes for students with disabilities I think one of the um one of the parents and or one of the chair had talked about outcomes right so we're looking at the map assessment for our students we want to look at also child find we want to look at how we're meeting the and and my colleagues talked about early intervention and Early Childhood Services want to look at the needs that we're meeting the needs of those students and that we're servicing them they're getting them place because we need to start with a beginning in mind if we start how about on the compliance end and in terms of compliance then we want to make sure that our schools are in compliance that we're having I AP meetings we're meeting the timelines and the deadlines for those meetings we also want to look at our data for lease restrictive environment we want to make sure that we are pushing inclusion supporting inclusion that we're going to our data reflects that shift that we have increased capacity for our students to be placed in a more inclusive learning environment and that we also ident we recognize that some of our kids still need more right so we want to do a comparison regarding how what percentage of our kids now are inclusion classrooms what are partial inclusion and what are substantially separate classrooms and also look at what percentage of our kids in at a district and also I'd ask for you to consider not just that they're out a district but what exactly are those disability categories of those students that a district that the district are not able to meet their needs within district and we're looking at that now in terms of looking at post-se secondary outcomes for some of those kids thank you so much I appreciate that answer and I uh I you're going to hold me accountable oh yes I mean not just you I know it's not just you I know it's the district and also this is I think a topic of another hearing hopefully in six months aside of the budget Seasons that we can really talk about what we're doing here um and if we're using that office in the way that is you know I've heard about it from staff I've heard about it from consti from staff within the office I've heard about it from uh from parents who come to me when they can no they can't find placement inside of uh BPS and so I want to make sure that we're doing this right because I also think that it's tied into the transportation conversations we're having earlier so we'll we'll we'll talk about this more in 6 months we'll file a hearing order because I just want to make sure that we're getting this right and I want to give space to the parents who have uplifted this as an issue for my office um I have a question I think this is for chief G about our C Class class rooms um I've been really it's been a really important part of my work um to supportting Champion life classroom for students with limited or interrupted formal education for new essentially for our new arrivals a lot of whom um are of Haitian descent um and you know we had a situation where at the Taylor School in matapan which is the school that I went to you had students traveling from Brighton and Alon who needed um the SL classrooms uh I think and they were of uh a Brazilian descent but there were no slave classrooms in Alon brighten I think now we are I think moving to you know last year I know that there was an addition of s classrooms an addition of a social work allocated to SL classrooms which I think was phenomenal what progress are we making in s classrooms what do you see is on the horizon given what we're seeing at the Welcome Center and what we're seeing in terms of folks coming in and how can we on the council better support sure thank you for that question uh s is Ever Changing um a civil war somewhere can kind of affect our need for S um as we have our newly arrived students especially for the secondary students we're realizing that that interrupted education or or or um instruction for the students is has impacted them and so there is a need for additional s classrooms we've actually had because of this influx of migrants we've had to petition the state to increase some of the S classrooms um we're looking to see regionally where can we place s additional SLI classrooms for secondary level or for students that are in grades three through five but one of the things that we noticed too or we're looking at are the trends of the language trends for students for life so I know at the Taylor School traditionally there were a there were a lot of students of Haitian descent and so both s classrooms were of were language specific for haian creel and then there was was kind of like a lag of students matriculating or the need for students in the Life classroom and so then it became a s Haitian Creo and multilingual program but then now with the trends so our office is really on top of looking at the trends and how we can support our students to provide that native language instruction for them there um working with schools working with regional superintendents to kind of tailor towards the needs of our migrant pattern our migration patterns and needs of the students so what yes definitely with in February when we had that big influx of students uh there was definitely identification of Life students and so we've been kind of tailoring and altering the programs so that we can meet the needs of the students thank you thank you um Mr do you have time for one short question go ahead okay um this is around upk and um I see Senior adviser main here um I and I see the the the handout I'm not sure if another colleague answered it but where are we in terms of like what the need what the what the demand is for upk and what we're able to offer what is the vision and if you could just repeat for folks here I don't know if it's great schools. Boston but the One-Stop shop um the One-Stop Shop website for upk Early Education that was unveiled in matap pin um a few weeks ago I think that would be helpful and and then I'll also say while you're coming to the like my first year in budget with um the BPS with BPS someone we were talking about how BPS is bad at comms because there are better things happening than than we are talking about um that makes me happy as a Boston public school graduate and we talked about and it was a joke but it's one that I actually took very seriously about you know branding with onesies about you're welcoming someone's kid into upk I don't know if kids in upk are wearing onesies anymore but like that idea and so I I actually thought that it was like a brilliant idea to make BPS more attractive because often times there are more upk seats available than parents actually recognize so like they're marketing around that so th those are my questions okay that was a lot of questions if I forget as we go through feel free to ask them again um and I think you might have stepped out of the room when I introduced Tiara Dias who is the director of upk um she's also serving as the interim director of The Office of Early Childhood so together we're going to tag team your answers um so we through upk have made a commitment to um meet the needs of three-year-olds and four-year-olds in Boston um and we've begun each year over the past several years we've added between 250 and 300 um seats in upk both in our community based classrooms but also last year we added an additional 100 in Boston public schools for three-year-olds um this this year we added 250 and we're um taking a look at all the changes you just heard um that are taking place in inclusion so expanding the opportunities for three-year-olds to participate in BPS classrooms means there may be fewer seats for four-year-olds so we're looking at that this year at neighborhood level as well as at a population level to see where the seats are that we might want to prioritize in the coming years so this sure even though we've done 250 we're sort of taking a step back as the year goes to see what happens as we roll those out T would you I would just add that we about 50 of those seats are in family child care so in the last year we've also expanded to add into family child care um your second question was about the enrollment platform and rebranding right and so I think um the enrollment platform which if you haven't had a chance to look at is great starts it allows both upk Center base as well as non upk Center based families to enroll the goal of this website is in within this year it will also be available for Boston Public School families so they'll be able to register as well and to your point that's where a lot of the rebranding is going to happen so love the onesies but countdown is killing it with the yellow t-shirt true right so we don't want to start a competition there and really thinking through the ways that we Rebrand to talk about this birth to eight alignment in a much more cleaner way which would include the yellow shirts but you're right Universal prek and Center base is rocking it and we just we want to make sure the marketing includes that as well part of the other thing that we did with great starts is you can do three things one is you can find out what the different kinds of child care are as everyone has so beautifully demonstrated today in this room not everybody's from Boston not everyone is from this country and not everybody knows what family child care is so the first place that you go tells you what your options are what those options might mean for you as a family um you know what is what are you looking for what do you need for before care and after care what language are you looking for so it's really an opportunity for our providers to tell us more about themselves to tell families more about themselves um so that people can begin to make the right match if you start learning and then seeing what your options are when your child is born and those options also include your neighborhood School you begin to see what your BP op BPS options will be as your child grows and so putting it all in one place not only meets the needs of families to find everything but it also meets our needs to begin to show families what's possible what the next step for them might be whether they're going from a 2-year-old to a three-year-old from a four to a five or as Tiara said ultimately from a seventh grader to an eighth grader what what are the options for me and my child and my family and advisor you gave you gave raw numbers for upk availability and additions but do you have percentages by demand and availability we can get that to you okay through the chair I'd love to know those numbers thank you thank you uh councel fernance Anderson the floor's yours thank you um Mr I almost said president it's coming it's coming um that's right it's all lined up it's next time it's next time next year next term next term all right so um what's the matter what's the matter with you so what happens with uh so the fy2 um BPS program funding is calling for 40% reduction um in spending toward sped uh uh uh and cover coverage uh Prof power professionals um with the loss of 15 FTE positions but um the 2024 initial collective bargaining package calls for hiring more paers um it's one of their first priorities listed can you explain these Cuts in the context of BTU calling for increased hiring anyone sorry my apologies let me just I'm just pulling that up um so fy2 has a 40% reduction specifically specifically uh toward bed coverage power professionals yeah I'm not uh losing 15 FTS I'm not totally sure where that's coming from my apologies um from the numbers okay the um we can come back to it I can ask um our uh budget analyst to get us the exact number is that what you looking for you want to exp yeah I I think I'm just trying to figure out which um yeah that would be that would be very helpful thank you okay um hear that okay no he was out all right um krishma I we're trying to figure out that there was a 20 in FY 25 BPS program funding is calling for 40% reduction in spending towards fed coverage uh Power professionals and um that means a total loss of 15 FTS um trying to figure out like since 2024 initiative collective bargaining package was calling for um hiring more Paras and um okay you found it I found it awesome found it um so um one of the things we I thought I found it and now I feel like I didn't find it I apologize I'm going to have I might have to get you that answer tomorrow okay um but I I will get it for you guys um I guess you know can you tell me what are the current minimum staff requirements for par Professionals in gened classes and substantially separate classes and does this budget reflect the funding needed to meet those requirements uh yes the require are um every k0 K1 K2 classroom regardless of um setting have a PA professional um so special education general education bilingual regardless of setting has a par of professional and then so special and bilingual special bilingual and general k0 K1 K2 every classroom has every classroom will have at least one par yes is so does that mean with this consolidation that you've crunched the numbers and now you need less you need 15 less or I don't think it's I think the 15 is coming from somewhere else I just I just need to double check and Chase it down we are seeing fewer pair of professionals throughout the system overall for sure I'm just trying to um nail down exactly which 15 these are so I can get you the specific answer on that I will say though that um we had a lot of PA professionals budgeted on Esser um and we are losing a a number of a number of those positions as srns okay can I can I also interject to say that we also have a very significant High number of par vacancies as well okay which would offset which would offset the the reduction it doesn't speak to the factor of the number needed though say that you still had like 20 positions open right it still doesn't speak to the fact of hear you and I what I can say for certain because I was a part of the process is every required par professional position is budgeted on the general fund um so the reductions we're seeing are positions that are not required for minimum compliance that being said minimum compliance is not our goal right we're aiming for more than minimum compliance but I can say for certainty that every uh par professional position we're required to have either by the btu contract or state or federal law regulation we do have what's minimum of compliance so it's uh a pair professional in every k0 K1 K2 classroom regardless of setting um uh par professional in every uh special education sub separate classroom that has more than eight students in it uh par professional in every bilingual classroom that has more than 20 students in it and uh one to one PA of professional for every student who's required to have one under their IEP when you said you found it what did you find I thought I found exactly what that number 15 was coming from but I I don't fully understand what I'm seeing on my my screen so I just need to get you the specific answer on the 15 tomorrow no worries thank you so much um just a followup um under the account detail for programs departments and account supporting special education they're adding um 117 FTE for special education AIDS um I'm curious to know give the various hiring concerns we're SE we've seen um over the years with BPS what um what's the plan um to actually hire out these positions within the next fiscal year I really appreciate that question so um some of these um a chunk of these positions are positions that had historically been um general education AIDS and so the the position is actually the same and the same pair of professional may be in it um but the position has been Rec from general education to special education as a part of our inclusive education roll out um so we don't actually need to hire more Paras for those positions right so that's that's a big part of what's going on so priority now being on special exactly and we think we'll be able to utilize our existing pair of pool to fill the majority of those positions or Yow same okay thank you um just programmatic questions here what happens um for example if more parents opt in for inclusion like if they're like yeah we we want that um then you can hire capacity yes what happens then if there's more if you can't hire enough fast enough but now you have like an overwhelming of par saying yes so in in general what we try and do is um we very rarely see that universally across the system uh so we might have to redeploy resour ources from one place in the system to the other the other thing is we have a number of resources that are centrally funded to provide like coaching and support and if we ever get to a place where we are need more direct service than what we have we will start to redeploy those people away from coaching to be direct service providers I think that's happened once or twice in the nine years I've been here quite often we're able to find capacity at other parts of the system to be able to redeploy to make it happen understood and same with the reverse right say you you don't hire until you need right so the the reverse would be move yeah what what the reverse is a trickier situation because we actually do try and hire if we end up with less demand than we think MH right we've we we try and hire based on our projected demand so we actually do hire before the families show up and so what can happen and has happened at times is we will see um a school hire for two classrooms and then there's only 15 kids on the first day of school and the question there is what do we do so we'll have an individualized conversation with that school looking at our demand data and say okay maybe what we'll do is we'll only open one classroom for the first day of school and we'll have the other teacher reassigned to other support duties in the building to support cuz we think you know eventually that classroom will open or we think you know there's more kids coming so we're going to open both classrooms right away M exactly what we do depends on the school and we'll have a detailed conversation with them that doesn't happen often it's not quite at the level that you can completely redeploy someone though it's just classrooms are less empty single teachers not being qu qualified to certified for ell or uh special ed um we heard one of the testimonies today from BTU saying that is that is that ever a possibility is that is that reality I'm sorry I was trying to get the single teacher classrooms where they're not actually they they're left alone without qualification without certifications the or special ed to handle a classroom and sometimes sharing Paras or I would just if I may respond so I I I also want to kind of talk for a Quick Sack about your initial question too as why it's so important that we're rolling out certain grades in terms of looking at Staffing capacity and working towards the human capital based on the grades that we're rolling out um to address the first part of your question in regards to going into classrooms that where teachers do not have the license and if the student is considered to be in an inclusion classroom then it's our responsibility to make sure that we look at making sure that there's a staff member that has the license to provide the services so um as um Sher um as we talked about before that means that there's a possibility that there could be a push and pull out or using the resources from that school for moded special needs teacher who has the license to go into the general education classroom and to provide those services and or um move the student based on the level of need to a classroom that has more inclusive services that has the seat capacity so there's those options but a lot of coordination no wonder operationally you guys is a lot of money um food contracts thank you um are we still Contracting like other states for our meals so the um our main vended meals provider is City fresh the Boston based any others outside of State I mean uh yes we there's some of our food comes out not all our food comes from in state I guess the question you know how are we doing with looking local loal we right now uh about more a little more than 10% of our food budget comes from New England grown and produced products in addition to the vended meal provider being a Boston based company our goal is to procure about 30% of our food locally at least thank you what about equipment current charges um other current uh you it's about 15.3 million what is that what is it for uh equipment other current or under it's under equipment current charges uh because it says other other I don't know what that's for so equipment you said about 15.8 million 15.3 a total of um external funds and yep I was looking just at general fund that was the problem that um uh and also uh just to go back someone on my team got this really quickly thank you Athena uh the reduction in 15 is a a special ed coverage PA professionals was a mistake in our data entry for the tables not what's actually happening those 15 positions are continuing for next year so what's other current other current for equipment um the the main [Music] thing equipment all funds other current charges yeah other current charges oh um in the program budget mhm sor to workers comp preserve account other current yeah so the other current is a variety of um a variety of different smaller benefits that uh run across our Union Partners so there's a Housing Trust Fund for our custodians there's U I have to pull the full list for you but there's a variety of oh very interesting um through the chair could I could we get a list yeah of everything in that category the breakdown please thank you I'm sure it's somewhere but I don't have it I it might not be in the materials provided to date so we can certainly get it for you thank you so much um last question thank you Mr chair um I guess ESO supports the parents um super important same concept um about uh sorry disability um children with IEP um supports if I can't help my child with their homework in you know English or the proper language then I don't know how's parent University doing and what what are the resources we're collaborating with to make sure that our parents know how to teach uh their child uh assist their child with homework at home in their language or in English sure we've partnered with the office of community and family engagement so especially with the influx of families that we've had in terms of keeping for activities for families providing ESL classes for families at the shelter as a form for throughout the district at some schools and community centers we're providing ESL classes for families as well there's definitely a need because of the influx that we're not keeping up at the pace that it's needed but that is definitely um one of our priorities to continue to ensure providing supports for families so even during um like I said at the shelters we're providing it there and and and throughout the schools so the families on and the families student I'm sorry the school side councils are informing families of these opportunities but we would love to be able to provide more um for families as well so we're not we're not complacent or satisfied where we are my my final comment I'm not going anywhere I want to hear um my colleagues questions but um I've always found it interesting because this is a new program in terms of going into shelters and then there's this like need for capacity for esol but schools are not a clinic or you know you shouldn't be wholly like social worky type right um however because you talk about the whole child then we are talking about this wraparound concept of working with the family and if we don't have the resources to support our families and our children are you know are not set up for Success so I do want want to talk to BPS about how we can create a a a a larger network of esol classes as well as what parent universities used to do uh where they taught parents how to teach their kids homework in their language um and I feel I I I do feel like beyond beyond the need because that doesn't address who like all the people that's been waiting right the sheltered thing is sort of newer so um I really appreciate your work um I think here today uh your your responses has been a testament of like you know amazing professionals that are uh trying to bring this to another another level um I really appreciate your work with matter hunt I did a lot of work there um with clients and um appreciate you as well if I if we got information let's keep talking let's try to figure it out and we're all trying we all we all have the same goal right yes for the best of our children in Boston absolutely thank you I look forward to that partnership likewise thank you so much thank you um Council fan Anderson Council M here the floor is yours yes and I'm sure you can see that councelor Anderson and I have the same energy we start off strong and we're going to hold you down but at the end of the day I think it is important to recognize that for us right we have lived the realities that we're talking about here today we're both moms we're both immigrants we're both English language Learners we're both hoping and praying right that under our leadership things will be different for those that we serve right so hope that you understand that the level of passion you know and uh and uh presentation at least I'll speak for myself comes from a place of frustration because we know what it's like to sit in this chamber and the only thing that changes are the characters that are in front of us but the things for the people that we serve it feels like it's molasses drip drip right and that's where the frustration comes from from me especially because having worked in the education advocacy space working with parents who were then knocking down those doors um and trying to see change it if feels like a for me a sense of responsibility and making sure that my time with you all is both getting things on the record speaking for those who can't be here absolutely and asking difficult questions because our job in case people don't know the job description of the city council our job is to be the checks and balances to the administration our job is not to give a pass at the administration our job is to hold the district and to hold the city accountable to the people so always understand that for me I'm always going to take my job serious and when I come here I come here to fight because that's all I know how to do sorry I I just want to validate what you shared with us today and also to say that I don't want to speak for my colleague um Joel but I too am a former BPS student I too am a family member here and and raised in BPS I understand the needs of our students and our families and I was part of the whole busing when I was in Roxbury going to West Roxbury so that's part of the reason why I return to BPS because I don't want to be that drip I really want to make a difference I'm committed to our families and also living and breathing and being part of the struggle I understand what that struggle is and what it means to our families and to our students so I can tell you personally and profession that I am committed to working in collaboration with all stakeholders in the city and most importantly more so to our families and to our students and I'm encouraged by that and I will say as well as a product of multilingual Learners of two parents that went to doorchester high when Dorchester high before Tech Boston was Dorchester High my parents came here in the 70s were products of busing and I too am a Boston public school graduate I too believe in the infinite potential for students in the district and that's why I come to work every day fighting hard for the students um it it's not a job that I take lightly yeah no I appreci I'm a graduate of dester high all right so okay so now that we got to know each other uh a little bit more but I want to I I want to underscore that peace around the revolving door that exists here in BPS is that when people who deeply care about the work speak up sometimes they're showing the door out so I hope that you have thick skin and you're ready to fight like hell because it's going to take that fight to stand up for our families and to stand up to a system that was not ready or prepared to embrace all of us so I just want you to know what you're up against because I've only been here for 4 years I have seen the mass Exodus of people and some of these folks have been folks who I've worked with before they got into those positions so I just you know just to let you know that change is not easy especially in a city like Boston and so I commend you for ready to fight because it's not going to be easy but I'm here for it and I will be here to fight alongside you and sometimes fight with you and fight you too but anyways my questions okay so BP PS has asked schools to go through and and and the good thing about me is that I bring the voices of the people into these spaces because I think it's important um and this is one of those examples so bpss um has asked schools to go through an inclusion planning team process to Envision a truly inclusive um environment yet it seems like we have F funded less than half of the position schools have asked for and then I'm just curious given that inclusion planning teams consist of Educators on the ground um who know what their students need how are you um able to account for the current numbers of positions funded truly meeting the needs of students with disabilities what does that look like I I I would just say from the from the money from the money side um you know I my experience as a educator of students disabilities comes from teaching seventh grade happen at Charter School 15 years ago so probably not the most upto-date strategies maybe not even then uh but I think one of the biggest challenges we're facing right now is the fact that we're planning all of this for the first time this year and we don't have the new IEPs yet and we don't have the data right does that make sense to plan I mean I I mean just from a logistical standpoint I think this has been held up I mean this is is so I've been through four collective bargaining negotiations nine budget whatever we call these I think we keep getting stuck in this chicken of the Egg of like waiting for the perfect enabling conditions and I think what I can really appreciate about what we're doing now is we're just saying okay this is the best information we have we're going to start we're going to keep things in reserve to fix it as we find things that are broken but we have to start now because this is urgent work and it can't wait and so I really appreciate that about what my colleagues here have brought so I I'm going to be curious for from from a data collection standpoint I'd like to have a better understanding of kind of like what the rubrics is going to be to measure success right I think that that's really important um so I just want to offer that for you all to consider I do want to ask one more question before my buzzer goes off um what happened to the 18 bilingual programs that BPS proposed to desie for um FY 2024 2025 which ones were implemented right and for the ones that will not be implemented why not um if if any and what will they Implement in 2024 and in the future can you talk to me a little bit about that sure that's a great question um so I will say that we have put forward proposals to desie and we've been working with schools to engage them in implementation of these programs and so for implementation for 24 25 school year so we're rolling them out so there'll be a set of programs that will be implemented for this upcoming year and then there's a set of programs that will be implemented for 25 26 school year so for 24 25 school year um we know that the margarita munise will be adding a seventh grade next year and so we put in for a proposal for S and dual language because they'll be adding that dual language grade so that will be implemented for the 20 upcoming school year then we have newcomers programs that we currently have that are at Brighton High School uh East Boston high school and I I we have three New Comers programs right now um that we will have implemented for the 2425 school year and really highlighting the ESL curriculum supports social emotional supports that we'll have and so we put those forth to desie we're currently working on the implementation for additional programming like traditional um bilingual education dual language that will be implemented for the upcoming school year and that gives us more time for Community engagement because it's really important to be speaking with families ensuring that we have the proper ESL curriculum that's implemented um working with just the whole school community and and just being on point in terms of the resources thank you um I I want to note that my office uh worked with Bata the school that you guys mentioned earlier this year uh I feel like this year was like we've been here for a year earlier in this hearing situation and we I come from a place that I have to do to learn and figure out what we need to do differently and Bata is an exceptional school and I'm glad to see the work expand but we had to um do a lot of wraparound services and helping them identify nonprofit partners and organizations to help meet en close some of their their needs which is what our office is finding ourselves doing right now working in collaboration with Pastor Hamel from um a church in matapan working with um migrant um newcomers and we created a program that provides academic enrichment to the students so and it's not just around academics but it's also teaching them how to acclimate to the culture because we're focusing so much of our energy and academics but what this program is doing is also socializing and helping to helping the fam's transition into America and I'm curious as as we're talking about these conversations what what are you all thinking about doing it in terms of supporting the whole family when it comes to acclimating to the American education system sure we we talked a little bit about it earlier so I just want to go back to Bata and then I'll talk about the family so in in looking at what principal um hellat is doing there at the school and working with the community um he's really kind of like an out the-box thinker and he really knows what he needs to do to ensure that his students are successful adjusting school hours um working with the teachers and earlier the superintendent was talking about how we're going to have Bata East because he's realizing that there's a lot of the students that are coming to Bata in the Bay Village are actually coming from East Boston and how can we meet the needs of the students there because of hours they work just ensuring that they're they're there in accessing the programs and it's a and it's an alternative right an alternative ed school and I think that that is where this uh the district needs to strengthen their efforts is on non-traditional Learners right um and I know we're talking about El's and and special education but I also think a lot of our students end up in those alternate Ed spaces and I think that there's there's some room for growth there as well um I I do have one more question and then I want to uplift a young woman who has I don't know how in the world she found me but she found me on Instagram and she's at binka and she's 19 years old um her parents one her she's here unaccompanied she's on her own literally and she um is about to lose her housing right um and she has interrupted education interrupted English she doesn't she doesn't have a strong command of the English language and she is on the verge of being homeless but because she's 19 years old the supports that she has are limited and I think that that's something that we hear a lot from students who are at B at Bata or at binka that some of these young people are aging out of what would would call safety nets so I'm curious about what the district is doing to support those students who are don't have parents who are 18 and 19 and are living on their own and juggling to to stay here in the city of Boston what does support look like for them yeah so I can't speak to the so there is cross function support that we provide to families like we're talking about the ESL classroom ESL class and stuff but what I would say is for this student um working with the office of community engagement working with um Chief Corey McCarthy's office to to really figure out how we can help I need her to have a place to stay she's 19 years old and she can only and she's paying for a room right now that is about to be evicted on Jan on June 1st so I'll connect with you after this but the Hearn office um for our department we can figure out and that whole team will be here tomorrow morning at 10: and I will be here right alongside them to we follow you directly about that tomorrow morning okay you know I will too okay so I just want put it on the record that I want that child's house so that she can fin she's almost done with her school and this could be the one thing that keeps her from graduating which is the case for so many kids who come to this country with interrupted education and they have to work or figure out how they're going to survive so this is a really good example of some of all of the issues that that we're we're talking about and then can you just talk about IP allocations and what what accounted for the difference with in what teams asked for and what they got so I can start off quickly by saying that they started with each school did a self assessment um in order to identify what their priority areas are and then they looked at data based on their configuration Maps based on the level of programming and services that they have on their schools and then as they identify those targeted grades k0 K1 K2 7 and9 then they looked at what would be working closely with our Panda team in terms of projections of enrollment then they work towards looking at determining what they would need for Staffing in order to meet the obligations of those targeted grades yeah great so I always say that Boston is resource rich but coordination poor and I'm so happy that we have Early Childhood here because there is a pathway right especially around espe like early detection and like how I'd love to hear how you all are working with the mayor's cabinet of Early Childhood um intervention and and and just like enrollment and kind of like what the communication looks like because the work that they do is setting down the foundation for long life learners but often times in our early childhood spaces and places is where there's an opportunity for early detect ction and and supports so then when they start funneling into BPS there seems to be some sort of you know Communication in track is that happening can it be happening and if it's not happening what do we need to do to help support that so it can happen or maybe it doesn't need to happen I don't know I'm not an educator I'm not a director I'm just a parent so I don't know I yeah I do know we're coming back for an early childhood hearing on Thursday is it really child hearing on Thursday is that right but they're here now so I'm surprised like but I know I just because I think it's important especially since they're here I'd love for you all to talk about what you need because this is this is the disconnect this is why we lose so many kids because we're not talking with each other so I'd love to hear what can we be doing so I think um two things one is we actually are working together quite deeply um and and more deeply in some areas than in others and the other areas are on the way so um I think it's you know Tiara Works um in the academics department so she works for lesie uh and we spend an inordinate amount of time together um she comes to City Hall once a week and she works with us here in this office and I go to bowling to make sure that we're connected um but how that plays out for families and children um I think is most evident probably in our special education and we're working on building the same um pathway that we've built in special ed for our multilingual Learners um so Tiara do you want to explain for the counselor sort of how we do that yes so you covered some of it but I think in general you know we have uh special education working groups that include our Center based providers we have families that sit on every working Loop including the special education as well as some BPS and are you guys collaboration with each other and are parents aware of this cuz sometimes people are not there they there's a disconnect with what you all are doing what people believe you all are doing which is why I ask the question because it gives us an opportunity to get on the same page because there yeah so on one week we meet with the special education department on the alternating weeks it includes special education department families from our family Council as well as center-based providers and so there is constant meetings every week there was a meeting that that includes families uh every other week Families Center base and BPS employees so it is a constant flow of making sure that we're on the same page there's cross Department professional development that happens so we plan together so whatever professional development we're offering in BPS we're trying to think through how that's offered in centerbase and there's actually opportunities where we all come together Educators so like BPS Educators and centerbase Educators receive very similar if not the same trainings together both in the summer and in the fall so there's lots of overlap I think to your point we're working about we're working on getting better about talking about it in ways that are actually um digestible for the outside audience sometimes when we speak to each other we use a very jargon filled language that is not as accessible to our families and so part of what we're working on is being comprehensible to our families um the other thing is you know upk Grew From 250 kids in 2019 400 400 all right 400 kids to 1,500 next year that's a lot of growth um so some of what they've been really focused on in the first several years is building the infrastructure and in the last two years we've been working on explaining what we're doing talking about it working with others so the other thing I think that is challenging just as a last point for families is that um we do have some data challenges that we are addressing and um so previous to the roll out of great starts um Boston for those of you who would like to go visit it um BPS used two different systems for enrolling upk students so the previous system didn't talk to the sis system at up at BPS we're in we're still in the process of making that happen but when it does it will give all of the folks who work at BPS with families access to the same information so that we don't have some of the hiccups about knowing that someone um has an i and maybe it didn't get translated so those things will be so I'm curious to that 1,500 that's wow how many of those and you if you happen to know in terms of the students who are either special education or multilingual Learners because what I know navigating the system myself as a parent is like knowledge is power and there's people who have it and there's people who are dying to get it right so often times it's the most privileged who have access to these seats and I'm curious how many of our most resilient cuz we're not vulnerable our most resilient students are taking advantage of those 1500 seats how many yeah I would want to confirm the IEP numbers but it's like 46% for multilingual Learners and our Center based programs that are in now in to BPS that I well the goal is for them to transition to BPS I'm not sure exactly how many I can confirm the number of students that transition but we created this connector that like connects them directly to BPS so the intent is that they're connecting I would love to hear a little bit more about kind of that Journey because again going back to our kids don't end up where they need to be or they end up in certain types of environment because that's just the way the yeah pathway works