►
Description
Dockets #0524 - 0531 - Fiscal Year 2022 Budget: Public Testimony Session - (specifically regarding priorities for an equitable recovery)
Held on April 28, 2021
A
A
Well,
we
really
just
started
it
so
we'll
be
having
35
hearings
and
working
sessions
throughout
until
end
of
this
month,
all
may
beginning
in
june
to
consider
the
draft
budget
that
was
filed
by
the
mayor's
administration,
and
then
you
know
go
back
and
forth
for
what
the
final
version
of
that
should
look
like
in
june.
But
throughout
that
process
we
have
opportunities
for
public
testimony.
A
We
do
have
those
opportunities
at
the
end
of
every
department
hearing,
but
we
know
that
department
hearings.
Sometimes
you
know
you
have
to
wait
for
the
whole
department
presentation
and
most
of
them
are
during
the
day
and
that
can
be
hard
for
people
to
make.
So
for
that
reason
we
prioritized
having
6
p.m.
Public.
A
So
in
that
context
we
wanted
to
make
sure
we
had
one
of
these
early
we're
also
going
to
have
several
of
them
later
in
the
process,
because
I
know
that
some
folks's
ideas
and
thoughts
on
that
are
still
in
formation.
But
we
wanted
to
make
sure
we
had
one
early.
So
just
in
terms
of
some
of
the
logistics
that
I've
gotta
read
through
this
hearing
is
being
recorded.
It's
being
live
streamed
at
boston.gov,
slash
city
dash,
council
dash
tv
and
it's
broadcast
on
xfinity
channel
8,
rcn,
channel
82
and
fios
channel
964..
A
If
you're
watching
right
now-
and
you
want
to
join
us
if
you
go
to
well,
if
you
just
email,
ccc.wm,
that's
m,
as
in
mother,
ccc.wm
boston.gov,
we
can
get
you
the
link
to
come,
join
us
and
offer
your
testimony.
You
can
also
go
on
boston.gov
budget
testify
and
sign
up
we'd
love
to
have
you
come
and
join
us
in
the
zoom
tonight.
A
We've
got
some
folks
here
already,
but
would
be
great
to
have
you
and
then
for
your
calendar
if
you're
watching
this
later
and
you're
like
oh,
no,
I
missed
this
and
6
p.m.
Is
the
right
time
for
me:
we're
gonna
have
another
one
at
6,
00
p.m
on
may
25th
and
at
6
p.m.
On
june
3rd,
so
those
are
kind
of
our
three
evening
dedicated
public
testimony
hearings
along
the
way
to
hear
from
you
all.
You
can.
B
A
Go
on
that
website
I
mentioned
boston.gov
budget
dash
testify
in
order
to
submit
written
comments
to
us
about
the
budget
or
submit
a
video
which
we
can
then
append
to
a
future
department
hearing.
So
we
hope
you're
going
to
find
a
way
to
get
involved.
You
can
find
out
about
all
the
department
hearings
when
they're
scheduled
and
everything
at
boston.gov
council
dash
budget
or
tweets
or
questions
hashtag
boss
budget,
the
os
budget.
A
0524-0526
ordered
for
the
fy
22
operating
budget,
including
annual
appropriations
for
departmental
operations
for
the
school
department
and
for
other
post-employment
benefits
order:
zero,
five,
two
seven
to
zero
five,
two:
eight,
which
are
orders
for
capital
fund,
transfer
appropriations
and
docket
zero.
Five:
two:
nine
zero,
five,
three
one
order
for
the
capital
budget,
including
loan
orders
and
lease
purchase
agreements,
and,
as
I
said,
our
focus
tonight
is
really
public.
Testimony
about
you
know
what
you
want
to
see
in
an
equitable
recovery.
A
They
have
lots
of
other
opportunities
to
provide
at
length
their
list
of
priorities
for
the
economic
recovery.
So
I'll
ask
colleagues
to
keep
it
brief
tonight,
since
we're
definitely
focusing
on
the
public.
But
I
do
want
to
give
you
a
chance
to
say
hello,
I'm
so
grateful
to
be
joined
by
councillor
ed
flynn,
from
district
two
counselor
michael
flaherty
at
large
councilor
ricardo
arroyo
from
district
5
and
counselor
anissa
sabi
george
at
large,
so
I'll
just
go
to
them
each
very
briefly,
and
then
we'll
be
jumping
straight
over.
So
with
that
counselor
flynn.
D
E
Good
sorry
about
that
man,
I'm
sure
your
technical
difficulties.
This
is
I'll
be
very
brief.
This
is
an
opportunity
for
the
public
to
offer
testimony
give
us
their
thoughts.
I
appreciate
your
leadership
as
chair
and,
as
you
know,
we're
all
going
to
be
focused
on
the
recovery
we're
going
to
have
laser
beam,
focused,
quite
frankly
throughout
the
budget
process
and
also
council.
E
Pro
temp
has
created
a
new
committee
that
I'll
be
chairing
working
with
you,
as
the
chairways
means
on
all
of
our
colleagues
in
their
respective
committees
to
make
sure
that
boston
is
getting
their
fair
share,
but
also
we're
working
with
those
that
have
been
mostly
impacted
through
covid.
So
I
look
forward
to
listening
to
folks
and
give
us
their
thoughts.
We
work
for
them,
so
we'll
take
our
cue
from
the
residents.
Thank
you,
madam
chair.
F
Thank
you,
madam
chair.
I'm
going
to
make
it
very
brief,
just
to
say
thank
you
to
those
who
are
taking
the
time
from
their
day
to
express
to
us
what
their
budget
priorities
are.
