Boston City Council Ways and Means Hearing on FY2027 OPAT Budget - May 18, 2026
Boston City Council Ways and Means Committee Hearing on FY2027 OPAT Budget - May 18, 2026
The Ways and Means Committee, chaired by District Six City Councilor Ben Weber, held a hearing on May 18, 2026, to review the Fiscal Year 2027 operating budget for the Office of Police Accountability and Transparency (OPAT). The hearing was called to order at 10:24 a.m. The panel included OPAT Executive Director Evandro Carvalho and Deputy Director Esther Lenay. The discussion focused on OPAT's operations, its relationship with the Boston Police Department (BPD), and challenges in enforcing civilian oversight, with an emphasis on subpoena power, case resolutions, and potential ordinance amendments.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Lawrence Brown (representing the City of Boston) testified about difficulties obtaining information from BPD via FOIA requests, citing legal loopholes. He expressed that BPD does not take OPAT seriously, contrasting OPAT's ~$1 million budget with BPD's $50 million overtime allocation. He also raised concerns about racism and sexism within BPD and urged more funding and support for OPAT.
Discussion Items
- OPAT Overview & Budget – Director Carvalho outlined OPAT's creation in 2020, its three core functions (independent investigations, IAD oversight, policy review), and community engagement efforts. He noted that the FY27 budget reflects a 2% reduction, saving ~$30,000 through delayed hiring but no permanent position losses. The office currently has two vacancies.
- Subpoena Power – The first subpoena (issued in early February 2026) has been partially complied with; some officers testified, others are pending. Enforcement would require the city's Law Department to go to court. OPAT is working with union representatives on procedures.
- Case Backlog & CRB Work – The Civilian Review Board (CRB) has met nine times in 10 months, heard 17 cases, and sustained findings in 15 cases (4 sustained complaints). Eight sustained cases remain unresponded to by the Police Commissioner, though some recent responses have referred cases back to Internal Affairs Division (IAD) for further investigation—a practice OPAT contests.
- Disagreement with BPD over Case Findings – BPD has asserted that it cannot solely rely on OPAT's findings due to state law and collective bargaining agreements. OPAT's CRB sent a letter (May 1, 2026) demanding explanation of legal authority for this position. The core dispute: BPD's IAD re-investigates sustained cases and can effectively overturn findings, which OPAT argues is not permitted by the ordinance.
- Access to Evidence – OPAT currently faces delays or denials when requesting evidence (e.g., body-worn camera footage) from BPD. This was contrasted with Chicago's COPA, which has direct, immediate access. Councillor Culpepper proposed a 45-day deadline for BPD to respond, after which OPAT's recommendation would take effect.
- Relationship with BPD – Councillor Flynn noted a lack of respect and communication, citing BPD's absence from a community meeting. Carvalho acknowledged the tension as an ongoing debate about the role of civilian oversight.
- State Coordination – OPAT is beginning to share sustained findings with the Massachusetts POST Commission for potential certification actions.
Key Outcomes
- No formal votes were taken. The hearing served as an informational review of OPAT's budget and operations.
- Commitment to explore ordinance amendments – Councillors and the Director discussed the need to clarify that OPAT's findings are final on fact (sustained/not sustained) and cannot be reversed by IAD, and to impose a 45-day timeline for the Commissioner to respond to recommendations, after which they would become effective.
- Follow-up on outstanding cases – Eight unresponded-to sustained cases were highlighted; OPAT will continue to press for responses and may use its subpoena power if cooperation is withheld.
- Future action by the City Council – The Committee intends to consider legislative changes to strengthen OPAT's authority, particularly regarding evidence access, response deadlines, and the finality of its decisions.
The hearing adjourned after approximately two hours, with the Chair thanking the panel and public participant.
