Residents at Brockton budget hearing press for clearer budget language, participatory budgeting and stronger audits

At a public hearing on the proposed fiscal year 2026 budget, Brockton residents urged the City Council to demand clearer budget language, consider participatory budgeting pilots and strengthen the city's internal audit function.

Mark Osborne, a Brockton resident and member of the Brockton Civic School, told councilors the mayor's proposed budget runs to 512 pages and projects $556,000,000 in revenues and spending. "In a budget, imprecision can be construed as permission," Osborne said, adding that vague or "squishy" language can allow policy to be made "in silence through omission." He asked councilors to "ask the hard questions, question the wording, challenge the assumptions, and approve not just a balanced budget, but a transparent one."

Trinette Hall, a Brockton resident and member of the Brockton Civic School, said Massachusetts law requires a public hearing on the annual city budget but urged the council to go further by adopting participatory budgeting, a process that would let residents decide how a portion of city dollars are spent. "Participatory budgeting is a democratic tool that builds trust and transparency between residents and local government," Hall said, citing examples in Boston, Cambridge and Somerville and urging Brockton to start with a pilot program.

Jamal Braithwaite, a Brockton resident, urged councilors to use the budget process to improve the city's internal controls. "Over the past five fiscal years, the city council has approved over $2,500,000,000 of spending," Braithwaite said, and noted the city has had at least three different city auditors during that period. He recommended appointing a city auditor with prior audit experience, such as a CPA, and strengthening internal audit work by documenting annual risk assessments, maintaining a policies-and-procedures library, and performing internal-control testing to prevent mismanagement or coding errors in the city's financial system.

None of the speakers offered or recorded a formal motion at the hearing. The comments were part of the council's public hearing on the mayor's proposed FY2026 budget; speakers asked the council to examine specific language in the proposed document, to consider adding a participatory budgeting pilot, and to use the upcoming auditor transition to improve audit capacity. Braithwaite noted the current city auditor's last day is scheduled the day after the budget is expected to be voted on and approved.

The council did not take final action during the public comment period. Budget deliberations and the scheduled vote are separate agenda items; councilors did not announce a formal direction or assignment during the hearing.