I
deeply
appreciate
that
that
feedback
and
that
input,
so
thank
you
to
everybody
who
took
the
time
today
to
do
this.
Thank
you,
madam
chair.
G
You,
madam
chair
as
well,
and
I'm
grateful
for
the
public
who
is
with
us
this
evening,
who
will
offer
testimony.
I
look
forward
to
hearing
from
them.
I
will
be
off
camera
because
I
am
trying
to
get
a
few
things
done
just
at
home,
but
grateful
for
the
opportunity
and
I
I
will
be
listening
in.
Thank
you.
A
A
One
of
those
is
a
sort
of
and
it's
over
multiple
years
as
a
thing,
so
it's
over
three
to
four
to
five
years,
depending
on
the
different
buckets,
but
in
the
immediate
term
what
the
council
expects
is
for
215
million
to
come
in
to
the
city
sort
of
general
fund
and
that's
the
kind
of
first
tranche
of
that
money
and
then
separately,
there's
there's
a
whole
bunch.
That's
coming
to
the
boston
public
schools
as
well.
We're
happy
to
hear
comments
on
any
of
that.
A
I
think
that,
in
terms
of
that
federal
funding,
as
I
mentioned
at
the
start,
it's
probably
split
between
supporting
expansions
of
government
services
that
are
provided
through
the
city
government
and
then
some
like
direct
grants.
Thinking
about
how
to
get
our
economy
back
on
our
feet,
so
a
broad
set
of
things
and
then,
of
course,
we've
got
our
normal
operating
dollars,
funding
our
city
operating
budget,
and
that
is
on
the
table
too.
So
I
just.
A
These
are
all
a
connected
conversation
we're
having
it
that
way
at
the
council.
As
councillor
flaherty
mentioned,
we've
got
a
new
covid
19
recovery
committee.
That's
really
going
to
be
working
with
ways
and
means
throughout
this
process
and
then
taking
the
baton
on
july
1st
and
continuing
that
oversight
work
throughout
the
year
ahead.
But
if
you're
here
and
wondering
well
am-
I
am
I
talking
on
the
right
topic,
any
anything
about
how
we
spend
this
money
overall
is
welcome
tonight
and
we're
glad
to
have
you
with
us.
A
H
A
Video
sorry
yeah
you're
up
first,
so
if
you,
if
you
can
just
if
you
can
just
just
you
know,
identify
yourself
say
where
you
live
or
what
your
affiliation
is
or
what
organization
you
support,
so
that
folks,
watching
at
home
kind
of
know
about
you
and
then
tell
us
what
you
would
like
to
see
in
a
recovery,
and
specifically,
you
know
with
city
funds.
So
thank
you
and
federal
funds
that
are
coming
through
the
city.
So
take
it
away.
I
Okay,
well,
thank
you
for
holding
this
public
hearing.
I
think
it's
really
important.
You
know
for
everybody,
for
people
to
have
a
voice
in
these
decisions,
and
you
know
the
fact
that
there's
a
lot
of
federal
money
coming
into
the
city-
I
think,
is
you
know
it
really
gives
us
a
big
opportunity
in
a
mo.
I
So
I
you
know
we
do
appreciate.
You
know
all
that
the
city
has
done
over
the
past
year
and
more,
but
we
just
need
to
increase
this
type
of
work
in
a
big
way
and
acquisition
of
private
property
to
support
small
businesses.
Again,
it's
particularly
important-
and
this
is
a
rare
opportunity-
that
we
have
where
the
federal
you
know,
funding
you
know
is
recognizing
the
need
to
really
support
our
our
neighborhood
small
businesses,
but
I
think
it
has
to
be
more
than
just
like
loans
to
you
know
for
right.
I
I
Where
you
know
all
the
community
loses
wealth
and
the
banks
and
the
big
you
know,
corporate
developers
are
the
ones
that
make
out.
So
I
think
it's
really
important
for
us
to
also
be
creative
to
be
bold
and
creative,
because
you
know
sometimes
our
existing
programs.
They
have,
you
know
they're,
very
particular.
I
They
have
all
these
specific
guidelines
and
one
department
works
on
this,
and
one
department
works
on
that,
but
I
think
we
need
to
think
outside
the
box
and,
like
you
know,
have
departments
like
economic
development,
which
does
small
business
support
and
dnd,
which
does
housing
actually
work
together
and
pool
resources
together.
So
we
can
make
things
happen
that
you
know
we
don't
usually
do.
I
I
also
think
we
should
consider
a
specific
community
land
trust
fund
to
really
you
know,
put
more
community
control
of
development
into
the
hands
of
the
neighbors,
whether
it's
permanently
affordable,
housing
and
business
space,
but
also
you
know
urban
farms
and
gardens
and
to
look
into
the
creation
of
a
land
bank,
because
there's
gonna,
there's
so
much
property
that
will
be
changing.
Hands
and
non-profits
may
not
be
all
able
to
respond
quickly
enough,
but
the
city
can
actually
help
to
acquire
foreclosed
properties
and
other
prop.
I
J
Thank
you,
lydia
and
also
thank
you
councilor
bach.
My
name
is
james
davis
and
I'm
a
boston
resident
and
voter
at
33
bus
wall
street.
I'm
here
to
ask
the
city
council
to
prioritize
funding
that
may
be
freed
by
the
biden
administration
for
research
into
psychedelics
and
their
applications
for
depression,
opioid
abuse
and
other
ailments.
