FY27 Budget Hearing for Mayor's Office of Housing – April 27, 2026
FY27 Budget Hearing for Mayor's Office of Housing – April 27, 2026
This hearing, chaired by Boston City Councilor Ben Weber (District 6), reviewed the Fiscal Year 2027 operating budget for the Mayor's Office of Housing (MOH). The recommended budget is $49.2 million, a 9.6% reduction from FY26. Key cuts include $2.3 million from the City of Boston voucher program, $1 million from the Affordable Commercial Assistance Fund, $450,000 from the Access to Counsel pilot, and $400,000 from Grow Boston grants. Panelists Chief of Housing Sheila Dillon and Director of Administration and Finance Rick Wilson presented accomplishments from FY26 and goals for FY27, noting a challenging federal funding environment. Council members questioned the panel on budget impacts, voucher programs, homeless services, urban agriculture, and property disposition.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Danielle Andrews (Jamaica Plain, food projects educator): Expressed deep disappointment in cuts to Grow Boston, emphasizing the health and community multiplier effects of urban agriculture, and urged restoration of funding.
- Annabelle Rubia (Trustees of Reservations, representing 4,000 community gardeners): Highlighted the importance of Grow Boston supply grants for infrastructure, the urban ambassador program for workforce development, and that garden food production is valued at $1.2 million annually.
- Mark Winter (co-founder, Recover Green Roofs): Supported Grow Boston, citing the rooftop farm at Boston Medical Center as a model for food-as-medicine and mental health benefits, and argued the program needs more funding, not less.
- Olivia Martin (Boston resident): Described personal struggles with mobile voucher housing, accusing agency miscoordination and lack of transparency. She requested immediate help to avoid homelessness by Friday, and the chair assured follow-up.
- Lisa Evans (We Grow Microgreens, Hyde Park/Roslindale): Detailed how Grow Boston grants helped her farm with hydroponics, solar panels, and raised garden beds. Cited declining farms nationwide and stressed investments needed to train new farmers.
- Matthew Ellison (Urban Farming Institute, assistant farm manager): Noted that 45 raised garden beds were installed through Grow Boston, with a waitlist double that. The program provides safe growing soil for culturally relevant food and educational support. Cuts would harm food access.
- Joy Gary (Boston Farms Community Land Trust, online): Urged viewing Grow Boston, Office of Food Justice, and MOH housing programs as investments that prevent health, economic, and social crises. Asked council to restore funding.
Discussion Items
- Budget reductions and justifications: The panel explained that the $49.2 million operating budget is down $5 million from FY26, largely due to the end of one-time ARPA/CARES funds and the need to balance the city budget. Major cuts included the voucher program ($2.3M, but no reduction in number of households served due to phased leasing), affordable commercial assistance ($1M, low program uptake), access to counsel ($450k, still supportive of restoring), Grow Boston grants ($400k, over 50% reduction), and the ADU program ($200k).
- City of Boston voucher program: Director Joel Wool (BHA) confirmed the program serves just over 500 households. The budget reduction leverages prior-year funds to maintain current numbers. Future years may face challenges if rents rise. Currently about 200 vouchers are project-based.
- Access to Counsel pilot: Councilor Weber highlighted the program’s success in keeping families with school-age children housed. Chief Dillon supported restoration, noting an average rent arrearage of $3,800 per household. She advocated expanding to seniors and immigrant families.
- Affordable housing development and land trusts: Discussion covered the AOP (Acquisition Opportunity Program) which has acquired over 1,400 units since 2016, but now faces limited funding sources (linkage, CPA). Support for community land trusts is provided through AOP, revolving funds, and ARPA grants but no dedicated budget line item.
- Supportive housing siting and neighborhood notice: Councilor Culpepper raised concerns about Elm Hill Park residents not receiving notice before formerly homeless individuals moved in. Chief Dillon defended the case-by-case approach, noting that supportive housing developments hold public meetings, but individual unit placements can't be pre-announced without stigmatization. She agreed to meet with the neighborhood association.
- Urban agriculture: Several council members expressed concern over the steep cut to Grow Boston. Chief Dillon stated that MOH will seek philanthropy and internal reallocations to mitigate impact.
- Homelessness and family shelter: Councilor Colletta Zapata noted the closure of St. Mary's Crossroads Shelter and asked about impacts. Chief Dillon reported declining family homelessness in Boston due to fewer state-funded shelter placements, but said the Office of Housing Stability continues high demand.
- Tenant stabilization fund: The budget includes $1.65 million (down $50k), with average award of $3,800. Demand remains strong.
- Fire displacement: The city spent approximately $650,000 this fiscal year to help 90 households displaced by fire.
- Property disposition and tax foreclosure law: A 2022 state law requires returning excess equity to previous owners when tax-foreclosed property is sold, affecting how the city disposes of parcels.
- Housing strategy plan: The first term (2022-2025) accomplishments are posted online. The second term is under development, with release expected in a few months. Preservation of income-restricted units is mostly on track except for one stalled project (Forbes, JP, 140 units).
- Domestic violence housing: About $4 million of COC funding supports 125 households for survivors. BHA also has admission priorities for domestic violence.
