Local News

Boston City Council approves previously-rejected anti-terror grant

The $13 million grant was set to be the subject of a hearing, but councilors moved to approve it Wednesday.

Boston City Hall. David L. Ryan/Boston Globe

February 1, 2024

3 minutes to read

The Boston City Council voted to accept a $13 million anti-terrorism grant Wednesday that the previous iteration of the body had narrowly denied at the end of last year.

The grant was awarded to the Metro Boston Homeland Security Region by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The MBHSR consists of nine jurisdictions: Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Quincy, Revere, Somerville, and Winthrop. It will fund “planning, exercises, trainings, and operational needs, that will help prevent, respond to and recover from threats or acts of terrorism, including chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive incidents.”

The funding was reintroduced to the City Council by Mayor Michelle Wu ahead of last week’s meeting. A vote on it was delayed, and it was sent to committee by a motion from Councilor Julia Mejia and seconded by Councilor Erin Murphy.

Councilor Ed Flynn said Wednesday that he would like the docket to be pulled from the “green sheets,” which compiles items currently before committees.

“The time for us to act on it is now. I am concerned that if we don’t act on it, other cities and towns across Greater Boston need this funding so that they can keep their communities safe. Boston might be OK, but we need to provide support to Chelsea, and to Quincy, and to other areas. I am concerned that if we don’t pass this today … their safety will be impacted, and I can’t take that chance,” Flynn said.

The funding failed to pass at a mid-December meeting, with six votes in favor, six against, and one councilor absent. At the time, councilors including now-President Ruthzee Louijeune said they wanted a hearing to elicit more community input.

After it was referred to committee last week, Mejia said she grew concerned as the week went by and no hearing was scheduled on the matter. She only learned that the docket would be put forth for a vote Wednesday morning and took issue with how the council handled the process surrounding the matter.

“I’m going to be honest, the way this council works and how we move is all about who has access to information and who does not,” she said. “We need to be able to be transparent, and if people have had sidebar conversations and have already negotiated with the administration, that’s not collaborative.”

Councilor Liz Breadon also said she did not know that the docket would be pulled from the “green sheets” until a few hours before Wednesday’s meeting. She said there has been “questions” regarding how the spending of these grants is documented going back to 2013.

“I do support this grant, I want it to be spent in a timely way, but this is our job to keep good tight oversight,” Breadon said. “It’s a huge grant … I totally trust that it’s being spent appropriately, but it needs to be documented appropriately as well.”

Last month, U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss sent a letter to Louijeune urging her and the City Council to approve the funding. Auchincloss said that the Israel-Hamas war has “heightened” the region’s need for counterterrorism funding, as reports of antisemitism are on the rise.

“Impeding its disbursement could undermine the trust of Greater Boston’s Jewish community,” he wrote.

First responders were eager to see the funding get approved. Last year’s decision to reject the grant frustrated emergency responders in and around Boston, Boston Firefighters Local 718 said in a release. The union praised Wednesday’s vote, saying it would help firefighters be better prepared for things like hazardous materials responses and technical rescue operations.

In the end, the funding passed with 11 votes in the affirmative. Breadon voted “present,” and Mejia abstained.

“As critical as I can be of surveillance and the powers that we give police bodies, I also know that safety and security is important for this body, it’s important for this community, and for this city,” Louijeune said before initiating the vote.