Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Equity Cabinet Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Boston equity cabinet outlines FY26 priorities, centralizes operations to protect programming
Summary
City equity leaders told the City Council ways and means committee they will keep core community programs intact for FY26 while centralizing communications and operations to guard against possible federal funding losses.
Boston City Council Committee on Ways and Means Chair Brian Worrell convened a public hearing April 28 on the FY26 budgets for the city's equity cabinet offices, where the chief of equity and inclusion said the administration will centralize some operations while keeping community programs intact.
Mariangeli Solis Rivera, chief of equity and inclusion, told councilors the cabinet will shift some administrative functions (communications, policy, finance and admin) out of individual offices and into shared positions so front-line programming will not be cut. "We are centralizing some of those operations first," Solis Rivera said, adding the change may appear as a lost position in one office but will instead serve multiple equity offices.
Solis Rivera said the cabinet's E and I Academy has graduated more than 120 city staffers from more than 30 departments and that the cabinet has funded "over $7,000,000 worth of services and programs" in the community across three fiscal years. She described other FY26 priorities including a language-preservation program, continued cultural celebrations, technical assistance to departments, and an E and I Coordination Network intended to place equity managers across city cabinets.
Councilors pressed administration officials about contingency planning for potential federal funding changes. Solis Rivera said the administration was "prepared for worst case scenarios" and pledged to monitor federal developments closely while pursuing local stability.
Councilors also sought details about the cabinet's role in cross-department work such as housing and planning. Solis Rivera said equity managers sit on advisory groups and selection committees and that the cabinet aims to shift focus from internal staff diversity to outcomes in service delivery.
The hearing did not include a committee vote; presenters offered budget details and answered councilors' questions. Council members repeatedly asked the cabinet to provide written follow-ups on specifics such as selection-committee participation, grant sourcing, and timelines for other initiatives.
The hearing continues with other departmental presentations later in the day.