Key Outcomes
- No formal votes were taken; this was a budget hearing for information gathering and public testimony.
- Chair Weber committed to following up with Olivia Martin about her voucher crisis and directed the panel to assist.
- Council members expressed support for restoring Access to Counsel and Grow Boston funding, though no formal amendments were made at this hearing.
- Chief Dillon and Director Wilson pledged to provide additional data on homeownership funding breakdown by source, family fire displacement costs, and specific domestic violence program details.
- The hearing is part of the city council's ongoing FY27 budget review process, with further hearings and listening sessions scheduled through May.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon. My name is Ben Weber. I'm the Boston City Councilor for District Six and the Chair of the Boston City Council Committee on Ways and Means. The hearing, this hearing is being recorded. It's also being live streamed at Boston.gov/slash city dash council-tv and broadcast on Xfinity Channel 8, RCN Channel 82, and FIOS Channel 964. The council's budget review process will and uh will encompass or does encompass a series of public hearings that began at the beginning of the month of April, then we'll run through June. We strongly encourage residents to take a moment to engage in this process by giving testimony for the record. You can do so in several ways. You can attend uh one of our hearings uh and give testimony in person or virtually via Zoom. Um you can uh uh and we will take that public testimony, usually at the end of the first round of questions from uh my council colleagues. Uh you can uh you can view a full hearing schedule on our website at boston.gov slash council-budget. You can also uh give public testimony uh in person at one of two uh listening sessions we're gonna be having one is tomorrow night here at City Hall uh at 6 p.m. That's Tuesday, April 28th. Then the the uh the last listening session we're having during this budget cycle will be in person on Thursday, May 26th at 6 p.m. Also at City Hall in this chamber. Um at any of those listening sessions in any chamber, you can give testimony in person or virtually via Zoom. For in-person testimony, uh please come to the chamber and sign up on the sheet near the entrance. Anyone who wants to speak at this hearing, there's a sign-up sheet. Uh if you you haven't done so already, uh please sign in. Um for virtual testimony, you can sign up using our online form on our council budget review website, or by emailing the committee at ccc.wm at Boston.gov, or by emailing uh uh Karishma Chohan at K-A-R-I-S-H-M-A.CHOUHAN at Boston.gov. When you're called to testify, please state your name uh and uh residence, or if you're with an organization, your affiliation with that organization, and uh please uh we'll limit your comments for two minutes so everyone gets a chance to testify. Email you um in in lieu of uh showing up or testifying uh virtually, you can also email written testimony to the committee at ccc.wm at boston.gov. Uh lastly, you can uh submit testimony by submitting a two-minute video of your testimony through the form on our website. I'm not sure anyone's taken advantage of that yet, but look forward to seeing some videos. Um for more information on the city council budget process and how to testify. Please visit the city council's budget website at Boston.gov slash council-budget. In-person public testimony today will be taken following the first round of counselor questions. Individuals will be called in the order that they have signed up, and we'll have two minutes to testify. If you wish to sign up again and haven't done so already, the sign-in sheets over there on my left. And uh you or if you're online, you can email our uh director of legislative budget analysis, Karishma Chohan at K-A-R-I-S-H-M-A.CHOUHAN at Boston.gov for the zoom link and your name will be added to the list. This afternoon's hearing is on docket numbers 0733 to 0740, an overview of the FY27 operating budget for the mayor's office of housing. Uh this is one of a series of hearings we're having to review the FY27 budget. These matters were sponsored by Mayor Michelle Wu and referred to the committee on April 8th, 2026. I have uh been joined uh by my colleagues on order of arrival. We've been joined by a lot of colleagues, which is uh which is great. I should have some sort of like you know, some uh gift card to JP Licks at the end of this for the person with the highest attendance. Uh the early standings are uh you know counselor Flynn is in the lead, Counselor Murphy's close behind. Yeah, uh well, maybe uh maybe there was a pre-budget uh hearing. Uh and uh anyway, lots of other counselors, counselor Braden, I think has also been at every hearing, Counselor Culpepper uh as well. Um so this afternoon order of arrival, Counselor Flynn, Councillor Murphy, Counselor Fitzgerald, Councillor Louis Gen, Counselor Culpepper, Councillor Coletta Zapada, Councillor Pepin, uh, and that's all I have so far. It's a full house, which is great. Um, did I not say counselor Braden? Is Councillor Brady not on the list? Yeah, that's I'm just you know passing the blame here to okay so counselor Braden is third, so it's Flynn Murphy, Braden, Fitzgerald, Louis Jen, Culpeper, uh Coletta Zapata, and then Peppin, if that I think the order is right. So it's Flynn, Murphy, Braden, Fitzgerald, Louis Jen, Culpepper, Coletazapada, and then Pepin, if that I think the order is right. Um we're waiving opening statements in these budget hearings. We're going to hear from the panel. I'm just going to introduce our esteemed panelists, they're always esteemed, uh, our chief of housing, Sheila Dillon, and our director of administration and finance for MOH, Rick Wilson. Um I don't know if you have a presentation. Um, so the floor is yours.
openpublica.com