Mayor Walsh’s Proposed Budget Boosts Funding for Police, Schools, and Snow Removal
Mayor Marty Walsh’s proposed $2.86 billion operating budget adds funding for public schools, a police cadet program, and the ever-changing price of snow removal, according to a report in The Boston Globe.
The overall budget is $120 million above the fiscal budget for 2015. That $120 million increase is similar to 2015’s $121 million increase over Fiscal 2014’s budget.
The proposed budget includes $22.6 million for snow removal costs, a $4.1 million increase over the $18.5 budgeted this winter.
The increase in snow removal funding comes after a winter in which Boston spent more on snow removal than ever in the city’s history. Between 2003 to 2013, the average cost of snow removal was $14.4 million. A spokesperson for Walsh said the city estimates the cost of this winter’s snow and ice removal at $45 million.
Another target of the increased funding is to reestablish the Boston Police Cadet Program, a training course for civilians to become law enforcement officers (but without police powers). In addition, $39 million will go toward the School Department, boosting its allocated budget over $1 billion.
The budget will be presented to the City Council on Wednesday, and a series of hearings are expected over the next few months going over details of the budget.
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