The Boston city budget is apparently flush with cash when it comes to funding Mayor Michelle Wu’s pet projects, from the establishment of new City Hall departments, to the $18M+ proposed overhaul of the West Roxbury Education Complex. But when it comes to a better boost in pay for municipal security guards, the cupboard is bare.
That’s the gist behind Wu’s plans to give lower raises than what a municipal security guards union is seeking. As the Herald reported, her administration said the two sides have reached an impasse and the city can’t afford the group’s demands.
Another sticking point: the raises the union sought were voted in by the City Council as part of this year’s budget, but Wu nullified them. A Wu spokesperson stated that “this union’s and the City Council’s attempts to circumvent the collective bargaining process through the budgeting process were unfortunate and unfair to all of the city’s labor partners” who respect the proper protocols for negotiations.
A good point, an end run is rarely a good idea. However, instead of declaring “game over” and nullifying the raises the union sought, why not start negotiations from scratch and work toward a resolution favorable to both sides?
“Mayor Wu has nullified something positive for city workers, and continues to hurt the ones who earn the least,” Kevin Coughlin, president of the Boston Municipal Patrolmen’s Association, told the Herald.
According to a letter sent to Coughlin by Boston’s director of labor relations, the city is planning to implement a nine-step schedule that would increase the minimum salary, or step one, from $35,998 to $41,184, and add an extra step to increase the maximum salary from $51,215 to $55,278.
This differs from what the union had proposed, which was for a starting salary of $46,890 with employees maxing out after eight years at $62,400, according to figures provided by Coughlin.
This, apparently, is too much.
However, last year there was plenty of money to add James Arthur Jemison II as Boston’s first planning chief.
She also announced Frank Farrow as executive director of the new Office for Black Male Advancement and appointed Oliver Sellers-Garcia as the city’s first-ever Green New Deal director.
Before taking office, Wu pledged to create a “children’s cabinet” during her campaign.
She added another layer with a new Cabinet for Worker Empowerment, led by Trinh Ngyuen. According to the city’s website, the cabinet is charged with advancing the well-being of all working Bostonians in both the public and private sectors.
Wouldn’t municipal security guards fall under their aegis, as working Bostonians?
Earlier this year, Wu appointed Brenda Hernandez as Executive Director of People and Culture for the People Operations Cabinet.
“We can’t afford this” doesn’t seem to have come up for those hires.
Municipal security guards are on duty in a myriad of sites – from City Hall to Faneuil Hall. When Bostonians walk into City Hall to do business with the city, it’s important they feel safe in doing so.
This is worth a return to the bargaining table.
While they benefit from the services the city provides, when it comes to honoring their commitments to the city, too many of them have consistently fallen short.
Originally Published:
The Boston Water and Sewer Commission will hold a public meeting to discuss a 3.4% rate increase to go into effect next year.
Commissioners will meet Tuesday on the second floor training room of the Boston Water and Sewer Commission building “for the purpose of giving interested persons an opportunity to present data, views or arguments relative to the following schedule of rates for water, sewer and stormwater in the City of Boston which are proposed to become effective January 1, 2025,” the public notice states.
Under the 2025 rate increase, the commission states, the average one-family customer using 180 gallons per day in 2025 would be charged about $111.75 per 31-day month or approximately $1,317.79 annually.
The Boston Water and Sewer Commission (BWSC) proposed 3.4% rate increase for water, sewer and stormwater revenue is higher than the previous two years, which fell at 1.4% and 1.5% respectively. The rate increase still remains slightly below average for the last decade, with the increases reaching as high as 8.9% in 2021.
The Commission stated the increase will cover “projected 2025 expenses and all other legal and contractual funding requirements.” The average combined revenue for water and sewer rates will be $24.35 per 1,000 gallons for the year, the BWSC estimates.
Nationally, over the last 12 years combined household water and sewer bills increased by an average of 4.1% each year, according to Bluefield Research.
The BWSC also released estimates for the following four years of revenue rate increases. The rates are expected to increase by 3.75% in 2026 and 2027 before dropping to 3% for 2028 and 2029.
The Commission is undergoing an annual Capital Improvement Plan “to ensure the uninterrupted delivery of water and sewer services while working to reduce unnecessary water loss and minimize pollution of Boston Harbor and tributary waters,” the rate increase proposal said.
The rate setting takes into account a number of other sources of revenue including special service fees, which are expected to bring in $7.3 million, and late fees, which are forecasted to top $2.4 million in 2025.
The BWSC serves about water distribution system, which purchases water through the Massachusetts Water Resources Facility, serves about 90,000 active accounts in Boston. The Commission also runs 1,535 miles of sewers, including 713 miles of sanitary sewers,
668 miles of storm drains and 140 miles of combined sewers, according to the rate change proposal.
BOSTON (WHDH) – Boston police are investigating a rollover crash overnight in Boston.
Officers responding to a reported crash on Gallivan Street could be seen working to clear the overturned vehicle.
No word yet on any injuries.
The cause remains under investigation.
(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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