J
I'm
asking
the
council
specifically
to
de-prioritize
arrests
for
all
controlled
substances,
as
well
as
the
cultivation
of
psychedelic
plants.
I'm
sure
you
all
have
received
a
lot
of
emails
from
our
coalition
base,
staters
for
natural
medicine
and
a
lot
of
phone
calls,
and
I
was
grateful
to
meet
with
lauren
just
last
week
and
have
a
great
productive
conversations
with
council.
J
This
is
a
very
personal
issue
to
me.
My
cousin
suffers
from
opioid
addiction
and
has
been
in
and
out
of
jail
and
the
rehabilitation
system.
Dozens
of
times
my
uncle
privately
wonders.
If
we're
going
to
lose
him
to
fentanyl
he's,
lost
his
custody
of
his
daughters.
He
again
when
he
goes
to
jail,
he
loses
his
job
and
he
loses
the
social
safety
net.
That
was
helping
him
overcome
the
addiction.
J
So,
as
you
know,
the
hospital
in
your
district
is
studying
mass
general
hospital's
new
center
for
psychedelic
research
is
studying
these
treatments.
We
already
know
that
there's
peer-reviewed
evidence
showing
that
adults
are
using
them
safely
and
getting
tremendous
benefits,
potentially
benefits
for
alzheimer's,
traumatic,
brain
injuries
and
even
even
disorders
like
dementia,
and
so
this
is
what's
best
for
boston's
economy
locally,
but
also
for
all
the
small
entrepreneurs
that
want
to
experiment
in
the
space
to
know
that
their
their
applications.
J
A
K
James
covered
a
lot
of
where
we
stand
on
this
issue,
and
for
me
it's
a
very
personal
issue
as
well.
I
was
almost
killed
a
few
years
ago
in
a
robbery
in
chicago,
and
I
experienced
post-traumatic
stress
disorder
from
that.
As
a
result,
and
through
some
of
the
services
of
boston
and
therapy,
I
was
able
to
get
along
with
using
some
of
these
plant
medicines.
I
was
able
to
overcome
this
and
I'm
in
a
personally
much
better
place.
K
I
think
it's,
I
think
it's
definitely
possible
and
I
think
that
the
decisions
the
council
makes
are
going
to
be
hugely
impactful
on
deciding
the
course
of
things
for
boston
and
the
state
as
a
whole,
and
this
could
also
impact
the
entire
country.
Ultimately.
So
for
me,
this
is
something
that
I'd
really
like
to
see
changed,
and
I
think
that
this
council
can
help
us
do
the
right
thing
and
move
in
the
right
direction.
So
that's
it
for
me.
Thank
you.
So
much.
A
Great,
thank
you
so
much
alex
next
up
jamie
and
then
karen
and
then,
as
I
said
richard
after
after
jamie
and
karen,
I
will
let
councillors
julia
mejia
and
lydia.
Edwards
have
also
joined
us
and
so
I'll.
Let
them
also
say
a
word
of
welcome
just
counselors,
mcgee
and
edwards.
We
we're
letting
the
public
do
their
list
tonight.
So
we're
not
doing
extensive
comments
on
our
priorities,
but
we'd
love
to
have
you
guys
each
say
a
word
after
karen.
So
first
now
we
go
to
jamie.
L
Thank
you
so
much
counselor
and
thank
you
to
all
the
counselors
on
this
call
and
anyone
from
the
jd
administration
who's
on
this
is
so
great
to
see
you
know
this
is
I
mean
this?
Is
democracy
in
action?
It's
just
great
to
be
able
to
have
this
opportunity
to
get
some
ideas
out
there.
So
my
name
is
jamie
mcneill
with
local
26.
The
hotel
and
food
workers
union
here
in
boston.
L
Don't
have
to
probably
repeat
what
you've
all
heard
for
the
past
14
months.
Hospitality
industry
is
the
worst
hit
industry
from
covid
and
when
I
say
the
hospitality
industry,
what
I
actually
mean
is
the
hotel
workers,
the
people
who
live
in
the
city,
the
people
who
make
the
city
what
it
is,
and
so
really
you
know
I'm
here
to
testify
today.
L
We
know
those
industries
are
made
up
of
people
workers
who
who
live
in
our
neighborhoods.
So
we
want
to
make
sure
that
any
funds
going
to
to
this
industry
actually
go
to
the
people
who
make
the
industry
great
the
the
workers
and
really
benefit
those
those
workers
who
have
who
have
struggled
over
the
last
14
months
and,
at
the
same
time,
understanding
that
that
hotels
have
to
keep
the
lights
on
as
well.
L
L
L
I
knew
it's
super
early,
but
I
just
I
want
to
thank
you,
counselor
bach
and
all
the
counselors
for
for
having
this
opportunity
and
again
just
want
to
plant
the
flag
and
be
at
the
table
for
when
these
conversations
happen,
that
we're
we're
really
building
back
boston's
hospitality
industry
in
a
hospitable
way
and
a
echo
equitable
way.
So
thank
you
all.
A
C
Thank
you.
Thank
you,
councillor
buck
and
really
appreciate
this
opportunity,
and
this
is
what
democracy
looks
like
in,
and
you
know
my
name
is
karen
chen,
I'm
with
the
chinese
progressive
association
we
based
in
chinatown.
We
serve
chinese
americans
in
the
greater
boston
area.
We
also
part
of
right
to
the
city
boston,
which,
anchored
by
cpa,
alternative
community
and
environment,
see
the
city
life
in
new
england,
united
for
justice,
and
you
know
we
have
been
you
know
in
this.
Talking
about.
You
know
equitable
recovery
for
a
long
time.
