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Council committee questions City Planning Department transition, pensions and budget transparency
Summary
Boston City Council committee probed the transition of planning functions from the BPDA to the new City Planning Department, pressing officials on employee retirement changes, fiscal transfers from the redevelopment agency and how quickly the department will post public reports.
Boston City Council members and the newly named chief of planning, Cairo Shen, spent more than three hours on March 25 examining the transition of planning functions from the Boston Redevelopment Authority/BPDA to the City Planning Department and pressing officials about staff retirement benefits, financial transfers and public access to documents.
Committee Chair Gabriela Claudia Zapata opened the Government Operations hearing on docket 0337 and called lead sponsors and planning staff forward to discuss how the transition has worked since last year.
Why it matters: The shift of planning from an independent redevelopment agency into city government changes who the department reports to, who votes on budgets and how public oversight can be exercised. Councilors repeatedly said they want clearer lines of fiscal accountability, faster public access to reports and a resolution for EDIC staff who moved to the city with differing retirement arrangements.
City staff described operational changes and outstanding issues.…
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