Boston Mayor Michelle Wu advocates for children to have a say in the city’s budget

The mayor of Boston is proposing for children as young as 11 and illegal immigrants to have a say in the city’s budget.

On Tuesday, Mayor Michelle Wu, a Democrat, announced during a city council committee meeting centered on her 2025 fiscal budget plan to expand participatory budget voting to those ineligible to vote in normal elections.

Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn wrote a letter to Renato Castelo, the director of the Office of Participatory Budgeting, and called Wu’s decision “tone-deaf” and “inappropriate.”

“During this time of great fiscal uncertainty — with a study warning that remote work policies and the city’s declining commercial property values may cost us $500 million in revenue annually, as well as a subsequent proposal to also tax commercial property at a higher rate — now more than ever, it is critical that we show the taxpayers of Boston that we take our financial responsibilities seriously,” Flynn wrote.

Bostonians were first granted the ability to decide how funds were allocated for a public budget in 2021, but this is the first time they will be able to exercise that power.

Wu has allocated $2 million for the Office of Participatory Budgeting to use on community project ideas that residents will propose and vote on. Beginning in July, the office will open up the floor for citizens to propose ideas, and by the end of September, Wu will pick the top 15 community proposals, with voters narrowing it down to five options by vote in January.

Some council members are calling on Wu to increase the annual project to 1% of the budget — amounting to $40 million.

Flynn is pushing to decrease the allocated amount for the participatory budget by $1.2 million for the fiscal year.

Flynn wants to invest more in the Boston Police Crime Lab to work through a backlog of sexual assault kit testing and in the city’s Inspectional Services Department to improve pest control inspections.

Other city council members, such as Liz Breadon, see Wu’s proposal as an opportunity to encourage greater civic engagement.

“I do hope that it will lead to a more engaged citizenry going forward,” she said.

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As the city works to pass a balanced budget, Massachusetts lawmakers have struggled to deal with the ballooning costs of housing migrants. This fiscal year, there was a $224 million shelter budget, and by next year, spending on migrant care is expected to approach $1 billion.

The city’s fiscal 2025 budget begins on July 1.