Boston Mayor Proposes $4.9B Budget With Cuts to Programs Amid Rising Costs

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has unveiled a $4.9 billion fiscal year 2027 budget proposal that would ax grant programs she has supported and include the smallest overall spending increase in nearly 20 years.

Wu's budget plan, which she plans to introduce on Wednesday, April 8, would increase spending by 2% over the current year's $4.8 billion budget. She called it the smallest year-over-year increase the city has proposed since 2009. Wu did not specify where departments may make cuts.

“Ask any mayor, and you'll hear that it is a difficult moment here in Boston, across the Commonwealth, and around the country,” Wu said in a media call on Monday, April 6. “We are confronting serious cost pressures . . . [and] making careful choices to protect what matters most to residents.”

The plan follows earlier steps to rein in spending — freezing discretionary items, delaying hires, and limiting overtime and repairs to stretch limited dollars.

Wu's proposal includes targeted departmental cuts and a 1.3% reduction in most non-health-insurance spending. While no layoffs are planned at City Hall, potential staff reductions of 300 to 400 have been identified for Boston Public Schools.

According to The Boston Globe, Wu offered a wide overview of her budget proposal to the City Council on Monday, April 6. She identified several programs that would survive. For example, Wu proposes to maintain a program that offers summer jobs for BPS students. 

Her plan also provides funding for recruit classes for police, fire, and EMS, and allocates money for weekend and evening hours at libraries and youth and family centers. Her budget plan would also fund free English language classes for adults through the Boston Public Library and need-based financial support for low-income veterans.

According to the Globe, Wu noted that the city can weather ongoing economic headwinds and is not planning to use reserve funds to cover operating costs next fiscal year. 

The city's most recent financial report noted that, as of June 2025, Boston had about $1.2 billion in reserve funds.