The Boston City Council Committee on Ways and Means held an off-site public testimony session in Dorchester on March 24 to collect community input on the city’s fiscal year 2026 budget.

Committee Chair Councilor Brian Worrell said the hearing was the second in a series of public listening sessions on the FY26 budget and urged residents to testify in person or by written submission to the committee email (ccc.wm@boston.gov). “This hearing is being recorded,” Worrell said at the start of the event.

The session featured opening remarks from Council President Louie Jahn and councilors Benjamin Weber, Julia Mejia, Erin Murphy, Enrique Pepin and others. Councilors described the budget as “the people’s budget” and urged ongoing community participation as the council reviews the mayor’s proposal, which the administration will submit on April 9. Worrell said the council plans to vote on the mayor’s budget in June, noting there are two council votes in the process and the final vote is scheduled for June 26.

Residents and nonprofit leaders testified on a range of issues tied to the budget: requests for capital investment in Townfield Park and a Vietnamese diaspora memorial; proposals for a pilot program to distribute home water filters; funding for digital-inclusion programs; school supports including transportation, mental-health services and paraprofessionals; senior home-repair assistance for owners with homes held in trust; neighborhood infrastructure such as pothole repair and weekly street cleaning; and investments in youth jobs and community healing.

Councilors repeatedly noted uncertainty about federal funding streams and said that could affect the city’s revenue outlook for FY26. “We were already going to be facing coming off of all of our ESSER funding spent at the school level,” Councilor Murphy said, and several members said the council will consider how to sustain services if federal funds are reduced.

The committee closed the hearing after hearing all registered speakers and encouraged residents to continue participating in hearings and to submit written testimony. The record on docket 148/0325 will be used in the council’s budget deliberations.