Order for a hearing on the state of Boston's non-governmental, nonprofit social sector and charting a post-pandemic recovery.
Pursuant to the requirements of the RPA, the grant payment would fund provisions of government services to the extent of the reduction in revenue of such state territory tribal government due to the COVID 19 Public Health Emergency relative to revenues collected in the most recent full fiscal year of the state territorial tribal government prior to the emergency and docket numbers. 0436. Order for a hearing on the state of Boston's non governmental nonprofit social sector and chart charting a post-pandemic recovery. Thank you, Mr. Craft. The chair recognizes counsel, a chair of the Committee on Boston's COVID 19 Recovery Council. You have the floor. So much, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to all the councilors who came to our hearing yesterday afternoon, including Councilor Flynn, Reid and Baker, Murphy, Flaherty, Fernandes, Henderson were all here, and it was a good first introduction to the administration's proposal on the American Rescue Plan funds 350 million. So Casey Brock Wilson and Jim Williams set up the Budget Office and she magically sought several. All joined us from the administration. As we discussed at that hearing. It was really just a kind of first overview of what they're proposing. And then, as I've mentioned a few times, my intention is to have a series of more kind of topic focused ones where we both talk about the details of their proposals in different categories like housing, public health, etc., but also put next to it the things that councilors have been filing and talk about the details of those and kind of hash out what makes sense from this body's perspective, since this really is this transformational one time funding that we're getting. And it's got to be an agreement between the council and the mayor as to what the most impactful way to spend it is. So that was the first hearing in a process. We also noticed it, as the clerk mentioned, on the $40 million revenue replacement docket that's really supporting the budget that's in Councilor Furniture, Edison's committee. And then as well, I've heard from a number of nonprofit leaders on the docket that Councilor Braden had proposed about sort of what the role of the nonprofit ecosystem should be in this space. And in particular, thinking about what are the ways that our funding and the program that we set up could could really strengthen the nonprofit sector as it recovers. And I think there was some really good conversation about that, recognizing that the city doesn't have money to bail out the nonprofit sector here. But are there ways that in our contracting with the nonprofit sector in terms of like making things intentionally available to smaller nonprofits, and then that really like thinking about how the quality of the jobs that we have, um, that we're supporting with these contracts and agreements look like could we help transform that sector to one that's more sustainable for the people who work in it and the people that it serves. So I think it was a really robust, good conversation. And it was and I want to thank in particular Councilor Brayton is she was the sponsor of that third docket. Um, but it was very much the beginning of the conversation. My, my office will have out today or tomorrow morning. Our draft information requests from questions that councilors asked. But as councilors have any questions that you'd like to add on to that? You can write back to our office with that. So we're going to try to wrangle that all by the end of the day, Friday, so that we can send it over, so that we can make sure that we've got the right information in hand in advance of the next hearing with the administration. We're also in the midst of nailing down and we'll hopefully have nailed down by Friday the exact schedule of those upcoming hearings so that people can know. But what I would encourage in the meantime is that colleagues continue to do what folks have been doing, I think, including in the agenda today, which is if there's something that you want put alongside the proposal and to talk about as a use of ARPA funds. File it in the council docket. With that mention of ARPA funds in the title so that we know that that's a conversation we're trying to participate in. And and we'll definitely be figuring out how to make sure that the time in those subsequent hearings is not just about the administration's proposals. It really is about what councilors are proposing. And I'm excited to keep hashing that out together. So thank you so much, Mr. Chair. I will ask that the dockets, all three, remain in committee. Thank you. Council Docket 0503. I'm sorry. The chair recognizes Counselor Baker. Counsel Baker. You have the floor. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. President. And I would like to thank the chair of the. Of the the committee for holding this in and to. Listen to us. And our concerns. I made mine quite clear yesterday. I don't really see anything in here that speaks to mental health other than what's happening down in mass. And Cass and I believe we do need investments down there, but I don't think we need to invest in. Buying things like the Roundhouse. Hotel and things like that. I think we should be investing in. Our young. Kids that are going to bear the brunt of this, of this what's happened to us the last two years. Everything that's happened there, it's young kids. Just look at what's going on in our schools, the violence and the misbehaviors that are happening in our schools. It's all mental health driven. And I don't see one thing in this $350 million that speaks to that to speaks to youth development. