Two Boston city councilors slam Mayor Wu for cutting $724K from veterans budget: ‘Unconscionable’

Two Boston city councilors slammed the mayor for proposing a $724,000 cut to the veterans budget, saying that the city is breaking a promise to support veterans with services they have earned by risking their lives at war.

Councilors Ed Flynn and Erin Murphy sharply criticized the reduction in spending for veterans in the $4.9 billion city budget proposed by Mayor Michelle Wu for next fiscal year, saying the cut is particularly painful, given that the veterans department is so small.

“A 14% cut to the veterans budget is deeply concerning, especially when veterans services is already one of the smallest funded departments in the City of Boston,” Murphy said in a statement to the Herald. “Larger departments may be able to absorb reductions or shift resources, but there is very little room to maneuver in a department this small.

“Any cut can have a direct impact on the services, support, and outreach our veterans rely on,” Murphy added. “As a city, we have a responsibility to keep our promise to those who served our country.”

The veterans services office budget was proposed by Wu at $4.22 million for fiscal year 2027, compared to $4.94 million for this fiscal year, representing a 14.6%, or $723,753 reduction. The city budget is growing overall by 2.1%.

Murphy and Flynn plan to introduce a hearing order and resolution calling for the city to fully fund the veterans department, by restoring the proposed spending cut at Wednesday’s Council meeting. The resolution would likely come up for a vote, unless it is blocked by a councilor and sent to committee for a hearing.

Flynn said the last time there was a proposed cut to the veterans budget in Boston, veterans and military families organized and mobilized to urge Wu to restore the funding to the department.

In 2023, the City Council put forward and approved a series of amendments that would have cut $900,000 for the veterans department, leading to outcry from veterans and an apology from former Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson, who oversaw that year’s budget process as chair of the Ways and Means committee.

Wu vetoed the Council amendments, saying at the time that plans to cut from the veterans department “would reduce critical programming and limit our ability to fund future obligations.”

Flynn, a U.S. Navy veteran who served in Operation Enduring Freedom, said he was “shocked” that there hasn’t been any “outcry” from other councilors about the mayor’s proposed cut to the veterans budget, when speaking at a Council working session on the city’s budget last Friday.

He said he traveled recently to Washington D.C. to advocate against the Trump administration’s cuts to veterans services, and has to go there every month for the same purpose. He sees city councilors as having a “moral obligation” to advocate for veterans.

“This is my ninth budget that I’ve been involved in, and I have to say it’s one of the most disappointing when I see a cut of 14% to the veterans department,” Flynn said. “These are programs that veterans earn through their blood, sweat and tears, and major injuries. We’re not giving veterans anything. They’ve earned these rights.

“Government is about making this promise to veterans, that when you go to war, and you return from war, that government will be there for you,” Flynn added. “To have veterans programs cut by a large percent is very concerning — it’s unconscionable.”

Mayor Wu’s office defended her decision to make the spending reduction, stating that the Wu administration is not cutting any direct services to veterans and that the cut reflects broader fiscal constraints facing the city amid a budget crunch.

Wu’s office said the veterans department will continue to provide core services to all qualifying veterans and provide financial and medical assistance to qualifying veterans and their dependents with limited incomes for food, shelter, clothing, and medical care, as required by state law.

The reduction in funding is primarily due to the removal of two grant programs, Bridge The Gap and Hometown Heroes, along with reductions to non-personnel expenses, such as city-branded clothing and other promotional items, and event supplies and rentals, the mayor’s office said.

Wu’s office also pointed out that the veterans services department has returned an average surplus of $2 million allocated by the city in each of the last four fiscal years.

“As a city, our priority is ensuring that we deliver high-quality city services to all of our residents, including our veterans and their families,” city spokesperson Michael Osaghae said in a statement to the Herald. “Our veteran services department serves a critical role in connecting our veterans to essential services, such as legal support, essential benefits and medical assistance.

“Despite budget constraints, the city is not cutting any direct services for veterans — core assistance programs, services, and resources for our veterans and their families will not be impacted and remain fully funded,” Osaghae added.

The mayor’s office acknowledged the Council’s ability to amend the mayor’s proposed budget, saying that it will “welcome the opportunity for a fuller discussion on this important issue.”