City Council President Kim Janey and councilors Ricardo Arroyo, Andrea Campbell, Julia Mejia and Michelle Wu voted against it.Similar moves are being addressed and implemented around the country in the wake of the killing of George Floyd and subsequent protests calling for racial justice. Because such a budget would leave the city short, that would have led to cuts including layoffs, Walsh’s office has said.The councilors voting against the budget wanted more time to pass a spending plan that had larger structural changes including reallocating money away from the police department and into social services.“I am no longer interested in having drip-drop incremental changes,” Mejia said. Eight of the 13 city councilors signed onto a letter urging Walsh to cut the BPD budget deeper, taking 10% from the $414 million total police budget and putting more than $300 million more toward social programs.Council members have made no secret of their disdain for the police, their actions and the weapons they have at their disposal.Thankfully, councilors who may not have liked the budget but voted for it anyway, understood that funding shortfalls could mean people losing the means to support their families.“I’m not willing to treat those workers as cannon fodder in any cultural war,” Edwards said, adding that neither a yes nor no vote wouldn’t create the type of structural change she seeks.Though Walsh’s budget proposal included a reallocation of $12 million from the $60 million police overtime budget to other social programs after calls to “defund the police,” this is far from the final discussion on structural changes in police policies and funding.Bok, the Ways & Means chair, vowed to file hearings in the weeks ahead.There will be good ideas, and expected trashing of the men and women in blue — but at least the city will keep going for another year.Walmart's newest Instacart partnership bolsters the retailer's same-day delivery offerings – and takes dead aim at Amazon's Whole FoodsShow full articles without "Continue Reading" button for {0} hours. This scenario would have left Boston short of funds, sparking cuts and possible layoffs, according to Walsh’s office.In the end, councilors Frank Baker, Kenzie Bok, Liz Breadon, Lydia Edwards, Annissa Essaibi-George, Michael Flaherty, Ed Flynn and Matt O’Malley voted for the budget. Calls for police reform by way of budget reallocation and massive revenue shortfalls caused by the coronavirus pandemic shutdowns are on a collision course around the country, but Boston averted a fiscal disaster as the City Council voted to pass Mayor Marty Walsh’s annual budget yesterday.Compromise seemed to be off the table going in to the vote — several councilors had already publicly discussed rejecting the budget as it didn’t fund major police reforms.Councilor Michelle Wu on Tuesday announced that she intended to vote against the budget, saying, “This proposal makes insufficient progress in creating accountability, appropriately funding public health and making investments in housing stability, education equity and economic access, particularly for communities of color.”Rejecting the budget would have triggered a 1/12 budget — which would level-fund departments but not allow for contractual increases in spending. The Boston City Council Wednesday passed, by a close vote, a $3.61 billion operating budget for the coming fiscal year — a proposal opponents said … Walsh included in this budget proposal a reallocation of $12 million from the $60 million police overtime budget to other social programs after calls to “defund the police.” The move to the 1/12 budget would also have gotten rid of that funding change, as well as boosts to the Boston Public Health Commission and the schools. The Boston City Council passed Mayor Martin Walsh’s annual budget on Wednesday in an unusually tight and emotional vote as councilors weighed continued pushes for police reform, the coronavirus crisis and potentially looming layoffs.The council passed Walsh’s operating budget by an 8-5 vote, with councilors Frank Baker, Kenzie Bok, Liz Breadon, Lydia Edwards, Annissa Essaibi-George, Michael Flaherty, Ed Flynn and Matt O’Malley voting to pass the budget, and City Council President Kim Janey and councilors Ricardo Arroyo, Andrea Campbell, Julia Mejia and Michelle Wu against it.Rejecting the $3.61 billion budget would automatically have triggered what’s called a 1/12 budget, which would level-fund departments but not account for contractual increases in spending. Will it pass?