yeah so the number of students that transition from the centers into BPS multilingual Learners and students with I it it would be helpful to know and chair I'd love to get this data is like where are these kids like ending up what schools are they level one two and three right like it's all about that at the end of the day right it's good for them to have that Foundation but where they end up absolutely is is definitely goes to show how impactful and how intentional we're being around Equity we can also um include the number of young people who start out in a bilingual program um and then where they move that that would be really helpful to to have and I know that I have extended my time but I stayed here longer thank you Council Mahia what that means that's right to that's right no thank you I appreciate the the Indulgence but you know this is important to me and I'm sure it is to everyone El's here so thank you just a couple more questions and I have one person signed up for public testimony um around elll can you clarify subet separate classrooms with one non-english Lang language will remain um just because it sounds like how you guys are describing the classrooms there might be multiple languages in one classroom right there might be someone speaking Spanish someone speaking um Haitian Creole in the classroom but then we've heard um from some of our uh constituents and Advocates that you know this benefits on just having that one language in that classroom so can you repeat the first part of the question um around elll can you clarify sub separate classrooms with one non-english language uh will remain or it doesn't have to be sub separate it could be just a classroom with just one English link non-english language sure so we have multiple classrooms across the district that have multiple that have multilingual Learners in there that are not language specific so we have what has been called BPS SEI where it's language specific and those teachers were quoted as bilingual and the teacher is not necessarily A bilingual educator so it could be a classroom that is a cohort of Spanish speaking students and the teacher is monolingual person but because she's teaching a classroom of that's in a language specific seci um she would be coded as bilingual but in terms of the instructional um intent or the instructional approach for those students um all teachers have their SEI um their SEI endorsement um and we are working for the classrooms that aren't language specific and like that are multilingual we try our best best to provide language access language access supports um native language supports for the students a lot of times if a classroom has a par professional we try to ensure that there's a bilingual par professional in there as well but one of the key things that we want to ensure is that teachers feel equipped and teachers fail even though they have the SE endorsement but we want to um I I want to another shout out to um Chief um Miller about from her teaching and learning and so the district iot is really working on providing 12 hours of professional learning so that it's not like you have to go to this specialized services department to get this training and own to get this training and this department to get this training but really thinking of like what are the key levers of instruction that teachers need to have so thinking of Universal Design um udl and thinking of language access and specialized Services um specially designed instruction for our students so how can can teachers really look at the landscape of their classroom and ensure that they're feeling confident to meet the needs of their students to diversify their approach um to the instruction ensuring that they have the con the teachers have the content to teach it but really how do they diversify their approach and we have ongoing professional development to provide to help support teachers to to to make them feel a little bit better equipped to support students uh thank you and we we've heard a couple of times around the IEP IPS um vers proposed versus what's been budgeted um David I think this is for you is it possible to get and I know this is something that we've asked and submitted on our Feb February 28th rfis just to get a list of what was proposed to the um the district and also what was actually budgeted for granted or enacted yeah we certainly can get you the second I can look back on the first okay and then I'm going to resubmit some of the unanswered question questions from that February 28 RFI and hopefully we can get that before we actually vote on the BPS budget for sure all right um I don't see Monica in the room yeah you can go and see if she's out in the hall um I guess I could ask this question while we while we go and see if Monica's in the hallway uh we have many parents um sounding the alarm about the new inclusion plan can you tell me about you know how do you plan on getting buying from students parents and teachers I you I I can start I I think that um we talk about transparency and we talk about really having open communication with our families we've started that through the IEP process through the team meeting process with some of our families who child's currently on an educational plan um we've also had um some family forums at bowling um where we've had um stakeholder engagement where we have co-presented around the inclusion plan and have q&as um we've also talked about working closely with our regional soups and our school leaders to host um some more Focus um questions and answer sessions within regions so that families can also come in and ask questions so really just being out there and also going to community events um has been some of the work that we we went to St Stevens as one of the community events so I think being transparent and being informative has been part of the work that we've been doing so we have more um forums or informational sessions lined up awesome uh now we'll turn back to public testimony uh Monica uh merchon um if you could state your name any affiliation or where you live and you'll have three minutes you can come to this microphone right here uh right there with the with the to my left this one yes you record uh good evening everyone my name is Monica merchon and I'm just a parent um my child is actually up here sleep um I came here today to talk about my personal issue with um BPS so as I stated I have a child she's here um and I just want to point out that there's I think we all know that we all from Boston I here everybody we know that these schools have been on the news left and right right every time I turn on my TV it's somebody got stabbed somebody got Maz somebody got shot the kids are walking out so I have a situation like that with my child and it's the second situation um in the from last school year to now she's been in three different schools um the second school was the Murphy I had to go into the school on on Facebook live and basically expose the school and show people um you know how the the principal and the school staff and faculty have blatant disregard for the parents concerns especially when it's um involving your child's safety um and even after that you know you get all of these people from downtown or wherever saying they're going to sort it out look into it nothing happens um to to and again I will reiterate the fact that it was bullying not only from the students but the teachers as well um one of the teachers left a bruise on my daughter's arm and you know when she seen it like oh can I call my mother trying to go out the room they turned around to cover it up trying to call the best team and say that she's disregulated when that's wasn't true at all um the latest incident involves sexual misconduct um I showed up at the park this morning Miss Fernandez SE me um I I approached mayor woo to let her know what's going on because I seen her on the news when the Henderson school had the um encounter you know um and she was up there saying people need to be held accountable you know and this is unacceptable so you know I thought she was the right person to speak to because I've done everything that any any if anybody asked me any question about who did you call what did you do I literally first let me back up this when the sexual misconduct happened the school did not tell me anything my child came home and told me but she told me a week later because she assumed that the school had told me right so when I found out you know go up to the School nobody wants to talk to me they did call Equity but that's all they never told the um school police they never called DCF or anybody else following School protocol basically so at that point in time I started emailing um I will tell you Angelina um kamacho from Boston public school as well as um um and Katherine scha because they were helping me with the first altercation right that still to this day is unresolved I have no police reports the teachers are still there nothing happened so she got into the Sha school where the sexual misconduct happened because that was their resolution let's just transfer her sweep it under the rug everybody goes on about their day right they basically dropped the ball now she's in this school the sexual misconduct happened and it was basically this you know I saw the same scenario which is why I reached back out and I was like you know what I'm not standing for that I'm not dealing with that so when I seen the mayor today I told her you know what you need to clean house this a bigger problem than what I'm speaking about it starts with if you're going to get on the news and say hold the people accountable somebody needs to explain to me why my child and and can I want to just point out that since that happened the teacher was still in the school so of course I did what any parent would do I left her home with me it is week number three that my child has been home um she went to the district attorney's office for the forensic interview on Wednesday that just passed so when the da found out about it and was like what do you mean he's still there I think at that point they removed the teacher but like I told them why would I put my child back into a school where the principal was the one who failed to keep her safe by reporting it and following protocol I don't think that that's a safe situation right I requested for my child to have a Chromebook cuz I can't understand why she doesn't have one I requested for my child to have a tutor sent out that did not happen I testified at the fiscal year um budget cut last year and I know the dollar amounts that BPS has and it's in the billions with a B not millions billions meaning you can give each one of these schools $2 million and still have money to play with so I'm standing here as a frustrated parent wanting to know where is this money going and I just want to point out right now I'm on live so there's people watching since I've been going public and doing this it's a overwhelming amount of parents that are reaching out to me one reached out to me specifically yesterday that that I want to bring up her child the bus driver is's a video of it she sent me video police reports showed me the child's neck her child is autistic and non-verbal and the bus driver pulled the bus over and assaulted this kid and the other kids were recorded in the back which is why we have the video same thing the school don't want to talk to her they giving her you know these piece of um incident reports excuse my language and even with me as I'm standing here telling y'all this that it's week three I have not one incident report nobody told me anything um I will say that I reached out to um Julia Mahia as well as Liz Miranda lizz's office um Kevin her Chief of Staff did reach out and try to you know push this along um also Brian's brother Chris warell um he's been helping me out a lot but even with these three people involved at a state level again I am baffled why BPS has all this money and again my daughter's right here and been out of school three weeks thank you and whenever whenever um they can whenever BPS cannot assure her safety or have no resources they're responsible for her education so at this point I want to know who I need to speak to because my child should be in private school right now she should not be out of the school and this is the second time this happened it happened the first time now we're at it again so thank you Monica when maybe someone from BPS can connect with Monica after the hearing um with no further public testimony just want to thank the panel um the whole the whole District my Council colleagues Central staff um our Boston police officers and my team um for all your support and all your work um and with that said the the hearing on dockets number 0670 through 0678 is adjourned [Applause] [Music] on [Music] [Music] for the record my name is Brian warell District 4 City councelor and I'm the chair of the Boston city council committee on Ways and Means today is May 13th 20124 this hearing is being recorded is also being live streamed at boston.gov back/ city- Council DTV and broadcast on Infinity Channel 8 RCN channel 82 files Channel 964 written comments may be sent to the committee email at cccw boston.gov and will be made part of the record and available to all counselors public testimony will be taken at the end of this hearing individuals will be called on in the order in which they signed up and we'll have two minutes to testify if you're interested in testifying in person please add your name to the signup sheet near the entrance of the chamber if you're looking to testify virtu please email our Central staff liaison Shane Pac shane. Pac H.P boston.gov for the link and your name will be added to the list today's hearing is on docet number 0744 message and order for your approval in order to reduce the FY 25 appropriation for the reserve for collective bargaining by 7,740 $4,644.00 24 increases contained within the within the collective bargain agreements between the city of Boston and the Boston police Superior officers uh Federation docy number 0745 message in order for supplemental appropriation order for the Boston Police Department for the FY 25 in the amount of 7,754 649 to cover the fy2 cost contained within the collective bargain agreements between the city of Boston and the Boston Supreme Superior office officers Federation the terms of the contract are July 1st 2020 through June 30th 2025 the major provisions of the contract include base wage wage increases of 2% 1.5% 2% 1% and 2.5% to be given in July of each fiscal year of the contract term as well as the addition of the trans transitional career award program in July 2023 the contract also contains reforms relating to discipline officer return to duty PID detail system and Union release these matters were sponsored by mayor Michelle wo referred to the committee on May 1st 2024 um I'm not sure who who was here first but today I'm joined by my colleagues council president Louis Jen Council Keta Council Santana Council Fitzgerald Council Murphy and councel Flynn I'll now turn it over to the administ ation um to give opening comment um we are joined by city of Boston uh budget director uh director Williamson director of labor for the city of Boston director bushie and sorry John Wilton uh labor Council for BPD and Deputy superintendent Richard Dill office of Labor Relations Boston Police Department thank you the floor is now yours uh thank you uh chair warell and other uh members of the Boston city council uh um my name is aim Williamson I'm the budget director here at the city of Boston and myself and my colleagues are are excited at at this opportunity to provide more information about the Boston police Superior officer's uh contract and the impact on the city's budget um I'm here to address uh the two uh dockets and appropriation orders before you and the transactions they represent um as as we mentioned uh we're joined by R Mushi from the Central um uh Labor Relations teams and the Boston police Labor uh Team um in uh docket number uh 0744 and 0745 uh increased the Boston police budget by uh 7,754 649 and reduce the collective bargaining the central collective bargaining reserved by by the same amount uh the FY 24 budget as finalized in June 2023 included a $ 76.2 million in aggregate uh to C cover collective bargaining transactions uh expected to um be settled during the fiscal year uh since July 1 the city council has passed 13 collective bargaining supplemental Appropriations drawing on the reserve and amounts totaling $ 59.5 million uh for the the various 13 City un and bphc unions with a reduction of this uh $7.8 million for the superior officers Union the new balance of The the Reserve will be $8.9 million um with that I will uh turn it over to the labor team if there's anything that they want to address um good afternoon uh Renee Bushi for city of Boston labor relations um this MOA with the um superiors officers Union uh largely mirrors the other three moas that um were agreed to between the city and voted on by the city council um has the main uh Four Points of uh police reform that we got in the other contracts um one regarding discipline um return to duty um some changes to the times of Union release and um some to the detail system were the main main Avenues um we pursued with the um police and negotiations um in addition this contract also we were able to get um some changes to um the Staffing in the operations Department um for 911 um giving the police commissioner a little bit more um discretion over how those should be staffed so that was an additional item we got here um and just some small changes to how the detail system would be um would be implemented but by and large it largely mirrors the other three contracts that were previously um discussed and agreed to by city council um so thank you please nope nothing El uh just that this new contract really does create a path to uh civilianized the supervision of the Operations Division that was the main um main difference in this contract as uh from all the other sworn contracts thank you um now I'll turn it over to my Council colleagues for questioning um starting with Council Murphy the floor is yours um thank you for being here and to the police for being here you kind of touched on it but if you could go into a little more the difference between this one and the other two unions what were the kind of sticking points and what what what what you know brought us here to land on this contract that I know that they ratified but we're looking forward to pass this week hopefully follow them um I mean I think like we said probably the biggest difference is the um the agreement we got from them you know other police unions gave up a little bit more in um Union release and um you know Central Booking I think they were seeing other officers you know allow of the BPD to move it to move around officers more there um so I think the biggest change here is the operations agreement that there's um Superior officers who supervise civilians in 911 operations um in the way like 911 seems to be going that it's more of a specialized rather than a sworn field and in some cases it might be better to have specialized civilians supervising the civilians so when the when that department and the commissioner are ready to do that there was a previous agreement that we agreed to staff these with Superior officers um and both for I think for the operations department and for BPD to put like skilled sworn supervisors in the field rather than in 911 may make sense so that's the direction they wanted to go so that was a that was a tough one to get from the superior officers because um yeah they have several officers who on their board who've been in this position for a long time so um I we've had we had several conversations with BPD you know just understanding that we weren't trying to undermine their unit in any way that was just for the efficiency of the operation so I think that was the I mean they had several other requests they made at different times but I think that was probably the biggest um sticking point in negotiations and was there um a reason or was it just the scheduling that they're the last ones that were in front of us I mean it was a not an easy negotiation I would say there was a lot of points that they wanted to redis and reinvent um so it was I think I think it ended up you know coming together fine but it wasn't an easy negotiation I think that's probably why it was the last one will there be an opportunity when the changes come to the 911 call center to maybe have um employees who work there now like be promoted into those positions like what type of management role will be overseeing that in the future and can it be from the current Workforce in that Union through SEIU uh there's there's certainly no prohibition around around the current Workforce um I don't know if if uh We've thought a lot about how that's all going to work you know we need to create these new positions eventually and and um create new job descriptions create um uh a real uh road map for how we're going to transfer all that work is there a timeline or like a deadline for that to happen or is it more just good faith that we're going to get there it's more we have the right to do it so the earliest I guess we were going to have two Superior officers until the end of this contract and then when the contracts ends the commissioner has the right to do what he want he doesn't have to do anything but he has the right to Mo staff around okay no other questions thank you council president Luen the floor is yours thank you chair um and I want to thank you um for being here today I I you know uh civilianized the supervision of 91 operators is something that the workers and the 9111 operations uh have been fighting for for quite some time time it's something that the commissioner himself when he was previously with the Department um in that role has fought for and so I just want to congratulate the workers when I was visiting 91 operations that was something that was just so important to them so I'm happy that we've been able to get to this place and this point and want to shout out the work of um local 888 and making this happen so and we honor them actually councilor Weber last week honored them here on the city council so I wanted to just um highlight that and I think that's a step in the right direction uh I have a question just with with respect to in disput and and first the arbitration the disciplinary offenses I assume that list is very same to the one that was in the BPA contract if not exactly the same exactly the same it's exactly the same and so just want to say I think it's a good starting point um you know and I think we probably still have more to learn in terms of expanding that list and and and what else can be captured there but I think that's also really important that there are some disciplinary matters that uh we won't have to uh um go through arbitration for because we deem them that serious so uh my question is for the inputs regarding office Fitness for light duty and this I believe this is for my own awareness and my own knowledge um what is the difference between an office Fitness for light duty and and and fitness for regular Duty and how is that determination made if there's a potential injur if there's a potential injury that prevents them from from coming to work so uh counselor we actually use like to use the word u modify Duty um and it can really be any type of restriction that an officer might have so uh an officer might not be able to run and jump and so they might not be able to uh go on the street and and Chase uh the um criminals or suspects um so there's a a uh many different restrictions that employees have that we can accommodate in certain um places in the department um and that determination is made uh really between the officer uh the officer's position and uh the department phys okay and does that include like potential Administration administrative work at headquarters or in a station so that that could also be modified duty it could yes and there are determination sometimes that um that based on whatever the medical injury is even that modification modification for ad administrative work would not the officer is not fit to do that uh there are instances when officers are very seriously injured of course that that yeah they couldn't even come to come to work and and perform administrative tasks is that where most of the um is is that where most of the um issues arise where it's around that modification for administrative work or is it mostly for like work out um you know in the streets it's it's really a combination of a lot of things I think um the reason we've been able to reduce the amount of people on 111f so much is because we have uh really pushed quite a bit more for um modified duty um and and really trying to get people back at least modified duty and and um performing some tasks and then they're eventually able to go back to full Duty okay all right well thank you thank you again um thank you to the administration for uh coming to this negotiation thank you to the union for um all the work in sort of getting us to this place thank you thank you Council Santana thank you Mr chair and um thank you so much um all of you for being here I have just two um questions um first one is and I think the council president just touched on it you know how does the removal of the certain um disciplinary offense from the arbitration impact the overall disciplinary process um within the department uh so it would it would prevent the union from uh representing the employee and grieving the employee through the arbitration process if they are uh sustained at at Internal Affairs for one of the various offenses listed okay okay okay sounds good thank you um and then just my next question would be um you know the regarding of disputes over um an officer's Fitness um for lightly Duty uh what measures are in place to ensure the impartiality of the independent medical examiner appointed by the city so I mean I just want to point out like what um what this change made was that previously under their contract this um dis disputes over their medical ability to uh Fitness for Duty would go to an arbitrator a lawyer who both sides would present to so we said well that doesn't make sense because why are we going to arbitration and having an arbitrator decide when a doctor should just be looking at the Medicals examining them saying can you do the work so that's really the change we didn't change too much what mean modified duty means or anything like that but just the person who's making the decision that it would be um I mean those are things we discussed quite a bit in um in negotiations was that it would be um an independent medical examiner um we had a lot of lot of ideas of who should do it but um you know I think yeah they don't work for the department but they will be contracted by the department the department has to pay for it okay no make sense um no thank you um this is big um win for the workers so congratulations to them and um again appreciate you all taking the time to be here thank you Mr chair thank you councilor s Tena want to acknowledge that we've been joined by Council Mia Council Keta the floor is yours thank you chair um my questions have been asked and so I don't have any questions I just want to Express gratitude for the captains lieutenants and sergeants in my district um I see Captain former Captain uh CH Colo here good to see you sir um shout out to Captain Martin and uh captain bigerton in my district and um thank you for your work on this thanks everybody thank you uh Council fjal the floor is yours thank you chair uh no further questions myself just here to show support for our Superior offices thank you thank you uh Council Flynn the floor is yours thank you Mr chair thank you to the administration team and uh the police officials that are here as well um Jim the question I asked at the outset the pay raise 2 one one and a half 2 one 2 and a half is that with cost of living going up is that the best the city could do yeah I I think that you you particularly in this this contract you need to take it also in uh conjunction with other um compensation components so that that that's one elev it and I think I think it is a fair and uh affordable approach to funding that any other thoughts from anybody I I mean I do think it's a fair it's not just to one1 with the t cap this is like a 21% contract over 5 years so um it it does seem like monetarily um they they're doing okay in the contract are there any concerns regarding Central Booking um prisoners across I shouldn't say that um potential suspects um across the city brought to Nation Street um is there any issues as it relates to Logistics in terms of getting getting um those into into nashille Street traffic um you know another officer off the street tell talk to me about that please so counselor I I don't think this is the best panel for to talk about um operational Central Booking I think I think um uh there's a a lot of sworn officers on the other hand panel um coming up next that might have a little bit more work but I know it's mentioned in there it's mentioned just to um in the mo MOA just to recognize that we have fulfilled some bargaining obligations there and that they'll talk to us a little bit more about what other bargaining impacts uh that will cause I understand that I understand that um but tell me tell me what what your position is on it uh I think operationally it yeah I think that's I think that's a fair question I'd like I'd like to know that I think and and and and I I I also want to recognize my neighbor in South Wason I have a great deal of respect for um Deputy Rich Dill uh thank you sir I think what we're trying to do is balance the benefits that Central Booking will do that will give um any any people we take into custody better um access to Medical Care uh Health Care um basically leaving the the uh holding of of of um prisoners to people who are best able to perform those duties so I think we balance different uh issues obviously there could be a concern that there's going to be u a longer Transportation going to essential booking um but I think on the whole the department feels that this is a a plan that they want to follow through way thank you thank you councelor Flynn uh Vice chair Pepin the floor is yours um chair thank you so much I don't have any questions I just want to thank you all um for the work you do just here to learn more like my colleagues mentioned but I'll you the rest of my time chair thank you Council Mia CH thank you chair thank you guys for being here um I just have one question and I am sorry I was a little late but can you just um walk me through and help me understand what you mean by the removal of arbitration for certain disciplinary offenses what what are those what is that considered what does the disciplinary offense look like in your world so if you are um have a sustained finding or indicted for one of these listed crimes so typically um if you are charged with any misconduct and you're a police officer you can grieve and arbitrate that any discipline um you know it's it's investigated and you're given you know a 10day suspension you can grieve and arbitrate that um you know through an internal City process and then to a third party neutral arbitrator who gets to make a decision and say police department were you right or not in this discipline so if it's one of these cases um they that contractual uh remedy is is not available to them ises that answer your question kind of um but I do have a followup okay um so in my work um I'm so loud I feel like Kish my um I I've worked with uh police officers in different capacities some I just happen to see out in these streets other times I've had opportunities to really dig in a little bit deeper some of them have had issues with disciplinary actions and uh and this is all going back to the fact that I'm going to name it again particularly officers of color who feel like some of the cases some of the disciplinary cases against them have prevented them from being able to move on up the ranks and what they have cited and I don't know if you can confirm or deny this but that sometimes navigating this space it's often times all who you know and some folks get off easier than others and so this is the reason why I'm asking the question around the arbitration and certain disciplinary offenses because there are some particularly officers of color who have faced harder or harsher um disciplinary practices than their white counterparts and so some of these folks have uh not been able to move up the ranks because of their disciplinary infraction so is is this something that you all can talk to or you're the wrong panel because we're talking about right now disciplinary actions and so if I have an opportunity to uplift that I'd like to so you I mean this is just sort of takes away one of the remedies that a officer might have in the disciplinary process so they'll still have their uh internal process an internal hearing if they request it if they want to appeal they can still appeal to civil so this basically just limits in circum certain C circumstances uh what they can arbitrate um it just sort of um limit one of those Avenues so the internal process is still the same uh the Civil Service process is still the same it just limits for these particular infractions the ability to arbitrate I mean I think that is the issue you raised is something that my office and I think the department um takes pretty seriously I know when we do any discipline you know we look at comparators we're and we're even trying to get more regimented about that the comparators and makes her discipline you know is not being skewed in any direction um so I mean I think that is something we do try to take and then there's also like the the union pursuing the cases so there we Institute it but then the union has to pursue and negotiate and settle or litigate these cases so there's there are a lot of different factors that could you know go into like where something ends um but no I I think it's a I think it's a serious concern that we we both take seriously and it's important for us to acknowledge that this concern exists because I have seen other officers who have displayed very bad behavior and have been able to move up the ranks while other officers not so much so and so I may this may be a mute point for this conversation but I think it's worth noting for the record that there are some concerns thank you Council here I want to acknowledge that Council Weber has joined us Council Weber the floor is yours oh great thank you um so in in terms of uh overtime you know I we've talked we've heard a lot about how there's not enough staff to fill the overtime needs of the department do you have and and we keep seeing that each year the department spends more than is budgeted for overtime so I guess question one is how much is budgeted for overtime do you know and is this sorry is that already oh no so I just wanted to just let you be aware that this is on the um and this still pertain to this but this is on the collective bargaining agreements between the city of Boston and the Boston police Superior officers Federation yeah on the contract but go ahead sorry uh well I guess is there anything in this collective bargaining agreement that seeks to address the fact that the department spends more and overtime every year um yeah I I will uh give you what the the recommended budget budget is for overtime um for the department but I think part of uh the goals of some of the uh hearing discussion this morning and it'll continue this afternoon is the goal uh is to um to fill uh recruit classes repl replacement CL um recruit classes cuz that's one of the big drivers of overtime is uh needing to fill uh required shifts um you know in the district and overtime is used as what they refer to as replacement overtime in order to make sure that the uh shifts are covered so I don't I don't does anybody from the labor or BP or labor I mean it was in negotiations a factor like a lot of our proposals were kind of um the objectives were to get people you know release and ime to get people who are on Union release not on Union release but doing their City job and working for the police department would causes lowers the cost of overtime um the ime getting people who are out injured you know when the positions being held in backfield getting them back to work sooner if they're able to um lowers the cost of overtime um having the operations Department you know doing work being able to be reassigned to the field also could lower the cost of of overtime so not specifically but I think a lot of our um proposals were the objective was like yeah let's try to get some of the officers back on the street and not doing these other things so we can lower the cost for the Department do do you have numbers of how many uh I guess sworn officers are doing nonp police work and um at the department I mean we talked about it with specifity to certain like Union release time and things like that I don't have them in front of me but I I think they exist okay uh I mean are you aware that they have uh in the past the police departments used police officers to like do scheduling of details and things like that there was some discussion about about that as well yeah in detail clerks um that is something that's in the bppa agreement I believe that that um we can move those out the detail clerks to civilianized and using officers for other other avenues okay and this may be a question for BPD but do you know if they've done that uh for the detail clerks they they with they are working on on that um finalizing the detail system and with this contract the Federation will be participating in the new detail system um we'll have all the all the spor members participating in and then we are working to to update um how we're going to implement the system oh yeah but what I'm referring to it I think we're talking about detail clerks right for people scheduling we are right now we are working to um um automate the system um and and we are uh accepting proposals for an automated um like app based detail system which will sort of change who will be assigning those details do you know if the department will be contracting with outside uh individuals to do that kind of work it was I I believe that we requesting proposals right now okay uh okay and sorry and then um I guess the the CBA um calls for the use of independent medical examiners to I don't know if you talked about this before but what what kind of progress is being made to you know transitioning from the arbitr arbitrators to to having do we have independent Medical examiner set up uh we do we have a a contract with a vendor um to provide some of those uh and it and we if someone has a shoulder injury for example we can have we can have someone who specializes in shoulder injuries and the like um so we do have a uh a a contract out there with a vendor um to review this and um I think it's actually going pretty well we've used it a few times already do do you know how much is in the budget for the vendor for or for for outside Services uh I do not but um the next panel might and and not I can try to get that for okay thank you chair I'm just going to thank you um Council FN thank you Mr chair thank you Mr chair um I I had another follow-up question um so in disputes regarding an office's winess for light duty um appointing an independent medical examiner what is the what would happen if if the police officer is is engaged in or receives medical care for a long period of time at the Veterans Administration would that police officer be able to continue and have their medical provider at the VA testify um I I'm just I'm just thinking out loud testify instead of this um this person here that's writing a written opinion an outside an outside examiner I I just don't want to um and I know there's nothing that can be done about it now but I just don't want um something to happen where we are we are not factoring in whether or not the police officer is a veteran and their medical care as well so this won't affect their medical care at all no I no I know it won't affect their medical care but the the person that will provide a written opinion is someone that's an outside consultant or an outside medical provider but would we give any consideration to that officer if he or she was a veteran engaged in medical care in Jamaica plane in West Roxbury in on Causeway Street does that does that matter I think we give consideration to uh wherever they get their Medical Care the doctors consult and and and we certainly listen to the doctors at the veterans um Administration okay um well I'm glad you I'm glad you mentioned that because that's important if a police officer is a veteran I want to make sure that that police officer um has all the opportunity to present his or her case but having the medical provider at the V is also an important part of that I want to ensure that the medical care the V that the officer is receiving um is also facted and which is the case right yes so this doesn't do anything for where the officer could get his care from I know I I understand that it it it my question is does does it have an impact on the outside medical provider that's WR writing a written description to to the uh police on no it doesn't it's the same does we we will yes so our doctor will consult with their doctor their medical provider um just to try to get on the same page first and then you know if they can't if they disagree then we will send it to a ime but the ime will review all the notes all the files and the ime might even reach out to the physician at the at the Veterans Administration as well I guess I'm say it doesn't matter if it's a veterans or if it's an office down the hall they're going to consider that's going to be his doctor and they'll consider it with the Department's doctor it's the same process no matter where he goes for his no I understand but for me it does it does matter if the person is a veteran or not I just want to make sure that that officer is getting the the critical Services care support and consideration that they've earned and for me it does it does have an impact if that officer is a veteran or not I I would look at things a little differently in factoring the the experience of that officer if he or she was a veteran so it it would have an impact um it does have a significant impact as as almost all veterans know civilians don't necessarily see that but for a veteran it does it does have an impact I I'll say you know we will the doctors will consult and they will take the recommendation for the veterans administration physician thank you any of my other Council colleagues have second round of questions well just want to say thank you um to the administration for all your hard work um for the union for getting us to this point um all my Council colleagues have asked all the questions I that I have um in this hearing on docus number 0744 through 0745 is a j [Music] [Music] [Music] e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e [Music] [Music] for the record my name is Brian warell District 4 city counselor and I'm chair of the Boston city city council committee on Ways and Means today is May 13th uh 2024 happy police week uh this hearing is being recorded it is also being live streamed at boston.gov city-council DTV and broadcast on Xfinity channel 8 RCN channel 82 and files Channel 964 the council's budget review process will Encompass a series of public hearing that began in April and will run through June we strongly encourage residents to take a moment to engage in this process by giving public by giving testimony for the record you can do this in several ways attend one of our hearings and give public testimony we will take public testimony at the end of each departmental hearing and also have two hearings dedicated to public testimony the full hearing schedule is on our website at boston.gov coun- budget our next schedule hearing dedicated to public testimony is Tuesday May 28th at 6 p.m. you can give testimony in person here in the