A Boston city councilor is proposing to stop hiring in response to the uncertain economy caused by continuously decreasing business property values, stating that her proactive approach aims to prevent future job cuts and budget reductions.
Erin Murphy, a councilor at-large, intends to ask her fellow council members to approve a resolution on Wednesday that would demonstrate the Council’s backing for a temporary halt in hiring for city departments until the end of the fiscal year, June 30.
The hiring freeze would not apply to public safety departments, such as Boston Police, Fire and EMS, youth employment, and seasonal hires like lifeguards and camp counselors, as outlined in Murphy's non-binding resolution following the governor’s plan to tighten state hiring. Governor’s plan to tighten state hiring. last week.
“Wages and benefits for employees constitute our largest cost, which accounts for over 45% of the budget,” Murphy stated. “Halting hiring would enable us to reassess our current workforce and conserve resources until we fully understand the extent of revenue loss due to decreased property tax income.”
Murphy points out that the city’s financial stability has historically relied on its “large and expanding tax base.” In recent years, the city's finances have been boosted by federal pandemic relief funds totaling $552 million and an additional $431 million in federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds awarded to Boston Public Schools.
Both sources of federal aid have been used up, and there has been a 20% increase in office vacancies, which is undermining the city’s commercial tax base. This situation has the potential to lead to an immediate budget crisis, considering that 75% of the city’s revenue comes from property taxes, with 36% originating from the commercial sector, she noted.
Part of her argument revolves around the uncertainty of the home rule petition put forward by the mayor , which aims to counter an anticipated substantial rise in residential property taxes by exceeding the state limit on taxes for businesses, from a 175% to 200% shift in the next fiscal year, a measure that Murphy opposes.
Murphy is urging the City Council to use its fiscal oversight powers by endorsing a resolution that would urge Mayor Michelle Wu to “limit our spending” through implementing a temporary halt in hiring.
“I think it’s wiser to stop hiring so that all current city employees are secure in their positions and we’re not hiring new employees only to then make layoffs and cuts in departments,” Murphy commented.
The city’s fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30, and the current fiscal year’s budget was approved by the Council last spring, with positions already allocated. On Monday, the mayor proposed a $4.6 billion budget, with an 8% increase in spending but minimal growth in new initiatives compared to previous years.
The mayor’s office declined to comment.
