City Council moves $57.3 million to cover fiscal‑year 2026 collective‑bargaining increases

The Boston City Council voted Wednesday to move roughly $57.3 million from the city’s fiscal‑year 2026 collective bargaining reserve into department budgets to cover recently filed labor agreements. The action covered three previously negotiated contracts affecting the Boston Public Schools, the Boston Public Library and the Parks Department. Councilor Worrell, chair of the committee on ways and means, said the vote was a bookkeeping step because the contracts were filed after the mayor submitted the FY26 budget and “nothing about these contracts has changed.” The largest item is a $55,899,118 supplemental appropriation for Boston Public Schools to cover wage increases in the contract between the Boston School Committee and the Boston Teachers Union, which the clerk said runs from Sept. 1, 2024, through Aug. 30, 2027, and provides general wage increases in each year of the contract. Smaller appropriations for the library and parks department were also approved; the library allotment listed $1,285,033 and the parks allotment $51,404. Councilors voted on each docket by roll call; the clerk recorded 11 affirmative votes for each of the supplemental appropriation orders. Councilor Worrell said the contracts follow the administration’s pattern of a 2% base wage increase annually with additional flat amounts targeted at lower‑wage workers in some agreements. The council’s votes move the appropriations into the FY26 departmental accounts so the pay increases can be funded in the coming fiscal year.