chamber or virtually via Zoom for inperson Testimony please come to the chamber and sign up on the sheet near the entrance for virtual testimony you can sign up using our online form on our Council budget web review website or by emailing the committee at cccw boston.gov when you are called to testify please state your name and affiliation or residence and limit your comments to a few minutes to ensure that all comments and concerns can be heard number two is email your written testimony to the committee at cccw boston.gov or three submit a two-minute video of yourest testimony through the form on our website for more information on the council um budget process and how to test ify please visit the city council's budget website at boston.gov dbdg today's hearing is on docket dockets number 0670 through 0672 orders for the FY 25 operating budget including annual Appropriations for departmental operations for the school department and other post employment benefits docket number 0673 through 0675 orders for Capital fund transfer Appropriations DOC number 0676 through 0678 or for the capital budget including loan orders and lease purchase agreements these matters were sponsored by mayor Michelle woo and referred to the committee on April 10th 2024 the focus on this hearing will be discussed of fy2 budget for the Boston Police Department including sorry just give me one second guys overtime detail system off officer mental health and Central Booking pull up the name today I'm joined by my Council colleagues in order of arrival Council fance Anderson council president Louie Jen Council Murphy Council Santana Council ketta Council fitgerald Council Flynn Council Pepin Council Mahia and Council Weber I like to now introduce today's panelist testifying on behalf of the administration uh commissioner Cox superintendent Chief long Chief of Staff Tod U bureau chief of administration technology O'Brien uh Deputy superintendent humph and superintendent cologne the floor is now yours oh good afternoon um and so you know for the sake of time I appreciate you know being here we've already gone over quite a few things but we welcome your questions uh going forward thank you um Council fernan janison the floor is yours thank thank you Mr chair um so I I I noticed on your presentation in terms of community feedback um and there were specific uh percentages you know helped um in terms of post Community uh comstat surveys indicate that attendees thought the um of the meetings I guess thought of the meetings um and help them gain understanding crime in their uh District 98% um made feel more confident in police 91% made them feel safer in the neighborhood 74% made them feel more comfortable and interacting with police 87% helped them gain a better understanding of how the police work to um how the police work to keep their neighborhood safe 94% um so I I'm really interested in this because I think this is phenomenal that we are trying to build relationships uh by way of building trust with community and creating transparency um in our work and I wanted to understand um who did you survey and the numbers or how does that go about like is it per meeting or you sending out surveys to communities um uh by District or how does this work and so in the districts where we've done the U the community meetings there was a survey sent out pre uh meeting uh usually developed to the community service officers of the the general population of people people who come to their meetings in general um just a pre survey about what they what their thoughts around Public Safety what we're doing you know what they expect things of that nature then they come to the meeting and then we do immediately after the meeting we do another survey uh judging uh at least release ranking uh their opinion about a bunch of different topics after the meeting and so that's that's what that's from we've done them in uh so far B3 C11 e13 A7 D4 and eventually uh D14 which will be hopefully be tomorrow so did you mention B2 in there no we have not gone B2 yet thank you um and I guess it's well let's segue a little bit into something else this is more about um exchange with police contracts um or or trainings um a lot of community Advocates have concerns about uh BPD Exchange program and training with is is's military work um will the administration be banning this exchange has it been banned I didn't find any um recent numbers I don't even think it exists anymore but it is a concern and folks wanted to on record a response on where we are as a city with that so we currently certainly don't do not train uh have not trained uh with any certainly military groups uh uh in Israel but that being said I do want to make a comment that you know we never want to limit uh the people that we actually have educational things with in general not about that topic but about any Topic in general because the fact is is that uh law enforcement is not becoming International but the things that you can learn whether it's the mistakes that people make or the positive things that happen from other places and so sometimes just being having access to what people went through is really important to make sure that we're you know uh using the best techniques possible how do you mean what they went through learning from the mistakes right so you can either make the mistakes yourself or you can learn through other people's mistakes thank you I I again I didn't find anything on record or anything like that presently um but that's good to know thank you um and in terms of uh Central Lockup I filed a hearing order to have a conversation specifically in the Sheriff's Department in that area of mass and cast um I it's it AB buts my district but also part of it is my is D7 um and there are just some of um a longer list of questions in terms of you know um uh mayor and BPD that um I think I I want would like answers to um and I guess what is the legal authorization for the regional lockup and Central Booking so the uh what we were trying to do is the fact that Sheriff Offices uh that's what they do for you know they hold people they have medical people professionals that work there you know 24/7 uh they're in the business of actually holding you know prisoners we actually do it as a part of our job but that is not a core of what we do in that way uh and so the idea was to partner with someone who does it for a living and they do it in other places by the way for the purposes of taking out of the prisoner business to make sure that as we run across people that might be suffering from you know issues or or certainly uh might have medical needs and things of that nature that they can actually be in a place where they can address those a lot quicker and in a better capacity as well as get us out of the prisoner business because the fact is the only reason why we have it is to get them to court and the fact is that the way that they designed it's it's better for I would say the criminal justice system if they to do that um you know in in some way shape or form and so uh that's what we were trying to do um thank you so much um I will leave the rest of those questions for that hearing with the right um Department um as far as um it looks like in 2023 BPD recover 261 Firearms through safeguarding um and I'm curious to know that the breakdown of that data a bit more how many Firearms were recovered due to an individual license being suspended and did BPD suspend any licenses without successfully recovering the firearm so I'll have to get back to you in a lat of time on that break for around the licensing portion of it thank you um and then um so uh the looking at the best dashboard it seems like we have seen a downward uh Trend in number of incidents with um which best clinicians respond to um with BPD officers around September of 2022 December of 202 and to December of 2023 is there a reason for that downward Trend are we doing better with um in terms of like Crisis responses or just less incidents what do you know with that yeah I'm unsure of what you're referencing uh so I don't want to speak to it and and and be incorrect but um is it from our own dashboard yeah point it up right now so speak I [Music] apologize um no worries so we'll come back to that um R in the RFI we instructed or asked um that you provide or chart with salaries um but we we have the names but not the salaries are you able to provide them through the chair um electronically later on yeah yes can do that thank you so much and then on page 19 of the RFI you mentioned that um a subset of departments worked with uh performance management team in new measures can you list these new measures measures please than where in the RFI here uh page [Applause] 19 um so for this the question for for you or the ask was for this upcoming fiscal year please provide a narrative explaining any proposed new measurements or changes to the Target levels of new existing performance measurements and then the department responded all Department receive Enterprise measures in fy2 to support Citywide goals of promoting diversity and hiring and improving the speed at which positions are filled a subset of departments also worked with Performance Management to team on new measures that relate to specific Department functions with City initiatives and I I'm interested in new measures because as we're talking about you know reform I mean I'm also interested in understanding like the pain points of where you feel that reform could uh could improve the department um but specifically I guess the measures would speak to those pain points as well when you say reforming you're making reference to the diversity Department uh hiring or or just policing in general just um I guess I would like to understand to your definition like what what that means because I I I read it in the um in the in your report a lot and I I guess what reform could mean for Community out because for counselors could be different for the department and so I think part of part of it I think is that we should be really good at what we're supposed to be good at and so we're making sure that you know our officers understand our mission uh making sure that um that we're if not the best that we could be at that close to the best and making sure that we're always training and bringing in you know uh new information and insight so that we're always at the Forefront of um you know the the best standards and and um best practices around that particularly around building public trust keeping people safe and partnering keeping people safe and then so the other aspect of Reform is and then you know which we're going to work on which is around accreditation you know which is not now but that's something we're working towards and maybe I can talk about a little bit later on that's another half of it um but it's really important that we understand our mission that we all work work towards that that people know what they expect around that and that we're building trust along the way and so you know that is what we're trying to do um thank you just wrapping up this for context um you have six goals and of those goals then you work on certain you know your mission for the Department um your specific description here speaks of you know how to or where the areas or domains that you have to improve to do your job better um and then specifically to your office what that mission is um Bureau of community engagement what they do and what that mission is um the bat operations bureau of administration and Technology operations program um bat Administration and Technology Bureau of professional development Bureau of field services Bureau of Professional Standards and I guess based on all of these different descriptions for to in order to get to your mission I'm trying to figure out the measures that you've implemented thus far to be able to get folks to the professional standard or development that you expect in order to reach your goals that's my time the chair is going to cut me off but um I'll come back to those questions thank you thank you Council Murphy the floor is [Music] yours thank you thank you thank you Council Keta the floor is yours thank you chair um I have questions as it relates to um let's see the the detail system and overtime so the last time I asked about this this was I think during the contract hearings where I talked about the fact that I was uh pleased to see an overhaul of the detail system and frustrated when it came to utility work on highly utilized streets um that do not have a a police detail to keep D and safe but then seeing police detail for residential streets um I had asked for information during that hearing about tracking um four and 8 Hour minimums and if those hours are being met my understanding is that if an officer Works anything between 1 or 4 hours of detail they get paid 4 hours if they work between 4 to 8 hours they get paid 8 hours and so had asked for that information tracking um this this area of of overtime and we never received it so I'm curious to know if you have it today for us I apologize that do we have that yeah I'm sorry I didn't know that that was one of the questions I do know that since uh We've uh the patrol M signed the contract around details that we're filling 78.7% of our prioritized details there um I would also add that the part of the reform contained in the contracts uh was to try to limit um that kind of roll up and so scheduling details in four or8 hour blocks uh as much as possible so that you're eliminating time paid but not worked um while also still prohibiting any overlap of detail hours with your regular shift hour so really trying to focus on hours paid equaling hours work while also making sure that our priority or tier one jobs are getting filled okay and then so if is it correct to say that if if an officer is done working in detail INF finishes early they're not allowed to pick up another detail within the same time frame is that correct that's correct as long they you cannot accept two jobs with overlapping scheduled hours okay um that's U the question I have for this round chair um I'll yield my time for the next round thank you thank you councelor Keta um councelor Fitzgerald thank you V CH EV um thank you panel for being here again with with us today um in relation to details uh just some basic stuff and really for my own education for anyone watching home um I think there's a common misconception right that uh that details are paid for by the city when when typically it's it's utility companies and or private companies that need it um but how does that reimbursement work uh are does it come to theity City pays and we are reimbursed then through the utility or they pay directly by utility companies Etc and I have some follow-ups to that yeah so it just as you said but go ahead so the city will pay the officer um you know so when we enter the details of the overtime one one load will go directly to the human Capital management system to pay the um officer and then the other other portion of it goes to base financials where they generated invoice to that vendor um and obviously the invoice is we build the vendor directly so in that um how often are payments made back and is it a you know what's typically the time where we put the invoice out to when it is when it is paid or is there do they just do it all say hey let us at the end of the year and we'll just pay it off at once or do it come in oh it comes in frequently um but some of the bigger comp companies like Verizon and some of the utility companies they're they're they're based on projects so basically you know some projects come in quicker than other projects it's just like because they do review all the invoices that come in and make sure that it's assigned to the whatever project or work that they were working on but they they always pay and that's my that was my next question there's never been a history of right there's no waiver of any of these uh of these details or anything like that right they've always paid there is there anyt times that we not with we're really on top of our bills for the the details um but I know that when the city did performed an audit I want to say back in like 2013 with ernston young when they were bringing the receivables on the books they did write a portion of of details off that were uncollectable or like a for a vendor might go out of business yeah and like I think our detail office does a pretty good job trying to um collect great um um and I think the city has used our department as an example to other departments for collections awesome um moving on sort of same basic questions around central booking um it it's in nashille street right that's our the is that the only location that we have so no we still book um you know prisoners in in a few of our stations um it was really more about mass and cast when we first started uh to have a centralized location because we were using offices from multiple different you uh districts to go there um particularly given this we were concerned about the state of some of the um you know people that we might bring on particularly around the health part we thought the sheriff's department was far better suited to make sure we meet the needs of some of those people so do we only have one Central Booking in the city so so Central book I know we can book in The Districts as well this is a goal we're working towards we currently can't say that we have a total Central Booking this is a more like a pilot that we're starting so um and you want to speak to that yes sir so we're currently booking prisoners that were arrested in the mass and cast kind of catchment area and like the commissioner had said it was um you know looking at the condition some of the people are in um you know substance abuse crisis mode mental health all this other stuff um we felt as it was a better environment for them there's a there's nurses that are on staff um there's medical evaluations and then the facility itself once the prisoner is transitioned to the Sheriff's apartment like the commissioner mentioned ear they they're in the business that's their role it's a um a better environment from the housing standpoint So currently it's prisoners that are it's acrosses District borders but in that mass and catch mass and cash catchment area that's where those prisoners are currently diverted so in the future is that what it will say we we reach our goal in the mass issue is not the issue that it is currently today um Central Booking could be used for I mean even on what are the instances outside of that could it be used for anybody any any instance of booking any District can go yeah except for juveniles yes absolutely okay juveniles are are separate uh entity Al to themselves but yes and would more Central Booking type things help officers stay on the street if you were looking to make more Central Booking locations right I know this is a pilot was certain one but would even if we do expand that not the offices but actually in the in the cells and watching president things that nature it it's a not a cost saving it is a cost saving but more importantly it puts officers back out onto the streets and so we don't have to you know worry about watching prisoners things of that nature right thank you um and finally on uh mental health I know I I took a right along with uh uh C11 several months ago and uh officer uh bradam who who drove me around um for the night uh we talked a lot about what it is to be a police officer and and sort of the things you go through um and he explained his own process for try to uh you know digest some of the things that you see and go through and feelings you have being a police officer what else uh could you have take this opportunity to describe what is out there that we are providing for our officers for mental health now you know so uh clearly we have you know part of the wellness program is we we we give them the opportunity to actually um you know seek help and and provide help but we're also working with Roa with a with a with a program just designed for that to help officers you know deal with uh some of their emotions and um um around uh certainly um some of the things around the brain and things of that nature and so that's an inservice that we're doing with our current officers and I believe all new officers are trained in it as well and um no I think you know in the first round we talked about it you know you know in terms of our uh peer support unit um you know it's a very robust program and you know there's a lot of different programs that go through that that are available through the peer support unit um and I think I I said earlier we do a good job you know we've we've sent a message down throughout the department like if you see other officers um that you think are having an issue um people will call the peer support unit anonymously and say Hey listen you know we think you know so and so has an issue and they kind of get to them that way um but you know like I said earlier I I think you know there was this always a stigma attached to that but um I you know from what I've seen from what I first came on to now um you know officers being willing and able to utilize the um you know the programs that we have um you know like I said I think we're in in a pretty good spot again we're always looking to um to build upon that but uh there is a lot of uh stuff out there for officers that you know they know about it um some of them will do it on their own uh some of them takes a little bit of of bring and pushing um you know and again I and I mentioned earlier the unions are you know a very good partner in this we have discussions with them um a lot you know stuff comes up about certain offices and directing them towards the programs that we have great thank you very much thank you chair thank you uh councel Flynn the floor is yours thank you Mr chair and thank you commissioner and the police officials that are here from the Boston Police Department thank you for testifying we also had a hearing a a month ago a couple months ago um and a civilian testified Maria chevas who did an outstanding job as well testifying but she's been a tremendous asset for the police department being very responsive to um a lot of our questions so I just want to acknowledge her professionalism I wasn't um so commiss can you talk to me again about um and I know it has mostly to do with the mass and cast situation but Central Booking what is the what is the process now for for booking if it's if it happens on the weekends is there any change in logistics or are we are we continuing to um do what we we've always been doing uh you talking about Mass cast the whole city it mass and cast okay so we'll have speak to mass and cast sure absolutely are and you're talking about the deployments down there or the booking the yeah the booking central booking and again knowing that many of them are dealing with medical challenges how are you ensuring that they're safe but also sure that there's Personnel to help them with the um with this yep so on the ground if the determination that a person is incapacitated due to substance abuse they're they go to the hospital hospital they get medical treatment so we do not bring an incapacitated person to any of our lockups or anything like that if a person uh is medically it commits a crime or an offense that would subject them to arrest and they're physically able to be placed into our custody 7 days a week 24 hours a day we are currently Staffing the Nashville Street booking so they will go there doesn't matter what day of the week it is okay with um with Boston police Personnel there yes sir they'll be transported by Boston police officers and they're booked by Boston police officers okay um Deputy are there any um changes to that procedure if the prisoner is a woman so the a female prisoner would be booked at the District of arrest upon verification they would go to C6 in South Bost for housing they could also be brought directly there okay and what happens when they when they're in the Cody of C6 especially on the weekend sure they uh the bail magistrate would be contacted and a bail hearing would take place and if eligible for bail and release they would be released if not they would remain at C6 and delivered to court on Monday morning okay so they could be at the police station at C6 for 48 hours um a Friday afternoon till Monday morning or even longer I guess yes sir um do do does c SE or have I know they do a tremendous job but do they have the ability do they have the um expertise to care for a um a prisoner that is that that may or may not have medical uh related issues I mean certainly if someone's you know have a medical issue we certainly call EMS and Andor make sure that they get the hospital care that they need um we are not Physicians no nurses uh in that capacity but that's why we have Partners to absolutely do it that's the reason why you know we thought it was so important to try to partner with the sheriff's department because they actually have staff on hand that actually our medical professionals if a if a prisoner is brought to a hospital does the Boston police officer stay with that prisoner the entire time uh for the most part given uh well depending on the offense but for the most part yes does it matter what the arrest is for yes what arrest would not ensure the um custody of the police um being physically there probably something that we felt that we could summon them as opposed to uh you know uh waiting for it probably something more uh domestic violence related or violent crime related we would say with the with the with with the Personnel but um but there are you know a whole host of things I mean each circumstance might be different um what's going on you know the circumstances around the event in general thank you um I know a couple of my colleagues asked about domestic violence related um challenges do we have Personnel on Boston police in the domestic violence unit that speak languages other than English such as um cantony uh hold on what was the language cantones cantones I don't believe we have uh an off a detective or supervisor that speaks cantones but we do throughout the department and then they would call for assistance and have that officer uh contact or else participating do we always do we always have someone working in in Boston place all the time that speaks cantones I don't know but we certainly have access to a language line and the the city uh program more recently around um our ability to use language um um materials uh so we participated in the tier one part of the language and Communications Access program and have just recently as part of that distributed iPads pre-loaded with interpretor programs to all of the districts as well as uh the public service counter at headquarters and the Family Justice division School engagement unit the Citywide Community engagement unit and Internal Affairs and have loaded the apps on the cell phone so that if there's not a a person with the specific linguistic ability available to respond they can utilize those um programs through the technology provided thank you um yeah I'm sorry superintendent I stand corrected uh detective Richie Moy forgive me he's in the domestic violence unit okay excellent thank you superintendent that's helpful um um commissioner can you talk about um and and getting back to the the low number of police we had I think you mentioned earlier it's the lowest number you've seen in a long period of time but because we have a low number of police officers is that impacting promotion to sjin is it impacting Sergeant to Lieutenant I I guess my question is are we concerned about taking Rank and file patrolman off the street put them putting them in a another unit that may not be as on the street as as as a patrolman is that a concern of yours commissioner yeah certainly it's a factor of of timing because in order to promote you're taking from you know the officer pool for anything whether it's detectives or supervisors across the board and so you know we're trying to be intentional about the timing of certain things again to try to time it more around Academy classes things that nature so so the crime stats are down but we just don't have enough police officers to to fill our shifts I just I'd like to say that we are working as efficiently as possible with the staff to we have um you know promotions are important and and something we were always looking towards to do to make sure we have an appropriate supervision because I it certainly plays a role in in what we do uh around that but um yeah we just can't naturally you know we have a certain number and then we had a certain number of Supervisors and it used to be opening fill it opening fill it right now we don't have the same number of people so we just can't go down that pattern of just opening and fill something as though we did have that number and so we're just trying to be mindful of the number we have um the needs we have and and making sure we uh recognize that we're not fully sted before we do promotions in general okay um I still have more time Mr chair yes sir thank you Mr chair I referenced earlier commissioner my neighborhood in in South Boston Andrew Square having a lot of challenges and I've worked with um the Boston police on on this issue and again they're they're doing a very good job but what are we doing as it relates to mass and cast with the people leaving mass and cast or arriving at mass and cast they're coming into Andrew square off the off the red line um can we beef up support in andu square Council Fitzgerald mentioned South Bay Mall which is across the street into into Dorchester do we have a specific plan to deal with Public Safety challenges outside the immediate area of uh Mass C I mean we currently spend a great deal of resources in that area in general and and we will continue to do what's needed but I you know I I I always have to separate the issue between you know you know Optics of of crime and in crime and so you know we will do all we can to address crime some of the Optics that that people don't like around you know maybe some of the Personnel that that might in the era we we can't always do something about that because it's not a crime and and so I I just want to make sure that we separate the two issues but yes we do have strategies and place to deal with that but it always begins with also complaints too around some of this stuff too so as we find out about it we will address it real time as as as fast as possible thank you commissioner you're welcome I make my time up thank you thank you uh Vice chair Pepin the floor is yours thank you chair thank you chair and good afternoon everyone it's good to see you all again um my question is regarding mental health recently I took a visit to the suffa County Correctional Facility I was able to get a tour I was able to learn about what they're doing but the topic of mental health came up and I became curious of what BPD is doing um are we are you all shift in the model when you're training and hiring folks to I know it shouldn't be your responsibility but to think about mental health perspective as well of having to deal with a mental health case on the workforce making that something making that a staple in your training process um because I know community policing is like the main focus but maybe you do a certain trainings to how to again this shouldn't be your responsibility but I think it would be important and helpful for the workforce moving forward so I know the academy certainly adds U some features around this um particularly as I described to you about Roker training um we have CIT training for officers that you know that work in you know that area mass and cast in general around that and then um you know we we do as much as we can to make sure officers are exposed to uh you know anything mentally health related because the fact is we have to respond to so many of those calls around that and so um it's an issue of of of we only have so many hours of training and and making sure that we get the what B biggest bang for the buck and then you know follow up on that every you know year or two uh and that's what we're trying to do uh related to this stuff uh the the reality is is that uh we're called to quite a few calls in general where people are struggling with mental health uh and it doesn't seem to be going away even when we partner with people uh and that's just the reality of our job so we do need to do more and we're trying to do more to make sure our officers are equipped to deal with it and thank you for that commissioner and I know I I started by saying um the new Workforce but is there also programs in place to train maybe an officer that has been on the job for a longer time period that maybe has a just came into the workforce with a different type of experience and now kind of having to re rethink of how they're doing the job and and so I you know that's an excellent question I as I said that we are doing this uh Roa training which which is uh re rewire which is about rewiring the brain deal with some of that stuff I do know we just started a new initiative there no and um superintendent bastion's here and we have a a new program which we're just starting and she just spoke to it today she can explain so right now we do have um 12 hours of Mental Health Health Training and we also have Crisis Intervention training which is eight more additional hours that's just for the recruits but the big thing that we do in Academy is that we include Mental Health Training and when we do scenario Based training so we have over 1100 hours of training and when we do our scenario Based training we incorporate mental health just like we import incorporate Community Police and mindset in everything aspect of the training so we have those extra 11 hours and 12 hours but on top of it we incorporate that as far as in service we started the um multiple trainings but one of them is exactly talking about um rewire which is all the officers on the job with 30 is on the chief Command Staff down that has to go through that training and that's about mental health awareness as far as an unhealth and wellness we also have 32 hours of um First Responders officite um mental health and wellness 132 hours combined so that's a lot concentrating on but the main focus I want to talk about is and and just re iterate is that it's incorporated into our scenario Based training so even though we have that when we do breakout sessions which is a lot of hours we bring that mental health aspect in so that is a big focus at the Academy and a big Focus for the commissioner to have all of our officers like you said um his question all the time to me is like the recruits are getting it do our veteran officers have it so we are incorporating that into our inservice wow thank you and by in service those are current officers that are already out there everyone with the uniform including the command staff so it's a lot of focus thank you it's good to see you um and then my question the my next question is is a bit connected to that and it's has BPD considered having a trained professional in each district like a social worker or someone that deals with mental health that is not a uniformed police officer um in each like again in each district if that doesn't exist already yeah and so we have that sort with our uh partnership with youth connect where it's a you know trained social worker uh that uh that certainly deals with youth around referrals in in a lot of our stations not all of them but it's it's it's quite a few of our stations in general U around that and as well as remember now we have best team clinicians that I actually work with us in general as well so so we do partner with some folks around in that space and um have some people that are dedicated to that in in multiple parts of the city that's that's good to know I appreciate you sharing that um okay my last question for this round is I know that E8 has a very fine program of of mentoring um young men in High Park specifically I know that there's been several cases where a parent has called where they're looking for someone to be of of guidance to the youth um but I was wondering is there more general program program across BPD that that provides this service um I'm thinking more specifically for for young men of color um cuz that's that's what's that's what I'm getting from residents that they want to see that in place cuz they they know the the parents that have use that research at aat know that it works I just want to know that if it's available Citywide I know I appreciate that I met a a a young lady just just yesterday and she was talking about the impact that they had on her son where uh this ping program that you just made reference to in some of the officers and she was tremendously grateful to that I know we we have started a a recent partnership coming up around around the more around labor and mentoring people and bringing them into you know to introduce them to our department um in in some capacity you know as far as maybe you know future work and things of that nature there we have a lot of officers that do so many different things actually on their own whether it's mentoring and all these other programs uh individually you know on their own time and and in their own way um you know around that space of mentoring in general we we have a teen Academy that we uh use U particularly during the summer months we bring in young kids and and hopefully try to Mentor them as well and and see if they have any interest in you know not only you know maybe Public Safety but any public safety uh you know uh job that's within the city we work with kids in multiple Capac capacities and we consider that when we're doing that mentoring uh whether we're there reading the kids playing you know dodgeball or doing all the different things that we do around Community Police and been building trust it's meant to provide some type of mentorship uh with the kids and youth of our city so it's not a formalized plan but the fact is we do it in so many different ways and and maybe uh you know we always looking to do more uh um you know if you're interested or have some more ideas around that we can talk offline about that definitely um but with that again I just want to thank you all for the work you do um thank you for thank you for answering my questions I look forward to seeing you all in the community and with that I'll yield the rest of my time thank you thank you Vice chair um just a few questions around the best team in youth connect how many is it youth connect liaison and then best team clinicians do we have many districts yeah it's funny last year you I I think I spoke to it last year and then I mean of course I can't remember it all and then do we have any data around of their deployment like how often they're going off to calls yeah hold on one second there quite a few but hold on um this was last okay and so make refence reference to last year's numbers and and and I I will get you this year's numbers just not right right this second um as far as referrals uh this year 23 in 2023 we had 326 referrals and they by state you know different stations um and I could do a breakdown of what those are but um yeah virtually every station in the city had a referral even if we don't have one assigned to that station they we get from some from uh social workers from other stations to go to a different District all right and and are they my understanding last year they weren't around the clock are they the 24/7 247 it's still not 24/7 but again a referral even if it's not during the shift that we can you know try to catch up at another time or whatever we we'll still make the referrals it's just that they won't be able to get to them real time at that moment all right yeah I just like updated stats um or data um who's next Council M here the floor is yours thank you chair okay um so I'm going to go back to a question that I had earlier since you guys are still here um and it goes back to promotional I I am a firm believer that it is very difficult for folks who um sometimes don't understand the culture or don't understand the community for them to really see us in ways that we feel like we're being protected and served too right so this is why I keep going back to the diversity situation so in the past 12 to 15 years the last three Sergeant exams 2008 2014 and 2020 have produced the following Sergeant list below and I'm going to break it down by race for black male 35 black female 12 Hispanic male 16 Hispanic female 4 Asian male 5 Asian female 1 white male 288 and white female 39 and so this is why I keep harping on the importance of us really doing everything in our power to diversify leadership because those who are in positions of Power are able to uh move in ways that reflect the diversity that exists within the community that they happen to be uh overseeing and so I just want to name that that this over the last 12 to 15 years we have not met the moment when it comes to our diversity efforts and so we have an opportunity this time commissioner to repair that harm and really think about what changes we can make to increase our diversity numbers um so I just wanted to name that for the record now I'm going on to my questions um I'm going to start off with some of the Advocates have been talking about um the the folks from Massachusetts the bail fund um families for justice as healing the um material um Aid and advocacy program are all pushing back on the central booking because they believe it expands police powers and puts people in the sheriff's hand at nashwa Street Advocates are saying that police are using it against the unhoused people and also use it when they arrested the northeastern protesters and I'm just curious the groups are saying that we need to invest in more housing and voluntary treatment not forc treatment so um they could be so that they can have uh real support and real solutions and so what what how are you all grappling with the Central Lockup conversation that's happening and you know how are you reconciling with what The Advocates are saying and some of the concerns that have bubbled up to the top and what what is your Administration thinking and so remember the the premise of doing this in the beginning was actually providing better service to uh um people who are you know prisoners to us for an evening or whatever we're not in the the the holding business you know we're Public Safety and so the idea was that the sheriff's office with all the facilities they have and and or the actual right Personnel to make sure people are safe and and uh and can address the emergency needs that may or may not come uh the thought was that you know they were better suited to that and and then we could offload you know some of the folks that come into our present in some way shape or form to be better serve them in that way go cuz you know in the criminal justice system we we we're not there to punish them we're just there to get them to the next portion of the criminal justice system which is really court and so um Even in our facilities that's what it's for but the fact is is that our officers are better suited you know serving the public and not you know watching holding prisoners if something happens you know they're not equipped to address those needs our facilities are are not as uh equipped or I would say good is what the Sheriff's Office say so it was actually on the on the benefit on the behalf of the people that we were holding that's what we were trying to do as well as um meeting the other needs and challenges that we have you know just through our own Staffing okay um I'm going to go to a question that uh Council Rell lifted up um he talked about that in the past uh years there there was more than 1 million for under spending for lease and purchases this was earlier um but this year the proposed budget is going up by 2 million um and you also said I believe that 1.5 million was spent on equipment in 2023 the proposed equipment budget is 9.1 million with 7.6 million coming from lease purchases can you clarify these numbers was there only 1.5 million spent in equip and why is the budget going up to 9.1 million when