Mayor Martin Walsh this week unveiled a $2.86 billion budget for the 2016 fiscal year – a hike of more than $120 million over the current spending cycle, adjusted mainly through a 4.6 percent increase in property tax revenues.

The proposed budget— which must be approved by the City Council —features heavy investments in the city’s schools, parks, affordable elderly housing, and public safety.

“This is a responsible budget,” Walsh said in a City Hall press conference on Wednesday morning.

In his remarks, the mayor cited to the city’s current economic boom, the likes of which, he said, have only been seen two other times since the city’s founding. “This is the third largest growth period in the history of our city,” he said. “We’re in the midst of that. Now’s the time, as we transform as a city; we can’t forget what got us here.”

The budget features more than $1 billion for the city’s schools, a boost from last year due to an additional $38.6 million allocation from the city. That, Walsh wrote in a letter to the City Council, “provides financial support to many key investments.”

Under the proposed budget, the city will create 100 new K-1 seats in BPS, expand inclusive services for disabled students, and extend the school day at 16 pilot schools. Interim Superintendent John McDonough and the school committee advised the city on the funding allocation.
“How do we make sure that we continue to lay the groundwork so young people have a lifetime of opportunity in the city of Boston?” Walsh asked.

The mayor has also allotted additional funds to the parks department, enough to hire a second shift of employees who can help keep the city’s parks tidy in the afternoons.

City Council President Bill Linehan praised Walsh’s parks investment. “Some people say my blood is green, not because I’m Irish, but because I’ve spent a significant amount of time in the parks department,” Linehan said at the press conference. “To see this reinvestment in the parks department, it is something all citizens will see in quality of life.”

The additional funds will also expand the Public Works hokey program, which sends workers out to manually sweep neighborhood streets. “The neighborhood folks love the hokey program,” Walsh said.

In a letter to the councillors, the mayor said he hopes to make streets safer by reintroducing the Boston Police and Boston Fire Department cadet programs and “elevating diversity efforts through additional resources in the fire department.” The fire department allocation in the proposed budget is $214 million; the number for the police department is $323 million. “This new class of officers is going to be trained differently,” Walsh wrote.

A $1.75 million investment in affordable elderly housing will advance the city’s goal of producing 4,000 such units by 2030, the mayor said. He indicated that this budget represented a shift toward Boston’s economic independence, a reference to the city’s efforts to move itself forward.

“We have federal and state money that is declining, unpredictable global forces –we can’t take anything for granted,” he said. The budget will protect the city’s AAA bond rating, Walsh said.

Walsh showed how the city had learned from the storms of the recent historic winter: The snow budget has been increased by $4.1 million and two additional snow removal machines have been purchased. The machines helped the city in the final bout of storms last month, Walsh said, adding, “we took the estimate of actual snow expenditures for this winter and included it in the five-year average” for the upcoming five-year capital plan.”

The proposed budget also includes funds for an overdose prevention outreach team, the city’s library system, a redesigned City of Boston website, and additional money for the Arts and Culture office.
The City Council will hold public hearings on the budget in coming weeks. It must be adopted by June 30.