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Counsel Baker. The Chair recognizes Councilor Braden. Councilor Braden, you have the floor. Thank you, Mr. President. I also want to thank the Commissioner for her leadership and chairing the committee hearing yesterday and allowing us to add our docket to the hearing to look at Boston's non-governmental, nonprofit social sector and how they and hear from representatives of that sector and how their fared during the pandemic. It's really it was a timely reminder that our nonprofit sector are essential partners for the city in delivering essential services in the sphere of housing and mental health. And so health and human services all across the board, we have 200,000 residents of Boston are actually employed in this sector, and very many of our smaller nonprofits dug into their financial reserves. And in the early days of COVID, to meet the and to meet the need thinking, it would be a short term challenge. It wasn't a sprint. It turned out to be a marathon, actually, probably a super marathon longer than the 26 miles. So, you know, I think it was a timely conversation. And I do hope that we will continue to consider how we might support the nonprofit sector as we consider how we might expend our ARPA funds going forward and targeted and mindful of expenditure in certain things will actually give us a lot more benefit going forward. Thank you. Thank you, counsel. And the chair recognizes counselor. Me here, counselor. Me here. You have the floor. Yes, thank you to the chair and to the sponsors for bringing this very important conversation to our chamber yesterday. I just would like to go on the record and echo the importance of making sure that we as councilors understand and recognize the important role that we play in determining how these dollars are going to get allocated and used. I always say that nothing about us without us is for us, and when we get presented things that we need to react to, it always feels like an afterthought. And in the spirit of the new administration and in the spirit of collaboration, I think that we have an opportunity to change the way we do business and making sure that we're listening directly, not to not only to our our council colleagues, but also to those who put us in this position. So I look forward to the continued conversation and being a loud voice in this process. Thank you. Thank you. Counsel me here. The chair recognizes Counselor Fernandez innocent. Counsel Fernandez, innocent. You have the floor. Thank you, Council President. I thank you, Madam Chair, for holding the hearing and to my colleagues for their express concerns. And I think that, you know, we have a long way to go in terms of like procurement and quantity contracts in managing BJP and ensuring that these processes or how we're contracting, employing people in the city of Boston is or not equitable. So I did hear that there was a plan for specific allocation to ensure to fulfill some assessments thereafter or some sort of metrics in monitoring how we're going to be equitable or how the implementation of these programs would be equitable. I did appreciate the ideas that the administration had. I think they're I think most of them for for are wonderful ideas. But I also think that councilors have 1 to 4 ideas. I also think that councilors have been planning and organizing and meeting and working and galvanizing and spending a lot of time and organizing toward their own projects or consolidation of community efforts. So I believe that we should probably go into conversations about how we are expanding on the proposal to include us. And so I look forward to that and I won't belabor this any further, but to say that again, when we look at our contracts and our records, we're not doing a good job. So allocating such a large amount to projects and say, okay, here's 5 million to ensure that it is equitable, I think it's concerning. And I think that historically, you know, the pattern so thus far historically and I and I know this is speak to the administration currently, but because there is a lack of trust, because the relationship has not built upon where we as people of color or counselors of color believe or feel that the equity has truly been solidified in city government, then the honest and sincere conversation should roll out where we are included. So lead by example to speak to council me here point. So I look forward to doing that and having those open conversations without without insult, without judgment. But to say, how are we doing this in the way that we say that we're supposed to be? Thank you. Thank you. Counsel Fernandez Anderson, would anyone else like to speak? Docket 0503050404364 Women in Committee Motions Orders in resolutions. Mr. Kirk, please read Daugherty. 05870587 counsel as Lara and Fernandes, Sanderson offered the following order for a hearing to discuss the impact of inequitable housing code enforcement. In Boston's proactive rental inspection program.