there has been so much underspending there's some discrepancies with those numbers if you can provide some clarity I would appreciate that um the next question that I have is that you described a little uh about how BPD decides on creating overtime shifts um do captains and BPD leaders have um banks on overtime hours that they use to create those shifts for example our Captain's told you have 5,000 overtime hours you can assign this month right like just I don't know it's just just throwing out a number out there um how does this system work and how many hours do Captain and BPD leaders get to aign I'd like to understand that a little bit more and then based on the 2023 data from the city's analyzed um Boston website uh 20 two 238 officers made overtime that was more than 10% of the regular pay and 583 officers made overtime that was more than 50 of their regular 50% of their regular pay is that accurate and why um why is why is officers overtime pay so high compared to the regular pay and how can we limit this so that we can fund other budget priorities the pay is contractual on the last question um that's overtime is that it paid at a different rate than regular time uh Banks there are no overtime banks for the captains to do as they please that doesn't exist and I'm sorry the other question I think was back to you lease purchases Le purchase and equipment so um the line item where it's $1.5 million is equipment that we purchased through the operating budget and then the 7.5 million is through the lease purchase program so it it includes current year purchases plus amotization of Prior year purchases because it's Debt Service okay so um i' i' like to know thank you for that um could you tell me I don't have my sheet in front of me what is the budget line item for um superintendent Batson's department on community engagement how much have we spend she Police Academy I I keep forgetting that but you know what it's so funny because you're still out in the community as though you're still out in these streets so it's that's why I'm having a hard time displacing you out of there because you're so incredibly ever present in community so thank you for always showing up even though you don't have to that speaks volumes to your leadership but let's talk about the community engagement Department what's the budget line item 4.1 million how many 4.1 million okay and and can you just talk to us about how did you end up with that number a good chunk of salaries that that's in the community engagement which would be the the officers that that are are housed under the Bureau of community engagement but also um during November we send out what we call Budget templates to all the cost centers the Bureau of community engagement would be one and we asked them aside from Personnel we asked them what what is it that you're looking for for non-personnel expenses and they submit that we in turn submit that as a whole department so let's go back to the police academy because I think that that's really kind of the pipeline right we're recruiting we're engaging we're educating can you talk to us a little bit about the the training and development uh line item give me the Personnel staff that work at the Academy well I mean the academy right now rolls into um is the Bureau of professional development so I don't specifically have the Academy Broken down but I can get that information to you because there are several departments that roll into several units that roll into that uh Bureau um one is the firearms out in Moon Island in the academy but I can break that out for you yeah because I what because I'm trying to understand I see a lot of the um Cadets that are in training in community events with superintendent Batson that I want to keep keeping her in the community space but like they are showing up in spaces and that's part of the training and I don't know if that is um a practice that that has seen its value that you all are recognizing value of having officers really be in deep Community before they're out in in in you know in their professional roles can you talk to us a little bit about some of the outcomes that you have seen well I mean it's highly valuable for officers to understand what how to build trust with Community when they're in the academy when they get out they hit the ground running it tends to lead to better engagement across the board we believe but I I want to say this about you know engagement I mean that's part of all our jobs you know in the police department and that's what we're trying to change the culture to make sure people understand that so no matter where they sit um they're engaged in the public to build trust in some way shape or form yeah no and I appreciate that that I my time is up but I I think that I'm going to wait for round two because I really think that when we're talking about building trust um there's an incident that occurred that I would love to learn a little bit more about and it's the jump out crew and I'm not sure if you're familiar with that term we certainly don't have any units called jump out crew but I but that's how it's been coined in the news again the news says a lot but you have to be more specific thank you okay this is about two young um there was two officers who apparently rolled up on a young man late at night and there was a video that went viral and luckily this young man knew his constit tion rights and he was able to defend himself but the officer that was um interacting with this young man was not showing up in a professional in a courteous way and so when we're talking about professional development and we're talking about shifting culture the best way for us to really restore harm and I'm going to go back again is by making sure that we are restoring and investing in shifting leadership so that people on the ground can see themselves reflected so I think that there's still a lot of work that we need to do as it relates to building trust in the community in some instances thank you thank you Council M Council we the floor is yours okay thank you chair um uh hello again um so I I just I have some questions about overtime uh and you know as as a former wage and hour attorney I you I think of overtime as uh a a tool that's designed to make sure that we hire enough workers and it's not supposed to be a supplement to people's wages that they feel like they have to work to make a a living and and afford to live here um so when I hear about people working over time and feeling like they need to earn you know 50% of their you know annual salary uh through overtime it's designed as a penalty to the employer to say don't have this person work over 40 hours what you know there could be something you know certain threshold hire someone else to do the job so in in terms of overtime um you know can you tell me so what's the current Staffing level for police officers it was it three yeah just give me 1,41 okay and um you know so do you have a number it might do you agree that that's not you're not fully staffed or is that number what's your goal I mean the goal is to have enough officers to be able to do all the things that we needed to do to keep people safe and so so certainly over time we've had more offices that's certainly for sure around that and so to get back to our you know sworn number that we had at one point uh would be a a really good start um but we've not been at that number now from several several years now and so uh we're just trying to make sure we meet all the needs of the city well hey so I mean what what's a number in the past that you you think yeah yeah I you know and just quickly I just got two different numbers but I third I remember at 2287 at one point and so uh we can get you historically what what that that number has been over time but the fact is we're not near that we're not really near that number right now and so I think your point is about overtime and and and and people not thinking it's it's a basic need or whatever and I don't think that that's where we are as the department right now officers are doing all the time because we we are forcing many of them because the fact is we're back filling quite a bit around that we have more details in the city than we have officers to do it and that's a means to make extra money as you made reference to before so I don't know if it's there was historically a time when maybe people might wanted to do that felt the need but today uh you know we have the officers have the ability to do details and and make you you know just as much money well and and and so I you threw out an i is that 2000 so you think we're about 50% of our of to oh no that was overall sworn I you I'm not not a breakdown of police just police off have you done any so my understanding is overtime is primarily worked because we don't have enough people to do the minimum Staffing requirements back filling for officers that are you know that are not present at Academy training or uh calling sick or out injured things of that nature yes okay and so I guess first has has anyone done an analysis of the cost to the police department of having to pay someone time and a half you know 4 hours for maybe an hour of work eight hours for 5 hours of work as opposed to hiring another person to do it probably not an analysis in that way but we go through the process every year budget time when someone says why is your overtime so high and we make reference to it so but um yeah the No No official analyses but certainly we go through this process every year in budget time because so much is distributed because I think what happens is if we're if if workers feel like they need to work overtime to afford to live somewhere it's because the hourly the base rate is not high enough uh and so maybe that's something we need to look at uh but uh do you think you like is is the reason why there are not enough staff because not enough people are applying because our Academy system it needs to be ramped up what's the obstacle so I can't certainly you know say that I know exactly what the reason is I I do know that there's a strong public sentiment around policing in the country in general and it's just not our department it's just Nationwide around being able to attract and retain people in uh in this field and so a lot of it has to do with the usually negativity associated with it uh regardless of the the good work that we do uh uh any negative piece of work seems to get magnified multiply uh you know for a long period of time and there's a generation of of particularly younger people today that don't want to be associated with anything that's considered negative and the fact is is that um you know they're very important to the work that we do because they're our future and so um this is really important work we work you know for the public uh we work uh with the public and we need young people to reflect our department around that um and so that's why it's so important for us to clear up misinformation that goes out there around certain things and the reasons why we do what we do uh we're here to save lives to protect the public to serve the public and that's it I you know do officers make mistakes from time to time yes we do just like every other field and every other group but we're not here to to do harm on purpose that's not who we are as a group thanks just because we're we're just talking about the budget I'm I'm just uh trying to zero in on on on cost and and what we can do um so I I I think you mentioned this morning that this the Departments had a 4% decrease in overtime is that do am I remember on backi on the um replacement over time okay when when officers are out injured or sick or a vacation or when we have to fill in for an officer or train in when when an officer is not there that position and is that is that for sworn the sworn officers that's that figure okay um okay and do you know so what what you know how many officers are in the like medically I'm sorry what's the uh medically incapacitated at the time at right now 133 okay oh excuse me 130 think and is there any what's the do do you have any policies in place like what at what point officers should be moved into retirement or or you know yeah we've had quite a few move into the retirement section we've uh I think reduced that quite a bit from from last year yeah we' reduced it significantly from last year I I want to say that this time last year we were well over 200 officers out injured and we moved quite a few people to the retirement process okay um rather than waiting you know Tim Smith from the Retirement Board would always say you know an officers out more around a year or more we should start moving the retirement because chances are they're not coming back okay and then so I my understanding under the the new CBA is that uh the department has had sworn officers doing assignments for details um is that still Contin but now under the new CBA you're allowed to contract out uh to civilians I guess to do that or through an are are are are sworn officers in Boston still doing that kind of work how many yeah and so I think currently there are still some but that we're moving to remove you know all of them and have you know either a vendor do it themselves or or you know okay all flad that work to someone else do you know does anyone have the number I don't of sorry currently but we can get you that number very soon okay thank you um and uh sorry do you um and then uh are you have you contracted with medical uh medical examiners to examine to because we're shifting away from disability people are out on disability uh from arbitr ation I guess to using a a medical examiner how's that going so I think medical is for deceased people but we do have medical uh staff on on on staff and I think he's making reference to so so we have an occupational health department in within the Boston Police Department that will have the outlined officers come in um every two weeks just for evaluation uh they are required to bring any medical documentation updates um but with respect that having the um independent medical exam I think with the new contracts for the bppa as I understand it that if we're bringing back a doctor I mean an officer to modify duty light duty um and their doctor says no and we say yes we can send them for an ime an independent medical exam and that will determine whether or not the officer comes back on a modified duty only though exped expedite that process so people aren't sitting out there okay P sorry just getting back to overtime for a second um you know look at your Department's budget over the years there's um you know spending over the budget on overtime that number has gone just way up it's like it was like over 30 million I think last year so what what's happening what is the budget for overtime for next year what was it for last year um you yeah I I think it's a I mean the projection is kind of arbitrary we do a lot of events you know particularly we need additional stats the Staffing through overtime whether it's protests um uh there's a whole host of events that you know we end up taking on and it's du overtime based on what's Happening so so 21 a half% of our total overtime is spent on special event staffing just to give an idea of the piece of the pie that that incompasses and so so I guess what's budgeted is for overtime for next year here overtime budgeted for next year um in the recommended fiscal year 25 is um 50.6 million 50.6 million okay so and was that similar to last year do you last year it was the appropriation for last year for fiscal year 24 for overtime was 49.6 Million okay and then we ended up spending like 70 it was like 30 million over I believe uh and then the expectation I mean you don't have any control it could be du the unique nature of you know the demands we put on our Police Department um but the expectations they'll be I mean it's been over every year I I don't know I just look back three years it's been over by a lot uh is the expectation that'll be over maybe the events will go down maybe the national issues will go down maybe we we'll have a very peaceful year across the board and and hopefully that will go down as well we're making a conscious eff for effort though to try to reduce our overtime because it's it's just it's just not good for the wellness of the people who do the work and so um you know that is something we are really really trying to do but we are a major city we do have a lot of events here things are outside of our control particularly with protest and and people who want to come to our city sometimes just to send messages and things of that nature that we have to provide Public Safety for uh and I you know I think that's the cost that happens sometimes with with a city like ourselves that people want to come here to send messages so um we we hear you we're we're trying to reduce our overtime uh multiple ways for multiple reasons but I don't have a crystal ball about the future I wish I wish I did okay yeah and we we also have a pretty good basketball and hockey team so maybe they'll be baseball yes and near future thank thank you chair what what is the series for the Bruins now I don't put me um just going on the same line of question and O overtime um you said 21.5% of overtime is for special events do do you have the breakdown of like what's forced overtime and the rest rest of the pie yeah so we we can certainly break it down for you in more detail detail after but just to give you an idea the largest percentage of overtime relates to Extended tours uh which is often time the result of holding staff over as a result of an event happening in the city or unanticipated event the second largest is that replacement cost which is down from uh FY 23 by 4.4% and then the third largest category is special events at 215% and included in our overtime expenditures also our larger scale projects like mass and cast uh for for example but we can do a further breakdown for you got it and do do we know what for fy4 where we're going to end up in terms of like actual overtime expenditure I mean we we have FY 24 year to date through March estimating between now and for the rest yeah if you had a just we're probably going to we we usually estimates in terms of hours because of the contracts the collective Bing agreements sometimes like for example my overtime projection last year is probably a lot more than it was um that it would be this year because the contracts have been settled but we're projecting roughly about um 1.4 million hours in overtime per year end and what that translates into how much dollars so the new contracts just went in so that dollar amount would be different than before the contract so um right it's a large amount if my math is is Right correct it's a large amount um and how much of the projected overtime is civilian versus sworn [Music] officers yeah I would say majority far majority of was a sworn got it you know don't out we will we verify but I I'm I I the majority is swor in the areas that where we see civilian over time would be um operations because of you know Staffing Staffing um but actually that's improved tremendously but even like like for example you might see a lot of overtime in our our Fleet division because obviously we need to make sure that vehicles are being maintained and I think believe we have nine open vacancies for Fleet mechanics there as well so they are pulling guys in on overtime but I would like to point out that we also get reimbursed by Ford for the warranty work we do inous versus Bo doing it so we that goes right into the general fund every month um and wait and what line item would that be reimbursed to would that be reimbursed to the it would it would come in as um miscellanous income under the 4,000 series the revenue account it goes right into the general fund thanks and there's a $5 million increase in the Bureau of professional development Personnel cost um it goes from 6 million to 11 million can you just speak to um The increased investment inside of that department the academy class increase it's it's it's the academy class increase it's the academy class okay so this is like the sides or how many we're getting more Academy classes this year than both the yeah the the size of it and um and and beefing up the additional Personnel to the academy uh just to staff them up as we get bigger classes as classes go away or we graduate they shrink back down we put people back in the district so okay um and then can you give Insight um into these other large changes for fy2 um I think you spoke to the personal Personnel for field services but Personnel for investig gated Services is decreasing by $8 million why can you speak to that yeah it's the contract salary increases for the detectives okay and then Bureau of community engage Community engagement contractor Services is down 660,000 it's it's all it's Personnel but it's also too like if if someone transfers to another District that they'll go over to that District so there could be a transfer in there as well um sometimes the Bureau of professional development which includes the academy all the recruits are assigned to the academy even upon graduation and sometimes the chart fails on updated in a in a fashion that should so when they go to the district they should be charted to the district whereas they still sit in the academy got it even though they're at the district if that makes sense yeah that makes sense it's a bookkeeping um item yep no that makes sense um and then you saw a 300% jump in people taking the civil service exam in 2024 um how does the recruiting pipeline for the police look well that was very hopeful to be able to increase that but um you know we're Contin we have to keep trying all the time so to make sure that we have enough people uh in the pipeline so we can get a bigger class so we can get uh more people in uh around that so it's that's going to be an ongoing effort uh we we're very hopeful about the about that last process to increase the number of people to take the exam and then um you know Boston has it I forgot the 80% decrease or you know our crime rates have have dropped um and when we see you know our crime rates Dro like this are our are our staff or our detective or our police officers are they looked or are they pushed to reopen some of those code cases so you know again you know one of the things that we do around the you know Community comat is get input from the community so as major violent crime shifts uh people complain about quality of life issues and so that's where we shift our resources to the quality of life issues around that um you know as far as the uh you know the um homicides the older ones you know we will always you know take a look at those particularly when there's Technologies you can help help solve or resolve some of those things around that and so we will look to to do that but what we do is we put our resources usually to where um the people people need it or want it around that and so I you know I'm looking forward to the day when we're concerned about jaywalkers you know as opposed to any other you know criminal stat that's out there uh and and that that's a good thing around that but the fact is is we still you know we were down in every single category except for you know larsy and things of that nature and the business Community is certainly going to say that we are you know not out of the water when it comes to those issues uh around the things that they're facing right now and that's where we're trying to shift our resources to address uh their current needs to make sure that the business community in the city um see the reflection of the the good work we can do to keep people safe and when it goes to the business community and I hear loud and clear from all business districts but just want us to keep in mind like there's certain business districts that you know can't throw uh you know $2 million at um Security Services um and they're also Al asking for um increased presence you know code 19s and Walkin talk so um and that's also where you know the concentration of you know some of the crime that we are putting this in this data so I just want to make sure that we're conscious of um those districts as well yeah we are aware that the smaller mom and pop places are just as important as the bigger places too so we we are trying to reflect that in in the services we provide um and then uh you mentioned this morning that we're bringing on an average of 108 sworn offices per year but losing an average of 131 for the past 3 years um and that's forign officers from your numbers you have 294 civilian vacancies right now what has that average been over the past three years is it going up or down I'm seeing it go down slightly it it seems like since Co we've had we've been struggling with um similar to other Industries and services um filling our vacany um we are we are hiring we've just done some significant hiring at the Boston police department so I think that number will continue to go down but it is significantly high and it has been since Co I mean so you know with the 911 uh you know their contracts being settled we are now settling down and actually being able to hire there which there was a big gap in that they were down quite a few particularly in the civilian positions and we're we're addressing that slowly but uh hopefully I mean we good to see signs that we're actually hiring people because it was a long period there we were having a hard time even just filling those roles but now we are filling some of those positions so that's a really good thing and if I could just get U for our records last three years um hired sworn um and civilian officers um that is my questions now we go to public testimony um when your name is called please come down to one of the two podiums state your name neighborhood and or organization affiliation please speak into the microphone please keep your comments to 2 minutes uh we'll start online and we'll have Vina hi I'm just confirming that y'all just called my name yes okay cool um so hi my name is V I'm from District 3 um and I am demanding that mayor woo and the city councilors reject the mayor's proposed $50 million increase to the police budget and cut payroll overtime equipment and contracts instead of giving BPD 455 million in the long term we need to divest 30% from BPD and we need to invest in a people's budget including participatory budgeting Community Mental Health response youth jobs and affordable housing I also oppose bpd's deadly exchange training with Israel's military sweeps of unhoused people and Central Lockup powers 10 years ago I was a teenager rallying for youth jobs and here I am 10 years later as an adult advocating for the same thing youth who have home and financial issues are struggling in their leadership development and Academia because of lack of capacity and mental health issues many young people I met um throughout my years of being a youth worker have expressed finding safe spaces in programming that also supports their mental health Journey while providing financial support to relieve some of their stress at home every year the police budget increase for at least $6 to8 million in regular payroll that they don't even spend last year 656 officers made more than 50,000 a year in overtime they're getting more in overtime than most black and brown residents earn for their entire jobs last year 99 officers made more than 100,000 a year in overtime um as well many families are struggling to pay their bills or even have food on the table from their regular full-time jobs that is literally so traumatizing um and I'm here to Advocate to let youth be Youth and support them to develop into our Future Leaders through programming youth jobs and Community Mental Health response thank you thank you Zachary Lee hey um so uh yeah my name is Zachary Lee I live in JP um and yeah I'm here today uh to voice support for uh similar demands to what V said um I I want to say uh I know commissioner you mentioned before about uh youth like not being so interested in being associated with the police or joining the police and I I want to say that I think for for many of us we don't see the the police has an effective solution for Public Safety and that's a reason why um and the solutions that we do see for for Public Safety get at like the root the root causes of a lot of the issues that police are addressing symptoms of um and so for for these reasons I I support um rejecting this 50 million increase um for the police budget um and I I guess I also want to say that the I think the the the participatory budgeting part of that suggestion um is is important because I know that I'm sure you all hear things all the time of people asking for invest in youth jobs invest in in housing um in mental health services and I know that that's there's a lot probably a lot of discussion about like well what are we how are we going to do that to make everybody happy and I think that giving power back to community as much as possible uh means that you know instead of you guys trying to like guess and and like talk to have a ton of conversations with with constituents and people to try to figure out the best solution that if if Community has more power like like you know more if there was more democracy right in terms of determining what we do then uh yeah you all don't have to like try to to guess at things because if people have power to actually enact uh policy and and and really make their voice heard instead of like coming to these hearings and like saying stuff and hoping that stuff happens you know right like we don't have any power Right is coming to these Hees where we're sort of like just hoping that people listen um uh yeah so I I guess that's just wanted voice support like extra support for their participatory budgeting part of that as part of the solution um yeah thanks thank you waen um hello yeah hello city council um my name is Jim lomos I'm a student at Boston Lain Academy and I'm a resident of Roxbury I'm also a member of Youth Justice Empower Union and I'm here demanding that the city council rejects the mayor's proposed 50 million increase to the police budget and cut payroll overtime equipment and contracts and in of giving BPT BPD 455 million in 2020 mayor Ru promised to reduce the police's budget by 10% and yet she still has not upheld This Promise mayor Wu also made the promise to cap overtime for individual officers again this was another broken promise last year 2038 officers made overtime which is more than 10% of the regular pay and 583 officers made overtime that is more than 50% of the regular pay again last year 656 officers made over 50,000 overtime which is which is more and they're getting paid more in overtime than most black and brown residents earn in their jobs in general the idea that all overtime spending is required by law or Police contract is a myth police captains and BPT BPD leaders are giv flexible overtime hours to give out these promises must be upheld I demand that City councilors and mayor will reject the 50 million increase to the police budget in cap over time and instead use this money for things such as the Mental Health crisis response and participatory budgeting to actually support the community as promised thank you thank you Ella Simone hi my name is Ella Simone and I'm 16 years old from the Dorchester neighborhood I'm here to demand two things from mayor woo and the city councilors one reject the mayor's proposed 50 million um increase to the police budget to cut the payroll overtime equipment and contracts instead of giving BPD 455 million in the long term we need to divest 30% from BPD last year 99 officers made more than $100,000 a year in overtime instead we need to reinvest this money towards things our community needs such as the Mental Health crisis response project that youth and the older generation can lead to instead of the police because of how poorly they treat mental health crises which came from a pilot initiative that was announced by the previous administration on August 5th 2021 to help provide the best possible Mental Health crisis response for Boston residents our our community trusts people who come from and share similar stories we need more representation from our communities I will end this by repeating that it is imperative to use the divested funds 30% from the the bpd's overtime fund to fund a community-led non-arc mental health crisis response thank you for your time thank you Amaya hi my name is Amaya French I live in Dorchester and I demand that mayor woo and the city councilors freeze police hiring and stop mayor Woo's to Mega class and cap overtime the city must put the police budget into real Community needs because just like adults youth advocate for their families and help with utilities in their homes such as paying bills groceries and Etc Maru has broken her promise to cut the police budget or move money into the community instead she has increased the budget from 300 9500 million um to $45 $45 million a year last year she doubled the class of new police officers and this year she is committed to increasing the BPD budget by an additional $50 million this further pushes pushes away my trust towards the city council because you say you are here for the people while minorities are are having a struggle living in affordable housing and mental health many organizations such as the one men youth Justice empowering Union have been fighting for higher pay rates and have been neglected instead of hiring classes of new officers to maintain a violent system the city council can put money into Alternatives that actually make communities healthy and safe I urge them to move those funds to food deserts cleaner and safer schools and proper affordable housing thank you thank you Alexa hi my name is Alexa I live in Dorchester and I'm 15 I demand that mayor woo and the city councilors reject the mayor's proposed $50 million increase from the police budget to grant them a total budget of 455 million in the future we need to dive invest 30% from BPD invest in a people's budget including participatory budgeting Community Mental Health response youth jobs and affordable housing I'd like to focus on cutting equipment and contracts mayor Woo is adding $5.1 million for equipment and contracts this is a misallocation of resources police don't need more money for weapons military equipment and drones more weapons does not equal more safety in my opinion it leaves more space for an escalation in the use of force arming police with more weapons does not make our communities safer if we provide alternatives to policing we can lower crime rates and meet the needs of our people the city council has the power to move money from the police budget to Investments that actually keep the community safe I urge the city council to reject the $50 million increase in 2024 I urge them to move these funds into the community funding things like affordable housing Mental Health crisis response and participatory budgeting affordable housing shouldn't have to be so difficult to exess families are struggling and you're putting more money into arming police officers we need to meet the needs of our community thank you thank you sukai my name is Sakai Rollins and I'm a concerned resident of District 4 and neighborhood where my family has lived for Generations I demand that mayor woo and the city councilors reject the mayor's proposed 50 million increase for the police budget that would grant them a total budget of 455 million in the future we need to divest 30% from the BPD invest in a people's budget including participatory budgeting Community Mental Health response youth jobs and affordable housing cut overtime equipment and contracts instead of increasing them and cap overtime the proposed 50.6 million in police overtime is up 44 million from last year 50.6 million in police overtime alone is around 5 million more than the following departments combined Equity inclusion Economic Opportunity and inclusion Community engagement in Neighborhood Services public facilities Department the funds allocated to the police overtime budget alone make it clear that the BPD is a budgetary leech sucking at the hard-earned taxpayer funds that are sorely needed by other departments and organizations that provide us real support and safety there have been so many times when my brothers and sisters have needed a place to go after school but couldn't because budget funds aren't allocated towards things like keeping our neighborhood Library open past 600 p.m. or when my neighbors and family have been pushed out of our homes due to rent increases that we couldn't sustain it's hard to overstate how far taxpayer dollars could go if they were put into groups that actually help Boston become a better place we need 40 million for participatory budgeting which is a mere 1% of the budget black and brown communities must have the power to decide how to invest and what they actually need to be safe and healthy rather than 455 million going to police the city should fund 2.6 million for community-led Mental Health crisis response that grants Community leaders training and deescalation and Crisis Prevention those experiencing crisis deserve compassion and care not more policing your consideration of these matters and solution is of the utmost importance thank you thank you Chris hello my name is Chris um or Christian I'm from Roxberry and I demand to well I demand stopping May Woo's 50 million increase to the BPT budget and the mega classes of new officers overtime equipment and contracts we need to invest in participatory budgeting Mental Health crisis response youth jobs and affordable housing but today I'm focusing on why we should cap overtime um and cut it one of the reasons is they can get up to double their pay the highest last year was around 22157 n41 um also officers get around um a average of 29 500 29,500 in overtime for Sergeants they get a average of 53,000 um in overtime and for lieutenants they get an average of around 57,4 in overtime what does all this mean they get paid a lot and they can do way more in overtime since there's no cap they can just keep doing it for a whole year and why should we why would we want that um money in the first place well we can use that money in other places such as youth jobs or housing like for a housing for example um people can be born into the world and and because people are born into the world you need different places to go like if you have a child or the rank keeps going up you would want to move to get more affordable housing but since there's a lack of affordable housing it it makes it hard to find affordable homes so I say please um stop the 50 million increase and that's all thank you um Victoria hello my name is Victoria I'm a resident of Dorchester and I have been living here my whole life the Boston police budget is given large amounts of the Boston Bud the Boston police budget is given large amounts of the Boston budget to supposedly enforce laws and help citizens but that is not what has been done in Boston the Boston budget gets wasted and the officers get paid with large amounts of money with overtime Boston police make more money than half of the Boston citizens through overtime in Boston the media net worth of a black family is $8 while the net worth of a white family in Boston is 247,000 in 2023 11 police officers made more than 1,500,000 through overtime alone this shows that the how the money in Boston is put to the use of the police officers who don't use their power for justice and get paid while doing that that is why Boston residents call for the cap of police overtime officers in Boston instead we should use it for youth jobs to help the economic status of Youth um youth employers as well as inner city transportation to help Transportation go much smoother and faster thank you thank you and OA hello um my name is NOA and I am from High Park I'm here to hold City counselors responsible for fixing the mistakes that mayor Woo is doing she obviously can't be trusted because every idea she Brews under the guise of helping the community has been a lie she does nothing but boost the police budget but when asked to make housing affordable to increase access to healthy foods to support the Mental Health crisis response to do anything to fund our community her response is her hands are hi and that there's no money to be moved to help we have people who can't find housing children sleeping in the airport or outside of BMC we have people going hungry do you do you know how out of touch you have to be to think that taking money from the police and putting it into the community is too much of an Ask we don't need police we need housing security we need food security we need health care we need resources we need you guys to do the jobs that you were elected to do last time I checked buddying up to the cops and making sure that they can afford their vacation homes is not why you were voted in last time I checked no one ran on a campaign vote for me you go hungry but the police grow richer my demand is to cut overtime and cap overtime mayor Ru promised to cut overtime and instead wants to increase the budget from 43.9 million to 50.6 million we've seen that cutting is not the only solution because time and time again police officers purposely go over the budget so don't just cut over time cap it force them to use the insane amount of resources that they already have and I've heard the argument before cutting cop's budget doesn't affect cops but all their projects well my response to that argument is if you believe so much in your projects take a cut in your salary and see your project to completion if you can't do that then don't come here and ask that we fund your lifestyle When people's lifestyle is living intent and not being able to bathe or eat you've said it yourself we've had less cops this year these past few years actually and yet I've seen I've yet to see Boston come bust into Gotham City itself so obviously we don't need more cops your projected 5 50.6 million is not the overtime budget for next year it is just the floor for next year reject the mayor's proposed 50 million increase to the police budget and cut payroll overtime equipment and contracts instead of giving BPD 455 million in the long term we need to divest from the police department thank you so much George good evening my name is George Lee I'm an organizer with youth Justice and power union we need to confront a fundamental myth it's an idea that has long been a the root of racist policies and investment from black and brown communities in Boston the mayor wants to fund $455 million for BPD because of the myth that police keep Community safe the myth that more police equals more safety to all the politicians here think honestly about what helped you grow good schools mentors programs housing food jobs Healthcare Transportation that's what we need not police that's what a lot of wealthy suburbs with mostly white people have instead of pouring money into to police but here in Boston police exist to sweep unhoused people off the streets and criminalize people for being poor it's not rocket science the more we invest in community needs and community-led solutions to safety the safer and healthier we'll be that's the point of divesting from police it's to reinvest imagine if we hire dozens of community-based mental health responders the police would be happy to just keep their budget keep hiring police and keep arresting people but we need to have a different Vision with more community Bas safety like those responders then there would be less calls for police to respond to and no reason to keep hiring as many police similarly with more housing and voluntary treatment there are less unhoused people and no reason to hire police to take down tents and arrest people police don't address root causes they don't prevent violence they cause violence the police department is not designed to save lives which is the talking point that commissioner Cox keeps repeating they destroy lives there's been a lot of talk today about overtime and police Staffing commissioner Cox says that there's an image problem that makes people not apply to be police officers it's not an image problem it's