Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the City Budget Environment Food topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council hearing previews FY27 Environment, Climate Resilience and Food Justice budgets
Summary
At an April 22 Ways and Means hearing, city officials outlined FY27 proposals for the Environment Department, Office of Climate Resilience and Office of Food Justice — describing modest operating reductions, program highlights such as the Boston Energy Saver and food‑access investments, and reliance on revolving funds and outside grants to bridge gaps.
Councilor Ben Weber, chair of the Boston City Council Committee on Ways and Means, opened an April 22 hearing on the FY27 budgets for the Environment Department, Office of Climate Resilience and the Office of Food Justice.
Administration officials framed the proposals around climate action, affordability and continued service delivery. Oliver Sellers Garcia, Commissioner of the Environment Department, said the department’s proposed operating budget includes a roughly 2.1% reduction that relies in part on a one-year shift of some contract services to revolving funds while preserving programmatic continuity.
Sellers Garcia and other presenters highlighted accomplishments from the past year: the launch of the Boston Energy Saver help desk, municipal energy measures that the administration estimates have avoided about $61.8 million in electricity costs since FY2015, and recent solar installations that add roughly 2 megawatts of capacity and are projected to save about $415,000 a year. Chris Osgood, director of the Office of Climate Resilience, outlined capital investments and partnerships — including ongoing coastal resilience work and planned collaboration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on longer-term federal projects.
Liza Wasserman, director of the Office of Food Justice, reviewed food‑access programs that her office supports and manages. She said the office distributed nearly $428,000 in farmer’s‑market coupons last year, deployed ARPA-funded cold storage grants to expand capacity and planned FY27 operating items that include personnel and contracted services supported in part by $500,000 from participatory budgeting.
Members of the council pressed administration staff on specifics: how participatory‑budgeting awards appear in departmental accounts, what contract‑services reductions mean for partners, and where flexibility for BERTO (building emissions) reporting appears in the budget. Officials responded that core services for the current year would continue and that some work had been temporarily reclassified to revolving funds to manage cash flows and grant cycles.
The hearing drew public testimony from food‑access advocates who urged the council to protect or restore discretionary funding for programs that support farmers markets, Double Up Food Bucks and local food hubs. Chair Weber closed the session after a second round of committee questions, announcing related hearings to follow in the budget review process.
What happens next: the council will review amendment requests and hold additional departmental hearings through June as part of the FY27 budget process.