C
You
know
it's
only
equitable
when
we
actually
put
money
right
into
the
program,
and
I
think
that
with
the
american
rescue
plan,
it's
a
really
important
opportunity
to
really
put
money
into.
You
know,
issues
that
are
or
or
to
really
you
know,
make
it
transformative
right,
actually
lay
foundations
for
long-term
change.
How
the
city
will
look
like
you
know
in
the
next
20
or
30
years,
so
you
know
so
we
hear,
I
think,
similar
to
some
of
the
people
said
earlier
we're
here
to
talk
about.
C
How
would
we
invest
in
the
people
and
that
making
sure
that
you
know
boston
will
be
you
know
a
vibrant
city?
We're?
Actually
you
know,
you
know
what
makes
boston
interesting
is
all
the
different
neighborhoods,
but
we
also
know
that
a
lot
of
these
neighborhoods
at
risk
of
displacement.
You
know
whether
it's
for
you
know
sometimes
it's
because
of
improvement
in
infrastructure
that
the
the
community
fought
for
like
having
a
new
subway
station
right.
Having
a
new
stop,
you
know
the
commuter
rail
and
then
other
times.
C
You
know
it's
because
you
know
people,
just
you
know,
band
together,
make
it
a
safe
community
and
then
I
think
also
there's
communities
that,
like
chinatown,
been
experienced
influx
of
development
and
luxury
development
in
particular,
and
then
you
know
so
in
a
lot
of
these
neighborhoods.
You
know
there
are
significant
number
of
people
who
are
paying
more
than
30
of
the
income
towards
rent,
and
I
think
that
for
some
neighborhoods
you
know
during
the
pandemic,
especially
the
month
there
wasn't.
C
You
know
the
federal
stimulus
money,
people
paying
possibly
you
know
80,
sometimes
90-
of
the
income
towards
rent.
So
I
think
that
this
issue
has
been
talked
about
for
a
long
time
in
the
city,
and
this
is
an
opportunity
to
really
invest.
You
know
into
these
neighborhoods,
you
know
in
like
chinatown,
you
know
east
boston,
and
you
know
we
all
also
know
that
air
is
in
dorchester.
C
If
he's
cornered
to
seven,
you
know,
matapian,
you
know
areas
of
roxbury,
you
know
I
think
charlestown
austin
brighton
as
well
and
pluto
is
you
can
find
every
neighborhood
in
the
boston
area
that
out
at
risk.
So
I
I
think
that
it'll
be
important
to
put
money
into
these
areas,
really
focus
and
experiment
right
and
you
know,
can
we
actually,
you
know
play
you
know,
really
do
something.
C
You
know
like
lydia
said
you
know
big
in
a
big
way
to
save
these
neighborhoods
and
these
in
and
you
can
set
goals
right
in
these
stabilization
zones.
You
can
set
goals
where
you
put
a
certain
amount
of
money.
You
know
to
nonprofits
or
community
land
trust
acquire
land
for
public
good,
and
you
know,
and
also
you
can
start
kind
of
like
setting
goals
for
displacement
prevention.
C
You
know,
goals
and,
like
you
know,
decreasing,
have
some
sort
of
benchmark
on
you
know
number
of
people.
You
know
that
you
want
to
have
pay.
You
know
30
of
the
income
towards
rent
like
setting
benchmark
that,
like
you
know,
if
we
are
at
you
know,
if
we
had
30
now
in
two
years,
maybe
we
can
work
towards.
C
You
know
50,
right
and
then,
and
then
also
you
know
really
you
know
in
in
and
it
could
be
in
forms
of
increasing,
affordable
housing,
making
sure
that
the
affordability
matches
the
community
income
or
it
could
actually
be
funding
for
deepening
affordability
and
then
also
you
know
you
can
also
use
it
as
a
way
when
I
say
transformative
right.
How
can
we
you
know
change?
You
know
this
practice
that
you
know
housing
and
land
is
used
for
profit
only
when
it
should
be.
C
You
know
a
human
right,
a
basic
human
right,
so
it's
like
piloting
policies
that
help
stabilize
these
zones
like
10
an
option
to
purchase.
You
know
just
cost
eviction,
you
know
rent
control
or
you
know,
or
you
even
experiment,
something
like
you
know,
rent
to
own
programs
where
you
actually
built
wealth.
You
know
not
just
wealth
of
individuals
but
actually
the
community.
You
know
as
a
as
a
as
a
whole
and
and
then
also
on
top
of
that
you
know.
C
We
also
know
that
in
areas
where
there's
a
lot
of
development,
we
should
expect
more
of
the
developers
or
the
investors
and-
and
we
know
that
you
know,
while
a
lot
of
our
a
lot
of
our
of
our
people's
income,
have
you
know
increased
or
a
lot
of
many
working
people,
but
the
wealthiest
people
actually
have
you
know
profited
during
the
the
pandemic.
We
should
demand
more
of
these.
You
know
of
the
of
of
the
corporate
world
or
corporate
investors
and
establish
programs
like
you're
gonna.
C
If
you're
gonna
develop,
you
know
in
these
areas,
maybe
there
should
be
requirements
of
what
wages
should
be
and
what
kind
of
benefits
that
should
be
so
that
we
don't
have
you
know
another
kind
of
you
know,
seaport
district,
where
you
see
you
know
huge
gap
of
in
you
know
in
terms
of
income
and
wealth.
So
I
think
that
you
know
these
are
some
of
the
things
that
we
hope
that
you
know
the
city
will
look
into.