a reality problem the reality is that some nice Community programs and youth programs in the police department cover up that the main purpose of the department is to arrest people it's a reality about a harmful Department whose proposed $455 million budget funds violence and takes away money from Community needs for example how is the overtime budget more than the entire city budget for building affordable housing so use that Clarity of vision to understand we don't need to hire more officers and that we can invest in community needs and actually have fewer officers we don't need Michelle Wu's Mega class of 200 police which is more than Marty Walsh hired each year we can freeze hiring and put that money where it will actually make a difference counselor Weber hiring police also does not cut overtime I know you mentioned the ACL use um look looking at different issues around shot Spotter and other programs fundamentally uh many police view overtime as a perk they fight tooth and nail to protect it in their contract the ACLU also has a report showing how increased police Staffing does not decrease overtime and the mayor included 44 million in overtime last year so this year she's proposing a $7 million increase that $7 million that could be moved to community Solutions instead on top of the 5.1 million being added for equipment and supplies that the police don't need my last point is that Michelle woo as mayor you should invest in real solutions invest in housing and voluntary voluntary treatment don't invest in sweeping people off the streets with police invest in jobs so people can afford to live don't invest in arresting people because they're poor because they don't have jobs the city council also just passed a ceasefire resolution Michelle woo use your leadership to speak out against the bombing and starving that's happening in Palestine ban BPD from getting trained by Israel's military and tell universities to respect democracy rather than adding 50 million into BPD to arrest peaceful protesters and who cause suffering and arrest people in black and brown communities every day thank you um just want to thank everyone who showed up today for public testimony I'm now I go back to my Council colleagues for second round a question councel fernan Anderson the floor is yours uh thank you Mr chair I um I think I'm going to go back to my previous questions just so that I can get the numbers um right or the math um done correctly and then a little bit about Community um policing or engagement um so your for your operating budget um you are recommending um or the administration is recommending 454 million 8 95,9 187 um dollar um and then when you do the math um and you subtract the 404 and some um a um off from fy4 you get um 49 million um or 49 920 could you please tell me if that um if that number is correct assuming smooth spending all the way to the end of the fiscal year fy2 24 or is that number what's projected assuming smooth spending by the end of fy2 24 the 409 million where's the 409 million coming from um these are the numbers that that we were provided with um through the our budget analyst um provided to us cuz I'm I'm looking at our total appropriation for fiscal year 24 to be 444,000 and what 789 thank you um and I think with these numbers then um when you do the math it's a lot different um $11 million increase or 2% over last year's budget 11 million increase that's a exactly 10,784 1171 or 2% increase over last year's budget thank you and then um you mentioned that of the contracts um 5 million of that went to contracts earlier in my questions I think um I was asking you of the increase how much of it would go to contracts um our contracts increased by um approximately $3 million compared to last year and because in that number is the promotional exam amount along with an increase in our um Aon body One camera contract that we have is that like contractual though is that's not Personnel it's contractual yes okay and then um so what's that total like 3 million plus what's the math for the for the change over last year yes please it's 2,999 770 um and so do we still have about 8 million left or less than 8 million as far as that that increase well lease purchases increased by 1.9 million um current charges increased by 333,000 and then um Auto energy supplies decreased by 595,000 um so it's a combination of like some small increases to the the big ones which is contractual serviceing lease purchases okay um um okay so that makes a lot more sense in terms of like the numbers adding up um thank you I did notice that cuz I I went through all of the decreases and increases and um so I you know I did this last year so I think now I'm at a more advantageous uh position to actually look at the numbers more carefully um it's I I think uh the sh is doing a better job than I was doing you're doing amazing um and but it's it's a lot to do the calculation to do the math to manage everyone and to like think through all of this um so you know props go to through the chair you doing amazing and um but I'm I'm very grateful to be in the seat this time to really um ask like questions um that I feel are you know just more at ease and um in terms of your your uh Professional Standards you you have an increase um in um contractuals um allocations from fy2 24 to 25 um it's like really significant it's like almost $2 million can you tell me why where where are you looking coun if you look at professional um standards let me see when you go to the police department and uh contractural Services Under Bureau of Professional Standards there's a huge increase FY 24 so this is under um Bureau of Professional Standards FY 24 appropriation 13,118 and FY 25 recommended 1 1,923 $48 I mean with a with a huge increase like that I just want to know like what is Professional Standards doing and what what is the money for professional development or Professional Standards standards um I guess the other question too while you look at that that um for um the police commissioner's office uh contractual Services of 999 about a million dollars um can you please um educate me on what what contractural services or what would you spend a million dollars on so what can you s me to a page that you're look page 378 in the budget book for non-personnel services um it says program 7 Bureau of Professional Standards Personnel Services 3.8 and then non-personnel um is 1.96 okay so that's that's that's not all just contractual services but I'd have to drill down on my backup which I don't have here is what Mak it up makes up that 1.9 million but I can certainly provide that okay thank you um you can see how like from our point of view when we see funds that we can't explain like cuz we don't we're not you know what I mean if you can give us the information and we can actually say this is what it's for and that makes sense like the way you just broke down to math you're like hey it's not a 50 million increase it's actually this and I think right now what the numbers that we were looking at the 404 million um for overall was based on what's expended till now and then there's still like 40 million to be spent and so for 24 would be as you explained you know 444 not 404 million so if we understand that in detail then we can make sense and say oh no this makes sense um so what about the contractual nine about a million dollar in um Police Commissioner the commissioner's office for contractual so in the the commissioner and just if I could back up I'm looking at professional um standards yes I mean obviously it's it's a a guess but I I bet you that's where OBM put the placeholder for the 1.8 million for the promotional exam okay um could you you please uh on record through the chair later on confirm confirm that please um the commissioner's budget um under the commission's budget in is included is the gardener contract for peer support that's roughly around $300,000 and um one of our new initiatives in um which is a priority for the commissioner is Cia accreditation there's approximately 75,000 in his budget for the CLE accreditation to start in fiscal year 25 that adds up thank you um there's a decrease about $200,000 in Personnel um commissioner who did you fire what's going on um is there a reason for the decrease not not that I'm aware of but I'd have to look at the Personnel listed there the recommendation is about 200,000 less um unless it's just like hey we didn't hire and we we don't need that much money um and through the chair also if you can answer that and then for Community engagement back to counselor I mean the Mr chair 's a question um for Community engagement actually you mentioned something about personnel and I understood that because there was aund about $100,000 decrease in Personnel in community engagement um so that sounds like one position gone but uh contractual amount for for for FY 24 was $697,500 it went down to recommended amount of just $15,500 if you put me in Bureau of community engagement and you tell me look you have about $4 million to hire but you give me no contractural money what am I going to do that that that money that was in fiscal year 24 was where the $582,000 of Youth connect set it should have been moved to office of research and development and that has been since transferred so that that that that was there it was a valid um line item but was placed under the uh Bureau of community engagement instead of going into the office of research and development who kind of Works hand inand with the folks that youth connect that makes sense um what I'm saying is do you guys encourage the Bureau of community engagement to provide any type of community engagement and doesn't that take money to do in terms of like programmatic costs is there like you know like I a basketball something and I got to spend money where do I get the money from if I'm in that department they do have their own non-personnel budget that they submit um to US every year and that we obviously add the all the Departments up and submit one budget to the office of budget management but I'll be honest with you that there are some divisions or departments that don't have a budget but if they need something we always you know try try to accommodate um it would be nice if it's clear here so that they have an expectation we understand that there's an investment There's an actual intentional investment to do that and we have a foundation that helps out as well our engagement um we'll do a third round if you have additional questions this sucks thank you all right we'll be back we'll be back um councilor Murphy than you um thank you for being here with us all day um answering our questions um I guess the teacher and me I don't like those absolute statements like always and never so I do just want to go on the record to say I do not believe that the police department causes crime in the city of Boston so I just want to state that um and no one wants to need you but when we do right um so thank you you've been there in the past for my family so I do just want to go on the record saying thank you when you do show up also today we've heard a lot about the Investments That continue to grow in our community policing which we talk a lot about having you know a National Standard of community policing and the Outreach we do and we see our police offices who are directly working under um superintendent chin but I would say I've seen many non-c community service off offices playing basketball and reaching out to teachers and parents and families to help support our Our Youth and our seniors I do say our seniors seem to have the most fun with our police offices so thank you for involving yourself in their um their need we've had many hearings with a strong and making sure that we're providing for our seniors and I know the police always show up for them also so thank you for that um just one question about promotions when we're holding back on promotions because there's Staffing shortages for our Patrol men Patrol women um can you just talk me through that because I do hear from people who feel like they missed the next round they have to take the test again they have to study for the next exam because there might be openings but we're not promoting because it would cause you know a void so how do you make that choice choice between promoting up or keeping the bodies in the other departments so you look at it from a perspective of you know do we want to be topheavy and no officers or have officers and not uh you know all the supervision that they should or need uh and require so it's a balancing that so what we try to do is just we have a lot of you know empty open positions and so instead of just filling them like we always did like we were a certain size before to draw from the officer pool we're systematically trying to do it basically around promotions not promotions but Academy classes that come out so at least we know there's a supply of of of new Personnel coming into the department at the same time that we're pulling away um from that and so that's really the the thought process behind what we're currently doing um in the end you know we're still trying to fill those positions but we're just trying to be mind ful of the number of offices we have thank you and I'll just end by saying um I appreciate the public testimony thank you all for being here I do often say I wish there was the same political will and push back from our residents when it comes to our $1.7 billion school budget and we're not we know decrease enrollment year after year and many of our students aren't receiving the quality education that they need so I know myself and many of my colleagues will continue to advocate in that department also but thank you for being here and I that's all chair thank you thank you counselor Flynn the floor is yours thank you Mr chair thank you commissioner again for being here and your team as well councilor Murphy recognized superintendent Chen as also so I also want to acknowledge his work across Ross the city on community engagement that team does a tremendous job so just want to say thank you to the superintendent and the team um I also want to I also want to say thank you um Lisa for your testimony and your and your important leadership as well whether it's to Lisa or to the commissioner we we hear about cutting the police budget cutting the overtime budget we were close to doing that last year as as you know but just walk me through it if if we ever cut the police budget if we cut the overtime budget we cut the police budget tell tell me commissioner Alisa what what what happens what impact does that have and how do how do the police respond you're still going to fill the overtime shifts because we have to in the name of public SA safety but tell me the mechanics of of what happens with the payroll with the accounting with finances Lea can certainly speak to the finance end of it but contractually there's some things that we have to do around that but more importantly um you know Public Safety is a is a big deal and so uh because of the fact is most of the overtime we do is related to Public Safety events and we would have to probably really really uh reconsider how we deploy uh our officers across the board just to make sure we meet the highest Public Safety needs uh and so you know I don't like to speculate on that because you know it's it's that's not currently where we are and and thankfully so but the fact is is that there there's an impact there's an impact on communities there impact on the calls we go to uh calls we currently go to we probably wouldn't go to uh there would be a tremendous impact on Public Safety across the board and and and um you know thankfully you know you know we're not to that point uh around that so Lisa I mean if if we cut the overtime and um obviously certain as the commissioner said certain things would not happen on thought deployment would be changing and Revisited but it just we cut the overtime they don't they don't get paid right I I would say it this way Boston wouldn't be the same city it would be you know as as far as the nature of events the parades the festivals the cultural events that we have in the city uh if we couldn't provide Public Safety to it they probably wouldn't occur at least to the extent that they currently do that's just on the nice events and and the friendly events in the city um we serve many different functions within uh you know our city as well as you know other things we've talked a ton about um uh speeding uh reelers things of that nature in the city where we we address certain things uh when Public Safety goes down it it actually attracts people that actually want to commit crimes and then you know the city would be an an attractive nuisance to people who might want to come here because the fact that we lack Public Safety in that way so so I I don't even want to go down the road of what could happen but a lot of Nega negative things could come from that thank you commissioner Thank you Lisa it should also be noted that when police are working overtime that overtime commissioner and Lisa as you know better than I do but that's not facted into someone's retirement no it's not pension eligible and details are not facted into retirement either no it's not they're not pension eligable so their P their pension is based on their salary correct so even though we hear some a police officer making $200 $300,000 their Sal their pension when they retire is based on their salary highest 3 years but that does not include overtime of details yeah no thank you for highlighting that because I don't think I don't think the public really realizes that um and the other aspect of it commissioner I wanted to highlight is the police offices it's mandatory most often times it's mandatory over time they they are being asked by their supervisor to work an an extra shift because the Manning levels that we that we have and and the reason I the reason I bring that up commissioner is we're down so many hundreds of police officers obviously not just here in Boston but across the country as you mentioned on uh because of the national media in the in in the what happened to police departments across the country but I think the conversation that we're having also has an impact um on young people as you mentioned not wanting to be police so the more we talk about the negative aspects of let's cut the police divest from the police is the new phrase it's not defund it's divest um but that is having an impact on cities Across America commissioner I mean it you know certainly could be I I do know this is that part of our job is it's it's a Young Person's job in the sense that we we hire officers relatively young uh and we want them to reflect the the populations that we serve uh that give different diverse you know viewpoints and understanding uh the needs of the city and that's what we we are looking for and the fact is we are a public service and that's what we're here to serve the public and and who better to do that than than the passionate you know caring people that that are Liv in the world today and you know when they come on the job they usually find very quickly you know the importance of the work but the fact is if sometimes you listen to the negative dialogue that's out there they have no clue of what we do for a living and that's that's sad you know in some ways but um the fact is that we uh love young people we need young people uh the whole world does and and we're competing um for them to actually want to join our ranks just like every other uh industry is right now across the board because the demographics of population of people is changing and so uh there's more openings and a lot less people to fill them and so I think it's really important that we you know have a real dialogue about what we do and and and not about um some of the some of the things that are put out there around people that are usually on the activist ends of of the spectrum around what we do we can get better but we can only get better through people who want to come on board and help you know be that change thank you commissioner let me let me just end I I just have a a quick note I I jot it I jot it down here um commissioner when we have special events that you highlighted that's that's man at atory overtime those are those events are are scheduled obviously throughout the year but a protest is not scheduled um so if there's a protest happening tonight or or tomorrow you have to be prepared now to tell officers that they need to work 16 hours is that is that correct well maybe not 16 hours but we do deal with unscheduled advant through actual uh extensions of overtime and that that's how we're currently dealing with u some of the unscheduled the many un scheduled things that are going on regarding public safety issues we could we can probably expect More protest and demonstrations and other related types of events unscheduled from now until the end of the summer I would assume right I don't have a crystal ball around that but you know given the uh volatility in the world and in particularly with elections coming up and things of that nature it wouldn't be a stretch to speculate that no we we have to so are we I I guess my question commissioner are we prepared for summer months in terms of the financing of the police department scheduling of overtime preparing officers that they might be needed to work uh more shifts what impact does that have on the the Staffing and Manning levels but also what are you doing how are you informing those officers maybe they have a scheduled vacation with their family that they haven't taken in a while how do those factors plan offices that on scheduled vacation will take their vacation you know that it's a right and privilege and they certainly are able to do that uh there's no doubt about that so people who have scheduled vacation will be able to do that and so we are mindful of that and and what we're trying to do is prioritize these events you know certainly throughout the summer in general just make sure that that we have proper coverage and that the unplanned things are less lesson but the fact is we don't have a crystal ball of what's happening in the world uh you know uh from moment to moment and so um but you know we we care about our employees and the fact is is that overtime it's just not this magical thing where people just get a a big bag of money and then they're very happy it's like working a second job or a third job most people don't want to work second and third jobs but that's what it is for the people who actually do the work it's actually it's not this this big you know you just get a a large amount of money you're working a second job you're working a third job and and and there's very few people who want to work that way regardless any industry and that's what we're at sometimes asking our officers to do it just happens to be reflected in that word overtime and so sometimes it's projected so it's this money that they get and they get to have good time the reality is they're not taking days off they're not spending time with their family they're you know you know they're not maybe taking uh time to enjoy life because of the fact is we require them to work so many of different events and so that's the part I don't think people necessarily understand when they talk about our budget and what we do um if there's none of this goes on then office just work their normal shifts like everybody else they go home their normal shift there's no overtime there's no force over time we're not even having this conversation but the reality is we live in a world that's volatile there's more and more protests there's more and more unscheduled events and things that happen that we have to provide Public Safety for and that's what we do and I'm pretty proud of the work of of officers that do it on a daily basis so thank you commissioner I'll just end with and I I wanton to ask a question I'll just make a a brief comment when when an officer work is working mandatory overtime maybe it's his for her or his 14th or 15th hour certainly their skills and not as as sharp as if they just started their shift um at night time the impact it has on on your mental health the impact it has on your physical health interacting with the public during stressful environments but I I I think at times Us in government myself included we have to change the language of how we we speak about the role the police play in society I go to I go to community meetings almost every night for for seven straight years in South and South Boston Chinatown in seven years no one's ever said to me hey Flynn you need to cut the police budget they say to me we respect the police but can we have more police they actually say just the opposite can I have more police here on Andrew Square can I have them here at the Chinatown Gate can I have them here near the Boston Garden they're asking for more police that I've never heard anyone say to me cut the police I've I've never heard it my constituents say to me just the oppos they expect me to come here to City Hall and advocate for for them and for their quality of life thank thank you Mr chair thank you uh Council Mia the floor is yours thank you um so I take my job very serious and I am very lucky that I get to uh fight and represent the people and so I do so often times very Unapologetic um and I think that we are now in a moment in time where this divisiveness about pitting people against each other needs to stop right you all are here to do a job and there's a lot of conflict and different decisions and opinions of what your job should be and I've always been very clear about the fact that you all should focus on what your job is which is the law and then there's mental health there's housing you are expected to be the housing case manager you know the mental health provider there's like a whole bunch of other things that come along with your work that this conversation around reallocating resources becomes something that is divisive and I don't think that that's the right conversation to be having right now and pitting people against each other just doesn't work for anybody because the people who lose are the people that we were supposed to be protecting and serving and really uplifting so we can't have conversations around Public Safety if we're not being honest about the lack of Investments that we're making around the issues of housing right we can't be honest about Public Safety if we're not talking about the root causes of violence like we have to acknowledge that the root causes of violence is what's keeping you all employed right and so those are the sort of things that I think the frustration for for a lot of the community Advocates particularly the young people that come here to speak it's not that they don't respect your work um or would prefer that you do not exist as as a department it's just that for so many decades the issues that are impacting lwi income communities have gone unheard and you know resource and so that's where the frustration comes in and I just want to name that I'm not speaking on behalf of the young people that have spoken but I think it's important for us to name the lack of frustration that so many people feel when it comes to fighting for the things that we have literally been dying for and I think that your budget being the second highest is you know why we're having this conversation today and BPS is just a hot mess too and so counselor I'm sure there'll be other Advocates talking about uh holding BPS accountable so I think you know all of these things are interconnected so I want to just I just want to I've been praying here quietly just asking God to give me the strength to speak with love which is one of the things that I've been struggling with but here I go I'm curious if you could just provide some data about how much uh of the policy uh police volunteer or overtime versus are forced to do it like so I'm curious is are people volunteering or are they being forced and are police really being forced to do 50 to $100,000 in overtime is that forced if or volunteer if we um have overtime uh if people don't volunteer for it then then we forc people for it right so that's how that works so if we don't get volunteers then we go to um U next available person and then forced to do it okay so if we have to pay overtime um because we're short staffed right um but it doesn't cost much more money um to pay overtime to supervisors versus Patrol you know I think it's it's important for us to like talk a little bit about whether or not um how often times about over how we talk about overtime if we're paying more money in supervisor to to uh super vised in overtime because we're choosing to run short so basically can you explain how um this works because overtime has been like the biggest conversation for the last four years can you just for the record help us understand the decision making around because if our if crime has decreased right and you've managed to do what you've done the last last year with what you have why increase the budget why why why overtime like can just the numbers aren't adding up so you know it's it's we respond to more than just crime we provide Public Safety in so many different ways and so as the city becomes more International more worldwide as we have more events as we have more events in the city as we have more uh parades and cultural festivals as we have more Championship you know series or things of that nature as we bring in outside events throughout the country here in the city it provide it needs Public Safety uh and that's what we provide and and so in crime shifts so we having a a very good spree around violent crime going down it doesn't mean that all crime has gone down we had two categories where it actually went up and so um the fact is is it's not violent crime which is a really good so there's no loss of life so that's exception right so we we we care about life tremendously so we prioritize that but it doesn't mean all crime has gone down and so you know we provide um you know service and we do it through community policing by building trust with the community so we can partner with others to help address the needs of our city and we do it multiple ways and it's a work in progress and it takes a lot and and I'd like to say that we're pretty exceptional about doing it yeah so let's just talk a little bit about I'm going back to the exam that's become the vein of my existence right now um but given that we're short staffed and people are being forced to do mandatory overtime summer events and such as you know such as open streets parades festivals all of you what you have just mentioned you know what are you doing to ensure that people are going to actually have time to study and prep for the exam right after the summer the exam is in September right so which means it comes right after the summer months and you know our people and you know what I'm talking about our people that brown people you know we're going to how are they going to be able to have time to prepare if we're really serious about increasing diversity so I'll say this it's a promotion exam to be a supervisor or management in the police department if if people want that and they choose to do that in their career it's incumbent upon them to actually um do the work to prepare for it and do that around it um we don't carve out time for them to do that they they have to do it during their own time we don't pay people to study uh they have to do that on their own time and so you know it is um you know we're giv them the opportunity to do that and it's up to the individuals you know what they do with that opportunity we just want to make sure that it's fair that we get Fair exams and that people know what to expect on the exam around uh around this this subject matter so we've been talking a lot about trimming or at least being a little bit more fiscally responsible this go around considering you know so let's just talk a little bit about about what that would look like for you all right if you had to trim the fat and cut your budget down a little bit where are the areas that you can sacrifice I mean I don't know I wouldn't even want to speculate until well let's just speculate for the sake of this exercise I mean if you change the factors I can change the answer so speculating just is just guessing I you know and I could look at it from a negative point of view from a positive point of view which I choose not to do because it's pretty late in the hour and all the these men and women that are here today actually are currently working and actually do work for the city so I as we all do too i' be respectful of their time so I I don't want to speculate I will answer a direct question if you have one but I do so I want to go back to the fact that we are here to try to figure out the budget is Big right and so if there was some areas of which we can trim the fat where where would you feel comfortable commissioner that is a that is a very specific question I mean would it come out of equipment would it come out of contractual Services where where it go I've probably looked to places where we spend a lot of time and energy and effort which don't go towards Public Safety and don't go towards um you know helping us keep the public safe and we we have a ton of requirements there's a ton of requirements on us to do a lot of different things that don't go towards Public Safety and so I probably go through that whole long checklist of things that are out there so give me one I mean I who worked on this budget I think many people that at this table right so then you know let's just I'd like to hear from this table setting that we have here so the good thing about it is is that I deal in realistic stuff so when something is real then I will take the real effort to actually go through that process in between that it's it's not really good use of my time or anyone else is your time right now ideal in the reality of the world because the fact is is we deal with things from moment to moment minute to minute and there's no need for me to speculate about that right now well because you know folks are I I don't live in a fear-based mentality like the world is coming to an end I have hope and faith and believe that all things are possible I'm very optimistic and I feel like sometimes the narrative says you know oh if we don't fund then you know everything's going to just be torn apart and I just I challenge that I don't I don't believe that that's the case and I feel like we're living in a fear-based society and I think that when we do that we're leading with people's deficits not our assets and so I think that there is some something for us to learn in the exercise that we're trying to have right now is that we need to we need to give people more credit and and I and I don't think that we are as [Music] um I don't know maybe just me being optimistic I just don't I feel like the world is not as bad as people have led us to believe I I'd say this that very rarely do things ever getting better without a conscious effort or an investment into that to get better and and so so you know we are better cuz we are investing in our our you know relationships we invest in community policing we invest in our officers we invest in training we invest in a whole lot of things and that's what made us a better Department around that so when anytime you talk about not doing those it's hard for me to use that and then still be as hopeful as you described but I'm also a hopeful person as well so I know my time is up we have a third round right yes for counselors yes um quick question I heard Council Mia um asked this question um do we have a breakdown of what rank like is it where our superv where our overtime coming from because I believe what councelor Mahia was um getting at was if we have so many vacancies in in leadership right because they're at a higher pay rate then if they're required to to do overtime will be paying more in overtime right opposed to supervisors doing overtime or compare right supervisor right right that breakdown and if we could just see if we can have that breakdown I understand the question so I think what council M here was getting at was because we have super so many vacancies on that supervisor level that will be paying more overtime because supervisors right for supervisors so there's less far less supervisors than there are police officers so back filling for officers is a lot more prevalent in the events uh you know you need a lot more officers before using super supervisors are needed in in or at least you know in some way shape or form so it's the formula is not a one for one around that and so it's a little different but would that be adding to the reason why we're paying more in overtime because supervisors are making more than a patrolman there's less positions to fill by far for supervisors than patrolman so if we pull in those patrolman and its vacancies those are positions that we may or may not have to backfill immediately uh as opposed to supervisors which some of those we might not have to backfill immediately at all or if at all in some in some ways Council Weber thank you chair um just a a couple quick comments and and a question uh um first you know I guess commissioner Cox on on the the exam I I would just I'd be careful about framing it as uh as as people you want people uh in supervisory positions who can prepare for the exam for like in our uh Lieutenant's exam case we had Bruce Smith who uh was you know uh did very well on the tenis exam but you know wasn't being promoted and you know we were able to compare an you know some officers who could take leave uh to study for the exam as and where whereas officer Smith worked and earned commendations for his service uh you know and wasn't able to study for the exam as as much but showed exemplary service for BPD so you know I think that's I think we should looking at those people to promote rather than people who can just study for the exam I'll just I'll I'll leave that um and and to get to you know in my conversations um you know I represent uh aglon square m m Haley apartments and what I've heard from people uh in those communities and so much they want to see less policing but they want to see different kind of policing they want police officers to be able to get out of their cars and and they want walking beats and they want a different relationship with the police department so I hope you you'd keep that in mind in terms of the budget and overtime we're talking a lot about overtime um is there anything in and I've heard stories for example where you know we'll we'll pay extra for court appearances uh and sometimes officers will double triple up and then I'll show up in court you know is there your your your commissioner your your management your managing the police department I know you don't want to see you know wasted effort and money being spent that you know we could save and use on other resources including in the police department is there anything you're looking at to reduce the um what you know number of hours work number of overtime uh in the police department yeah I mean we're looking at you know everything that we can uh to make sure that we reduce the number of hours across the board from you know officers like I said whether they're out injured so we don't have to replace those and get them back to work to um you know making sure that uh you know we don't create unnecessary overtime in some way shape or form um that is absolutely needed and so we're looking at so many different things related to uh particularly around overtime uh and and the use of our officers uh because it's it's really important both budgeted ter wise and wellness to our our department well I I just to follow up on councelor M question I mean is there anything specifically in that you know any practices that you're looking at and saying okay this is you know this isn't fulfilling our mission uh and you know we could actually save money because if you just look at the overtime budget it just it's going in One Direction very quickly is there you know I guess generally is there anything you want to do to slow that down or reverse it and then two are there any specific practices that you've looked at and think okay we could do a better job at this I mean we always looking to do a better job across the board but the fact is I mean right now we everything we go to either we're required to or we're asked to go to it and so it's hard for me to say that you know we shouldn't go to x u when we're the only people going to it and I don't want to ever give the public a sense that there stuff that you know we don't want to go to I I would say that if we lived in a perfect world and there was a you know a way to deal with mental health issues a far better way than than you know what we do or what the what Society is doing in general that would be one of them but the fact is is that we deal with the public you know as they are and so we always have to be uh least mentally health informed around that because we you know we tend to come in contact with them on a daily basis no matter what okay thank thank you everyone uh chair I'm yielding back to you thank you um you have second round of questions counc f jerson a third round all right Council fance Anderson the floor is yours thank you um in um professional development there um the contractor Services did like received a minor increase it's not a lot maybe 100 maybe $100,000 um but in personnel there was a significant increase from $6,499 664 to um um recommended 25 fy2 11 million 541 um just explaining like who are we hiring within the next year to um what is that like about $5 million increase so this is what I was speaking of um earlier on professional development when Cadets um when recruits go into the academy they're assigned to the Bureau of professional development or to the academy and when they they graduate and I have to look into this and work with OBM to correct when they graduate we're not exactly CH changing the Chatfield and and where they're sitting so some of this could be long and Bureau of field services a good chunk of this could be in field services it's just that they're still charted to the academy where they Bean versus actually doing what they call a budgeted Amendment form to move them into the proper District or unit or or Bureau that they they now sit in it's it's it's a housekeeping thing that OBM and I are very much aware of um but we found that this has been a problem and a question consistently asked um over the years I understand so um where whereas there's no like line item specific to Cadet program you just put it in professional development because essentially it's like increasing so for example I'm I'm I'm under code 21301 um those in professional developer are on 21401 when they move to BFS upon graduation they should be moved to 21501 a lot of times that that that housekeeping doesn't happen because there's so many that they are still sitting in the professional development budget but they are elsewhere in a district dor Bureau okay thank you so much um is there I noticed in Investigative Services um contractor is move and but in Personnel a um a decrease can you can you tell me why why that [Applause] is sorry I'd have to drill down on it counselor and get that back to you please um no worries about that I asked that [Music] um so of your um and if you don't have this if you could just submit it cuz I you know we're really interested in the whole like Equity thing um I think my district calls me like the equity Queen so I I have to like really hone in to like contracts and like where um wmbs but also like um are we are we Contracting local and I did ask the question earlier about you know um divesting from like the deadly exchange and we square that out it's not happening um and then um but and also like if I could get them get it categorized by like what are we Contracting local um just so that we as counselors look at you know po policy Solutions in terms of like how we can look at um companies internal and I saw a lot of like software you know engineering and um uh or maintenance software maintenance outside of Boston now