The people of Boston voted to change their city's charter in 2021 to give their City Council the power to bring up its #budget, edit the Mayor's budget, and let the residents allocate a percentage of the total. Then-Councilor (now Senator) Lydia Edwards, who proposed the change, said that it was necessary because "it is time for the city to be as creative as possible, to be as innovative as possible, to look at the way in which we allocate funds and let people participate in a real way in where their tax dollars go." The ordinance's first line reads: "The Mayor and City Council of the City of Boston shall hold equal budgetary authority." 

Some of her fellow council members and the Boston Municipal Research Bureau disagreed with changing the way budgeting power is structured. District 3 Councilor Frank Baker was particularly skeptical about the change, stating, "I don't have that much faith in [the City Council] to be able to not be 13 different fiefdoms and destroy the city budget." He also expressed concern that restructuring the budgetary system to give the City Council equal power could reduce the city's bond rating, which is a determinant of the city's credit.

Proponents of the change say that the power given to the City Council is not without limits. They can agree or disagree with spending after the budget is approved, but they cannot do so before its approval, and they cannot ban particular sections of a mayor's budget. This means that the City Council and the Mayor's office will keep making amendments to their budget proposals and sending them back and forth until they can agree upon a final budget.

Opponents say that the City Council does not have the necessary experience to be trusted with the city's finances and should not be involved in deciding how the budget is spent. They believe that the Mayor's office should maintain control over the budget to avoid unnecessary delays and infighting among members of the City Council.

The question up for debate: Should the Boston City Council have #equal power in deciding the #budget, or should the Mayor retain budgetary control?