C
A
B
M
Hi
everyone
just
yeah
honored
to
be
here
to
listen
to
learn.
I
I
just
honestly
want
to
take
as
many
notes
understand
what
you
need
and
do
our
best
to
adjust
our
budget
ass
to
what
you
guys
are
demanding.
So
thank
you
for
this
opportunity.
I
want
to
thank
all
of
you
for
showing
up.
It
is
truly
democracy
in
action.
Thanks.
H
Thank
you,
councillor
bach
and,
of
course
thank
you
for
your
leadership
in
creating
this
space.
I
just
saw
karen
was
testifying
great
to
see
you,
but
yes
here,
like
all
the
other
council
colleagues,
to
listen,
take
notes.
My
team
is
also
on
so
that,
as
we
go
through
the
process,
we
have
a
deep
sense
of
what
community
and
residents
want
need
deserve
and
in
our
entitled
to
so.
Thank
you
so
much.
A
A
N
Okay,
awesome
hi,
I'm
richard
guerra
density,
media
group
and
decriminalized
nature
massachusetts
and
base
status
for
natural
medicine,
representing
all
those
groups.
Today
I
am
here
to
strongly
support
resolution,
de-prioritizing,
arrests
for
all
controlled
substances
and
cultivation
of
psychedelic
plants
and
ultimately
seeing
the
war
on
drugs.
End
means
a
lot
to
me.
N
I
spent
my
entire
life
embedded
in
the
arts,
live
music,
visual
art
performance,
art
here
in
boston,
in
media
printed,
film,
digital,
social
in
community
festival,
culture
and
legal
cannabis
advocacy
when
I
think
of
the
common
thread
that
enhances
my
understanding
and
perspective.
That
ties
all
those
things
together.
I
do
think
of
anthogenic
plants
and
medicines.
As
a
undergraduate
at
boston
university,
I
was
arrested
for
non-violent
first
offense
of
distributing
psilocybin,
mushrooms,
cannabis
and
cocaine
to
other
students.
N
N
Sadly,
even
though
I
later
completed
my
degree
and
had
a
support
network
that
many
lack,
I
battled
anxiety
and
ptsd
for
many
years
after
incarceration,
but
with
the
help
of
emdr
therapy,
along
with
the
intentional
use
of
psilocybin,
mdma
and
other
antiogenic
plants,
I
was
able
to
heal
from
this
trauma
and
rededicate
myself
to
the
fight
for
decriminalizing.
These
therapeutic
substances,
after
all,
anthogenic
plants
have
long
improved.
N
My
spiritual
relationship
with
nature,
art,
media,
legal
advocacy
that
have
defined
my
career
and
it's
time
that
others
in
the
community
can
use
them
safely
and
equitably
without
fear.
I
will
add
that,
miraculously
my
felonies
were
dropped
due
to
the
anti-duke
and
drug
lab
scandal.
Quite
a
interesting
situation.
There
eiler
learned
firsthand
that
the
incarceration
and
criminalization
of
controlled
substances,
especially
anthogenic
plants
and
fungi,
has
severely
destructive
effects
on
the
hearts
and
minds
of
our
people
and
their
families.
N
N
I
believe
that
to
see
the
city
of
boston
take
a
stand
on
this
issue
and
follow
suit
with
cambridge
somerville,
and
northampton
will
be
the
most
significant
catalyst
for
positive
and
compassionate
changes
across
the
state
and
the
country
and
by
the
way,
I'm
in
brighton
oak
square.
Thank
you
so
much
for
this.
I
appreciate
all
you.
O
Tonight,
I
want
to
point
out
some
areas
where
it
should
be
reduced
in
particular
policing.
So
the
aclu
recently
published
analysis
that
catalogs
the
extent
of
the
burden
that
police
overtime
in
boston
places
on
the
city
budget
and
also
outlines
the
really
ridiculous
obstacles
that
we
currently
face
to
changing
policy
to
actually
control
that
spending.
O
But,
as
I
believe,
the
council
is
already
familiar
with
those
data
and
also
with
generally
the
budgetary
landscape
around
policing
tonight,
I'm
not
showing
any
charts.
Instead,
I
want
to
respond
directly
to
a
request
that
counselor
bach
made
on
monday
during
the
community
question
session,
where
she
asked
and
requested
that
advocates
share
instead
of
just
how
much
we
want
to
see
the
police
budget
cut,
actually
how
we
can
do
that,
and
so
I
want
to
respond
to
that.
O
Advocates
are
currently
left
guessing
when
it
comes
to
understanding
how
different
policing
practices
are
actually
using
taxpayer
money,
and
so
because
of
that,
I
wanted
to
share
five
priorities
that
we've
identified
that
we
believe
are
currently
within
the
purview
of
the
council,
which
should
be
hopefully
immediately
adopted
to
increase
transparency
around
policing,
and
so
those
are
one
breaking
down
the
bpd's
minimum
staffing
levels
and
the
formula
that's
used
to
calculate
them.
I
know
council
arroyo
has
already
been
trying
to
pursue
that
data.
O
In
addition,
additionally,
I
also
urge
that
the
council
insists
that
mayor
janie
and
her
administration
make
public
their
priorities
around
equity
and
fiscal
responsibility
as
they're
negotiating
the
police
contracts.
As
we
know,
a
lot
of
these
questions
are
currently
tied
up
on
police
contracts,
and
it
would
be
great
to
have
an
eye
on
what's
going
on
there.
