BOSTON (AP) - Boston’s mayor revised his proposed budget on Monday to take into account revenue losses from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic as well as his plans to trim the police budget in the wake of nationwide protests against police killings of black Americans.
Democratic Mayor Marty Walsh said the $3.6 billion fiscal year 2021 budget he submitted to the City Council is slightly lower than his initial April proposal because it accounts for roughly $65 million in lost revenue from the coronavirus pandemic. It represents a $119 million, or roughly 3.4%, increase over the current budget year, which ends June 30.
The spending plan also includes his proposal to reallocate $12 million from the police department budget - or roughly 20% of its overtime spending - to efforts by the city Public Health Commission and other agencies to address structural racism.
Walsh on Friday declared racism a public health crisis in the city and outlined a range of steps the city would be taking to address it.
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