Federal Job-Service Money, an E-Bike Subsidy Grant and the First Look at FY27 Spending: The Money on Wednesday's Council Agenda

The Boston City Council's agenda for Wednesday includes requests from the Wu administration to accept more than $2.1 million in grants and in-kind donations, a $787,501 appropriation to fund a new contract for school custodians, and the administration's first-quarter report on the fiscal 2027 operating budget, according to the agenda posted by the city.

Grants that the council accepts through these orders let city departments spend outside money on specific purposes. The orders usually go to committee before a vote.

Workforce grants

The largest item is Docket #2082, which would let the city accept and spend $1,112,383 from the U.S. Department of Labor's Wagner-Peyser program, passed through the state's MassHire Department of Career Services and administered by the city's Office of Workforce Development. The order says the grant would fund "the individual reemployment needs of unemployment insurance claimants," help "prevent and detect improper benefit payments," and provide application assistance for training and education programs.

A companion order, Docket #2084, covers a separate $95,773 Wagner-Peyser administrative grant from the same federal and state sources. Docket #2085 covers $95,000 from the state Workforce Training Fund, which the order says would provide resources to Massachusetts businesses for training current and newly hired employees.

Docket #2086 would accept $70,000 from State Street Global Advisors, through the Friends of Youth Opportunity Boston State Street Grant, to fund opportunities for young people ages 14 to 24 "to work and learn, along with intensive staff support and case management," according to the order.

E-bike subsidies

Docket #2083 would accept $798,000 from the MassDOT Microtransit and Last Mile Transit Grant Program, awarded through the Metropolitan Area Planning Council and administered by the Boston Transportation Department. The order says the grant "would fund support for e bike subsidies for the system, under MassDOT Contract." The order does not name the system or describe how the subsidies would be distributed or to whom.

Small donations

Two smaller items are in-kind donations to Boston Centers for Youth & Families community centers. Docket #2087 accepts basketball referee services valued at $5,760 and awards for league participants valued at $240, together $6,000, donated by Ballers & Bookworms for programming at the Curtis Hall Community Center in Jamaica Plain. Docket #2088 accepts nine office chairs valued at $630 from Tufts Medical Center for the Quincy Community Center in Chinatown.

The custodians' contract

Two orders deal with a new contract between the Boston School Committee and the union representing school custodians, Local 1952 of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, District Council 35. Docket #2080 would reduce the fiscal 2027 Reserve for Collective Bargaining by $787,501, and Docket #2081 would add the same amount to the Boston Public Schools budget as a supplemental appropriation.

According to the order, the contract runs from Sept. 1, 2026, through Aug. 31, 2027, and its major provisions are "a base wage increase of 2% and then a flat dollar amount of $800 to be added to annual salaries, both in September of 2026." Because the money moves from an existing reserve, the transfer does not add to the city's total appropriation.

The first-quarter report and two information requests

Docket #2094 is a communication from the mayor transmitting the FY27 Annual Operating Budget First Quarter Report, covering July 1 through Sept. 30, 2026. The agenda lists the report but does not include its figures; such reports typically compare spending to date with the adopted budget by department.

The administration has also answered two council requests under Section 17F of the city charter with financial implications. Docket #2090 provides information on the number of parking meters in Boston and the annual revenue they generate, in response to a June 3 order. Docket #2089 provides information on increased costs at White Stadium and their effect on other Boston Public Schools capital projects, in response to a Feb. 25 order. Neither response's contents appear in the public notice.

Councilor Ed Flynn filed a 17F request of his own, Docket #2103, asking how much the city spent to plan, design and build a bike lane on O'Connor Way in South Boston, and how much it later spent to remove it and repave the street.

What happens next

Grant and appropriation orders are typically referred to the Committee on Ways and Means or another committee for review before a final vote. The full text of each order is available in the agenda packet on the council's Legistar site. The council meets at noon in the Iannella Chamber at City Hall.