The Boston legislators Police station The police department’s budget, which has been overfunded for three consecutive years, is coming under fire from the head of the city’s largest police union, according to a new report.
“At a time of rising civil unrest and police departments across the country struggling to recruit and retain officers, any talk of cutting police budgets is laughably irresponsible to the people of Boston,” said Larry Calderone, president of the Boston Police Officers’ Association. Boston Herald“We should increase the police budget and hire more officers, not decrease it.”
Last Thursday, City Council members separately offered amendments to Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2025. Combined, their proposed amendments would cut the budget by $30 million, including an $18 million cut to the Boston Police Department, the Herald reported Friday.
The 13-member council is scheduled to hold two more work sessions this week to make changes to the budget before voting on whether to approve or reject it on Wednesday.
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A BPD patrol vehicle and on-duty officers conduct a traffic stop near the finish line on Boylston Street in Boston, Massachusetts on April 13, 2023. (Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald)
In comments to the Herald, Council Vice Leader Brian Worrell stressed the cuts were not final and the budget was a “work in progress”.
“We do not want this process to have any impact on city services or the quality of life that city services provide to our residents,” he continued. “That is not our goal. We are looking to increase the investment and services the city provides to our residents.”
City-wide Councillor Erin Murphy added that at last Friday’s meeting her colleagues didn’t seem very supportive of making major cuts to the police budget.
“Many of my colleagues would not support making such large cuts to the police budget,” she said in the report.
Murphy and City Councilman Ed Flynn were two of the members who opposed possible budget cuts to the police and Boston Fire Department, according to the report.
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Some City Council members rejected an amendment that would have cut millions of dollars from the Boston Police Department’s budget. (iStock)
“As we debate our city’s budget, we should not be cutting services or programs that impact public safety or community services. Cutting the Boston Police Department’s budget is irresponsible and reckless. We cannot turn our backs on Boston’s first responders,” Mayor Flynn told the Herald.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Boston City Council and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s office for comment.
This marks the third consecutive year that city council members have proposed major cuts to the Boston Police Department.
After refusing to vote to cut $13.3 million from the 2022 police budget, Mayor Wu also vetoed a proposal to cut $31 million in funding for the Boston Police Department in 2023, according to the Herald.
Last month, the Boston City Council Democratic Council Councilwoman Tania Fernandez Anderson made headlines after she was caught yelling and yelling at a colleague during a council meeting.
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