Meeting Transcript
Okay, I've got some uh things to get through here before we get started. Uh for the record, my name's Ben Weber. I am the District Six City Councilor and the Chair of the Ways and Means Committee. Uh today, apparently it's May 18th, 2026, and uh time is 1024 a.m. Uh this hearing is being recorded. It's also being live streamed at Boston.gov slash city-council-tv and broadcast on Xfinity Channel 8, RCN Channel 82, and files channel 964. The City Council's budget review process encompasses a series of public hearings that begin in April and run through June. We strongly encourage residents to take a moment to engage in this process by giving testimony for the record. Uh, you can give testimony uh in several ways. Number one, you can uh attend one of our hearings and and uh sign in on the sign-in sheet near the entrance and give uh public testimony. Number two, you can testify virtually using this um our online form on our council budget review website, or by emailing the committee at ccc.wm at Boston.gov, or by emailing Karishma Choan at K-A-R-I-S-H-M-A.CHOUHAN at Boston.gov, and you'll be given a zoom link to testify. Um, you can also show up at the fourth of four public listening sessions, the last will of which will be holding on Thursday, May 26th here in the chamber at 6 p.m. Again, for that listening session, you can testify in person or virtually via Zoom. Uh in lieu of testifying at the hearing uh virtually via Zoom, you can email written testimony to the committee at ccc.wm at Boston.gov. Um, lastly, you can submit a two-minute video of your testimony through the form on our website. For more information on the council budget process and how to testify, please visit the city council's budget website at Boston.gov slash council-budget. Um let's see, this morning's hearing is on docket numbers 0733 to 0740, an overview of the fiscal year 2027 operating budget for the Office of Police Accountability and Transparency. This is one in a series of hearings to review the fiscal year 27 budget. These matters were sponsored by Mayor Michelle Wu and referred to the committee on April 8th, 2026. Uh, today or this morning, I'm joined by my colleagues in order of arrival, uh, Councillor Flynn and Councillor Louis Gen. Uh I think Counselor Flynn had to step out to attend uh the mayor's coffee hour. Uh maybe he'll he'll return. So I'm just gonna hand it over to our, I don't know, unless my unless you want to give an opening statement. Um, we generally wave opening statements um at these hearings. So we're gonna hand things to the panel. We're joined today by the director of the Office of Police Accountability and Transparency, Ivandro Covarlio, and the uh deputy Director of the Office of Police Accountability and Transparency, Esther Lane. Um, so I'm gonna hand things over to the panel and uh look forward to hearing from you. Good morning, Mr. Chairman. Good morning, everyone. Good morning. Uh members of the Boston City Council, uh, particularly City Council of Lugian, uh residents of the City of Boston. I'm Evandro Carvalho, and I am the executive director of the Office of Police Accountability and Transparency. This morning I'm here with uh Deputy Director Esther Lenay. You will often hear me say OPAT for short, which is again Office of Police Accountability and Transparency. Sometimes we say OPAT. If you hear me saying that, just know that again I'm talking about the Office of Police Accountability and Transparency. Earlier this month, May 6 marked two years of service for me to OPAT. I can't help at this time to sort of reflect how much we accomplished together over the past couple years. With a lot of resolve, commitment, and determination, we have rebuilt, re-energized, and reposition OPAT as an agency that is here to successfully and successfully serve the people of the city of Boston and meet the moment. I know many people at home, certainly the city councilors, you're familiar with the work that we do, but I figured take this time to give a brief overview of our history and what our agency does. Again, for those at home that do not know, OPAT was created in 2020 after the racial reckoning following the nationwide process for racial justice after the murder of George Floyd on May 25th of 2020. We were created to serve as an independent civilian agency to provide oversight over the Boston Police Department. We were created by ordinance directly from our ordinance. I quote a language, chapter 12, section 16 of City of Boston Code. We are created to provide a single point of entry for individuals with concerns or complaints related to the Boston Police Department. We do, number one, we investigate complaints of misconduct. Number two, we ensure that the Boston Police Department internal affairs review process is thorough and fair. And number three, we review Boston Police Department's existing and proposed policies and procedures. In short, we are here to undertake independent investigation and review of the Boston Police Department.
openpublica.com