you know we're like the capital of everything Tech right now or at least we're becoming that and I'm just wondering if we can be more intentional in keeping those contracts local um but overall like I didn't get the percentage um of WMBB but um if I can get that on record um through the chair and then as well as like Boston's percentage and what we are Contracting um outside of Boston I I would like to point out that we follow the city's procurement Equity procurement guidelines we follow the CT list that as provided by the city so anytime that there's a particular service um that we need we go down that sht list to see if there's a viable vendor on that list we also if we're going out for an invitation to bid we use that CT list where we reach out to those vendors even though they might not even put a bid on on the invitation so we follow all the guidelines set forth by the equity procurement process within the city um with respect to some of these software contracts most of them are maintenance service agreements once we've we've had the license that we pay annually and and unfortunately that's almost like almost considered a sole source because it's their software um on the maintenance service but we do follow the guidelines set forth by the city's um Equity procurement that makes a lot of sense very helpful to um State on record that means we have to do a better job here in the city and we're working on you know Supplier Diversity um how we can maintain our list of contracts you know um or you know uh applicants and if we're the ones providing it to you then we need to do a better job at diversifying that um it's it's not looking good in terms of like us Contracting local or outside of Boston we want to contract Boston and then if anything we want to contract in Massachusetts and if anything like you know what I mean closer to home um and you you're you're an expert on this you know why so um but I would be interested in just looking at the percentage though just so that I can take that conversation to supply diversity and say look we need to do a better job here and figure out how I can be of help well I think education is key to you know um kind of like the store Sims the the best consumers the educated consumer a lot a lot of vendors out there don't know the contractual process for the city and we've had we've had contract fears before and they were extremely helpful like we had a table set up a couple of times in the bowling building and just for for question and answers and people weren't aware there's a Vendor Portal there's a supplier portal that you go in and register as a vendor you know um and also how they fill out their vendor profile helps us distinguish are they a small business are they minority owned business they don't check that off the Box we can't capture that information yeah no like for example you spent a lot of effort um you made a lot of effort in um advertising your exams and then there was an increase and I saw like in the last couple years there was a decrease but then this year you did like the bus banners you know social media a bunch I read it through yourf I report um so um good job on that and hopefully we can continue to try to increase diversity um in within your department by way of like people knowing to take these exams um I saw that last year detective was assigned to investigate um uh the murder of re Rita Hester and I know that you cannot comment on ongoing investigations but I'm curious to learn more about the process of how BPD um goes about um um investigating um particularly um cold cases involving trans individuals and what guidelines special considerations are given when dealing with hate crimes involving trans people um do you keep track record of gender identity um expression or sexual um orientation for those victims of homicide shootings in Boston ma'am again if you could just um give me the question again yeah no problem um examples I'll start with examples do you keep track of gender identity expression and sexual orientation for victims homicide shootings in Boston basically just sort of like um you know um how you deal with investigation cold cases involving trans individuals and what guidelines so special investigations that um you're uh uh executing I guess is it noted somewhere in the in the file I I would say that uh through conversations with the family and what the investigators would learn it's it's going to be noted does that change the way any of our investigators approach an investigation absolutely not the investigation would be done if it were nonous person if it were a millionaire we're going to continue to do the investigation is going to be uh conducted in the same manner it's the cooperation that we're getting that we try to elicit from the public that's where we run into problems so we don't there might be some a certain area in the uh in the city where people would would be more forth coming and giving us information and there's other areas because of fair reprisal that they would not so um the best I can tell you is that um these investigators they're very good at what they do they're very invested and uh they become part of the surviving family themselves and so anything outside of what a person may represent a person may be that doesn't factor into the uh into the way they uh conduct their investigation I appreciate your response to be inclusive in terms of non-discriminatory or biases when it as it relates to how you conduct your your work um it's it's a uh topic that's near and dear to to my heart and um just wanted to get get an idea of how it works or how you go about um specifically like you know does does if you're if you're tracking that like is there a trend andig figuring out like what the issue is or the State of Affairs in Boston as it concerns transgender sure and and we would you know through the brick as well we would um we would definitely uh we're we're looking for patterns we're always looking for patterns and we're going to look outside of Boston as well to see what may be happening nationally to see you know to see if that's coming our way or is it factoring in is it could it be somebody trans uh you know that's it's moving around in committing crimes but yes we would always look for patterns thank you um I think that you know this process is um I think it's actually exciting um numbers have become an exciting thing so I know I know I know um but you know I will be just sort of to recap where my part or my work goes from here um you know we have the increases decreases but it's the answers that we get from you that we sort of um uh try to balance what's going on with the numbers and if there are areas that we uh need clarification on in terms of like if we feel it's an excess if we feel that it's not it's unreasonable um and it sounds like in terms of like um effective like first pay period from 2020 to all the way to your contract 2024 and then in terms of the percentages increases that you have to like go and balance out um and then considering professional development considering Cadet and all of these things and today it sounds like it it the numbers worked out for me um but I will have questions specific on different um line items just so that we can like work out the Kinks and if there are you know hopefully we do find extra money um or maybe you know there are areas that OBM need to clarify um and that's what I wanted to leave you with um my final word just to remind folks on what I'm looking for um in terms of information um data demographics that we asked about in terms of a promotions um uh Sergeant specifically um I'm going to reiterate one more time and it's just an opinion a humble one I hope um that we 2021 you have those test scores you've you've promoted about 70 sergeants um and and if you know you can go up to 150 if we can use those test scores already in place and I understand you have newcomers or people that um have been in about 3 years and could benefit as well from taking exams but you know having that people have already put in their time and investment into a career and they've taken these tests I'm encouraging um you know on record that we take a look at those people that have passed um to try to promote more um sergeant of color um specifically I know you don't have any Haitian women uh uh uh in leadership and uh supporting that as well on record and um also um if there are plans to expand mental health uh crisis response I think that that's the direction I I used to be a mental health provider and I would love to um be able to look at the numbers and figure out if there's opportunities for us to continue to evolve um on that on that area and especially with collaborations with of the best team I know that they're severely overwhelmed um and could use more funding more staff more capacity um and then as well as uh in terms of professional development um ongoing um supports and trainings opportunities for officers to enhance their skills you mentioned you know folks can study folks can take their tests um but then if if that's what we're doing can we look at policies in the past that we've already used to increase um diversity especially in promot promotions um and then Fair salaries I think you know I do have uh I do have questions in terms of like their um the quality of life for officers um performance um people you know people are deemed um insane if they don't get sleep after 72 hours right so how are we looking at you know what's what how people how long are people working and um is it viable for us to continue this pattern of forcing people to work as opposed to looking at how we can balance it out um and so all the questions I asked about the numbers and the decreases and increases I will submit through the chair um and hopefully uh you can send them to me um I did have questions specifically one more one last one oh no no we have they've been here for three rounds no this one last question no like on record and I can stop he doesn't have to answer submit it to the chair I'm submitting it to you so the question coun F Anderson no I'm submitting to you no you can submit it to me in writing this is really important we have more we have important questions from our councilor colleagues as well oh I thought I was the only one I'm sorry Council Murphy the floor is yours thank you um oh and I just want to acknowledge that councelor derkin has joined us Council Murphy the floor is yours close us out um just one statement um I know when councilor Mahia asked kind of for specifics like where would you cut which is never an answer we ever want to um have to kind of talk about but the first things that came to mind were just like all the times I see our community offices if it's at a you know the charlest town baseball parade if it's at a senior walk if it's at our you know coffee with a cop it's all of the those the bike units the um resources that I know when um some of my colleagues spoke about when we're in community at meetings and neighbors are asking for you know different types of police services if we were to start cutting those those would be the services that would have to go first because you keep mentioning and it's true that the safety always has to be priority everything else which we know is important but it wouldn't be falling on the police department to provide those services anymore and it would probably not be provided by any other department because we have other you know all the other departments come through us also and talk about their needs and how their budgets are are tight also so just wanted to uplift that all of those things that may seem extra if we're starting to cut we know is so crucial to the um you know the city being vibrant so just wanted to um uplift that and just thank you for still being here thank you chair thank you um I do want to acknowledge that we have acknowledged that there are line items within the department that have been historically underst understand right like lease purchase lease purchases in history right historically permanent employ permanent employees has been underspent so I just want to just acknowledge that we have acknowledged that in this hearing uh Council Flyn the floor is yours thank you Mr chair thank you commissioner and to the team commissioner i l to superintendent um Nora Baston talk about professional development and especially the the training recruits are getting at at the Academy supporting those with mental health challenges um my my question is do we offer any type of assistance if there's an office a call to a veteran in trouble facing uh mental health challenges and and the police officer responds but do we have any um professional development or training for police offices as it relates to supporting veterans that are in veterans that are in crisis yeah and so I can't speak to all the training particularly around that but I do know we have Partnerships with the military uh who have actually come and and I've spoken with the general himself about resources for veterans just for that purpose uh to give them direct uh connection to VA around the help and support that they need so I do we do have information that you know we pass on to the officers to make sure the vets that need extra help can actually get it and where they can go about getting it from okay now that's that's good to hear um commissioner if a if a a police officer needs to take attend a medical appointment at the at the Veterans Administration what is the process for that per police officer to request time off I I want to I want to ensure that that police officer um has the opportunity to engage in his or her medical care to the VA yeah and so you know any officer can take a personal day and that's not that doesn't require us to uh give permission and then they can certainly use one of those days to to um you know schedule appointments uh they can also ask for you know a v vacation day or any other type of a day discretionary day that we might have through their local Captain telling them what it was for and um if it's health related I'm pretty sure that uh those leaves might be granted so but personal days do not they don't need our permission for those okay what would happen commissioner if a if a police officer is instructed or or has to work mandatory overtime and he or she has a medical appointment at the VA what what would the procedure be what would the logistics be for that for that particular officer I'm sure if the officer shares that information with the supervisor beforehand that maybe uh outside of a when I say a serious emergency within the city I'm sure that they would probably Grant the uh the officer time to do that uh via some of the many ways which we have time time to be granted thank you I want to I do want to make sure and I I know you are committed to it as well commissioner but supporting our veterans that are on the police department that are that are our First Responders especially the the the younger people that are going to be on the police department for the next 15 20 years we want to make sure that their medical and mental health uh support is there the VA does a tremendous job but so does the Boston Police Department um mental health response as well offic of Wellness is is something that I'm I'm concerned with that I I want to ensure that we have the necessary funding the resources in the budget to support that and and if we don't have healthy offices in in their families we don't have a strong police department and asking police officers to work in you know 16 hours a day is is very unhealthy in my opinion but I that's why I continue to advocate for more police officers we don't have enough and they are under pressure to do so much more in society and we have to support our offices as we ask them to do more for the city asking them to do more for the residents of Boston but when a situation happens and they're on their 15th hour of of um supporting the residents of Boston are we I guess I'm not asking a question but we have to at least Factor those types of sit that type of um situation when there is a problem there is a challenge that we we put an officer in this situation where he he or she is on the 15th hour in we ex we expect expect them to be 100% on top of the game it just it just doesn't work I've I've I've I've been there I've seen that and had the had the opportunity to serve 24 years in the Navy and I've I've worked 24-hour shifts and I I couldn't do it I'm I'm barely able to stand up after working 15 or 16 hours but to have that consistently happen to police officers um I think it's upon us as city council is to acknowledge that we're not we're not um supporting our residents when we put a police officer on on on patrol for 16 straight hours um again thank you commissioner thank you to your team and thank you Mr chair for this informative hearing thank you Council M here the floor is yours thank you Shane um so a a few things I just want to clarify uh just for the record so that everybody understands and I am not misquoted in the Boston Herald um in particular is that when I'm talking about reallocating resources I'm and I'm asking us to think creatively about how we can both consider Public Safety and also repair harm build trust I am I believe right that those Community officers those things that really matter are not the things that should go be the first to be cut in the budget so I'm challenging us to cuz those are the things that build relationships those those community resource officers that are on the ground that are showing up that are walking the beat that are developing relationships with Community those are the folks who know how to interact so I I think that that should be the last thing that gets cut first um so I just want to note that for for the record um cuz the things that builds trust are the things that we need to invest more in but I'm just curious um how much does it cost to take the exam 15 the entry level or the promotional both so the civil service for the entry level I want to say it's 75 $75 for the civil service exam um and they also have a they you can actually request to wave the fee at Civil Service they have a period of when you can wave the fee if you you have some undue hardship um for the promotional exam um there's going to be a fee charg for the um of 150 for the education and experience component of the exam that will be done by the vendor and and who pays for that do do you guys pay for that or do this counil who pays for it for the $150 the officer pays that 150 oh so we don't have a budget for it we have a budget for the promotional exam in fiscal year 25 there's 1.8 million in the recommended fiscal year 25 budget so that we're going to the promotion so no this is for so for example that 1.8 is to pay for the exam administrator to secure venues for the assessment center um for the actual oral boards and so it's it's it's it's also to provide study materials from an outside vendor right so cuz the reason why I'm asking is that you know there's an expectation for people to work even when it's forced to do overtime and studying for an exam after a summer factored into all the mandatory 18 hours let's just say that an officer can work so studying for an an exam like this is important to their career and so we're putting officers at a disadvantage from doing well so I'm just curious how we reconciling the $150 fee $150 fee is the cost of to take the exam right so if you are overtime at 18 hours a day let's just say for example and you just laid out a very you know a busy summer and the reason why we need so much overtime in our budget and I'm going back to the exam and you're a person of color and you have to study for the exam but you're also forced to do overtime how are we setting up our officers of color for success in passing this exam if they're being forced to do overtime so you know it it the overtime would be Equitable I would think or for you know everyone in a district station that might be impacted by that or wherever they're assigned uh the cost of the exam is the cost of the exam so everyone has to to that they're all they're all equally uh you know impacted by the the cost of that all right so are you familiar with the program we belong that is yes Jeff okay and grow the girls program um and so there are a lot of programs that are being led by officers of color and often times on their own time and dime right and so when I look at a budget that is this big and then I think about all of the young people who who need more services I'm just curious in terms of Investments where why are we falling short on investing in programming that support the emotional and you know physical and and mental well-being of of of young people we try to seek out non- taxpayer dollars to support those programs through foundations and grants and things of that nature um that's how we try to support uh most of those programs no I understand the how you try to but I'm just curious if we're talking about a moment in time for us to invest in people where in the budget can you see that happening within the the current budget that you have I mean I think it's investing in people when we give them an opportunity to you know move or try to apply for other jobs I think it's an investment in people when we have trainings and all the different trainings that we do around that and give the opportunity to do that um I think we we give them an opportunity to invest in themselves by just giving opportunities across the board um and I think that's important I I think when people work hard towards something I it's the investment in themselves and whether they get promoted or not they learn something they grow from it uh regardless when we do these exams no more than 10% of the people take the exam will ever be promoted that means every exam almost 90% of the people will not be promoted uh but the fact is if the department as a whole people are taking these exams and studying it even if they don't get promoted their knowledge base is gone up uh and the impact of the city is good so taking exams is a good thing for everyone you know we don't make a promise that every single person that takes an exam is going to be promoted that's not the promise that we put out there just the opportunity to do that and so um it's incumbent upon the individuals to do some work too now there's some things that we can do to help and we will try to do that but the fact is is that we're only talking about a small percentage of the people who take these exams who will ever be promoted in any exam and what are the pathways are you exploring now to diversify we take the exam see what what happens on the end of it and then and then look at who who passes the test and then we can address it a lot better when we have real numbers with real people associated with yeah I I think um there's some work that we need to do around more transparency um I I think that there there needs to be some sort of level setting in terms of criteria cuz sometimes it's all in who you know who you got who you're in good graces with who's your you know who's your village and that seems to be the sentiment for a lot of folks um so I I want to name that as things that I hear out in these streets um superintend for Eng I want to tou your Spanish mentors sponsors people that's right that's right so it's about Shifting the culture and and and the narrative often times right so you we did not talk about one thing here and I know it was I I believe I saw it as one of the examples it's the faith in blue and so there is an officer um Officer De Rosa um who is um incredibly just deeply rooted in community and I have seen him in so many spaces and places and you know this is why for me my evolution in the revolution um is because I've had the opportunity to be in community with some officers who who are the real deal who who are out here doing the the work because they love the people that they serve and I think that that's the type of that's what I I want more of is people who understand the culture and who understand what young people are carrying so that when you are interacting with young people you're coming from a different place and I think that that is one of the reasons why there's so much tension here still commissioner in ter terms of um the budget because I don't think that a lot of people see themselves reflected in the decisions that are being made and yes you are a black man and yes you know you're working really hard at changing things but that does not um wash away the hurt and the perception and I'm sorry that you all have to carry that but this is why I harped on diversity and really having the political will to really change the guard if you will because only then can people who who are fighting for real Justice could feel could see themselves reflected and I think that we are we have a long way to go here in the city of Boston and it's difficult to sit through budget hearings right and you hear from you know some folks and there's just a lot of division and I just don't think that that's what we need now right we have to figure out how everyone feels like they've won and everyone feels like they've lost we shouldn't have a system in which people feel like we're pitting each other apart and I think that that's what we do here on the city council you know I I don't ever want anyone to think that I don't appreciate your work I value it and I respect it it's easier to go with that narrative because then you can pit people against each other but I'm not going to allow that to happen not this year we're going to have to have hard conversations about how we build and restore trust because young people are looking at us and they're expecting us to deliver and then communities who don't feel safe are expecting us to deliver and I am watching all of this and I'm trying to think about where do we meet in the middle how do we get to a place where no one feels left behind and we have to get away from that narrative that pits us against each other that does not work no one wins if we can't get this right and that's what I'm invested in and I'm saying that publicly right I'm invested in making sure that we get this right and that means that a lot of people are not going to be happy right but it's okay I'm not here to make people happy I'm here to do my job and my job is to bring these issues to the table and figure out how do we meet in the middle and no one ever wants to meet in the middle because people want to dig their heels for the people who they want to fight for and I feel like we need to stop that and we need to say you know what those who want more police and those who don't want police need to Duke it out in a good way we need to come here and figure out how we're going to get to where we need to be so that everyone feels like they've won no one should walk out of here feeling like they've lost and that's the system that we have set up winners and losers and I don't want to play that game because nobody wins at least in my personal humble opinion I need you to be successful commissioner because if you're successful then my people can live longer right if investing in the things that you want right keeps crime down in my community I want to support that and I also think it's important to acknowledge that we have mental health issues we have housing issues we have a whole bunch of other things that need to be addressed and we can't do it like playing The Hunger Games here which is what we do during these budget Seasons like we P departments against departments you all are important and we have to figure out how we grapple with that in a way that's not divisive and that's what I'm looking to you chair to do is to find a way for everyone to feel like they've won because that has never been the case in the last four years that I've sat through all of these hearings people are are always feeling like they've lost and we can't keep showing up and expecting different results when we're not willing to do the hard work and I think that that's what we're asking you all to do is to think about where can we in the budget which is pretty big where can we reallocate some resources to support housing and mental health and youth jobs I mean right everybody has to live everybody has to eat and everybody's so afraid and I feel like looking at that graph that you shared we are out of all of the Cities across the country we're doing better than anyone else and now is the time for us to experiment and to take risks and to invest in communities in ways like we have never seen because we have the data to show that you guys are doing an amazing job and we appreciate that and now let's think about how we can share that piece of the pie in ways that keep us safe but also speak to the issues that Community are literally dying for I'm sorry thank you Council Mia um going back to detail reform getting everything stood up uh can you tell me like where we're at in the timeline and what are the costs associated with implementing the detail program so do we have thank you chair um so now that hopefully we have the final sworn um contract approved we can move forward with rounding out implementing ation of the various components of the reform at the same time we're in the process of vendor presentations for the automated system there are several companies who perform that service uh around Massachusetts and so we are we're engaged with them to see the kind of pros and cons of each of those programs so that we can develop an RFP to lock in that service for the BPD at the same time our team is working with a procurement team uh here at City Hall to develop the RFP for that third party vendor that we talked about that's going to focus on the training and Staffing of non-p police Personnel at detail uh details throughout the city the automated system is generally something that pays for itself through an administrative fee there may be some cost attached to that but we're in the process of figuring that out and for the vendor there are a fair bit of unknowns in that process to date that may have an impact on the cost but there are there is funding in the fy2 proposed budget to put towards that specific contract as we continue to finalize the reforms in the in the agreements and what's it what's that cost so I think we have $500,000 uh proposed in the budget for that we anticipate the um automation RFP going out early in the summer and then the second for the third party vendor uh presumably in the fall all right and then there was there was a service that you said paid for itself there's no upfront cost to get that so it's there may be a slight administrative cost but what we're seeing and I think what I know anecdotally is a lot of the vendors utilize the administrative fee or some type of service cost that can charge to the vendors to pay for the service all right and just two more questions um going back to um vacancies for civilian positions are we working with um The People's operations Department to see um if we can expand or increase the wages on how we can you know right siize the department if need be to kind of make sure that we're getting all the responsibilities you know done with kind of rightsizing that department with City Hall we we work a lot with City Hall um the folks in Ohr um classing comp to make sure that the vacant positions that we have we make some changes to the job description they are reviewed by class and Comm to make sure that they're graded appropriately and um there have been quite a few positions that have been reclassified as a result of their their job changing or expanding or growing more based on 20 years ago that they have been recommended for reclassification from class and comp but we do work hand inand with them we do that every six months every year is that an annual no it's it's it's a it's usually a position by position basis okay um but there have been several position positions as a result of how they've changed and how they have grown have been um reclassified but but only at the recommendation of OBM and class and Comm I would add that a lot the large majority of our civilian positions are also Union positions so there is some um alignment with the collective bargaining agreements when we're talking about a wholesale change to to salaries all right and then what goes into determining the Staffing needed or when you know um Public Safety is needed at a special event um and how is that determined how many offers need to be at a special um event um and then could you give me you know the range of of cost that overtime cost that goes into you know our special events so without getting into too much into the secret formula the fact that matters there a bunch of factors you know what's going on do we believe that there's you know agitators coming in do we believe that there's a a you know a you know a high likelihood of violence and things of that nature um the more the public safety need the more we make sure we have appropriate people to handle it and that's based on what's going on you know what's the intelligence around what's happening and things of that nature so it's we're informed around data around a lot of that uh some of the other special events might be a little different but it also goes to history history of events history of um how you know is there violence been history historically associated with some of these things um um what's the number of people we have you know in the past has there been any incidents and and then there's other specialized events that we can you know look to again using um our intelligence related to what's happening what's happening in the city what's happening in the world what's happening around that event uh and then the you know the day-to-day you know crime associated with with things in general around that thank you you asked about money what was the other hand yeah I was yeah if you have a dollar amount for for the largest like how much money for you could pick any special event I guess the highest um well pick the marathon um the marathon is is a big ticket for us usually upwards towards a million dollars for the marathon 85% of the costs are in so far for this year's marathon and right now we're at 86,4 53 that's that's in overtime or overtime but I'd also like to point out that you know although it's not considered a special event you know over time we we do capture mass and cast and that has grown significantly year on year thank you um just want to just acknowledge um you know people from the Department that were here earlier or still here to to to right now uh Deputy Harris Deputy moffen superintendent Baston superintendent doen uh Deputy Eden superintendent I'm going to mess up this last name cos keski superintendent chin superintendent Cruz uh Deputy kill Deputy gilepsy Deputy Curry superintendent um choko uh Deputy Dill superintendent Owens uh Marlene Burns Ryan Walsh Marie chavers and Dave foret want to thank you guys all for all your service to the city of Boston I I would run down the name of all the police officers and sergeants and captains and lieutenant in District 4 um but I know I'm going to miss someone but I just want to let them know that I do appreciate all their service um I believe we have one more person for public testimony and and what's the name Lan o Conor and I just want to say thank you guys um for being here um second biggest department um in BPS I believe we had in five five hearings so I just want to say thank you guys for your patience and for being here uh Lan the floor is yours good evening everyone it has been a long day for um these hearings but I'm on here because what I've heard throughout the day is really anti- police um agenda and that's not okay um I'm a constituent of councelor Flynn who is my District counselor I am a constituent of councelor Murphy and councilor Santana what I'm hearing is and what the commissioner is saying he's answering a lot of questions but you just don't want to hear and I'm not understanding that it's so logical the city is growing the police force is not the events are growing the police force is not so what is it going to take for people to understand particularly our young people who are reading the um form um that they've been given what is it going to take for people to actually understand if we don't have police on our streets Prime will increase I'm going to bring you back to former da Rollins when she put together her uh list of what she will no longer prosecute now you're seeing Smash and grabs you're seeing open air drug Market you're seeing rapes um you're seeing big crime and that's not even addressing shop liting and b& um our safety is at risk here and that's throughout the entire city of Boston of all areas because all does mean all right um evidently not always and what I'm hearing is it's just unacceptable look at New York New York went down the same path and had to pause and step back because their crime was so out of control I'm also hearing that people are were trying to break the blue and that includes City councilors and that's not okay the blue cannot and will not be broken and nobody's considering that these men and women of the Boston uh police department they're human beings they have families they are just like us but they're willing to put their life on the line every day every night when they go to work they suit up in their uniform and I'm sorry young people and Progressive people that means guns and in my opinion they have to be armed either equal to or more so than the criminals and this is so logical I I'm not really wrapping my head around why the police are getting such um a bad reputation this is the year 2024 commissioner Clarks in my opinion is a fabulous leader he's being honest he is um just embracing the entire city of Boston and that's all of the city of Boston so what this has to stop we're going to have a lawless uh City because laws were made to govern Society right and that means all of society and in so far as the promotion goes not everybody gets a trophy you learn that in sports not everybody gets a trophy and those that rise to the top through hard work then they succeed and then you have those who are happy just you know run of the- Mill and that's okay too so let's not get so wrapped up in um you know the police budget and what they can do and what they shouldn't do if there's money um in the budget itself for housing because that is an important issue uh DPS we might want to look there to give some money around um but but this has to stop the agenda is to bash the police and it's clear it's been the agenda for the past 3 years that I've been here listening to these meetings and it's not okay it needs to stop they need to be respected they're people just like you and I and the thank you okay you get my point yep thank you um want to thank Central staff um our Boston police officer um want to thank our panelists want to thank my team and my all my Council colleagues I'll give a shout out to igr as well um this hearing on docet number 0670 through 0678 is adjourned [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh e e e e e e e e e e --------- I WASN'T.  GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYONE.  I CALLED TO ORDER TODAY'S MEETING OF THE BOSTON CITY COUNCIL . WE WERE GOING TO WATCH A COUNCIL MEETING LIVE ON YOUTUBE AT BOSTON. DR. FORD'S LAST CITY DASH COUNCIL DASH TV. AT THIS TIME I ASKED MY COLLEAGUES AND THOSE IN THE AUDIENCE TO PLEASE SILENCE THEIR CELL PHONES AND ELECTRONIC DEVICES. THANK YOU. MR. CLERK, WILL YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLL TO ASCERTAIN THE PRESENCE OF A QUORUM? COUNCILOR BREADON YOUR COUNCIL COLETTA YOUR COUNCILOR DURKAN COUNCIL FERNANDA SANDERSON COUNCILOR FITZGERALD. IF COUNCIL FLYNN COUNCIL LOUIJEUNE HERE.  COUNCIL ME HERE. COUNCILOR MURPHY. COUNCILOR FLIPPIN COUNCILOR SANTANA. COUNCILOR WEBER AND COUNCILOR WE'RE ALL A QUORUM.  THANK YOU. I'VE BEEN INFORMED BY THE CLERK THAT A QUORUM IS PRESENT. NOW IT IS MY PLEASURE TO INTRODUCE THIS WEEK'S CLERGY REVEREND LIZ WALKER INVITED BY CONCILOR MEJIA HERE. COUNCILOR MEJIA YOU HAVE THE FLOOR.  GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYONE. YES, SO I AM INCREDIBLY HONORED TODAY TO INTRODUCE OUR CLERGY. ,. . . THANK YOU. ACCOUNTS OF THE SHERIDAN CONCERT IN INDIA ANDERSON.  ALWAYS A JOY TO HAVE OUR KIDS IN THE HOUSE SO THANK YOU TO ROXBURY PREP FOR BEING HERE. WE'LL NOW HAVE COUNCILOR MURPHY AND COUNCILOR GERALD WHO WILL BE RECOGNIZING OUR YAMS WORKERS IN HONOR OF NATIONAL EMS WEEK. COUNCILORS MURPHY AND THE JUDGE YOU NOW HAVE THE FLOOR IN 5 MINUTES.  I WOULD LIKE TO SUSPEND THE RULES AND ADD COUNCILOR FLYNN. THANK YOU. AND COULD ARE EMS.  UNION LEADERSHIP AND MEMBERS JOIN US PLEASE.  I JUST HAVE ANOTHER.  THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.  THANK YOU. SO WE HAVE AN OFFICIAL RESOLUTION. IT IS EMS WEEK AND I'LL I HAVE A LITTLE BACKGROUND TO THIS SPECIAL WEEK.  IN 1974 PRESIDENT GERALD FORD AUTHORIZED THE NATIONAL EMS, WHICH IS THE EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES. WE TO CELEBRATE AND HONOR THE SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS OF EMS PROVIDERS IN SAFEGUARDING THE HEALTH SAFETY AND WELL-BEING OF THEIR COMMUNITIES. AND SIGNED A PROCLAMATION OBSERVING THE WORK OF THE NATION'S EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES IN THE NEED TO INCREASE EMS SERVICES. EMS WEEK 2024 WHICH IS CELEBRATED THIS WEEK FROM MAY 19TH TO THE 25TH MARKS THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THIS IMPORTANT EVENT. THE THEME FOR THIS YEAR IS HONORING OUR PAST FORGING OUR FUTURE WHICH IS EMPHASIZING THE FOUNDATIONAL WORK OF THOSE WHO CAME BEFORE US IN EMS WHILE INSPIRING US TO BUILD AND LEAD THE EMS SYSTEM WE ENVISION FOR THE NEXT GENERATIONS OF PROFESSIONALS.  EMS WEEK IS A PERFECT TIME TO HONOR THOSE FRONTLINE HEROES DEDICATED TO PROVIDING EMERGENCY MEDICINE THAT SAVES SO MANY LIVES ACROSS THE CITY EVERY DAY AND WE EXTEND OUR SINCERE CONDOLENCES TO THE LOVED ONES OF EMS PROVIDERS WHO HAVE GIVEN THEIR LIVES IN THE LINE OF DUTY THIS WEEK IN PARTICULAR.  AND EVERY WEEK WE URGE ALL AMERICANS AND ESPECIALLY RESIDENTS OF THE CITY OF BOSTON TO EXPRESS THEIR APPRECIATION FOR OUR NATION'S IN BOSTON'S EMS PROVIDERS. I DO WANT TO THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. I DID A RIDE ALONG WITH EMS WITH NICK AND I KNOW MATT YOU'RE ALWAYS UPLIFTING THE NEEDS OF YOUR MEMBERS AND IT'S SO IMPORTANT YOU HAVE A HARD JOB.  YOU SHOW UP, YOU CLEAN UP. YOU KNOW ALL THE AMAZING THINGS YOU DO TO KEEP OUR CITY SAFE. YOU WORK ALONGSIDE OUR OTHER FIRST RESPONDERS. BUT I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE TOOK THIS TIME BEFORE THE MEETING TODAY TO MAKE SURE WE HONORED YOU IN THE WAY WE SHOULD AND I'LL LET MY OTHER COLLEAGUES SPEAK TO BEFORE YOU. GREAT.  THANK YOU. NOW JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU TO EVERYONE THAT WORKS AT MSM FOR WHAT THEY DO. I'LL BE SEEING YOU GUYS TOMORROW. I'M GOING TO BE ON CALL WITH YOU GUYS SO I EXPECT A GREAT TOUR AND I KNOW I'LL LEARN A LOT AND APPRECIATE YOU GUYS EVEN MORE AFTER THE TOUR TOMORROW BUT SO THANK YOU. THIS WEEK THIS WEEK'S FOR YOU GUYS KITCHEN.  I ALSO WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THE INCREDIBLE PROFESSIONALISM OF OUR EMS TEAM BUT ALSO ACKNOWLEDGE AND ACKNOWLEDGE THEIR FAMILY AS WELL THEIR SPOUSES, THEIR CHILDREN. THE SACRIFICE AND SERVICE OF THEIR FAMILIES THEY'VE CONTRIBUTED GREATLY TO OUR CITY ,THE HEALTH OF OUR CITY. SO CONGRATULATIONS TO MADAM PRESIDENT AND THE REST OF THE COUNCIL . I WANT TO SAY THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME OUT TO RECOGNIZE ALL OF US. IT'S A TOUGH JOB. WE ALL DIDN'T GET INTO IT FOR THE MONEY THAT'S FOR SURE. WE'RE TRYING TO FIX IT. WE APPRECIATE THAT. IT'S A IT IS A TOUGH JOB.  LIKE I SAID, WE VERY MUCH APPRECIATE THE SUPPORT THAT THE COUNCIL HAS SHOWN US THIS YEAR AND GOING FORWARD WE LOOK TO WORK WITH EVERY ONE OF THE COUNCILORS TO IMPROVE OUR WORKING CONDITIONS AND MAKE THE CITY BETTER. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. AND YOU GOOD. OUR COLLEAGUES JOIN US FOR THE COURSE.  YOU'VE GOT YOURSELF.  THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.  REALLY DO YOU SHARE?  OKAY.  