Boston Municipal Research Bureau

Only two weeks to go! Get your nominations for worthy City of Boston employees submitted now. Here's the form: https://ow.ly/bIge50YRXVr

Hey employees! Nominate your outstanding colleague for a Shattuck Awards. Each year, outstanding City of Boston employees are honored. We want to hear from you! Nominate deserving recipients here::
https://ow.ly/rJrq50YJ3NV

The Boston City Council kicked off budget hearings today on the City of Boston FY27 Budget. And just in time, the Boston Municipal Research Bureau has released its analysis of the City's FY27 Proposed Budget. Take a look: https://ow.ly/CPE150YJ2qH.

Many thanks to Interim Executive Director of MCCA John Barros for a great member briefing this morning. His focus on economic growth and commitment to equity came through loud and clear. Special thanks to Mintz for hosting!

City of Boston released its proposed FY27 Budget this AM at the annual budget breakfast. Check it out at: https://ow.ly/wceO50YFNEv

Congrats to the City's budget team. Research Bureau team now hard at work analyzing the budget. Full report to follow!

Remember ARPA? Passed in 2021 but money still to be spent in cities across the country. Boston has over $100m to spend by the end of this year. The City has made great progress but a few projects still have significant $$$ to spend. Learn more at https://ow.ly/5TEq50YCmrb

Today's Globe editorial highlights the City's budget challenges w/ some generous references to the Research Bureau. Take a read-- https://ow.ly/VxG250YCqfX

Relevant BMRB Reports:

Health care costs: https://ow.ly/ZjpV50YCqfW
New Growth: https://ow.ly/o00w50YCqfV

Boston's health insurance bill is eating into city services. The city was forecasting a 22%+ increase in health insurance costs for FY27 until yesteday's agreement. Even with that agreement in place, the City is going to challenged to fund employee health insurance costs on an ongoing basis. Learn more about the City's policy choices and our healthcare environment in BMRB's latest report. https://www.bmrb.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/SR2601.pdf

Boston Municipal Research Bureau Key Considerations for the Boston School Committee in the FY27 BPS BudgetCritical Issues Impacting the School Budget Ahead of March 25 VoteRead MoreFY27 School Spending Increases 4.5% Despite Personnel Cuts531.2 FTEs Cut as Health Insurance, Salary and Transportation Costs GrowRead MoreNew Growth Fa...

Thank you to the Boston City Council and Boston Municipal Research Bureau members for a great conversation today. So pleased to have Boston City Councilor Liz Breadon Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn Boston City Councilor Sharon Durkan Councillor Ben Weber Boston City Councilor At-Large Erin Murphy Boston City Councilor John FitzGerald Boston City Councilor At-Large Ruthzee Louijeune share their insights and respond to our members' questions and comments.

Ending the week with thanks and appreciation for all of you who joined for the BMRB's 94th Annual Meeting and Business Meeting. Special thanks to for her inspiring words! Grateful for such strong support for the Research Bureau's work.

starts hearings on Thurs, February 12. Check out our analysis from last week -- https://ow.ly/IFuA50YcXJv

Now, we've gone a level deeper and come up with key items for the School Committee to consider. Learn more:https://www.bmrb.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/RU_02_11_26.pdf

Boston Municipal Research Bureau