O
I'll
also
briefly
share
my
disappointment
that,
while
the
dpd
is
the
second
largest
line
item
in
the
whole
budget,
we
have
only
one
scheduled
hearing
on
it
this
session
compared
to
the
eight
hearings
that
are
scheduled
on
bps,
which
is
the
first
item
in
the
budget,
and
we
really
encourage
the
council
to
understand
that
reigning
in
police
budgets
must
be
one
of
the
priorities
this
budget
season.
Absolutely
so,
thank
you
for
your
consideration
and
the
aclu
definitely
looks
forward
to
continuing
this
conversation
over
the
coming.
A
Months
great,
thank
you
lauren
and
I
will
say
last
year
we
made
the
mistake
of
bundling
it
with
fire
and
ems.
So
I
would,
I
would
say
it's
a
it's
a
step
in
the
direction
that
direction
but
great.
Thank
you.
So
much
next
up.
Sorry,
I
neglected
to
let
the
next
person
through
we'll
hear
from
jennifer
stell.
P
P
Hi
counselor
bach,
thank
you
so
much
for
letting
me
speak
tonight.
I
really
appreciate
it
and
I'm
just
going
to
read
my
statement
just
to
keep
to
time,
so
I
I
apologize
if
it
seems
kind
of
sterile,
but
I
just
want
to
make
sure
I
got
in
everything
that
I
wanted
to
say
tonight,
because
it's
very
important
to
me.
P
So,
to
begin
with,
my
name
is
jennifer
stell.
I'm
a
mother
grandmother
registered
voter
and
registered
nurse
here
in
massachusetts.
I'm
here
to
ask
the
city
council
to
officially
de-prioritize
all
arrests
for
controlled
substances
as
well
as
cultivation
of
psychedelic
plants.
Over
400
people
have
contacted
the
city
council
asking
them
to
officially
bar
the
use
of
taxpayer
resources
for
the
investigation
and
incarceration
of
people
for
drug
possession
and
exchanging
psychedelic
plants.
P
I
believe
firmly
in
this
issue,
because
since
I
was
eight
years
old,
I
have
suffered
from
debilitating
cluster
headaches,
which
is
one
of
the
most
painful
chronic
conditions
known
in
medicine.
I've
also
suffered
from
migraines
and
both
were
very
painful
and
were
daily
and
led
me
to
an
addiction
to
opioids
to
manage
my
pain.
P
I
was
also
arrested,
tried
and
convicted
on
cannabis
charges
when
I
was
17,
which
has
had
very
heavy
implications
in
my
life
and
theogen,
medicines
like
psilocybin
and
ibogaine
have
actually
changed
my
life
by
helping
me
manage
my
excruciating
cluster
headaches
and
migraines
and
overcome
the
addiction
that
was
standing
in
the
way
of
my
best
life,
but
because
these
plants
are
illegal,
access
is
limited
and
are
often
difficult
for
me
to
obtain,
which
means
many
days
of
excruciating
pain
until
I'm
able
to
find
them.
This
affects
me
as
a
parent
grandparent.
P
It
affects
my
job
and
it
affects
my
overall
quality
of
health,
not
to
mention
the
absolute
risk
I'm
taking
by
trying
to
obtain
them
today.
There
are
many
people
suffering
from
anxiety
and
depression,
and
it's
only
gotten
worse.
Since
covig,
there
are
numerous
studies
proving
that
and
theogen
plants
help
with
treatment,
resistive
anxiety
and
depression,
migraines
and
cluster
headaches,
as
well
as
helping
those
struggling
with
addiction
to
heroin,
cocaine,
meth
alcohol
and
cigarettes,
and
I'm
one
that
can
attest
to
that.
P
Q
Hello:
everybody,
my
name
is
jason
maniscalco,
I'm
a
public
health
student
at
northeastern
university,
a
veteran
of
the
united
states
army
and,
most
importantly,
a
resident
of
brighton.
I
strongly
support
bay
staters
for
natural
medicine's
resolution,
deprioritizing
arrests
for
all
control
substances
and
the
cultivation
of
psychedelic
plants,
it's
time
for
the
city
of
boston,
to
grab
the
torch
and
lead
the
country
in
the
fight
against
the
drug
war,
by
de-prioritizing,
arrest
for
all
controlled
substances,
the
stigma
associated
with
psychedelic
plants
and
other
and
all
other
controlled
substances
prevents
those
from
those
suffering
from
seeking
care.
Q
Millennials
with
people
people
born
between
1981
1996
are
more
likely
to
suffer
from
depression
than
their
peers
across
the
country.
A
2020
meta-analysis
of
randomized
clinical
trials
dating
back
two
decades
found
that
psychedelic
assisted
therapy
is
highly
effective
in
treating
ptsd
depression,
anxiety
linked
to
terminal
illness
and
anxiety
linked
to
autism.
A
novel
november
2020
study
in
the
journal
of
the
american
medical
association
found
one
in
two
patients
put
major
depression
in
remission.
After
only
two
psilocybin
therapy
sessions,
which
is
four
times
more
effective
than
conventional
conventional
medication.
Q
Psychedelics
are
effective
medicines
when
they
are
not
demonized
by
the
drug
war
and
prohibition.
I
must
ask
this:
this
council
should
a
resident
of
boston,
face
criminal
punishment
for
trying
to
heal,
de-prioritizing
arrests
for
all
controlled
substances
and
cultivation
of
psychedelic
plans
will
allow
the
veteran
who
has
no
job.
No
health
care,
no
hope
the
chance
to
heal,
as
the
biomedical
capital
of
the
nation.
Boston
should
take
this
step.
It
would
signal
to
the
commonwealth
and
the
nation
that
boston
prioritizes
mental
well-being
and
the
public's
health
over
the
antiquated
view
of
prohibition.
