Boston Mayor Michelle Wu intends to refile a rejected $13.3 million federal counter-terrorism grant on the Jan. 24 City Council assembly, however it might be mentioned among the many 9 affected communities at a separate assembly this week.
A Wu spokesperson mentioned the mayor will likely be refiling the U.S. Department of Homeland Security grant on the “first council meeting of the year,” which, based on the physique’s public calendar, takes place in two weeks.
City Council President Ruthzee Louijeune is internet hosting an inauguration celebration for the 13-member physique, sworn into workplace final week, on Wednesday, and the next week contains Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The council usually by no means holds an everyday Wednesday assembly throughout the week of a vacation.
The $13.3 million grant, blocked by the Boston City Council, by way of a 6-6 vote at a Dec. 13 assembly, could also be mentioned earlier, nevertheless, at a gathering of the Metro Boston Homeland Security Region, scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Thursday.
That physique contains representatives from the 9 communities that will cut up the funds: Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Quincy, Revere, Somerville and Winthrop.
Boston, as chair, acts because the fiduciary, and thus is chargeable for accepting the funds on behalf of your entire Metro Boston Homeland Security Region.
While a Herald evaluate of the Jan. 25, 2023 Boston City Council assembly video confirmed that the identical counter-terrorism grant, at $13.52 million, was unanimously permitted with no dialogue final yr, the physique voted to dam the funds final month, which has prompted concern amongst a number of the neighboring communities.
“I encourage the members of the Boston City Council to remember that they have an obligation to surrounding communities including Everett when considering the acceptance of federal grants that are intended to ensure the regional safety of residents and communities,” Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria informed the Herald.
“I support the efforts of Senator Collins and Mayor Wu to preserve accessing and use of federal funds to ensure that we are continuing to invest in preventing threats of terrorism and being prepared to respond to protect public safety and public health in a world of continuously evolving threat risks,” DeMaria mentioned.
DeMaria is referring, partly, to a invoice filed by state Sen. Nick Collins, in response to final month’s council vote, that will strip the Boston City Council of its public security grant and public well being grant approval authority.
According to a state supply, the Metro Boston Homeland Security Region can vote to take related motion at its Thursday assembly, by coming collectively and electing a brand new chair to be the receiver of federal funds.
Any of the eight different communities that make up the homeland safety area could be eligible for that function, which, like it’s now with Boston, could be delegated to the respective metropolis council, the supply mentioned.
The grant represents this yr’s annual funding supply for the Metro Boston Homeland Security Region, half of which works towards the eight neighboring communities, two Boston officers beforehand mentioned.
The funds are awarded yearly with a three-year efficiency interval, Renee Algarin, a spokesperson for the state Executive Office of Public Safety and Security informed the Herald in an e-mail.
“These grant funds were awarded through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s FEMA Urban Area Security Initiative,” Algarin mentioned. “Projects funded through the most recent grant award must be completed no later than Aug. 31, 2026, unless extended by FEMA.”
The Herald additionally reached out to the mayors of Quincy and Cambridge, however didn’t hear again previous to deadline.
The Collins invoice, whereas attentive to a vote by the Boston City Council, would apply broadly to all metropolis councils and boards of selectmen throughout the state, prompting criticism from state Sen. Lydia Edwards, who mentioned she could be extra open to a dialog about how fiduciaries ought to work domestically.
“Maybe in general we shouldn’t have certain funds for regional purposes be allocated to only one city to hold,” Edwards, an East Boston Democrat who departed the Boston City Council in April 2022, mentioned in a previous interview.
Edwards mentioned the City Council offers an necessary examine on holding metropolis departments accountable.
Collins, nevertheless, has described the council’s current votes as “perpetual political posturing” that “serves only to put the public’s health and safety at risk.”
At the Dec. 13 metropolis council assembly in Boston, Ruthzee Louijeune, who was chosen as the brand new metropolis council president final week and voted in opposition to the grant, cited a want for additional group conversations.
City Councilor Liz Breadon, who additionally voted ‘no’, beforehand informed the Herald she was searching for extra info on how the grant could be used to reply to pure disasters. She mentioned she usually helps the counter-terrorism piece, having voted for the grant in prior years.
The grant was put ahead for approval following a prolonged public listening to held two days earlier.
City Councilor Erin Murphy mentioned she anticipates one other public listening to to be held previous to a brand new vote, citing the 4 new councilors who’ve since joined the physique. She voted ‘yes’ final time period, and intends to vote in favor of the grant once more, she mentioned.
“It should have passed, and it’s a shame that it’s taking so long to even get the City Council business back up and running this year,” Murphy informed the Herald. “It’s necessary funds that should have passed then, so we’re going to be deep into February by the time the mayor refiles and we have a hearing on it to get more information.”
City Councilor Ed Flynn, who has additionally been crucial of his colleagues’ vote to dam the grant, repeated his name for a brand new vote by the tip of the month, saying, “It’s not the time to play political games with the safety and security of our residents, visitors and our workforce.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”