I JUST WANTED TO IF YOU DON'T,  I THANK YOU. THANK YOU TO OUR EMS WORKERS FOR ALL THAT YOU DO FOR OUR CITIES OF GREAT THAT WE COULD HONOR YOU TODAY. MR. CLERK, WOULD YOU PLEASE AMEND THE ATTENDANCE TO REFLECT THAT COUNCILOR TANYA FERNANDO ANDERSON IS PRESENT.  TANYA FERNANDO ANDERSON IS PRESENT.  WE'RE NOW ONTO THE FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS WHICH IS THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM THE MEETING OF MAY 15, 2024.  ALL IN FAVOR SAY I ALL OPPOSING . THE AYES HAVE IT. THE MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING MEETING ARE APPROVED. WE'RE NOW ON TO COMMUNICATIONS FROM OUR HONOR THE MAYOR. MR CLERK, WOULD YOU PLEASE READ THIS NUMBER 2086430867 DOCKET NUMBER 0864A MESSAGE IN ORDER FOR THE CONFIRMATION OF THE REAPPOINTMENT OF LUKE MERCADO AS AN ALTERNATE MEMBER OF THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEAL FOR A TERM EXPIRING MAY 1ST, 2027 DOKKEN NUMBER 0865. MESSAGE IN ORDER FOR THE CONFIRMATION OF THE REAPPOINTMENT OF KERRI WALSH LOGUE AS AN ALTERNATE MEMBER OF THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEAL FOR A TERM EXPIRING ON NOVEMBER 1ST, 2025. DUNCAN NUMBER 0866. MESSAGE IN ORDER FOR THE CONFIRMATION OF THE REAPPOINTMENT OF HANS-PETER BARRAZA AS A MEMBER OF THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEAL FOR A TERM EXPIRING MAY 1ST, 2027 IN DUNCAN EMBERS 0867. MESSAGE IN ORDER FOR THE CONFIRMATION OF THE REAPPOINTMENT OF SHERRY DUNN AS A MEMBER OF THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEAL FOR A TERM EXPIRING MAY 1ST, 2026.  THANK YOU DOCKETS NUMBER 086430867 WILL BE REFERRED TO THE COMMITTEE ON PLANNING DEVELOPMENT AND TRANSPORTATION. MR CLERK, WHEN YOU PLEASE READ DOCKET NUMBER 0868.0868 MESSAGE IN ORDER FOR YOUR APPROVAL IN ORDER AUTHORIZING THE PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION ON BEHALF OF THE CITY OF BOSTON TO ACCEPT TWO EXCUSE ME TO ACQUIRE BY EMINENT DOMAIN TAKING A PARCEL AT ZERO DALE STREET IN HYDE PARK ADJACENT TO THE SHARON WOODS URBAN WILD AS PERMANENTLY PROTECTED PARK LAND TO BE MANAGED IN CORE COOPERATION WITH SHARON WOODS AND TO BE USED AND TO USE COMMUNITY PRESERVATION FUND MONEYS APPROPRIATED TO THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT TO AWARD DAMAGES AS DETERMINED BY THE COMMISSION. THANK YOU. DOCKET NUMBER 0868 WILL BE REFERRED TO THE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE,  RESILIENCY AND PARKS. WE ARE NOW ON TO REPORTS OF PUBLIC OFFICERS AND OTHERS. MR CLERK, WOULD YOU PLEASE READ THIS NUMBER 0869 AND 0870 TOGETHER DUCKIE NUMBER 0869 NOTICE TO FROM THE MAYOR OF THE REAPPOINTMENT OF JEFFREY HAWKINS AS A MEMBER OF THE BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES FOR A TERM EXPIRING MAY 1ST 2029 AND DOCKET NUMBER 0870 NOTICE RECEIVED FROM THE MAYOR THE APPOINTMENT OF JONATHAN LEVINE AS A MEMBER OF THE BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES FOR A TERM EXPIRING MAY 1ST, 2029 THANK YOU DOCKETS NUMBER 08690870 WILL BE PLACED ON FILE WE'RE NOW ON TWO MATTERS RECENTLY HEARD FOR POSSIBLE ACTION WE WILL WE'LL LET'S HOLD ON THAT WE ARE NOW ON TWO MOTIONS ORDERS AND RESOLUTIONS MR CLERK ,WOULD YOU PLEASE READ DOCKET NUMBER 0871 DUNCAN AMBER 0871 COUNCILOR FLYNN OFFERED THE FOLLOWING ORDER FOR A HEARING TO DISCUSS THE PROPOSED ZONING AMENDMENT TO REMOVE THE HALF MILE BUFFER ZONE BETWEEN CANNABIS ESTABLISHMENTS.  THANK YOU. THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES COUNCILOR FLYNN, CASTRO FLYNN YOU HAVE THE FLOOR.  THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR.  MADAM MADAM CHAIR, MAY I ADD MAY I ADD COUNSELOR HERE AS AN ORIGINAL CO-SPONSOR AND THOSE ARE JUST CALLED TO MEJIA COUNCILMAN HE IS ADDED AS AN ORIGINAL CO-SPONSOR OF COUNCILOR FLYNN. YOU HAVE A THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR.  THIS IS A HEARING TO DISCUSS THE PROPOSED ZONING AMENDMENT TO REMOVE THE HALF MILE BUFFER ZONE BETWEEN CANNABIS TO ESTABLISHMENTS.  CURRENTLY THE ZONING CODE REQUIRES A BUFFER ZONE BETWEEN SCHOOLS AND DISPENSARIES AS WELL AS A HALF MILE BUFFER ZONE BETWEEN CANNABIS ESTABLISHED MEATS WHICH WAS A MEASURE PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL IN 2016.  THE BUFFER IS INTENDED TO PREVENT CANNABIS ESTABLISHMENTS FROM OPENING IN CLUSTERS SO THAT NO PARTICULAR NEIGHBORHOOD WOULD BECOME THE CENTER FOR CANNABIS SHOPS TO ENSURE THAT DISPENSARIES ARE SPREAD OUT IN THE CITY WHILE ALLOWING ACCESS TO PATIENTS AND CUSTOMERS.  THERE IS NOW A PROPOSED ZONING AMENDMENT THAT SEEKS TO ADJUST THE BUFFER ZONE REQUIREMENTS BETWEEN CANNABIS DISPENSARIES AND SCHOOL ENTRANCES TO 500 FEET. THAT IS IN LINE WITH STATE REQUIREMENTS.  HOWEVER IT WOULD ALSO REMOVE THE HALF MILE BUFFER ZONE BETWEEN DISPENSARIES OVER THE YEARS.  RESIDENTS IN ALL NEIGHBORHOODS HAVE CONSISTENTLY ADVOCATED TO ENFORCE AND ABIDE BY THE HALF MILE BUFFER ZONE WITH CANNABIS PROPOSALS MANY CIVIC GROUPS HAVE EXPRESSED CONCERNS AT THEIR MEETINGS OVER THE LAST FEW WEEKS ON WHAT THIS AMENDMENT WOULD DO.  MANY OF OUR NEIGHBORS RESIDE IN DENSELY POPULATED AREAS WITH EXISTING DISPENSARIES NEARBY DAYCARES, STUDENT POPULATION NONPROFITS THAT ALSO SERVICE VULNERABLE NEIGHBORS AND CLOSE PROXIMITY REMOVING THIS HALF MILE BUFFER ZONE WOULD PRESENT EXISTING PUBLIC SAFETY CHALLENGES AS WELL, INCLUDING QUALITY OF LIFE ISSUES. ONE FREQUENT COMPLAINT WE RECEIVE IS HOW DIFFICULT IT IS TO ENFORCE THE PUBLIC SMOKING OF MARIJUANA.  I'VE ALSO HEARD FROM NEIGHBORS THAT THIS CHANGE WOULD MAKE THAT PROBLEM WORSE BUT ALLOWING THE HALF MILE BUFFER BUFFER TO LAPSE COULD POTENTIALLY CREATE THE SAME DYNAMIC AS PACKAGE AND LIQUOR STORES WHERE THEY WOULD BE OVERSATURATED IN THE MARKET . THEY COULD POSSIBLY HURT EXISTING OPERATORS.  IT COULD CREATE THE POTENTIAL FOR BOTH NEW AND EXISTING OPERATORS TO EITHER NOT ENGAGE WITH CIVIC ORGANIZATIONS OR WALK AWAY FROM EXISTING COMMUNITY AGREEMENTS ENTIRELY DUE TO THE NEW FOUND IN DIFFICULT COMPETITION.  I DON'T THINK THAT'S WHAT RESIDENTS WANT.  CONSTITUENTS CONTINUE TO VOICE SUPPORT FOR THE HALF MILE BUFFER ZONE AS THEY SEE THIS RESTRICTION AS BOTH A SAFEGUARD FOR THE COMMUNITY VOICE AND AGAINST THE POTENTIAL NEGATIVE IMPACT ON QUALITY OF LIFE. AS I MENTIONED, THE CITY COUNCIL DREW THIS PLAN UP.  THERE NEEDS TO BE A THOROUGH COMMUNITY PROCESS FOR THE ZONING AMENDMENT BEFORE ANY VOTE SHOULD BE TAKEN. WE NEED TO RECOGNIZE THAT EACH NEIGHBORHOOD IS UNIQUE AND HAS A DIFFERENT SET OF CHALLENGES.  WE ALL SUPPORT MORE EQUITY APPLICANTS.  I HAVE SUPPORTED A NUMBER OF EQUITY APPLICANTS IN OPERATORS IN DISTRICT TO AND I KNOW AND UNDERSTAND HOW IMPORTANT THAT IS BUT THIS BALLOT INITIATIVE HAS HAD THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF MANDATING SO MANY SHOPS IN THE CITY.  WHILE THE BAND MAY OR MAY NOT CURRENTLY BE THERE, PEOPLE WHO VOTED FOR IT ALSO SAID AT THE RECENT BPD MEETING THAT THEY WANT THE ONE HALF MILE ENFORCED ALSO OUR CONSTITUENTS CONTINUE TO ASK AND WANT THE CITY TO LISTEN TO THEM ABOUT PLACING THESE IN APPROPRIATE LOCATIONS IN A NEIGHBORHOOD WHILE BEING MINDFUL OF NEIGHBORHOOD ISSUES LIKE PEDESTRIAN SAFETY AND PUBLIC SAFETY. I THINK RESIDENTS ARE ASKING FOR A VOICE DURING THIS PROCESS. THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR. THANK YOU.  THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES COUNCILOR MEJIA. COUNCILOR MEJIA YOU HAVE THE FLOOR.  THANK YOU, MADAM PRESIDENT. AND THANK YOU TO COUNCILOR FLYNN FOR BRINGING THIS TO THE COUNCIL AND YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. WHAT I HAVE HEARD AND WORKING IN THIS SPACE WITH A LOT OF THE CANNABIS DISPENSARIES AND SOME OF THE OWNERS IS THAT IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO BRING THIS ISSUE OF EQUITY. A LOT OF BUSINESSES OF COLOR ARE ALWAYS AS WE KNOW, UNDERVALUED AND UNDERFUNDED.  AND SO HIS POINT IN TERMS OF REALLY LOOKING AT THE THE THE THE BUFFER ZONE AS AN IMPORTANT CONVERSATION TO HAVE BECAUSE A LOT OF THESE BUSINESSES ARE BEING PUT OUT OF BUSINESS AS A RESULT OF FOLKS NOT EVEN ENFORCING THE BUFFER ZONE. I ALSO THINK THAT THE WAY THE LEGISLATION WAS ORIGINALLY WRITTEN IS FLAWED BECAUSE SOME OF THE DISPENSARIES CAN'T EVEN SELL THEIR LICENSE. RIGHT. IT'S LIKE THINKING ABOUT WE DID RESTRICT IT CANNABIS LICENSES, RIGHT? YOU'RE UNABLE TO REALLY BUILD ON EQUITY AND SO THERE'S A LOT OF WORK THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE IN THIS CONVERSATION AS IT RELATES TO REFORM. BUT BUFFER ZONES ARE ALREADY BEING VIOLATED. I HAVE SEEN IN SPACES AND CASES WHERE THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS HAVE NOT EVEN UPHELD THE EXISTING PIECE OF LEGISLATION THAT IS ALREADY IN THE BOOKS AND SO I REALLY WANTED TO SIGN MY NAME ON AS A CO-SPONSOR BECAUSE I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO HAVE THIS CONVERSATION AND THE WORK THAT OUR OFFICE HAS BEEN DOING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH OTHER CANNABIS DISPENSARY YOU KNOW FOLKS WHO ARE IN THE INDUSTRY. I THINK THAT WE CAN LEARN A LOT FROM FROM FOLKS AND THEN I JUST ALSO WANTED TO UPLIFT THAT THE BUFFER ZONE RIGHT NOW WHAT IT DOES IT PROTECTS DISPENSARIES.  THE ENTIRE BUSINESS RIGHT NOW IS DOWN. WE MEAN BUFFER ZONES WILL HURT BUSINESSES AND IT WOULD ALSO DILUTE THE VALUE OF BUSINESSES . SO IN MANY WAYS WE'VE HEARD FROM DISPENSARY OWNERS THAT IT ACTUALLY PROTECTS THEM SO I THINK IN ORDER FOR YOU ALL TO UNDERSTAND THE IMPACT THIS IMAGINE SPENDING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS AND THEN SOMEONE ELSE OPENS UP RIGHT NEXT TO YOU. RIGHT. AND SO I THINK THAT THIS IS A CONVERSATION WORTH HAVING. I REALLY DO APPRECIATE COUNCILOR FLYNN BRINGING IT TO THE COUNCIL AND I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING ALONGSIDE WHOEVER THIS COMMITTEE GETS APPOINTED TO SO THAT WE CAN HAVE A SPEEDY HEARING BECAUSE I THINK THAT WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO LEAN INTO THIS CONVERSATION, BRING IN SOME OF THESE FOLKS WHO ARE LIVING THE REALITIES AND WE'RE DOING THE WORK IN THE SPACE TO MAKE THEIR VOICES HEARD. THANK YOU.  THANK YOU. THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES COUNCILOR DURKAN TO CONSIDER CAN YOU HAVE THE FLOOR? THANK YOU, MADAM PRESIDENT. I WANT TO THANK COUNCILOR FLYNN FOR FILING THIS ORDER. I DO AGREE THAT THIS IS A CONVERSATION WE SHOULD HAVE. THE PTA HAS HAD MULTIPLE MEETINGS ABOUT THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT INCLUDING A MEETING JUST A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO ON MAY NINTH WITH ANY NEW AND EXPANDING RETAIL OR COMMERCIAL USE ACROSS THE CITY. IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT WE HAVE COMMUNITY AND THE CITY COUNCIL RESPONSIBLY ENGAGE IN THE PUBLIC PROCESS OVERSEEING CHANGES TO THESE USES. I DO WANT TO SPEAK TO SOMETHING MENTIONED IN THE HEARING ORDER WHICH STATES ALLOWING A HALF MILE BUFFER ZONE TO LAPSE COULD POTENTIALLY SATURATE THE MARKET HARMING EXISTING OPERATORS AND COULD CREATE A POTENTIAL FOR BOTH NEW AND EXISTING OPERATORS TO EITHER NOT ENGAGE WITH CIVIC ORGANIZATIONS OR WALK AWAY FROM EXISTING COMMUNITY AGREEMENTS ENTIRELY. I THINK IT'S HELPFUL TO CLARIFY THAT IF AN AMENDMENT TO THE BUFFER ZONE IS APPROVED ALL APPLICANTS WOULD STILL BE REQUIRED TO GO THROUGH THE BOSTON CANNABIS BOARD APPROVAL PROCESS AT A ZONING APPEAL PROCESS WHICH INVOLVES A HOST OF COMMUNITY OUTREACH AS COUNCILORS FOR DOWNTOWN DISTRICTS, I AM EAGER TO WORK WITH COUNCILOR FLYNN AND MY COLLEAGUES TO RESPONSIBLY AND EQUITABLY BALANCE SUPPORT FOR BOTH THOSE WHO ARE TRYING TO MAKE THEIR WAY IN THIS BUSINESS AND SUPPORT RESIDENTS WHO EXPECT THEIR NEIGHBORS TO PROVIDE A DIVERSE RANGE OF OPINIONS ABOUT ABOUT THESE PROPOSED DISPENSARIES.  I HAVE AND WILL VOICE MY SUPPORT FOR BUFFER ZONE CHANGES . A LOT OF APPROVED DISPENSARIES WHO HAVE SOUGHT AND GOTTEN VARIANCES HAVE GOTTEN STUCK IN LENGTHY LITIGATION FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME. THIS IS PROVIDE A HEIGHTENED RISK FOR PURSUING OPENING THIS TYPE OF ESTABLISHMENT AND IT MEANS THAT LOCAL BUSINESS OWNERS HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO OPEN UP DISPENSARIES AND THAT A LOT OF NATIONWIDE CHAINS ARE ACTUALLY THE ONES WHO ARE ABLE TO OPEN UP THESE TYPES OF ESTABLISHMENTS. AND I WANT TO SEE EQUITY IN THIS PROCESS AND I WANT TO SEE A RANGE OF BUSINESS OWNERS BOTH LOCAL AND NATIONAL WHO ARE ABLE TO OPEN UP HERE.  SO I JUST WANTED TO VOICE MY CONCERN FOR OPERATING OUTSIDE OF THE PROCESS THAT DOES EXIST. BUT I'M HAPPY TO TAKE PART IN THIS CONVERSATION. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES COUNCILOR MURPHY.  COUNCILOR MURPHY, YOU HAVE THE FLOOR. THANK YOU AND THANK YOU TO THE MAKERS FOR BRINGING THIS FORWARD. WHEN THIS LAW PASSED WHAT I WAS HEARING IN MEETINGS ACROSS ALL OF THE NEIGHBORHOODS WAS THERE'S YOU KNOW, THERE'S GOING TO BE A POT SHOT COMING.  WE CAN'T STOP IT. BUT MANY TIMES I SAT THROUGH HEARINGS AND PUSHBACK FROM NEIGHBORS WHO SAID WELL, WILL APPROVE THIS ONE BECAUSE THEN WE DO HAVE THIS BUFFER ZONE AND THAT THIS WILL BE THE ONE AND ONLY IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD. SO THIS IS IMPORTANT THAT WE KEEP THE NEIGHBORS VOICES PART OF THE CONVERSATION BECAUSE NOW I THINK MANY WHAT I'M HEARING NOW IS THAT THEY'RE AFRAID THAT WHAT THEY'VE APPROVED IN THE PAST IS NOW NOT GOING TO MATTER AND THAT THERE WILL BE SEVERAL POT SHOPS IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD IN WHAT WE SAW WITH LIQUOR STORES MANY YEARS AGO. THEY MAY END UP IN CERTAIN PARTS OF THE CITY AND NEIGHBORS WON'T HAVE THE ABILITY TO PUSH BACK. SO I'M HERE FOR THIS CONVERSATION AND ALSO HERE TO UPLIFT THE VOICES OF THE NEIGHBORS WHO ARE CONCERNED THAT THIS WILL NEGATIVELY IMPACT THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES COUNCILOR FERNANDA ANDERSON.  YOU HAVE THE FLOOR. THANK YOU, MADAM PRESIDENT.  I THINK YOU KNOW THERE'S A CLEAR NEED TO REEXAMINE BOSTON'S CANNABIS POLICIES AND MY INTEREST IN THIS CONVERSATION IN THE HEARING PLEASE ADD MY NAME. THANK YOU TO THE MAKERS FOR FILING AS WELL. MY CONCERNS ON THE ON THIS IS GOING TO BE BASICALLY EQUITY. LOOKING AT THE LIST OF DIFFERENT JUST IN 02119 IN ROXBURY EIGHT LICENSES HAVE BEEN APPROVED AND HALF OF THEM ARE NOT LISTING WHETHER OR NOT THEY'RE UNDER THEIR EQUITY DESIGNATION STATUS. IT SAYS STATES IN A NOT APPLICABLE SO I'M INTERESTED IN WHY THEY'RE NOT BEING TRANSPARENT.  INTERESTED IN UNDERSTANDING EXACTLY HOW IT IMPACTS THE MARKET.  IF YOU DO A OVERSATURATE THING LIKE THE LIQUOR STORES YOU EITHER ARE GOING TO HAVE OVERUSE OR YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE FOLKS THAT HAVE MORE MONEY, MORE INFLUENCE AND MARKETING ABILITIES AND RESOURCES TO BE ABLE TO DOMINATE THE MARKET. SO OBVIOUSLY A HUGE CONCERN.  AND THEN I WOULD SAY THAT IN TERMS OF THE POLICY, I HOPE THAT THE CONVERSATION INCLUDES VOICES THAT HAVE NOT HEARD. WE HAVE HEARD PERSONALLY OR FROM THE OUR OFFICE WE'VE HEARD CONCERNS FROM NEIGHBORS STATING THAT THEY'VE BEEN CAUGHT OFF GUARD WITH NOT RECEIVING NOTIFICATION FOR COMMUNITY PROCESS. SO NO, IT HAS NOT BEEN INCLUSIVE. IT'S NOT TRANSPARENT AND THUS FAR THERE'S A HUGE CONCERN ABOUT OVERSATURATE IN THE MARKET. SO LOOKING FORWARD TO THE CONVERSATION THAT YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN INDIA ANDERSON IS ANYONE ELSE LOOKING TO SPEAK ON THIS MATTER? JUST WANT TO SAY LOOK FORWARD TO THIS CONVERSATION AS WELL. WE HAVE TO BALANCE OVERSATURATION WHICH WE'RE SEEING IN A LOT OF DIFFERENT AREAS IN THE CITY WITH CONCERNS OF EQUITY TO MAKE SURE THAT EQUITY APPLICANTS ARE ABLE TO OPEN UP SHOP SO AN IMPORTANT CONVERSATION THAT THE ZONING COMMISSION IS CURRENTLY ENGAGED IN BUT ANYONE ELSE LIKE TO ADD THEIR NAME AS A CLERK? PLEASE.  THAT CONCERNS BREADON COLLETTE A ZAPATA.  LOVE THAT. FERNANDA ANDERSON FITZGERALD FLYNN MAKER MURPHY BUT BEN SANTANA WEBER WORLD PLEASE ADD THE CHAIR DOCKET NUMBER 0871 WILL BE REFERRED TO THE COMMITTEE ON PLANNING DEVELOPMENT AND TRANSPORTATION. MR. CLERK WOULD YOU PLEASE READ DOCKET NUMBER ZERO? MR. CLERK CAN WE GO BACK TO REPORTS OF PUBLIC OFFICERS AND OTHERS?  OH, IT'S A MATTER RECENTLY HEARD FOR POSSIBLE ACTION.  DOCKET 0670 THROUGH DOCKETS DOCKET 0672 ORDERS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 25 OPERATING BUDGET INCLUDING ANNUAL APPROPRIATIONS FOR DEPARTMENTAL OPERATIONS FOR THE SCHOOL DEPARTMENT AND FOR THE POST-EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS ALSO KNOWN AS OPIATE DOCKETS 0673 THROUGH 0675 ORDERS FOR THE CAPITAL GRANT FUND CREATED APPROPRIATIONS IN DOCKET NUMBER 0676 THROUGH 0678 ORDERS FOR THE CAPITAL BUDGET INCLUDING LOAN ORDERS AND LEASE PURCHASE AGREEMENTS. THANK YOU MR CLERK FOR READING DOCKETS NUMBER 067020678 THE JOURNAL RECOGNIZES COUNCILOR ORAL CANCER ORAL YOU HAVE THE FLOOR. THANK YOU, COUNCILOR PRESIDENT AS CHAIR OF THE WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE WE HOSTED SIX FBI 2025 BUDGET HEARINGS THIS PAST WEEK IN ONE WORKING SESSION TO DISCUSS AMENDMENT. I'M JUST GOING TO GIVE A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE BUDGET HEARINGS WE HAVE ON MAY 16 THROUGHOUT A HEARING AT 10:10 A.M. TO DISCUSS THE BUDGET FOR VETERANS SERVICES AND THE OFFICE OF NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES. THIS HEARING COVERED TOPICS INCLUDING BOSTON 311 AND THE OFFICE OF CIVIC ORGANIZING.  FROM THE ADMINISTRATION WE HAD COMMISSIONER SANTIAGO FROM THE VETERANS SERVICES BELLA BELLA GAMBIA JIM BOZO AND I'M GOING TO BE MESSING UP MAN NAME LAST NAME SO I APOLOGIZE IN ADVANCE. THE DIRECTIVE OF FROM THE OFFICE OF VETERAN SERVICES. WE ALSO HAD CHIEF MILLER FROM THE OFFICE OF CIVIC ENGAGEMENT. OH, AND THAT'S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR PETER COLON, OFFICE OF CIVIC ORGANIZER DIRECTOR NATALIA BENES AND A3131 DIRECTOR SO THAT BUDO FROM THE CITY COUNCIL WE HAD COUNCILORS MURPHY FLYNN, VICE CHAIR PEPEN HERE AND AS ANDERSON WEBER, SANTANA, DURKIN, BREADON AND COUNCIL PRESIDENT LOUIJEUNE AT THE HEARING COMMISSIONER SANTIAGO DISCUSSED THE MISSION TO SUPPORT VETERANS AND THEIR FAMILIES THROUGH VARIOUS PROGRAMS LIKE NGO CHAPTER 115 BENEFITS THE BRIDGE THE GAP PROGRAM AND THE WELCOME HOME BONUS.  EMPHASIS WAS PLACED ON MEMORIAL DAY AND VETERANS DAY ACTIVITIES AT THE NEED FOR BETTER SUPPORT FOR AID AND VETERANS. THE DISCUSSION ALSO FOCUSED ON MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT, PTSD AND VETERAN SUICIDE PREVENTION EFFORTS. ADDITIONALLY, THE OFFICE COLLABORATES WITH THE BOSTON HOUSING AUTHORITY FOR PUBLIC HOUSING AND JOB TRAINING INITIATIVE TO HELP VETERANS TRANSITION TO CIVILIAN CAREERS. IN MEETING WITH OUR NASCENT THREE ON ONE WE DOVE INTO TOPICS FROM THE CITY ON THE GO TRACK NOTIFICATIONS OF A BUDGET MEETINGS AND WHETHER THOSE MEETINGS SHOULD BE TRANSFERRED TO THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT. THE COLLABORATION AT BOEING AND 311 AND HOW BEST TO AVOID OVERLAP IN CITY MEETINGS.  LATER THAT DAY WE HELD OUR FIRST BUDGET OFFSITE HEARING AT 6 P.M. AT THE LEYLA FREDERICK TO GO OVER THE BUDGET FOR A STRONG COMMISSION THE OFFICE OF HUMAN SERVICES AND YOUTH ENGAGEMENT AND ADVANCEMENT, THE OFFICE OF WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND END YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND OPPORTUNITY.  FROM THE ADMINISTRATION WE HAD OFFICE OF HUMAN RESOURCE CHIEF MUSCLE OFFICER, YOUTH ENGAGEMENT AND ADVANCEMENT DIRECTOR PEDRO CRUZ A STRONG COMMISSIONER COMMISSIONER SHEA A STRONG DEPUTY COMMISSIONER CUETO AND A STRONG SENIOR DIRECTOR MELISSA CARLSON AND MILES GARRITY ALSO JOINED UPON THE OFFICE OF WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT. CHIEF WHEN CHIEF OF STAFF JOSEPH LEE DEPUTY CHIEF RICHARD COPE AND WHY EO EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ALISON BEN-ARI AND WHY EO DEPUTY DIRECTOR ADLER IBAS.  IT WAS OKAY. FROM THE CITY COUNCIL WE HAD COUNSELORS WEBER, PEPEN, MAHI SANTANA, PHINEAS ANDERSEN FLYNN AND COUNCIL PRESIDENT LOUIJEUNE. I WANT TO THANK MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES, CENTRAL STAFF IDR AND THE ADMINISTRATION FOR WORKING LATE AS THIS MEETING WENT UNTIL 10 P.M. WE KICKED OFF THE HEARING WITH ONE AND A HALF HOURS OF PUBLIC TESTIMONY. WE DOVE INTO THE PRESENTATIONS WITH THE ADMINISTRATION. PUBLIC TESTIMONY HIGHLIGHTED THE IMPORTANCE OF INCREASING FUNDING FOR YOUTH JOBS AND RAISING THE PAY RATE FROM 15 TO 18 TO $24 PER HOUR DUE TO BOSTON HIGH COST OF LIVING. THERE WAS A DESIRE FOR MORE SUMMER JOBS AND MORE YEAR ROUND JOBS TO SUGGEST LINK THE ADVERSE IMPACT OF BUDGET CUTS ON YOUTH EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMS AND COMMUNITY SERVICE WAS ALSO DISCUSSED.  SENIORS AND OTHER ADVOCATES STRESSED THE NECESSITY OF PROPER FUNDING FOR SENIORS SERVICES INCLUDING SAFETY PROGRAM ACCESSIBILITY AND NUTRITIOUS MEALS. CHIEF MASSO PRESENTED AN OVERVIEW OF THE HUMAN RESOURCE SERVICES CABINET HIGHLIGHTING THE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT FUND, THE EMERGING LEADERS PROGRAM AND EPPERSON SWIMMER SAFETY AND LIFEGUARD RECRUITMENT COMMITTEE. COMMISSIONER SHEA DISCUSSED THE GROWING OLDER ADULT POPULATION IN THE DEPARTMENT'S STRATEGIC PLAN FOR PROGRAMING FOR ELDERS IN THE FALL. IN DISCUSSION WITH THE YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND OPPORTUNITY DEPARTMENT IT WAS STATED THAT LAST SUMMER NEARLY 9000 JOBS WERE PROVIDED BY WEIO WITH 5500 THROUGH ASSESSMENT. HOWEVER, 3000 STUDENTS WENT UNPLACED MEANING THEY WANTED A JOB THROUGH WHY YOU CAN GET ONE FOR YEAR ROUND JOBS. WE PLACED 1500 STUDENTS THROUGH THE SUCCESS LINK AND 3500 STUDENTS. WHAT WENT UNPLACED?  IT WAS SAID THAT TO MEET THE CURRENT DEMAND 23 MILLION WOULD NEED TO BE ALLOCATED TO YOUTH JOBS.  ADDITIONALLY, PAYING OUT STIPENDS FOR COLLEGE READINESS SUMMER PROGRAMS WERE DISCUSSED ALONG WITH A PILOT PROGRAM FOR THAT AT BUNKER HILL COMMUNITY COLLEGE. ON MAY 17TH FRIDAY AT 10 A.M. WE HOPE WE HOLD OUR SECOND WORKING SESSION TO DISCUSS BUDGET AMENDMENTS. KANSAS PLAN FITZGERALD, BREADON AND WEBER. WE HEAR VICE CHAIR PEPEN AND MURPHY WERE PRESENT TO DISCUSS THEIR PRIORITIES AND AMENDMENTS. I'D LIKE TO MAKE AN F 525 BUDGET POSSIBLE AMENDMENTS INCLUDED UPGRADED TESTING EQUIPMENT AT THE BP. BP BP CRIME LAB INCREASE IN THE CITY HOUSING VOUCHER PROGRAM AND THE DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. ADDITIONALLY, YOUTH COORDINATORS ARE FULL TIME MAINTENANCE WORKER AT JAMAICA POND MORE YOUTH JOBS FUNDING FOR A LOUIS D. BROWN PILOT PROGRAM TO DISPOSE OF OVER FOUR OVER FOUR PROGRAMS BIRTH CONTROL ST CAPTAIN MEALS FOR YOUTH SOLAR LIGHT IN OUR PARKS BETTER FUNDING FOR BOSTON FINANCE COMMISSION ARE ON MAY 20TH AT 10 A.M. WE HOLD A HEARING TO GO WITH THE BUDGET FOR BOSTON PARKS AND RECREATION AND RELATED THE BULK OF FUNDS FROM THE ADMINISTRATION. WE HAD INTERIM ENVIRONMENT CHIEF OSGOODE PARK COMMISSIONER WOODS AND PARKS DIRECTOR BAKER ECLIPSE, TRACY LEE AND DARLENE BUFORD AS WELL AS GENERAL SUPERINTENDENT OF MAINTENANCE AND OPERATION SUPERINTENDENT ALTIDORE FROM THE CITY COUNCIL . WE HAD COUNCILORS MURPHY BY CHAIR OF THE COMMITTEE PEPEN COUNCILOR FITZGERALD IN HERE SANTANA DURKIN CLEAN AND COUNCIL PRESIDENT LOUIJEUNE WERE PRESENT FOR THE HEARING. THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT HIGHLIGHTED THE PERMANENT PROCESS THE FUEL USED TO INCREASE TREE CANOPY TEAM THAT IS SOLELY FOCUSED ON SIDEWALKS, TREES ACCOMMODATE THE INCREASE OF PICKLEBALL ENTRIES THE OPEN SPACE FUN REVENUE FROM OUR GOLF COURSE COURSES A $1 MILLION SHADOW STUDY PUSH POINT IN LIFE FOR PARKS AND THE UPCOMING BEER GARDEN PILOT ACROSS SEVEN PARKS. PUBLIC TESTIMONY DURING THE HEARING INCLUDED SUPPORT FOR RENOVATIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS TO VARIOUS PARKS ADVOCATED FOR KEEPING PLAYGROUND LIGHTS ON DURING WINTER EVENING EVENINGS CONCERNS ABOUT THE CONDITION AND MAINTENANCE OF JAMAICA POND AND OTHER PARKS AND REQUESTS FOR INCREASED FUNDING FOR THE LOUIS DE BROWNE PEACE INTO INSTITUTE FOR BURIAL SERVICES ON MAY 20TH. MONDAY AT 2 P.M. WE HELD A HEARING TO GO OVER THE BUDGET FOR THE BOSTON HOUSING AUTHORITY AND THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF HOUSING AND ADMINISTRATION. WE HAD CHIEF DOING MOST DEPUTY DIRECTORS WILSON JOHNSON AND BARBOSA AND VHA ADMINISTRATOR BOK. FROM THE CITY COUNCIL WE HAD COUNCILORS FLYNN VICE CHAIR OF THE COMMITTEE AND COUNCILOR SANTANA MURPHY BREADON HILL FITZGERALD WEBER, DUNCAN AND COUNCIL PRESIDENT LOUIJEUNE. THE DISCUSSION INCLUDED THE WAITLIST WITH THAT 42,000 PEOPLE FOR 14,000 UNITS THE CITY VOUCHER PROGRAM, HOME IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS FOR SENIORS AND VETERANS YOUTH PROGRAMS AT PUBLIC HOUSING ELEVATOR CHALLENGES AMMO WELCOME HOME BOSTON PROJECT AND THE GOOD NEWS THERE 76 YEAR OVER YEAR UPTICK IN NEW HOUSING STARTS IN THE CITY A NEED FOR GREATER OUTREACH ABOUT THE FAMILY SUBSTANCE EFFICIENCY FUNDS, POST MORTGAGE, PROPERTY INSURANCE AND A MORE REALISTIC WASTE FEE WERE DISCUSSED. ADDITIONALLY, UPDATES ON THE TENANT STABILIZATION PLAN AND TURNING VHA SCATTERED SITE UNITS INTO HOMEOWNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES ALSO SHARED ON MAY 21ST TO THE AT 10 P.M. WE HELD A HEARING TO GO OVER THE BUDGET FOR THE LAW DEPARTMENT AND TREASURY DEPARTMENT FOR THE ADMINISTRATION. WE HAD FIRST TO FIRST ASSISTANT COLLECTIVE TREASURER GA GA CASTLE DEPUTY TREASURER BRAD BRADLEY FOR CITIES FIRST ASSISTANT TO TREASURER BARTON CORPORATION COUNCILOR FOR THE BOTTOM OF THE LAW DEPARTMENT AND LAW DEPARTMENT CHIEF OF STAFF ORTIZ FROM THE CITY COUNCIL WE HAD COUNSELORS FLYNN MURPHY, BREADON HERE, FITZGERALD WEBER AND SANTANA. TOPICS DISCUSSED INCLUDED IN CITY'S 99.2% COLLECTION RATE ON TAXES AND TREASURY PROCESS FOR POLICING MEET THE LAW DEPARTMENT THE LAW DEPARTMENT COUNCIL DISCUSSED THE USE OF OUTSIDE COUNCILOR WHICH IS 22% OF THIS BUDGET. THE AMOUNT OF SEDIMENT IN CASES IN THE PAST YEAR, THE LARGE UPTICK IN PUBLIC RECORDS REQUESTS IN THE PAST THREE YEARS AND THE INTEGRATION OF THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT.  AND LASTLY, YESTERDAY MAY 21ST WE MET TO GO OVER THE BUDGET FOR THE ENVIRONMENT DEPARTMENT, THE OFFICE OF FOOD JUSTICE AND RELATED REVOLVING FUNDS FROM THE ADMINISTRATION. WE HAD INTERIM CHIEF OSGOOD BY ENERGY AND OPEN SPACE ENVIRONMENT INTERIM COMMISSIONER STELLA GARCIA, ENVIRONMENT DIRECTOR OF FINANCE ROGERS AND DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF FOOD JUSTICE WATCHMEN . FROM THE CITY COUNCIL WE HAD COUNSELORS FLYNN WEBER VICE CHAIR OF THE COMMITTEE PEPEN BREADON HERE AND FITZGERALD. AT THE HEARING WE DISCUSSED ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES SUCH AS THE BEER, BETTER RULES, STORMWATER MANAGEMENT, COASTAL RESILIENCY PROJECTS FOR THE BEACHES AND PARKS THAT WE HAVE IN OUR IN OUR CITY AND IMPROVEMENTS TO ROADWAYS.  ON FOOD JUSTICE WE COVERED FARMER'S MARKET COUPONS FOR THE WINTER LOW COST OR NO COST MOBILE FOOD TRUCKS FROM THE CITY AND HOW TO BETTER ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY COMMUNITY. EACH AREA HAS PROVIDED IMPORTANT INSIGHTS FOR IMPROVEMENT CITY GOVERNANCE AND I WANT TO THANK ALL MY COUNCIL FOR THE COLLABORATION IN THE BUDGET PROCESS. I WANT TO GIVE A BIG SHOUT OUT TO CENTRAL STAFF FOR THEIR HARD WORK AND THESE ORDERS WILL REMAIN IN COMMITTEE.  THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH. COUNCIL WE'RE ALL AS YOU CONTINUE TO SHEPHERD US THROUGH THIS BUDGETING PROCESS REALLY APPRECIATE ALL OF YOUR HARD WORK AND YOUR TEAM'S EFFORT AND CENTRAL STAFF LIKE YOU SAID FOR THE OFFSITE MEETING THAT HAPPENED LAST WEDNESDAY AT THE LEYLA FREDERICK LAST THURSDAY.  SO THANK YOU CENTRAL STAFF FOR MAKING THAT HAPPEN. WE ARE RETURNING TO MOTIONS, ORDERS AND RESOLUTIONS. OH OKAY.  DOCKETS NUMBER 2067020678 WILL REMAIN IN COMMITTEE WE NOW RETURNING BACK TO MOTIONS, ORDERS AND RESOLUTIONS. MR CLERK, CAN YOU PLEASE READ DOCKET NUMBER 0872 STUCK IN NUMBER 0872 COUNCILORS MORALE AND PURPOSE AND OFFER THE FOLLOWING ORDER FOR A HEARING TO DISCUSS THE CREATION OF CULTURAL DISTRICTS IN BOSTON . THANK YOU THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES COUNCILOR I'LL COME TO ORAL YOU HAVE THE FLOOR. THANK YOU. COUNCIL PRESIDENT I'D LIKE TO SUSPEND THE RULES AND THAT COUNCILOR PRESIDENT LOUIJEUNE IS AN ORIGINAL CO-SPONSOR. THANK YOU THE CHAIR SUSPENSION OF THE RULES ADD COUNCIL COUNCILOR LOUIJEUNE AS A THIRD ORIGINAL CO-SPONSOR. SEEING AND HEARING NO OBJECTIONS COUNCILOR LOUIJEUNE ALSO COUNCILOR , YOU HAVE THE FLOOR. THANK YOU. BOSTON IS A SIX MOST DIVERSE CITY IN THE UNITED STATES A FACT THAT IS OFTEN OVERLOOKED.  WE HAVE BEEN AND CONTINUE TO BE A BEACON FOR THOSE SEARCHING FOR A NEW HOME AND CULTURAL DISTRICTS PROVIDE US WITH A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO FOSTER LOCAL CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT, ENCOURAGE BUSINESS GROWTH AND ENHANCE BOSTON AS A VIBRANT TOURIST DESTINATION CULTURE DISTRICT WILL ALLOW US TO RECOGNIZE, EMBRACE AND EDUCATE OTHERS ON THE DIVERSE CULTURES FOR OUR RESIDENTS AS WELL AS THE CITY'S HISTORY OF IMMIGRATION AND FIRST GENERATION PEOPLES. THE CREATION OF CULTURAL DISTRICT IS NOT JUST A CULTURAL WIN IT'S A SIGNIFICANT WIN FOR SMALL BUSINESSES. WE ALREADY OF COURSE HAVE CHINATOWN AS WELL AS LITTLE SAIGON AND FIELDS CORNER. IN MY DISTRICT WE HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO IDENTIFY AREAS THAT CAN BE CELEBRATED AS CULTURE DISTRICT FOR MANY CARIBBEANS AND AFRICAN AFRICAN FAMILIES SUCH AS CAPE VERDEAN FAMILIES, BRAZILIAN AND SO ON FOR CULTURE.  FOR MORE CULTURE, DISTRICTS WILL ENHANCE THE ABILITY OF IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES TO GROW, DEVELOP ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES AND INTERACT WITH ONE ANOTHER TO BUILD MORE VIBRANT SPACES IN THE CITY OF BOSTON.  THIS HOPE IS HERE IN WHAT IS A COLLABORATION POINT BETWEEN ALL OF OUR DISTRICTS. BOSTON CURRENTLY BOAST TWO CULTURAL DISTRICTS THE LATIN QUARTER CULTURE DISTRICT AND HYDE PARK, JACKSON SQUARE AND LITTLE SAIGON AND PHIL'S CORNER . THESE AREAS SERVES AS CULTURAL CENTER HUBS FOR OUR NEXT BEING IN THESE COMMUNITIES AND RESPECTIVELY WE'RE TRYING TO SPREAD THAT THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF BOSTON. SO LOOKING FORWARD TO HAVING THIS CONVERSATION WITH ALL MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES AND ALL THE STAKEHOLDERS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU TO OUR OTHER CHAIR RECOGNIZES TOWNSHIP AND CAVS REP AND YOU HAVE THE FLOOR. THANK YOU MADAM PRESIDENT AND THANK YOU COUNCILOR WORRELL FOR HAVING ME PART OF THIS HEARING ORDER. YOU KNOW THE ESTABLISHMENT OF CULTURAL DISTRICTS ACROSS OUR CITY WILL PLAY A CRUCIAL ROLE BY FOSTERING A VIBRANT ART SCENE, PRESERVING HERITAGE AND PROMOTING OUR DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS. THESE DISTRICTS WILL SERVE AS HUBS FOR CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION ATTRACTING TOURISTS FROM ALL OVER THE PLACE, EDUCATING VISITORS ON OUR RICH DIVERSE HISTORY AND BOOST OUR LOCAL ECONOMY. THESE AREAS ALSO PROVIDE SPACES WHERE PEOPLE CAN CONNECT, CELEBRATE THEIR CULTURE IDENTITIES AND ENGAGE IN MEANINGFUL DIALOG THEREBY ENHANCING SOCIAL COHESION AND ENRICHING THE OVERALL QUALITY OF OUR CITY.  WE CAN ALREADY SEE HOW THESE DISTRICTS ALREADY BENEFIT OUR CITY LIKE THE BEAUTIFUL FEAST CELEBRATIONS THAT HAPPEN IN THE NORTH AND THE VIETNAMESE NIGHT MARKET IN THE FIELDS CORNER. AND AS MY COLLEAGUE MENTIONED THE LATIN QUARTER IN JAMAICA PLAIN I WILL LOOK FOR US TO EXPAND THESE CULTURAL DISTRICTS. IN MY DISTRICT SPECIFICALLY WE HAVE A BEAUTIFUL HAITIAN CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY OF PUERTO RICAN COMMUNITY. SO I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE BRING THESE CULTURAL REPRESENTATIONS INTO ALL OF OUR DISTRICTS AND CONTINUE TO CELEBRATE THE RICH DIVERSITY THAT EXISTS IN OUR CITY. I HOPE THAT I'M ABLE TO WORK WITH ALL OF YOU TO MAKE THIS A REALITY. THANK YOU.  THANK YOU. CARIBBEAN COAST FANS I'LL JUST SAY THAT I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS WORK. IT COMES TO AROUND BLESSED SAID SO MANY OF THE THE RICH COMMUNITIES THAT WE HAVE AND THE CULTURAL DISTRICTS THAT ALREADY EXIST THERE'S INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITY TO CONTINUE EXPANDING ON THAT AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND OPPORTUNITY COMES ALONGSIDE THE DESIGNATING DESIGNATION OF A CULTURAL DISTRICT AND WE WILL WE WILL WORK TO MAKE THAT SO LUIS FOR CIVIL RIGHTS IS HAVING A CONVERSATION AND HE'S BOSTON THAT COUNCILOR COLLETTE IS ABOUT THAT AND IN THE EAST BOSTON DELEGATION ARE PART OF AND SO I KNOW THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT LITTLE HAITI IN MATTAPAN SO I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO HAVING MORE OF THIS CONVERSATION WITH MY COLLEAGUES. I DO JUST WANT TO SAY I KNOW THAT SOME PEOPLE HAVE SEEN EVERYTHING IS OKAY IN THE BUILDING AT THE MOMENT EVERYONE'S FIVE AND WE HAVE A SECURITY PROTOCOL THAT WE FOLLOW. I'M GOING TO JUST ASK FOR A QUICK RECESS FOR ONE MINUTE. NO ONE HAS TO LEAVE JUST A QUICK BRIEF RECESS .  WE ARE BACK IN SESSION. I WANT TO THANK OUR MUNICIPAL POLICE OFFICERS FOR ALL THE REALLY GREAT WORK THAT THEY DO TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE SAFE. THERE ARE SECURITY PROTOCOLS AND PROCEDURES SO EVERYTHING IS UNDER CONTROL. I WANT TO THANK SERGEANT SCELTA FOR UPDATING ME AND FOR ALL THE WORK THAT THEY DO TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE IN THIS BUILDING IS AS SAFE.  COUNCILOR CARLOTTA ZAPATA, YOU HAVE THE FLOOR.  THANK YOU SO MUCH, MADAM PRESIDENT. AND YES, SHOUT OUT TO OUR BOSTON MUNICIPAL POLICE SERVICE POLICE OFFICERS WHO KEEP US SAFE EVERY SINGLE DAY. WE APPRECIATE THEM AND THANK THEM. AND I WANTED TO RISE JUST BRIEFLY AND SAY THANK YOU TO THE MAKERS OF THIS HEARING ORDER. I LOOK FORWARD TO THE CONVERSATION. AS MADAM PRESIDENT MENTIONED, EAST BOSTON IS CURRENTLY GOING THROUGH ITS OWN CULTURAL DESIGNATION AND I WANT TO THANK THE CONSORTIUM OF AMAZING POWERHOUSE ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE STEPPED UP TO DO THIS LIKE LCR VERONICA ROBLES HARBOR ARTS CENTER PRESENT DAY IS BOSTON MAIN STREET AND CHELSEA ICA AND GREEN ROOTS. THE GOAL REALLY IS TO CELEBRATE EAST BOSTON'S RICH IMMIGRANT HISTORY. WE'VE ALWAYS BEEN A WELCOMING AND INCLUSIVE COMMUNITY FOR FOR IMMIGRANTS ALL THE WAY FROM EASTERN EUROPEANS TO WESTERN EUROPEANS AND NOW LATIN AND CENTRAL AMERICANS. SO IT IS INCUMBENT UPON US TO HONOR THIS HISTORY AND UPLIFT OUR OUR ECONOMIC CENTERS SO THAT WE CAN BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER AND FOSTER COMMUNITY THAT WAY. THE QUESTION RIGHT NOW THROUGH THIS PROCESS IS WHO HAS THE CAPACITY TO RUN THIS AND DO THIS AND THEN ALSO WHO HAS THE MONEY SO THAT THAT IS THE USUALLY THE MAIN QUESTIONS IN ANY CONVERSATION WHEN WHEN A BRIGHT CREATIVE IDEA COMES THROUGH. SO I LOOK FORWARD TO THE CONVERSATION AND BRINGING IN VOICES FROM EAST BOSTON TO THE TABLE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU COUNCILOR COUNCILOR COLLETTE ZAPATA AND FOR REMEMBERING THE OTHER ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED I JUST MENTIONED LCR BUT THERE ARE SO MANY OTHER ORGANIZATIONS BOSTON INVOLVED WITH THAT DESIGNATION . THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES COUNCILOR FLYNN. FLYNN YOU HAVE THE FLOOR. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. AND MADAM CHAIR, PLEASE ADD MY NAME ON IT TO JOIN MY COLLEAGUES IN SUPPORT OF THIS AND I, I KNOW VERY WELL THE IMPORTANT ROLE THESE CULTURAL DISTRICTS PLAY ACROSS OUR CITY AND WHETHER THERE ARE OFFICIALLY DESIGNATED IT OR NOT. ONE THING I CAN SAY IS THEY PLAYED A TREMENDOUS ROLE IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS. THEY PLAY A TREMENDOUS ROLE IN OUR CITY. I'M PROUD TO REPRESENT A LARGE IMMIGRANT POPULATION IN DISTRICT TWO, INCLUDING A LARGE CHINESE COMMUNITY, A LARGE SOMALI, A GROWING SOMALIAN COMMUNITY WELL A LARGE SPANISH SPEAKING COMMUNITY IN THE SOUTH END. BUT WHAT I WHAT I DO WANT TO HIGHLIGHT IS BOSTON IS AN IMMIGRANT CITY AND THIS THIS CITY RESPECTS OUR IMMIGRANT ROOTS ARE PROUD OF OUR ROOTS AND THE CONTRIBUTIONS THAT THEY HAVE MADE TO OUR CITY AND AND TO OUR COUNTRY AND JUST WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT WHEN PEOPLE DO COME INTO THIS CITY CITY HALL ON THE CONGRESS STREET SIDE AND I JUST WANT TO REMIND PEOPLE IF YOU WANT TO TAKE A LOOK AT THAT MEMORIAL OUT FRONT OF CITY CITY HALL ON CONGRESS STREET PLACE THERE BY MAY OF WHEN IT'S A WELCOMING FOR ALL IMMIGRANTS.  BOSTON THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. THANK YOU. THE CHAIR AND HIS COUNTERPART ANDREA ANDERSON COUNCILOR TOGETHER FOR THANK YOU. MADAM PRESIDENT, I THANK YOU SO MUCH TO THE MAKERS FOR FILING THIS. OF COURSE I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE LOTTERY IN MY FIRST TERM. I CREATED THE IN OUR CORRIDOR OR IN DISTRICT SEVEN CONSIDERING THAT ROXBURY IS THE HEART OF BOSTON, ITS ARTERIES SHOULD FLOW HEALTHY BLOOD THROUGHOUT BOSTON GET IT ARTERY . AND SO REVITALIZING STOREFRONTS AND ACTIVATING ARTS BUT ALSO MURALS.  AND CREATING A CORRIDOR A THREE MILE STRETCH BETWEEN SOUTH END ALL THE WAY TO GROVE HALL EXTENDING INTO COUNCIL ROLES DISTRICT. IT WOULD NOT ONLY REVITALIZE THESE SPACES HOPEFULLY ADDING FOOT TRAFFIC WE'LL BE WITH YOU ADDING FOOT TRAFFIC AND AS WELL AS BOOSTING OUR ECONOMY.  CONNECTING TO TOURISM IS GREAT BUT ONE THING THAT IT ALSO DOES IT PRESERVES CULTURE AND HAS A HISTORY. AND THIS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE OF DISPLACEMENT.  IF WE DO THIS INTENTIONALLY WE FIGHT NOT ONLY DO WE FIGHT COMMERCIAL DISPLACEMENT BUT CLIMATE DISPLACEMENT AS WELL AS HOUSING DISPLACEMENT. WITH A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO HOUSING OR DEVELOPMENT AND PLANNING TO DISTRICT SEVEN WE CAN TAKE A LOOK AT SPATIAL MAPPING.  WE CAN TAKE A LOOK AT THE ACID MAPPING PROJECT THAT WE DID WITH NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY AS WELL AS OUR NEXT PROJECT WITH MIT AND BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND EXACTLY WHERE HOUSING ECOSYSTEMS NEED TO GO. FOR EXAMPLE ADDING AMENITIES ALONGSIDE THESE CORRIDORS ALONGSIDE THESE CORRIDORS I WOULD ADD THESE INITIATIVES TO SPECIFIC SPACES BASED ON THE NEED I'VE MADE. I'VE ANNOUNCED TO YOU GUYS BEFORE THAT THE BOSTON FOUNDATION HAS SUPPORTED OUR INITIATIVES IN AGAIN NOT JUST THE CULTURAL DISTRICTS BOOK ACTIVATE CORRIDORS OR REVITALIZING CORRIDORS BUT ALSO LOOKING AT THESE HOUSING ECOSYSTEMS IN TERMS OF MOVING FORWARD WITH HOLISTIC PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT FOR ROXBURY SPECIFIC.  SO WHAT'S VERY INTERESTING ABOUT THIS IS THAT WE WE CAN START LOOKING AT THE DISTRICTS OR CULTURES ARE ABSENT OF OUR LIST AND SPECIFICALLY WHEN WE LOOK AT THE LIST WE KNOW THAT THERE'S EVENTS FOR THE WEST INDIAN OR CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY. THERE ARE EVENTS FOR THE HAITIAN COMMUNITY AND THERE ARE EVENTS THERE ARE SPECIFIC ARTS CULTURE FOR THE LATIN COMMUNITY, THE CHINESE COMMUNITY, THE VIETNAMESE COMMUNITY. BUT THERE IS NOTHING SPECIFIC TO THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY AND SO WE DO NEED TO BE VERY INTENTIONAL WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT OUR CULTURAL DISTRICTS AND PRESERVE THE CULTURE AND HISTORY OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN PEOPLE OR JUST THE AFROCENTRIC CULTURE. AND SO I WANTED TO ONCE AGAIN THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR FILING. LOOKING FORWARD TO THE CONVERSATION BEING VERY INTENTIONAL IN HOW WE CONNECT DISTRICTS TO DISTRICTS. RIGHT. CAN WE HAVE OUR ELECTRIC SHUTTLE BUS PROGRAM THAT I'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT WHERE WE CAN SHOP GO FROM BEACON HILL TO SOUTH BEND TO MATTAPAN ALL IN A FREE ELECTRIC SHUTTLE PROGRAM SO THAT WE CAN BEGIN TO CROSS MARKET BETWEEN THE DISTRICTS. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU COUNCILOR FERNANDO ANDERSON THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES CONCILOR MEJIA IT COMES TO ME AGAIN FOR ME . THANK YOU MADAM PRESIDENT. I WANT TO JUST UPLIFT SOMEONE REALLY QUICK BEFORE I GO INTO MY REMARKS SINCE NO BIAS WHO WAS AND I'VE KNOWN HER FOREVER BUT SHE WAS ONE OF THE LEADING VOICES IN HYDE SQUARE IN JAMAICA PLAIN WHEN IT WAS TIME TO TURN TO DO SOME ADVOCACY AROUND, TURN THAT INTO A CULTURAL DISTRICT AND HAS BEEN ON THE FOREFRONT OF PRESERVING HYDE SQUARE AND JAMAICA PLAIN IN PARTICULAR.  I JUST WANT TO GIVE HER A SHOUT OUT BECAUSE WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT CREATING CULTURAL DISTRICTS AND CULTURAL HUBS IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THE FIGHT THAT IT TAKES FOR THOSE THINGS TO HAPPEN. SO I JUST WANT TO UPLIFT SOME OF THE FOLKS THAT HAVE BEEN ON THE GROUND DOING THAT WORK IN OUR OFFICE, WORK ALONGSIDE HYDE SQUARE TASK FORCE NOT TOO LONG AGO ON SOME THINGS. AND SO I KNOW THAT I JUST WANTED TO NAME THAT THAT BECAUSE OF ITS DESIGNATION WAS ABLE TO HAVE SOME REALLY GOOD TURN OUT THERE. BUT I ALSO JUST WANT TO UPLIFT THAT OUR OFFICE ALONGSIDE YOU COUNCILOR , WHERE WE ESTABLISHED THE OFFICE OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS HERE IN THE CITY OF BOSTON I'M NOW IT'S THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR IS ALEJANDRO VALDEZ WHO NOW IS GOING TO BE OVERSEEING FIVE POSITIONS FOR CULTURAL ADVISORS AND AS I ALWAYS SAY THAT BOSTON IS RESOURCE RICH IN COORDINATION FOR I THINK WE HAVE A REAL OPPORTUNITY WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THAT OFFICE TO REALLY LOOK AT THE FIVE DIFFERENT CULTURAL ADVISORS THAT HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED BECAUSE THERE ARE MANY WAYS FOR US TO WORK COLLABORATIVELY AND I THINK THAT WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO THINK ABOUT WHAT ROLE THAT OFFICE CAN PLAY IN HELPING TO SUPPORT THIS ADVOCACY.  AND SO I JUST WANT TO JUST GO ON THE RECORD TO SAY MY NAME ON TO THIS HEARING. I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THE ENERGY AND I JUST WANT TO JUST ACKNOWLEDGE MY OTHER WHO REFERENCED THE FACT THAT CULTURAL DISTRICTS ARE IMPORTANT AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IMMIGRANTS AND I THINK THAT THAT IS IMPORTANT. BUT I ALSO DO THINK THAT WHEN WHEN WHEN I THINK ABOUT CULTURE I JUST DON'T THINK ABOUT IMMIGRANTS. I THINK ABOUT CULTURE AND ALSO JUST THE WAY OF BEING AND I THINK THAT THERE IS SOMETHING TO BE SAID AROUND NUBIAN SQUARE BEING THE BLACK CULTURAL DISTRICT, RIGHT? I THINK YOU KNOW THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO INCLUDE THAT INTO THE CONVERSATION.  SO IT'S NOT JUST AROUND THE IMMIGRANT EXPERIENCE BUT THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT CULTURE AS A WHOLE NOT JUST IN THE WAYS THAT WE HAVE BEEN TAUGHT TO. SO I JUST WANT TO AFFIRM THAT AND GO ON THE RECORD TO SAY THAT AS WE CONTINUE TO HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS I LOOK FORWARD FOR THEM TO BEING AS ROBUST AS POSSIBLE.  THANK YOU. IS ANYONE ELSE LOOKING TO SPEAK ON THIS MATTER BUT ANYONE ELSE LIKE TO ADD THEIR NAME? MR. CLERK PLEASE THAT COUNTS WAS GREAT IN COLOR AS APERTA DURKIN FERNANDES , ANDERSON FITZGERALD FLYNN HERE. MURPHY. SANTANA WEBER. DOCKET NUMBER 0872 WOULD BE REFERRED TO THE COMMITTEE ON ARTS, CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT, TOURISM AND SPECIAL EVENTS.  MR. CLERK WOULD YOU PLEASE REPORT THAT NUMBER 08730873 COUNCILORS DURKIN AND LOUIJEUNE OFFER THE FOLLOWING ORDER FOR A HEARING TO DISCUSS THE CREATION OF PARKS ADMINISTRATOR FOR DOWNTOWN PARKS INCLUDING THE BOSTON COMMON PUBLIC GARDEN, COMMONWEALTH AND MALL COPLEY SQUARE IN CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS PARK. THANK YOU.  THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES COUNCILOR DURKAN. COUNCILOR DURKAN YOU HAVE THE FLOOR. THANK YOU. COUNCIL PRESIDENT I'D LIKE TO SUSPEND THE RULES AND ADD COUNCILOR GABRIELLA COLLETTE AS A PARTNER WHICH HAS A REALLY GREAT RING TO IT.  THANK YOU. COUNCILOR DURKIN'S EXPANSION OF THE RULES TO ADD COUNCILOR COLETTE ZAPATA AS A THIRD ORIGINAL CO-SPONSOR. SEEING AND HEARING NO OBJECTIONS. COUNCILOR COLETTE ZAPATA IS SO ADDED.  