Q
R
Thank
you
so
much
for
your
time
and
for
having
us
here
today.
I'm
also
here
to
show
support
for
the
prioritizing
the
arrest
for
all
controlled
substances
and
cultivation
of
psychedelic
plants.
I
am
a
resident
in
the
commonwealth
and
also
a
patient
in
boston,
I'm
here,
because
it's
also
impacted
me.
On
a
very
personal
level.
R
I've
had
migraine
attacks,
since
I
was
10
years
old
and
at
one
point
I
was
having
severe
migraines
four
times
a
week
with
headaches
constantly
and
in
my
26th
month
of
this
and
working
with
a
huge
team
of
neurologists
in
boston,
I
reached
literally
no
more
options
and
I
approached
them
after
seeing
national
geographic
talk
about
using
it
for
cluster
headaches
so
about
five
to
six
weeks
later,
I
no
longer
had
these
intense
experiences
and
it's
been
an
amazing
alternative
option
for
me.
So
I
appreciate
you
listening
to
everyone
else.
S
Oh
no
and
you
guys
close
enough.
It's
me
abby
like
karate
kid.
Thank
you.
So,
thanks
for
hearing
and
for
the
opportunity
to
speak,
I've
actually
never
done
this
before
and
I
do
really
feel
like
this.
Is
it's
great
to
be
involved
and
it's
great
to
be
heard.
So,
thank
you.
I'm
miyabi
shields.
I'm
a
registered
voter
in
boston.
I
live
in
jp,
I'm
a
biochemist.
I've
been
researching
drugs
in
the
brain
at
the
molecular
level
for
11
years
now.
S
My
phd
is
in
pharmaceutical
sciences
and
the
system
in
the
brain
that
interacts
with
cannabis,
and
I'm
also
here
in
support
of
base
stators
for
natural
medicine,
to
ask
the
council
to
de-prioritize
arrests
for
controlled
substances
as
well
as
cultivation
of
psychedelic
plants.
So
I
think
other
people
have
mentioned
that
I
could
spend
the
next
few
minutes,
sharing
statistics
and
data
from
recent
scientific
journal
articles.
You
know
they
show
a
huge
therapeutic
potential
for
psychedelics.
S
S
If
you
need
more
information
on
it,
instead,
I'm
going
to
tell
you
something
about
myself
that
I
used
to
feel
deeply
ashamed
about
and
and
fearful
because
it's
a
highly
stigmatized
topic,
especially
for
someone
who's,
a
scientist
and
I've
struggled
with
my
mental
health.
My
entire
life
I've
been
prescribed
with
many
different
types
of
pharmaceutical
drugs.
S
I
don't
have
the
words
or
the
capability
to
encompass
how
much
suffering
a
person
has
to
endure
before
they
get
to
that
place,
but
I
I
wouldn't
wish
it
upon
upon
anyone,
and
I'm
only
here
today,
because
I
found
plant
medicines
and
they
allowed
me
to
begin
the
journey
of
healing,
and
you
know,
after
only
one
single
use,
psychedelics
permanently
changed.
My
perspective
on
my
life
and
you
know,
gave
me
different
insights
on
what
my
future
could
look
like.
S
I
specifically
studied
neuropharmacology
and
the
intersection
of
neuropsychiatric
drugs
and
behavior,
so
that
I
could
fully
understand
what
happened
to
me
and
I've
concluded
that
by
far
plant
medicines
are
more
therapeutically
beneficial
for
me
than
their
synthetic
pharmaceutical
alternatives.
I'm
I'm
definitely
not
alone
in
that.
S
S
A
You
and
thank
you,
you
know
we're.
This
is
obviously
not
really
a
talk
back
because
we're
trying
to
give
people
a
space
to
share
today,
but
I
you
know
I
want
to
thank
you
and
also
recognize
you
sharing
a
really
painful
story,
and
I
think
a
number
of
the
folks
who
have
testified
have
have
spoken
to
personal
experiences
that
I
just
you
know
we're
not
sort
of
doing
the
dialogue
thing,
but
I
just
want
to
acknowledge
that
it
does
take
courage
to
come
into
this
space
and
and
and
speak
about
all
that.
T
T
Like
everybody
else,
I
am
also
here
to
ask
the
city
council
to
officially
de-prioritize
a
rest
for
all
control
substances,
as
well
as
the
cultivation
of
psychedelic
plants.
Again,
I
don't
have
to
state
any
stats,
because
a
lot
of
my
partners
have
already
done
that,
but
I
just
want
to
say
that,
like
plant
medicine,
such
as
philosiphon,
mushrooms
have
helped
me
become
at
peace
with
life.
T
Just
like
it's
like
a
lot
of
other
people,
it's
helped
me
deal
with
depression,
childhood
trauma
all
that
stuff,
and
it
just
sucks
that,
like
things
that
are
so
helpful
for
people
for
their
mental
health
that
they
are
just
like
that
people
cannot
have
access
to
those
without
like
dealing
with
the
laws
that
we
have
in
place.
That
are
just
like
absolutely
unfair.
Recently,
one
of
my
best
friends
is
going
through
a
suicidal
episode
and
I
would
like
to
help
them
out.
T
T
I'm
not
gonna,
say
too
much,
because
all
my
partners
have
said
that,
but,
like
also,
I
would
like
to
cheat
substances
such
as
psychedelic
plants
can
be
decriminalized,
so
I
can
help
more
people
that
I
love
just
be
better,
be
more
present
with
life
and
just
be
at
peace
with
themselves
and
like
not
take
their
life
away,
because
you
know
things
are
not
working
out
for
them
and
then
other
traditional
medicines
are
not
working
out
for
them.
