Boston council committee to workshop home-rule petition seeking 100% pension for injured firefighter Leo Bracken

A Boston City Council committee on Tuesday heard testimony on a home-rule petition that would increase retired Fire Lieutenant Leo J. Bracken’s pension from the 72% accidental-disability rate he now receives to 100% of the compensation he would have earned had he remained on the job.

The petition, sponsored by Councilor Ed Flynn and referred to the Committee on Government Operations, would request special legislation to exempt Bracken from existing statutory caps and to authorize additional post-retirement medical indemnification and survivor benefits. Committee Chair Colette Zapata said members would “workshop this a little bit more” and coordinate with the city’s legislative delegation and the retirement board before advancing the petition.

Why it matters: The petition asks the city and state to make a one-off change to state retirement law so that Bracken’s pension reflects the income he would have earned but for a workplace injury. Committee members said they want to balance compassion for a long-serving first responder with consistent standards across the retirement system and legal clarity before forwarding a home-rule petition to the Legislature.

Michael O’Reilly, legislative agent for the Massachusetts Association of…