COUNCILOR DURKAN YOU HAVE THE FLOOR. I DO WANT TO SAY THANK YOU TO ROXBURY PREP FOR BEING WITH US TODAY. THEY GET IT, COUNCILOR JOE FOR INVITING THEM. MY STAFFER HOUGHTON IS A WENT TO ROXBURY PREP AND SHE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT I SAID MUCH LOVE TO ROXBURY RAPID TO IT IN MY STAFF. COUNCILOR DURKAN YOU NOW HAVE THE FLOOR. THANK YOU SO MUCH COUNCIL PRESIDENT. THE BOSTON COMMON MASTER PLAN LAYS OUT A BOLD VISION FOR THE FUTURE PROPOSING OVER 150 MILLION IN CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS AS WELL AS IMPROVEMENTS IN PARK CARE AND MANAGEMENT. A DOWNTOWN PARKS ADMINISTRATOR IS AN IMPORTANT RECOMMENDATION OF THIS PLAN SOME OF WHICH SEES THESE IMPROVEMENTS THAT ARE CALLED FOR IN THE BOSTON COMMON MASTER PLAN ARE INCLUDED IN THIS YEAR'S CAPITAL BUDGET IN ORDER TO MANAGE THE INTENSE USE OF SEVERAL OF OUR DOWNTOWN PARKS INCLUDING THE BOSTON COMMON, THE PUBLIC GARDEN, THE COMMONWEALTH AVENUE MALL, COPLEY SQUARE AND CHRISTOPHER CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS WATERFRONT PARK. THESE PARKS NEED NEWLY CREATED POSITION OF PARKS ADMINISTRATOR DEDICATED TO OVERSEEING THE MAINTENANCE AND MANAGEMENT OF THE CITY'S MOST HEAVILY PERMITTED AND USED GREEN SPACES. A LONG AWAITED ADMINISTRATOR POSITION WAS RECENTLY CREATED FOR FRANKLIN PARK AFTER A DEDICATED COMMUNITY ADVOCACY THE FRIENDS OF THE PUBLIC GARDEN SPENDS AN AVERAGE OF $2 MILLION ANNUALLY ON THE CARE OF THE BOSTON COMMON PUBLIC GARDEN AND COMMONWEALTH MALL. THEIR LEADERSHIP IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT. THEY'VE ALSO BEEN CALLING FOR DOWNTOWN PARKS ADMINISTRATOR. THIS POSITION COMES AT A FRACTION OF THE BOSTON PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT'S OPERATING BUDGET BUT CREATES AN OUTSIZED BENEFIT IF WE WERE TO GET 1% OF THE CAPITAL BUDGET ALLOCATED TO GREEN SPACES CITYWIDE LAST YEAR, THAT WOULD HAVE MEANT 13 MILLION MORE FOR THE BOSTON PARKS DEPARTMENT.  THIS POSITION IS A HUGE FRACTION OF WHAT PARKS ADVOCATES ARE CALLING FOR AND MORE INVESTMENT IN THE PARKS AND I THINK WE CAN ALL RECALL HOW OUR PARKS SERVE MANY DIFFERENT FUNCTIONS FROM QUIET REPRIEVE TO SUMMER FESTIVALS,  WINTER TREE LIGHTINGS AND PROTEST. NOT TO MENTION THIS THE HOST OF DIVERSE NATURAL LANDSCAPE WHOSE BEAUTY, GROWTH AND HEALTH IS DEPENDENT UPON CONTINUOUS AND CAREFUL MANAGEMENT. OUR PARKS THREW A LOT FOR US IN ADDING THIS POSITION WOULD DO SOMETHING FOR OUR PARKS SO THAT THEY CAN CONTINUE TO DELIVER ALL THE BENEFITS WE DEPEND ON FROM OUR GREEN SPACES. I LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING THIS CONVERSATION TO DISCUSS THE EXPANSION OF AN ADMINISTRATOR POSITION TO THE DOWNTOWN PARKS WITH THE PARTICIPATION OF OTHER DOWNTOWN DISTRICT COUNCILORS THE FRANKLIN PARK DISTRICT COUNCILOR AND THE FRANK AND THE PARKS DEPARTMENT. I THINK PART OF WHY I'M BRINGING THIS FORWARD IS I WILL BE PUSHING FOR IT IN THIS YEAR'S BUDGET BUT I THINK IT MERITS MORE OF A A HOLISTIC AND DETAILED CONVERSATION AND EXCITED TO TAKE PART WITH MY COLLEAGUES AND I WANT TO THANK COUNCIL PRESIDENT LOUIJEUNE AND COUNCILOR GABRIELA CARLOTTA ZAPATA FOR JOINING ME IN THIS CONVERSATION. THANK YOU. THANK YOU COUNCILOR DURKAN AND I'LL JUST SAY THANK YOU FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP AND FOR ADDING MEJIA. I THINK ON THE AT THE HEARING WE HAD ON MONDAY. COMMISSIONER WOODS WAS TALKING ABOUT THIS AND HOW WE ALREADY HAVE THE FRANKLIN PLANET ADMINISTRATOR FOR LINCOLN PARK ADMINISTRATOR WILL BE A GOOD MODEL AN EXAMPLE FOR THIS WORK I WANT TO SHOUT OUT TO THE INCREDIBLE WORK THAT THEIR FRIENDS THAT THEY DO AND HOW THEY ARE WORKING NOW TO SUPPORT FRIENDS GROUPS IN PARKS AROUND THE CITY AND I THINK THAT JUST IT'S REALLY GREAT TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE SHARE OUR RESOURCES AROUND THE CITY. I THINK THIS IS VERY MUCH NEEDED. OUR PARKS ARE ONE OF OUR GREATEST ASSETS AND WE SHOULD BE INVESTING FURTHER IN OUR PUBLIC GOOD. SO THANK YOU AND I LOOK FORWARD TO THIS HEARING. THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES COUNCILOR COLETTE ZAPATA. PLEASE TELL US HOW TO CORRECTLY SAY YOUR NEW NAME, COUNCILOR . THANK YOU, MADAM PRESIDENT. CARLOTTA ZAPATA IS GREAT. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT. I'M JUST RISING TO THANK MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES FOR PUSHING THIS FORWARD.  WE SEE MILLIONS OF FOLKS EVERY SINGLE YEAR GO THROUGH CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS PARK AND I WANT TO THANK THE BOARD ESPECIALLY JOANN HAYES RYAN SHE'S A CLOSE FRIEND OF MINE AND THE WORK THAT SHE DOES AND WANTING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ALWAYS CENTER THEIR CONVERSATION ESPECIALLY IF THEY'RE IN A FLOOD ZONE COASTAL RESILIENCY. SO HAVING SOMEBODY THAT IS HAS A LENS FOR FOR THAT AND SUSTAINABILITY SO LOOK FORWARD TO THE CONVERSATION AND JUST AGAIN JUST WANT TO THANK YOU FOR UPLIFTING IT AND PUTTING ME ON AS AS THEIR CO-SPONSOR. THANKS. THANK YOU. THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES CATCHER FLYNN.  YOU HAVE THE FLOOR. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. THANK YOU TO THE SPONSORS, PLEASE. AT MY NAME, MADAM CHAIR. AND I JUST WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THE IMPORTANT WORK THAT THE FORMER CITY COUNCIL HAS HAVE PLAYED ON THESE ISSUES. I'VE WORKED CLOSELY WITH COUNCIL OF AND COUNCIL AS THEY COME AS WELL ON THE BOSTON COMMON PROUD TO HAVE WORKED WITH THEM THAT BEING IN MY DISTRICT AS WELL IN THE COPLEY AREA AS WELL AS THE CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS PARK UP UNTIL REDISTRICTING. SO WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO WORK WITH MY COLLEAGUES AND ENSURING THAT OUR PARKS AND GREEN SPACE AND OPEN SPACES ARE ACCESSIBLE TO ALL. BUT I DO WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THE RESIDENTS THAT USE THESE PARKS. A LOT OF THEM ARE IN MY DISTRICT WHICH I'M PROUD OF AND I'M TRYING TO GET MORE RESIDENTS FROM CHINATOWN TO FREQUENT THEM THE PUBLIC AND TO FREQUENT THE BOSTON COMMON BECAUSE THESE PARKS ARE OPEN TO EVERYBODY AND I'M PROUD TO WORK WITH THE FRIENDS OF PUBLIC ART AND TO ENSURE THAT THIS PARK IS OPEN ACCESSIBLE BUT WE ALSO NEED TO DO MORE WORK ON PUBLIC SAFETY RELATED ISSUES.  WE HAVE MAJOR CONCERNS IN THE BOSTON COMMON I WAS THERE LAST WEEK WITH THE BOSTON POLICE AND WITH WITH THE RESIDENTS ON TREMONT STREET AND WE HAVE SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGES PUBLIC SAFETY CONCERNS IN BOSTON ON THE BOSTON COMMON AND THOSE ARE SOME OF THE ISSUES I'M GOING TO CONTINUE TO WORK WITH ALONG WITH THE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES INCLUDING SUFFOLK UNIVERSITY, EMERSON COLLEGE.  THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. THANK YOU. THE CHAIR AND COUNCILOR MEJIA COMES FROM ME . HERE YOU HAVE THE FLOOR. THANK YOU, MADAM PRESIDENT.  I JUST WANT TO THANK MY COLLEAGUES FOR INTRODUCING THIS AND YOU KNOW, I, I, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO NAME THAT WHEN I LOOK WHILE SPEAK FOR MYSELF IS THAT LIKE THE BOSTON COMMON CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS PARK A LOT OF THOSE PARKS LIKE IT WASN'T UNTIL I WAS A CITY COUNCILOR THAT I STARTED GOING TO LITTLE SPACES AND PLACES,  RIGHT? AND I THINK THAT AS WE'RE THINKING ABOUT THESE CONVERSATIONS I REALLY WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE CENTERING ACCESSIBILITY AND THAT THESE PARKS ARE REALLY DOING EVERYTHING THAT THEY CAN EVEN AS IF YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE A FORMAL ROLE THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT INCREASING OUR DIVERSITY EFFORTS AND MAKING THEM MORE ENGAGING AND AND AND INCLUSIVE. AND I I'VE SEEN SOME OF THAT HAPPENING.  BUT I THINK THAT AS WE CONTINUE TO HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS ESPECIALLY WITH PARKS THAT WE NEED TO DO A BETTER JOB AT MAKING SURE THAT PEOPLE SEE THEMSELVES IN ALL SPACES AND PLACES. AND I'M REALLY EXCITED THAT IF WE HAVE A POSITION OR DEPARTMENT THAT'S DEDICATED TO THAT THAT THERE WILL BE SOME OF THAT HAPPENING AND THAT WE CAN HOLD OURSELVES TO SOME BENCHMARKS AND SOME EQUITY GOALS IF YOU WILL.  I THINK THAT THAT WOULD BE A REALLY GREAT PART OF THE CONVERSATION BECAUSE LIKE I SAID, IT WASN'T UNTIL I BECAME A CITY COUNCILOR THAT I WOULDN'T LET BECAUSE I DIDN'T FEEL LIKE I BELONGED WAS BECAUSE I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW SOME OF THESE PARKS EVEN EXISTED. AND SO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT AND IT'S NOT JUST PEOPLE OF COLOR IS ALSO JUST LOW INCOME PEOPLE WHO HAVE ACCESS TO AND THERE ARE FOLKS WHO DON'T. I JUST THINK THAT AND THE PARKS ARE BEAUTIFUL AND I THINK EVERYONE SHOULD BE ABLE TO ENJOY THEM AND SO I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT WHAT THAT ENGAGEMENT WOULD LOOK LIKE. AND AS YOU CONTINUE TO SHEPHERD THIS CONVERSATION THROUGH THE PROCESS, I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT ACCESSIBILITY FOR EVERYONE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. IS ANYONE ELSE LOOKING TO SPEAK ON THIS MATTER? WHAT ANYONE ELSE LIKE TO ADD THEIR NAME CORRECT. PLEASE ADD COUNCILORS BREADON FITZGERALD FLYNN.  MARIA MURPHY, SANTANA WEBER LAUREL PLEASE ADD COUNCILOR FERNANDO ANDERSON THIS DOCKET DOCKET NUMBER 0873 WILL BE REFERRED TO THE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE RESILIENCY AND PARKS. THERE'S A CLERK PLEASE READ DOCKET NUMBER 0874 TALK NUMBER 0874 COUNCILOR FLYNN OFFER THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION COMMEMORATING MEMORIAL DAY AND HONORING THOSE WHO MADE THE SUPREME SACRIFICE FOR OUR COUNTRY AND OUR GOLD STAR FAMILIES.  THANK YOU. THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES COUNCILOR FLYNN. YOU HAVE THE FLOOR.  THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. MADAM CHAIR, I FILED THIS RESOLUTION IN ADVANCE OF MEMORIAL DAY ON MONDAY SO THAT THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE CITY OF BOSTON CAN HONOR THOSE WHO MADE THE SUPREME SACRIFICE IN SERVICE TO OUR COUNTRY ESPECIALLY OUR GOLD STAR FAMILIES.  MEMORIAL DAY ONCE KNOWN AS DECORATION DAY STARTED AS A DAY FOR PEOPLE TO DECORATE THE GRAVES OF THE WAR DEAD WITH FLOWERS. IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE CIVIL WAR DECORATION DAY CONTINUED TO BE OBSERVED ON THE LOCAL LEVEL. IN 1968 THE U.S. CONGRESS PASSED THE UNIFORM MONDAY HOLIDAY ACT, WHICH ESTABLISHED MEMORIAL DAY AS THE LAST MONDAY IN MAY.  ON MEMORIAL DAY THE COUNTRY PAYS RESPECT TO THE MORE THAN 1.1 MILLION AMERICAN MILITARY PERSONNEL.  WHAT MADE THE SUPREME SACRIFICE FOR THEIR COUNTRY WHILE SERVING IN UNIFORM AS WELL AS OUR GOLD STAR FAMILY MEMBERS? IT'S A SOLEMN DAY.  IT'S NOT A DAY FOR COOKOUTS. IT'S NOT A DAY FOR PARTYING. IT'S A DAY TO STOP, TO PONDER, TO THINK, TO SAY A PRAYER FOR THE MEN AND WOMEN THAT PAID THE SUPREME SACRIFICE FOR OUR NATION. THE CITY OF BOSTON ITSELF HAS NUMEROUS EVENTS LEADING UP TO MEMORIAL DAY.  BUT BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC THIS YEAR AND OVER THE YEARS MANY OF THE EVENTS HAVE BEEN SUSPENDED. BUT WHAT WE ARE SEEING IS MORE PEOPLE COMING BACK RECOGNIZING THE TREMENDOUS SACRIFICE THAT OUR GOLD STAR FAMILIES HAVE MADE.  THE CITY OF BOSTON VETERANS SERVICES VETERANS ORGANIZATIONS WILL HAVE MANY EVENTS THAT WILL TAKE PLACE ON SUNDAY AND MONDAY . WHETHER IT'S A PUERTO RICAN VETERAN'S EVENT IN THE SOUTH END AFRICAN AMERICAN A VETERANS EVENT IN ROXBURY OR THE GERALD FITZGERALD POST IN SOUTH BOSTON OUT IN WEST ROXBURY THERE'S MANY ACROSS THE CITY. I'M FILING THIS RESOLUTION TODAY BECAUSE IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE RECOGNIZE THAT THEIR SACRIFICE, THEIR SERVICE, THEIR BRAVERY SHALL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN.  MADAM CHAIR, I'D LIKE TO SUSPEND IN PLACE. THANK YOU.  THANK YOU. THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES COUNCILOR FERNANDO ANDERSON. YOU HAVE THE FLOOR.  THANK YOU, MADAM PRESIDENT.  AND THANK YOU TO SPONSOR COUNCILOR FLYNN FOR FILING THIS . AS YOU ALL KNOW, I AM VERY PROUD MARINE MOM. MY SON WAS IN COLLEGE WHEN HE TURNED TO ME ONE DAY AND EXPRESSED WANTING TO SERVE. HAVING A CHILD IN THE MARINES IS ALL AT ONCE BOTH AN HONOR AND ALSO DEEPLY HUMBLING. I'M HONORED BECAUSE THE SPIRIT OF SERVICE THAT I POSSESS IS ONE THAT MY SON FEELS TOWARDS THIS COUNTRY.  BUT ON DAYS LIKE MEMORIAL DAY I AM REMINDED OF THE SUPREME SACRIFICE THAT MANY MEN AND WOMEN IN UNIFORM MAKE AND THE IMMENSE WEIGHT THAT FALLS ON GOLD STAR FAMILIES TO KEEP THE MEMORY OF THEIR CHILDREN AND PARENTS ALIVE. AS A MOM, MY HEART BREAKS FOR THESE FAMILIES AND I HOPE THAT THE WORK THAT WE DO HERE IN THE COUNCIL TO CREATE A BETTER, MORE EQUITABLE BOSTON THAT IT DEMONSTRATES THAT THEIR SACRIFICE WAS NOT MADE IN VAIN. THANK YOU TO OUR GOLD STAR FAMILIES YOU AND THE SACRIFICES MADE BY THOSE WHOSE LIVES WERE LOST ARE IN MY HEART TODAY ON AND ON MEMORIAL DAY AND EVERY DAY. THANK YOU AGAIN TO MY COLLEAGUE, THE SPONSOR. AND PLEASE ADD MY NAME. THANK YOU. THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES CANCER PREVENT CANCER AND YOU HAVE THE FLOOR. THANK YOU, MADAM PRESIDENT. THANK YOU, COUNSELOR FLYNN FOR FOR BRINGING THIS HERE TODAY. I JUST WANT TO RISE IN SUPPORT OF THIS AND SPECIFICALLY, YOU KNOW, IN DISTRICT FIVE THERE'S A LOT OF GOLD STAR FAMILIES. ONE OF THEM PARTICULAR I DO WANT TO HONOR AND SHOUT OUT IS THE FAMILY OF MANY THAT ARREDONDO FOUR SONS SERVED AND OBVIOUSLY PASSED AWAY IN SERVICE. SO WE I'D LIKE TO HONOR HER TODAY AND IN THIS MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND I SAY THIS WITH A HEAVY HEART JUST ABOUT FAMILY THAT SERVED MY BEST FRIEND CURRENTLY OUT IN JAPAN AT THE MOMENT SERVING IN THE UNITED STATES NAVY.  AND I'M JUST SO THANKFUL FOR EVERYONE THAT HAS SERVED. FOR EVERYONE THAT HAS PAID THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE.  AND TO THOSE GOLD STAR FAMILIES THAT LIVE IN OUR CITY JUST THANK YOU FOR YOUR FAMILY SERVICE, THAT'S ALL. THANK YOU. THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES COUNCILOR MURPHY ON THE FLOOR. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, CHAIR.  AND THANK YOU, COUNCILOR FLYNN FOR BRINGING THIS FORWARD. I KNOW THAT COMMISSIONER SANTIAGO DOES AN AMAZING JOB OF REMINDING US THAT MEMORIAL DAY IS NOT VETERAN'S DAY, THAT IT'S A DAY TO REMEMBER THOSE WHO HAVE GIVEN THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE. AND I DO WANT TO SHOUT OUT UPLIFT DAN MAGOON AND THE KELLY FAMILY AND THE TEAM AT MASS FALLEN HEROES WHO DOES AN AMAZING JOB SUPPORTING OUR MASSACHUSETTS GOLD STAR FAMILIES ALONG WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS AROUND THE STATE IN THE COUNTRY. I DO ALSO JUST WANT TO UPLIFT THAT MY SON WAS SWORN IN LAST WEEK AND TO THE AIRBORNE INFANTRY WITH THE ARMY. SO ALSO ALONG WITH COUNTLESS ANANDA SANDERSON SHARE THAT I HAVE A SON IN THE MILITARY SO A NEW FEELING A DAUGHTER IS ONE THING BUT BEING A MOM OF MILITARY YOU HAVE A NEW APPRECIATION FOR THE SACRIFICES THAT THESE FAMILIES GO THROUGH. I KNOW THAT WE UPLIFT THE WIVES, THE FAMILIES AND THOSE LEFT BEHIND AND LIKE OUR FIRST RESPONDERS, THOSE WHO ARE IN THE MILITARY, THEIR FAMILY SERVES ALONG WITH THEM AND SACRIFICE A LOT AND KEEP EVERYTHING GOING BACK HOME. SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE GOLD STAR FAMILIES IN THE CITY OF BOSTON AND ACROSS THE COUNTRY KNOW THAT MYSELF AND THIS THIS BODY IS UPLIFTING THEM AND WE'LL DO WHATEVER WE CAN TO SUPPORT THEM. THANK YOU.  THANK YOU AND CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU AND YOUR SON CASPER MURPHY.  THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES COUNCILOR DURKIN. PASTOR DURKIN, YOU HAVE THE FLOOR. THANK YOU SO MUCH, COUNCIL PRESIDENT THANK YOU SO MUCH, COUNCILOR FLYNN FOR ALWAYS REPRESENTING THE MILITARY AND ALWAYS REPRESENTING WHERE HE COMES FROM. I JUST WANTED TO ANNOUNCE THAT ON MEMORIAL DAY THE MISSION HALL POST DOES A BEAUTIFUL CEREMONY FOR THOSE THAT HAVE BEEN FALLEN AND THEY HAVE A BEAUTIFUL MEMORIAL AT 11 A.M. AND BRIGHAM CIRCLE. THEY ALSO HAVE A DINNER TONIGHT . THEY LIKE TO GO TO QUINCY SO I'VE JOINED THEM FOR DINNER BEFORE THEY LIKE TO GO TO VICTORY POINT WHICH IS A BEAUTIFUL AREA MARINA AND QUINCY.  SO THEY'LL BE THERE TONIGHT. I'M HOPING I CAN CATCH THEM AFTER PLENTY OF EVENTS TONIGHT . BUT I ALSO JUST WANTED TO UPLIFT WE DID A HERO SQUARE FOR PRIVATE FIRST CLASS NELSON EDWARD YOUNG OF MISSION HILL THIS YEAR RIGHT AS I BECAME A COUNCILOR I GUESS LATE LAST YEAR AND I KNOW MEMORIAL DAY IS FOR THOSE WHO HAVE FALLEN BUT THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO CURRENTLY SERVES I'M INCLUDING MY BROTHER IN LAW ERIC FINLEY. YOU KNOW MY SISTER LIVES NEAR A FOUR YOU KNOW MY SISTER LIVES IN TEXAS NEAR A MILITARY BASE AND YOU KNOW, HAVE LEARNED A LOT ABOUT PEOPLE WHO HAVE LOST PEOPLE AND AND THOSE THAT ARE ALSO LOST NOT JUST TO WAR BUT BUT TO THOSE WHO YOU KNOW, WHO COMMIT SUICIDE, YOU KNOW, WHICH ARE FAR TOO MANY IN I THINK UPLIFTING MENTAL HEALTH AND UPLIFTING KNOWING THAT SOME OF WHAT HAPPENS TO FAMILIES AFTER SERVICE IS IT ISN'T JUST ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS IN WAR BUT ALSO BUT WHAT HAPPENS AFTER AND THE TOLL THAT IT TAKES ON MENTAL HEALTH.  AND I'M REALLY GRATEFUL AGAIN TO COUNSELOR FLYNN FOR ALL THAT HE DOES TO UPLIFT UPLIFT THESE STRUGGLES AND I WILL BE THERE ON MONDAY. SO I HOPE SOME OF MY COLLEAGUES CAN JOIN IF THEY'RE AVAILABLE. THEY USUALLY JOIN AND HAVE A LUNCH AFTER. SO IF YOU'RE GOING TO MULTIPLE THINGS WE USUALLY HAVE LUNCH AFTER IT ACROSS THE STREET. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH. HAVE A NICE DAY. THANK YOU. COUNCILOR DURKAN THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES COUNCILOR BREADON ANY OTHER FLOOR? THANK YOU MADAM PRESIDENT. I ALSO WANT TO THANK COUNCILOR FLYNN FOR OFFERING THIS RESOLUTION COMMEMORATING MEMORIAL DAY ON ON MONDAY AT 11:00 AT THE EVERGREEN CEMETERY THERE WILL BE A MEMORIAL DAY CELEBRATION.  WE DO IT EVERY YEAR. I WANT TO THANK KELLY MCGRATH AND THE FOLKS AT BRIGHTON ELKS AND THE BRIGHTON MARINE WHO ARE TAKING ON THE ORGANIZING OF THIS ANNUAL EVENT AND ALSO THANKS TO THE ROSSI FAMILY WHO ORGANIZED IT FOR MANY, MANY YEARS IN THE PAST AND SO I HOPE OF ANYONE'S AVAILABLE TO COME OUT TO EVERGREEN ON MONDAY MORNING AT 11 A.M. EVERGREEN CEMETERY YOU'LL BE VERY WELCOME. THANK YOU. THANK AND CELEBRATE AND THANK YOU FOR RECOGNIZING THE WORK OF THE LAROSE FAMILY. THEY'VE BEEN DOING A REALLY GREAT JOB EVERY YEAR AT EVERGREEN ON THAT WONDERFUL CEREMONY THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES COUNCILOR FLYNN, KENDRA FLYNN YELL FOR MADAM CHAIR COULD I ADD COUNCILOR PEPEN AS AN ORIGINAL CO-SPONSOR PLEASE?  COUNCILOR PREPARED SO ADAM'S ORIGINAL CO-SPONSOR THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES COUNCIL OR YOU ON THE FLOOR. THANK YOU AS WANT TO RISE AND SAY THANK YOU TO COUNCIL FOR CONSTANTLY ADVOCATING FOR OUR VETERANS AND I ALSO JUST WANT TO LET MY SUPPORT FOR ALL THE VETERANS AND THEIR FAMILIES THAT HAVE SERVED AND HAVE PAID THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE FOR OUR FREEDOM FOR THIS COUNTRY THAT WE GET TO ENJOY TODAY. AND I JUST WANT TO GIVE A BIG SHOUT OUT TO ALL MY FAMILY MEMBERS THAT ARE CURRENTLY SERVING AND ALSO TO ESSENTIAL STAFF SHANE SO JUST WANTED TO RISE IN SUPPORT AND THANK COUNCIL FLYNN FOR HIS CONTINUE ADVOCACY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.  IS ANYONE ELSE LOOKING TO SPEAK ON THIS MATTER? JUST WANT TO START. I ALSO THINK I WAS REFINED FOR FILING THIS AND WANT TO THANK THE OFFICE OF VETERAN SERVICES WHO THEY DO AN INCREDIBLE JOB MARKING THE SOLEMN DAY AND MOMENT AS WE REMEMBER THOSE WHO MADE THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE AND MAY NOT BE IN VAIN. MR. CLERK, IS ANYONE ELSE LOOKING TO ADD THEIR NAME?  MR. CLERK COULD YOU PLEASE ADD COUNCILORS BREADON COLETTE ZAPATA DURKIN FERNANDA ANDERSON FITZGERALD MEJIA MURPHY SANTANA WEBER LAUREL PLEASE. OTHER CHAIR COUNCILORS FLYNN AND THE BAND SEAT SUSPENSION OF THE RULES AND ADOPTION OF DOCKET NUMBER 0874 ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY I I OPPOSING AS HAVE IT BUT THE NUMBERS ARE 874 HAS BEEN ADOPTED. MR. CLERK COULD YOU PLEASE REDACT NUMBERS ARE 8750875 COUNCIL SIGN OFF OF THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF H.R. 6452 VETERANS SCAM AND FRAUD EVASION THE SAFE ACT. THANK YOU. THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES COUNSELOR COLON CANCER . FLYNN, YOU HAVE THE FLOOR. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR.  THIS IS A RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF H.R. 6452 WHICH IS THE VETERANS SCAM FRAUD EVASION ACT BEFORE THE CONGRESS WHICH SEEKS TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE OF SCAM AND FRAUDS AGAINST VETERANS. WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE SERVICE OF OUR VETERANS PRIOR TO THIS THE BENEFITS THEY EARNED.  YET VETERANS OFTEN BECOME TARGETS OF SCAMMERS SIMILAR TO WHAT WE'RE SEEING WITH SENIORS. WE HAD A RECENT HEARING WITH A STRONG AND THE COMMISSION WAS TALKING ABOUT THAT AS WELL. WE'RE ALSO SEEING IT WITH VETERANS BEING TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF RETIREES ARE BEING TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF AND THERE'S A PROPOSAL IN THE IN THE CONGRESS SUPPORTED BY THE DISABLED AMERICAN VETERANS BECAUSE OVER 74,000 VETERANS ALREADY IN RETIREES HAVE REPORTED FRAUD OR IDENTIFY IDENTITY THEFT LAST YEAR ALONE THIS BILL WOULD ESTABLISH THE POSITION OF VETERAN SCAM AND FRAUD EVASION OFFICER IN THE US DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS AND THAT PERSON WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR FRAUD AND SCAM PREVENTION REPORTS AS WELL AS INCIDENT RESPONSE PLANS AT THE VA.  THIS OFFICE WILL ALSO PROVIDE GUIDANCE ON HOW TO IDENTIFY REPORT AVOID FRAUD AND SCAM ATTEMPTS TO VETERANS, MILITARY FAMILIES, CAREGIVERS, SURVIVORS THAT TAKING ADVANTAGE OF VULNERABLE VULNERABLE PEOPLE AT TIMES THIS BILL WILL FACILITATE AND FACILITATE THE COORDINATION ACROSS FEDERAL DEPARTMENTS TO WORK ON THAT TO WORK ON VETERANS FRAUD PREVENTION AND REPORTING REQUIRED AT THE VA AND DEVELOP WAYS TO MONITOR THIS FRAUD AND ANALYZE THE DATA, PROVIDE INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL REPORTING . AGAIN, I MENTIONED IT'S BEING SUPPORTED BY THE DMV. IT WILL HELP OUR VETERANS ADVOCATE IN AVOIDING AND REPORTING AND BE TAKEN ADVANTAGE AND ENSURE THAT THEY ARE ABLE TO RECEIVE ALL THE BENEFITS THAT THEY ARE ENTITLED TO.  SOME SOME MAY ASK WHY? WHY AM I CONCERNED ABOUT FEDERAL LEGISLATION? AND I GUESS THE ANSWER IS WE HAVE SO MANY VETERANS IN BOSTON BUT THE MAJORITY OF SERVICES PROGRAMS THAT IMPACT VETERANS ARE AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL. BUT IT'S IMPORTANT FOR VETERANS TO WEIGH IN ON FEDERAL LEGISLATION BECAUSE IT IMPACTS THEM GREATLY HERE IN BOSTON ACROSS ACROSS MASSACHUSETTS WE HAVE WE HAVE AN EXCEPTIONAL TEAM AT THE CITY OF BOSTON VETERANS SERVICE SERVICES DEPARTMENT THAT WORKS CLOSELY WITH THE STATE, ALSO HAS A VETERANS SERVICE DEPARTMENT AS WELL. COMMISSIONER SANTIAGO AND SECRETARY SANTIAGO.  BUT IT'S IMPORTANT THAT CITY, STATE AND FEDERAL OFFICIALS ALL WORK TOGETHER TO IDENTIFY THE SERVICES PROGRAMS WAYS WE CAN HELP VETERANS IN MILITARY FAMILIES TO ENSURE THAT THE SERVICES AND PROGRAMS THAT THEY HAVE EARNED SERVICES AND PROGRAMS THAT THEY HAVE EARNED CONTINUE. AND AT TIMES WHEN WE SEE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WE SEE STATE GOVERNMENT HOW WE SEE CITY GOVERNMENT LOOKING TO CUT BUDGETS, LET'S REMEMBER THAT THESE BUDGETS THAT WERE CUTTING FOR VETERANS IMPACT THE LOW LOW INCOME VETERANS. THEY IMPACT HOMELESS VETERANS.  SO LET'S WORK TOGETHER TO SUPPORT EACH OTHER SUPPORT OUR VETERANS AND THEIR MILITARY FAMILIES AS WELL. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR.  THANK YOU. COUNCILOR FLYNN, IS ANYONE ELSE LOOKING TO SPEAK ON THIS MATTER ? I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU FOR FILING THIS DURING THE HEARING, COMMISSIONER SANTIAGO MENTIONED THIS AND THERE'S A SPECIAL PLACE NOT GOOD FOR PEOPLE WHO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR MOST VULNERABLE POPULATIONS, INCLUDING OUR VETERANS. AND I KNOW OFTENTIMES I BELONG TO A PROFESSION LAWYERS THERE ARE SOME ALSO ARE INVOLVED IN THAT NOT GREAT ACTIVITY. AND SO I WANT TO LEND MY SUPPORT TO THIS AND MAKE SURE THAT WE TRY TO STOP ALL SORTS OF FRAUDS, STOP ALL SORTS OF WAYS THAT PEOPLE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR MOST VULNERABLE POPULATIONS WHICH INCLUDE OUR VETERANS. IS ANYONE LOOKING TO ADD THEIR NAME AS A CLERK? WILL YOU PLEASE ADD COUNCILORS BREADON COLLETTE ZAPATA DURKIN, FERNANDA ANDERSON FITZGERALD PEPEN MURPHY SANTANA WEBER WORLD PLEASE ADD THE CHAIR CASTRO FLYNN'S EXPANSION OF THE RULES AND ADOPTION OF DOCKET NUMBER CASTRO FLYNN'S EXPANSION OF THE RULES AND PASSAGE OF DOCKET NUMBER 0875 ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY I. I WAS OPPOSED IN THE AYES HAVE IT THIS DOCKET IS PASSED HAS BEEN ADOPTED. THERE'S A COURT WOULD YOU PLEASE RE DOCKET NUMBERS ARE 876 DOCKING NUMBER 0876 COUNCIL OF MURPHY AND FITZGERALD OFF FOR THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING AND CELEBRATING EMERGENCE IN MEDICAL SERVICES WEEK THANK YOU. THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES COUNSELOR MURPHY.  THANK YOU. I KNOW WE GAVE A PRESENTATION AT THE BEGINNING OF THE HEARING AND I DID AT THAT POINT SUSPEND THE RULES TO ADD COUNSELOR FLYNN BUT I DO WANT TO TAKE A VOTE NOW I'D LIKE TO SUSPEND AND PASS THIS RESOLUTION. THANK YOU. COUNSELOR MURPHY SEEKS SUSPENSION OF THE RULES TO ADD COUNSELOR FLYNN AS A THIRD ORIGINAL CO-SPONSOR SEEING AND HEARING NO OBJECTIONS COUNSELOR FLYNN AND SO ADDED IS ANYONE ELSE LOOKING TO SPEAK ON THIS MATTER? WOULD ANYONE ELSE LIKE TO ADD THEIR NAME? MR. CLERK PLEASE? THAT COMES WITH BREADON NICOLETTA ZAPATA DURKIN FITZGERALD, FERNANDA ANDERSON, BEN SANTANA WEBER WORLD PLEASE OTHER CHAIR COUNSELORS FLYNN COUNSELORS MURPHY FITZGERALD INFLUENCE EXPANSION OF THE RULES AND PASSAGE OF DOCKET NUMBERS ARE 876 ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY I I THE AYES HAVE IT. THIS DOCKET HAS BEEN ADOPTED. WE ARE NOW MOVING ON TO A PERSONNEL ORDER. SO MR KARP, WOULD YOU PLEASE READ THE PERSONNEL ORDERS?  DUNCAN NUMBER 0877 COUNCILOR LOUIJEUNE FOR COUNCILOR PEP TEN PERSONNEL ORDER DUNCAN NUMBER 0878 COUNCILOR LOUIJEUNE FOR COUNCILOR DURKIN PERSONNEL AND DOCKET NUMBER 0879 COUNCILOR LOUIJEUNE FOR COUNCILOR IN MURPHY PERSONNEL ORDER THANK YOU. THE CHAMBERS ARE POSITIVE DOCKETS NUMBER 0877208790 THOSE ARE VERY SAY I OPPOSING THANK YOU THE PRESIDENT ORDERS HAVE PASSED WE'RE NOW MOVING ON TO GREEN SHEETS.  IS ANYONE LOOKING TO PULL ANYTHING FROM THE GREEN SHEETS THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES COUNSELOR DIRK AND COUNSELOR DURKIN. YOU HAVE THE FLOOR. THANK YOU SO MUCH, MADAM PRESIDENT. I'M LOOKING TO POLL 0755 WHICH NEEDS TO BE VOTED ON TODAY OR IT AUTOMATICALLY BECOMES A LANDMARK. THANK YOU MR WILL PLEASE READ DOCKET NUMBER 0755 INTO THE RECORD FROM THE COMMITTEE AND PLANNING DEVELOPMENT AND TRANSPORTATION ON PAGE 11 OF THE GREEN SHEETS DUNCAN NUMBERS 0755 COMMUNICATION WERE RECEIVED BY THE CITY CLERK FROM THE BOSTON LANDMARKS COMMISSION FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION ON THE DESIGNATION OF THE PLATINUM NAIL FACTORY GEORGE LAWLEY AND SUTTON SHIPYARD 12 DASH 12 ARE ERIKSON STREET BOSTON, MASS. AS A LANDMARK IN EFFECT AFTER JUNE 1ST, 2024 IF NOT ACTED UPON.  THANK YOU. DOCKET DOCKET NUMBER 0755 IS PROPERLY BEFORE THE BODY COMES TO DURKEE AND YOU HAVE THE FLOOR. THANK YOU. THIS DOCKET IS A REPORT FROM THE LANDMARKS COMMISSION ON THEIR VOTE TO DESIGNATE 12 AND 12 ERICKSON STREET AS LANDMARKS . THIS DESIGNATION WAS PRESENTED TO OUR BODY ON MAY 1ST MEANING WE HAVE UNTIL JUNE 1ST TO ACT ON IT. HOWEVER, SINCE WE DON'T HAVE A MEETING NEXT WEEK, TODAY IS THE LAST DAY WE HAVE TO VOTE ON IT. HAVING SPOKEN TO THE OWNER AND TO COUNCILOR FITZGERALD WHOSE DISTRICT IT IS IN AND HAVING FULLY READ THE STUDY REPORT, I WOULD URGE THE BODY TO VOTE NO ON THIS DESIGNATION. THE OWNER HAD NOT BEEN NOTIFIED OF THE PROCESS TO DESIGNATE THIS AS A LANDMARK AND ONLY LEARNED AFTER THE STUDY REPORT HAD ALREADY BEEN PUBLISHED IN FEBRUARY THIS YEAR. THE SUBSEQUENT VOTE FOR DESIGNATION CAME IN APRIL WHICH THE OWNER WAS NOT ABLE TO ATTEND DUE TO RECEIVING THE WRONG ZOOM MEETING LINK. IN ADDITION, THE OWNER STATES THAT THESE TWO BUILDINGS WERE SUBJECT TO A PREVIOUS ATTEMPT TO LANDMARK THEM IN 1996. THIS LANDMARKING WAS IN RESPONSE TO THE OWNER ATTEMPTING ADDITIONS AND REPAIRS TO THE TWO BUILDINGS AND CAME FROM NEIGHBORS SEEKING TO BLOCK THESE ADDITIONS. THE OWNER NEVER NEVER PROCEEDED WITH THE ADDITIONS AND THIS LANDMARKING FAILED.  IT IS UNCLEAR WHO IS BEHIND THIS YEAR'S LANDMARK PETITION BUT THE OWNER SAYS THAT NO ONE FROM THE COMMUNITY HAS ASKED FOR THIS. CONSIDERING THIS I ASK THAT WE VOTE NO ON THIS DESIGNATION. I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO LET COUNCILOR JOHN FITZGERALD ADD HIS THOUGHTS. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU. THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES CANTOR FITZGERALD. HE HAD THE FLOOR. THANK YOU. COUNCIL PRESIDENT I APPRECIATE MY COLLEAGUES IN HOPEFULLY JOINING ME IN VOTING THIS NIGHT TO BE A LANDMARK.  WHAT THIS SEEMS TO BE IS IT WAS LIKE A COLD CASE REOPENED AND THERE'S A NEW OWNER HE DOES NOT WANT THE LANDMARK DESIGNATION AND UNFORTUNATELY ACTUALLY THE HISTORY IN THIS AREA OF BUILDING THE BOATS FOR DURING THE WAR WHERE THOSE BOATS WERE BUILT, THOSE BUILDINGS WERE ACTUALLY TORN DOWN LONG AGO. SO WE MISSED OUR CHANCE TO ACTUALLY PROPERLY MAKE A HISTORIC LANDMARK OUT OF WHAT WAS HISTORY. THESE BUILDINGS THAT ARE CURRENTLY THERE ARE NOT ACTUALLY VERY HISTORIC AT ALL. SO WE'RE LOOKING TO VOTE THIS DOWN TODAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU. THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES COUNCILOR DURKIN CONSIDER CAN YOU HAVE THE FLOOR? SO I'D LIKE TO MOVE FOR A VOTE. OKAY. THANK YOU, MR CLERK. THANK YOU.  SORRY . THANK YOU. COUNCILOR DURKIN. MR CLERK, CAN WE PLEASE DO A ROLL CALL VOTE ON DOCKET NUMBER 055 PURSUANT TO THE CHAIR? IT'S A REQUEST COUNCILOR DURKIN 075 US ROLL CALL VOTE ON DOCKET NUMBER 0755 COUNCILOR BREADON NO.  COUNCILOR BREADON NO. COUNCILOR COLETTE ZAPATA.  YES. COUNCILOR COLETTE AS A PARTY YES.  COUNCILOR DURKAN. COUNCILOR DURKAN NO. COUNCILOR FOR ANANDA SANDERSON COUNCILOR FERNANDA SANDERSON PRESENT.  COUNCILOR FITZGERALD COUNCILOR FITZGERALD NO. COUNCIL FLYNN COUNCILOR FLYNN NO. COUNCILOR LOUIJEUNE NO COUNCIL AND NO COUNCIL . MEJIA CONCILOR MEJIA HERE PRESENT COUNCILOR MURPHY. COUNCILOR MURPHY NO. COUNCILOR PEPEN.  COUNCILOR 15 NO. COUNCILOR SANTANA NO. COUNCILOR SANTANA NO. COUNCILOR WEBER. COUNCILOR WEBER NO.  AND COUNCILOR WORRELL PRESIDENT. COUNCILOR WE'RE ALL PRESENT.  THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES I THINK COUNCILOR COLETTA ZAPATA WOULD LIKE TO MOTION A CHANGE. YES, I LIKE THE MOTION TO CHANGE MY VOTE. I APOLOGIZE EVERYBODY SECOND TO NO ABSENT OBJECTION. YEP. COUNTER-CULTURE TO NO. OKAY.  TEN VOTES AGAINST ONE FOR AND THREE PRESENT. THANK YOU DOCKET NUMBERS IS PROGRESSIVE. OH SORRY . YES THREE PRESENT RIGHT? YEAH. SO YOU JUST NINE NO TEN NO AND THREE PRESENT. OKAY.  THANK YOU. DOCKET NUMBER 0755 HAS NOT BEEN ADOPTED.  IS ANYONE ELSE LOOKING TO PULL ANYTHING FROM THE GREEN SHEETS ? THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES COUNCILOR FITZGERALD COMES WITH CHARITY OF THE FLOOR. THANK YOU, MADAM PRESIDENT. I WOULD LIKE TO PULL DOCKET NUMBER 0281 ON PAGE 12 OF THE GREEN SHEETS.  MR. CLERK, DO YOU HAVE THAT DOCKET AHEAD OF YOU IN FRONT OF YOU?  GIVE ME GIVE US ONE MOMENT. SO THAT WEEK 02810281. YES.  THANK YOU. MR. CLERK, CAN YOU PLEASE READ THE DOCKET INTO THE RECORD FROM THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC HEALTH HOMELESSNESS AND RECOVERY DOCKET NUMBER 0281 MESSAGE YOU KNOW WHAT AUTHORIZING THE CITY OF BOSTON TO ACCEPT AND EXPEND THE AMOUNT OF $100,000 IN THE FORM OF A GRANT FOR THE E E C MENTAL HEALTH EARMARK EARMARK AWARDED BY THE MASS EARLY EDUCATION AND CHILD CARE DEVELOPMENT TO BE ADMINISTERED BY THE OFFICE OF EARLY CHILDHOOD. THE GRANT WILL FUND AND SUPPORT MENTAL HEALTH TRAINING FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS. THANK YOU MR QUICK CAN YOU PLEASE GIVE US A PAGE NUMBER FOR THE GREEN SHEETS IF YOU HAVE IT?  PAGE 12 THANK YOU. ABSENT OBJECTION DOCKET NUMBER 0281 IS PROBABLY BEFORE THE BODY CAMERA FOR TRIAL. DO YOU HAVE A FLOOR?  THANK YOU, MADAM PRESIDENT. THIS GRANT WAS FILED BY THE MAYOR AND PLACED IN MY COMMITTEE OF HEALTH, HOMELESSNESS AND RECOVERY ON FEBRUARY SEVEN, 2024.  THIS GRANT WOULD FUND AND SUPPORT MENTAL HEALTH TRAINING FOR OUR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS. THE GOAL IS TO PROVIDE TWO DIFFERENT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES THE FIRST BEING REFLECTIVE CONSULTATION FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD DIRECTORS AND SUPERVISORS WHICH AIMS TO STRENGTHEN AND SUPPORT SKILLS IN INFANT AND EARLY CHILDHOOD MENTAL HEALTH. THE SECOND IS EARLY CHILDHOOD STAFF THE MASS AMH INFANT AND EARLY CHILDHOOD MENTAL HEALTH ENDORSEMENT AN INTERNATIONAL CREDENTIAL THAT PROVIDES RECOGNITION OF SPECIALIZED AND EXPERTISE FOR PROFESSIONALS WORKING WITH OR ON BEHALF OF FAMILIES WITH YOUNG CHILDREN. THIS MODEL IN MIND WILL GO A LONG WAY AND I'M HOPING WE WILL BE ABLE TO PASS THIS TODAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. IS ANYONE ELSE LOOKING TO SPEAK ON THIS MATTER? COUNCILOR FITZGERALD CHAIR THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC HEALTH, HOMELESSNESS AND RECOVERY MOVES ARE PASSAGE OF DOCKET NUMBER 0281.  ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY I WILL OPPOSE ANY THANK YOU, DOCTOR NUMBER 0281 HAS BEEN A HAS PASSED. ANYONE ELSE LOOKING TO PULL ANYTHING FROM THE GREEN SHEETS OKAY WE'RE NOW MOVING ON TO LEAD FILES. I'M INFORMED BY THE CLERK THAT THERE ARE TEN LEAD FILE MATTERS ALL OF WHICH ARE PERSONNEL ORDERS.  WE WILL TAKE A VOTE TO ADD THESE MATTERS TO THE AGENDA. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF ADDING THE LITTLE MATTER SAY I I I'LL OPPOSING IT.  THANK YOU. THE LATE FILE MATTERS HAVE BEEN ADDED TO THE AGENDA IS THE CLERK PLEASE YOU THE LATE FIRST LATE MIGHT FILE MATTER INTO THE RECORD PLEASE READ ALL OF THE LATE FILE THAT IS INTO THE RECORD FIRSTLY FEMALE COUNCILOR LOUIJEUNE FOR CENTRAL STAFF SECOND LATE FILE MALIC MATTER COUNCILOR LOUIJEUNE FOR CENTRAL STAFF THIRDLY FILE MATTER COUNCILOR REASON FOR COUNCILOR PER PAN PERSON I WANT A FOURTH LATE FILE MATTER COUNCILOR LOUIJEUNE FOR COUNCILOR FOR ANANDA SANDERSON PERSONNEL ORDER FIFTH FLEET AMOUNT OF COUNCILOR LOUIJEUNE FOR COUNCILOR NICOLETTA ZAPATA PERSONNEL ORDER SIXTH LATE FILE MALE COUNCILOR LOUIJEUNE FOR COUNCILOR COLETTA ZAPATA PERSONNEL ORDER SEVENTH LATE FILE MATTER COUNCILOR LOUIJEUNE FOR COUNCILOR FITZGERALD PERSONNEL ORDER A FILE EIGHT LATE FILE MATTER COUNCILOR REASON FOR COUNCILOR FITZGERALD ORDER NINTH LATE FILE AMENDED COUNCILOR REASON FOR COUNCILOR PREPARE AND PERSONNEL ORDER TEN LATE FILE MATTER COUNCILOR LOUIJEUNE FOR COUNCILOR PREPARE PERSONNEL THANK YOU THE CHAIR MOVES IT PASSAGE OF THESE FILE MATTERS ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY I ALL OPPOSING THE PERSONNEL ORDERS HAVE BEEN ADOPTED.  WE ARE NOW MOVING ON TO THE CONSENT AGENDA. I HAVE BEEN INFORMED BY THE COURT THAT THERE ARE THREE ADDITIONS TO THE CONSENT AGENDA. THE QUESTION NOW COMES ON APPROVAL OF THE VARIOUS MATTERS CONTAINED WITHIN THE CONSENT AGENDA. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY I THANK YOU. THE CONSENT AGENDA HAS BEEN ADOPTED.  WE ARE NOW ON TO ANNOUNCEMENTS. PLEASE REMEMBER THESE ARE FOR UPCOMING DATES EVENTS. DO ANY OF MY COLLEAGUES HAVE ANY ANNOUNCEMENTS TONIGHT? THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES COUNSELOR FERNANDA ANDERSON. THANK YOU MADAM PRESIDENT THIS SATURDAY AT 1 P.M. AT PROJECT HOPE WE WILL BE HOLDING QUARTERLY TOWN HALL BUT IT HAS BEEN DIVIDED INTO NEIGHBORHOODS THIS TIME SO WE WILL BE HOLDING THE STATE OF ROXBURY AT PROJECT HOPE 550 DUDLEY STREET PLEASE JOIN US. THIS IS GOING TO GIVE ALL CONSTITUENTS OR AT LEAST CONSTITUENTS THAT PARTICIPATE THE STATE OF AFFAIRS AND CONDITIONS OR DEVELOPMENT UPDATES ON EVERYTHING. ROXBURY THANK YOU. THANK YOU.  PLEASE I'M PERSONALLY INVITING I HAVE INVITED YOU THROUGH EMAILS OR THE INVITATION BUT I AM INVITING COUNCILOR WHO HAVE MEJIA AT LARGE COUNCILOR COUNCILOR PEPEN I'M SORRY SANTANA AT-LARGE COUNCILOR COUNCILOR PRESIDENT LOUIJEUNE ALLOWS COUNCILOR AND COUNCILOR AARON MURPHY AT-LARGE COUNCILOR THANK YOU.  THANK YOU. THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES CONTRABAND COMES WITHIN YOU HAVE THE FLOOR . THANK YOU. I'M JUST RISING TO CONGRATULATE TWO PEOPLE. FIRST IS MY INTERN DESIRE SHE IS GRADUATING FROM HIGH SCHOOL AND ATTENDING FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY.  THIS IS FOR YOU. YES. AND ALSO WANT TO CONGRATULATE MY LITTLE SISTER WHO'S GRADUATING TOMORROW FROM UMASS BOSTON. SO I JUST WANT TO EXTEND MY CONGRATULATIONS FOR THEM. YOU I'M LOVING THIS. THANKS. AWESOME. THANK YOU.  I HAVE A FEW ANNOUNCEMENTS AND BIRTHDAYS I WE MENTIONED HIS BIRTHDAY LAST WEEK JOSEPH MEN MICK MCGUIGAN WHO WAS ALSO A RETIREMENT SO CONGRATULATIONS TO JOSEPH CARROLL CAROLYN O'NEILL CELEBRATING BIRTHDAY MY SISTER CELEBRATED HER BIRTHDAY YESTERDAY SHE IS THE BEST OF US SO HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHAMPA I ALSO WANT TO SAY CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR COLLEAGUE COUNCILOR CARLOTTA ZAPATA WHO GOT MARRIED THIS PAST WEEKEND AND IS WITH US HERE TODAY.  DOESN'T MISS A BEAT EITHER HERE IN CHAMBERS OR ON THE DANCE FLOOR. AND SO WE ARE VERY HAPPY FOR YOU, COUNCILOR COLETTA, SINCE WE WILL NOT BE HAVING A MEETING NEXT WEEK. I WANT TO JUST UPLIFT SOME COMMUNITY EVENTS HAPPENING. THERE'S THE DOG DAY PARADE ON THE SECOND WHICH IS JUNE 2ND SUNDAY THE CORP CLASSIC IN WEST ROXBURY ON JUNE 2ND THE NORTH AND CORNELL CLASSIC ALSO ON THE SECOND AND THE DAY BEFORE ON THE FIRST WE HAVE THE URBAN LEAGUE HEALTHY VIBES HEALTH FESTIVAL. WE HAVE DEUTSCHE FAST SOUTHIE FAMILY FUN DAY AND ALSO JUNE IS THE BEGINNING OF PRIDE MONTH SO HAPPY PRIDE TO EVERYONE. WE ARE NOW MOVING ON TO MEMORIAL O THE JOE RECOGNIZES CANCER AROUND CANCER YOU BEFORE THANK YOU I JUST WANT TO SHARE THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE HAVING PUBLIC TESTIMONY ON THE BUDGET ON MAY 28TH AT 6 P.M.. I'VE SHARED THE POST WITH EVERYBODY ON INSTAGRAM SO PLEASE HELP GET THE WORD OUT. LET'S TRY TO MAKE SURE WE FILL THE CHAMBER IN VIRTUAL ZOOM WITH TESTIMONY. THANK YOU.  THANK YOU. CAN WE CAN WE SHARE THE POST IN OTHER WAYS BESIDES INSTAGRAM?  WELL HAVE WE HAVE IT ON EMAIL TOO? YEAH, EMAIL INSTAGRAM WE I'VE SHARED IT AMONGST A FEW DIFFERENT WAYS. AWESOME FOR THOSE NOT ON THE GROUND. OKAY. ANY OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM ANY OF MY COLLEAGUES TO TRY RECOGNIZE JUST COUNCILOR FLYNN YOU HAVE THE FLOOR.  THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR. I JUST WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THIS MORNING MYSELF AND COUNCILOR SANTANA HAD A GREAT VISIT WITH STUDENTS FROM EXCEL HIGH SCHOOL IN SOUTH BOSTON. MANY OF OUR COLLEAGUES CAME BY TO SAY HELLO INCLUDING COUNCILOR MURPHY AND COUNCIL MAYOR HERE I BELIEVE I DON'T KNOW IF ANYONE ELSE WAS AND COUNCILOR PEPEN WAS THERE A LOT FOR THE LESSON BUT IT WAS A WONDERFUL IT WAS A WONDERFUL VISIT WITH THE OPPORTUNITY TO LISTEN TO THESE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TALK ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCE AND I LEARNED A GREAT DEAL FROM LISTENING TO THEM AND THE CHALLENGES THAT THEY FACE. BUT THEN I'M ALSO HAPPY AND FORTUNATE THAT WE HAVE WONDERFUL STUDENTS THAT ARE IN OUR PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM AS WELL THAT ARE DOING THEIR BEST UNDER VERY, VERY DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES.  THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. THANK YOU. THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES COMES FROM HERE YOU HAVE THE FLOOR.  THANK YOU. HI. I WANT TO KNOW FOR THE RECORD THAT I WAS NOT AT THE X THAT PLACE IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING THAT WAS BABY BUT NO, I WANTED TO JUST RISE BECAUSE THIS MORNING WE HAVE A CONFERENCE THAT'S HAPPENING HERE IN THE CITY OF BOSTON THE ASPEN INSTITUTE HAS BROUGHT OVER 600 YOUNG PEOPLE AND THOSE AND FOLKS WHO WORK WITH YOUNG PEOPLE ACROSS THE COUNTRY HERE TO THE CITY OF BOSTON FOR A THEIR ANNUAL CONFERENCE AND THEY BROUGHT IT HERE TO BOSTON AND I WAS ON A PANEL WITH MICHAEL CURRY AND AS WELL AS DR. VOLK AND NATE FROM TEEN EMPOWERMENT AS WELL AS CORY MAYS WHO IF YOU DON'T KNOW YOU BETTER GOOGLE HER. CAREY MAYS IS ONE OF THE MOST AMAZING YOUNG PEOPLE HERE IN THE CITY OF BOSTON. SHE IS SUCH A FIERCE ADVOCATE AND SHE WAS ON THE PANEL AND WE ALSO HAD AMANDA SHAY LIKE THE BUTLER OPENED US UP IN POETRY THIS MORNING AT THE PARK PLAZA. SO I JUST WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE FACT THAT WE HAVE HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY HERE IN THE CITY OF BOSTON CELEBRATING AND UPLIFTING YOUTH DEVELOPMENT. SO I WANT TO GIVE THEM A SHOUT OUT AND RECOGNITION AS WELL AS THE BIG PROGRAM AND OPPORTUNITY YOUTH FOR THEIR WORK AND BRINGING THEM HERE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THE CHAIR COMES FROM RAVI ON THE FLOOR. THANK YOU. I DID JUST WANT TO RISE TO CONGRATULATE JOEY MCEACHRAN WHO WAS GIVEN NEARLY 40 YEARS TO THE CITY OF BOSTON. HE HAD 27 YEARS WITH BOSTON WATER AND SEWER AND MANY OF YOU MAY REMEMBER HIM FOR 12 YEARS WORKED IN COUNSELOR BAKER'S OFFICE AND HAS BEEN IN MY OFFICE UP TO TODAY. HE RETIRED TODAY ON HIS BIRTHDAY SO I DO WANT TO THANK HIM FOR ALL HIS YEARS OF SERVICE AND WISH HIM A HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND CONGRATULATIONS. LIKE MANY PEOPLE WHEN YOU RETIRE NOW LIKE YOU SAID HE'LL HAVE ONE JOB NOT HAVE TO HAVE TWO BUT WISHING HIM ALL THE BEST. THANK YOU. CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN TO JOSEPH MCEACHRAN THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES COUNCILOR S.A. OF THE FOURTH. THANK YOU, MADAM PRESIDENT. AS LONG TO RISE.  AS MANY OF YOU KNOW OF OF THOSE WHO KNOW MY STORY I LOST MY OLDEST BROTHER IN 2016 AND HIS BIRTHDAY WOULD HAVE BEEN HIS 25TH BIRTHDAY WOULD HAVE BEEN THIS FRIDAY MAY 24TH. AND HE HAS A BIG ROLE IN MY LIFE AND HAS HAD A MAJOR ROLE IN MY LIFE AND WHY I DEDICATED MY LIFE TO PUBLIC SERVICE AND BECAUSE THERE WILL BE NO MEETING NEXT WEEK I JUST WANTED TO RISE TO ACKNOWLEDGE HIM. BARBARA SANTANA AND I ALSO WANT TO SEE US UPLIFT ALL PARENTS,  MOMS AND DADS AND GUARDIANS WHO HAVE TO EXPERIENCE AND LOSING A CHILD AND I'VE SEEN WHAT THAT'S DONE TO BOTH MY PARENTS AND I JUST WANT KEEP IN MIND OF EVERYONE HAD TO GO THROUGH THAT SO YOU KNOW I LOVE YOU BARBARA SANTANA, WE MISS YOU AND MAY YOU CONTINUE TO REST IN PEACE. THANK YOU, MADAM.  THANK YOU, COUNCILOR . UNDERSTAND IT WILL BE THINKING OF YOUR PARENTS AND YOUR FAMILY THIS FRIDAY.  WELL, WE ARE GOING TO MOVE ON TO MEMORIALS THAT WAS IF ANY OF MY COLLEAGUES WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK ON OF ANYONE WHO THEY'VE LOST OR THAT HAS MEANT A LOT TO THE CITY COUNCIL WHERE WE HAVE A FLOOR.  THANK YOU, MADAM PRESIDENT.  I'M RISING IN SUPPORT OF BARBARA BARBARA RHODES.  SHE WAS THE CHILDREN'S LIBRARIAN AT THE JAMAICA PLAIN BRANCH OF THE BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY. MY KIDS AND DOZENS OF OTHER KIDS AT THE MISSION HILL SCHOOL USE THAT CHILDREN'S SECTION AS THEIR AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM AND IT WAS WONDERFUL. SHE PASSED AWAY YESTERDAY AFTER A LONG ILLNESS BUT ONE OF HER COLLEAGUES WROTE TO ME THAT BARBARA WAS ONE OF THE ABSOLUTE BEST CHILDREN'S THERE EVER WAS AND INSPIRED COUNTLESS LIBRARY WORKERS WITH HER WARMTH, COMPASSION AND ABILITY TO CREATE COMMUNITY WHEREVER SHE WENT. SO I JUST WANT TO RISE IN SUPPORT OF HER FAMILY. SHE IS SURVIVED BY HER HER HUSBAND AND DAUGHTER AND MY THOUGHTS ARE WITH THEM TODAY. THANK YOU.  THANK YOU, COUNCILOR WEBER. I ALSO WANT TO UPLIFT THE MEMORY OF BARBARA RHODES FOR ALL THAT SHE MEANT TO JP AND TO OUR CHILDREN LIKE CHILDREN'S LIBRARIANS WHO DO INCREDIBLE WORK THAT SHE WAS AN INSPIRATION TO SO MANY SOMEONE TO ALSO THANK MATTHEW LEVINE FOR BRINGING THIS TO ATTENTION. SO THANK YOU AND MAY HER MEMORY BE A BLESSING IF ANYONE IS ANYONE ELSE LOOKING TO SPEAK OKAY, WE ARE GOING TO ADJOURN TODAY'S MEETING IN MEMORY OF THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS FOR COUNCILOR COLETTA LISA SAVARD FOR CANCER DURKIN MICHAEL REYNOSO FOR CANCER PRESIDENT LOUIJEUNE BILLIE JEAN ASHLEY WEST FOR CANCER SANTANA DAY OF REMEMBRANCE FOR THE PASSING OF ROBERT INDIANA FOR COUNCILORS WEBER AND LOUIJEUNE BARBARA RHODES A MOMENT OF SILENCE PLEASE.  THE CHAIR MOVES THAT WHEN THE COUNCIL ADJOURNS TODAY IT DOES SO IN MEMORY OF THE AFOREMENTIONED INDIVIDUALS HAS ALREADY BEEN MENTIONED. THE COUNCIL IS CLOSED ON MONDAY FOR MEMORIAL DAY AND WE WILL HAVE NO NEXT WEDNESDAY. THE COUNCIL IS SCHEDULED TO MEET AGAIN IN THE IRON CHAMBER ON WEDNESDAY JUNE 5TH 2024 AT NOON. THANK YOU TO MY COLLEAGUES, TO CENTRAL STAFF TO NEALE WHO IS HERE FOR DARCY THE CLERK AND THE CLERK'S OFFICE AND THE COUNCIL STENOGRAPHER. THANK YOU TO THE MUNICIPAL OFFICERS, TO SERGEANT SELTER AND TO EVERYONE FOR KEEPING CITY HALL SAFE ALL IN FAVOR OF ADJOURNMENT PCI THE COUNCIL IS ADJOURNED