That's
all.
Thank
you.
A
A
So
if
you
are
watching
this
and
you're
planning
to
join
us
to
testify
at
some
point
now
would
be
a
good
point,
although
I'll
definitely
be
holding
it
open
until
7
30.,
but
I'm
gonna
call
a
at
the
moment.
I'm
gonna
call
a
woman
at
recess
just
to
try
to
figure
out.
What's
going
on
on
our
tech
side,
with
kathleen
so
recessing
for
a.
A
U
Hi
everyone
kathleen
patron
lead
organizer,
executive
director
of
the
greater
boston
interfaith
organization,
apologies
jumping
from
zoom
to
zoom
phone
call
to
phone
call.
I'm
sure
you
all
can
relate
so
I'm
here
just
to
say
that
this
is
a
once-in-a-lifetime
once
in
a
generational
opportunity
in
terms
of
funds
coming
to
the
city
of
boston
and
that
gbio
doesn't
necessarily
at
this
point
have
very
specific
asks
on
how
the
money
is
spent.
But
what
we
are
interested
in
is
we're
working
with
a
city
council
and
with
a
city
of
boston.
U
That
wants
to
be
bold.
That
wants
to
be
creative,
and
that
wants
to
put
this
money
to
maximum
impact,
to
make
sure
that
a
once-in-a-lifetime
generational
opportunity
to
deal
with
some
of
the
issues
of
the
covid
19
crisis
that
have
primarily
affected
black
and
brown
communities
really
go
to
benefit
people
on
the
ground,
and
I
think
there's
two
ways
that
this
can
happen.
U
A
A
Considering
sort
of
what
a
revised
budget
should
look
like
in
june
also
expecting
kind
of
the
formal
orders
for
this
federal
money.
That's
coming
so
you're
welcome
to
testify
at
any
of
those
hearings
and
at
the
6
pm
hearings
we'll
be
holding
more
towards
the
end
of
the
hearing
schedule
which
is
on
may
25th
and
june
3rd
may
25th
focused
on
bps,
but
you
can
come
with
anything
at
6
pm
and
then
june
3rd
focused
on
any
any
departments
at
6pm,
but
along
the
way
you
can
come
to
any
hearing.
A
A
A
A
V
V
The
opportunity
to
to
get
in
some
testimony
like
I
did
hear
kathleen
patron
and
I
think,
like
kathleen,
you
know
we're
still
looking
at
this
as
well
and
trying
to
understand
the
requirements
from
from
the
federal
government
and
and
but
I
I
wanted
to
basically
say
two
things
that
we
feel
at
maha.
I
should
introduce
myself
first
of
all,
tom
callahan
from
the
massachusetts,
affordable
housing
alliance
for
a
dorchester-based
non-profit
that
works
to
close
the
racial
homeownership
gap,
works
with
low
and
moderate
income,
first-time
homebuyers
and
first-generation
home
buyers.
V
So
the
two
major
points
that
I
think
would
be
goods
places
to
use
some
federal
money
would
be
one
is
this
concept
of
first
generation
homebuyers,
we
launched
a
program
two
years
ago
called
stash
saving
toward
affordable
and
sustainable
home
ownership.
That
is
reaching
a
new
category
that
we
we
defined
as
first
generation
home
buyers,
those
whose
parents
who
didn't
have
the
advantage
of
owning
their
own
homes
and
therefore
a
lot
of
those
families
didn't
benefit
from
the
intergenerational
transfer
of
wealth.
V
That
happens
when,
when
home
ownership
has
been
passed
down
through
through
the
generations.
So
this
is
a
pilot
program
that
started
with
boston
children's
hospital
money.
The
city
of
austin
has
been
very
supportive
of
it,
and
this
program
is
something
we
have
big
ambitions
for.
We
think
it
could
be
a
100
million
dollar
program.
V
V
So
that's
one,
I
think
major
priority
for
us.
Another
would
be
homeowners.
Existing
homeowners
who've
been
hit
hard
with
this
pandemic
and
have
maybe
had
a
mortgage
deferment
or
are
otherwise
struggling
to
figure
out
how
to
sort
of
catch
up
with
their
mortgage
servicer
with
their
bank.
So
I
think,
there's
a
couple
elements
of
this.
One
is
having
enough
resources
so
that
there's
enough
nonprofit
capacity
to
assist
those
buyers.
Those
homeowners
who
may
be
struggling
to
restore
their
mortgage.
V
So
if
there's
flexibility
not
just
paying
off
the
arrears
at
the
bank
or
the
back
taxes-
or
you
know,
all
those
things
are
important,
of
course
to
to
get
people
whole,
but
there
may
be
a
subset
of
homeowners
who
have
been
able
to
you,
know,
scrimp
and
save
and
and
be
able
to
maintain
their
mortgage
payments,
but
they've
left
other
things:
deferred
maintenance,
for
instance,
on
porches
or
roofs
or
whatever.
So
some
flexibility,
some
grant
programs
for
those
homeowners.
A
A
A
Hello,
everyone:
it
is
7
30
and
I
think
we
are
gonna
be
done
for
the
night.
So
with
that,
I
will
just
say
again
that
folks
should
check
out
boston.com
dash
budget
to
find
out
the
whole
schedule
of
hearings.
I
can't
testify
at
another
and
this
hearing
of
the
city
council's
ways
and
means
committee
is
now
adjourned.
Thank
you
all.