Michelle Wu’s administration announced Wednesday that there will be a “strong” police presence at this weekend’s annual First Night festivities.

It’s what you do when you want to keep the city safe.

Thank goodness that move didn’t need City Council approval.

This year the council has honed dysfunction to a fine art. And while a new council will be sworn in within days, the slate isn’t totally fresh. There are new faces mixed among the incumbents, progressive councilors amid the moderate and more conservative. There is a chance for more division, as well as for unity. Time will tell.

But to start things off on the right foot, we have a few resolutions that the council should heed for 2024.

Remember who you work for

That would be the residents of Boston, not special interest groups, not an agenda. If this ideal had been adhered to, it’s unlikely the council would have whiffed on a $13M counter-terrorism grant.

The vote was deadlocked, and the possibility of losing the funding worrisome enough that Massachusetts firefighter unions pushed the council to accept the money.

“We ask that the Boston City Council put aside its internal political fights and do its job to protect the interests of the citizens and visitors of Boston and the surrounding communities,” the letter said, a copy of which was obtained by the Herald.

The residents of Boston ask for this every day.

Check yourself

Make sure you’re driving with a current license and registration. Visit your constituents, but don’t hit their homes with your car.

Don’t hire your family as members of your staff, then give them raises.

Don’t provide legal representation to family while on the council. Don’t do anything that would result in the phrase “has agreed to pay a fine for ethics violations.”

Don’t make expensive mistakes

The council’s failed redistricting process left taxpayers on the hook for more than $700,000 in legal fees associated with a lawsuit that forced a federal judge to throw out an electoral map that likely violated the Constitution.

“Taxpayers should be outraged — it was completely preventable,” Councilor-at-Large Michael Flaherty told the Herald. Yes, it was.

Time is of the essence

It was a win for the city when the council voted to approve $3.4 million in grant funding for the Boston Regional Intelligence Center in October.

Took them long enough. That money had been earmarked by the state since FY 2020, but had been held up by the council, who needed time to discuss the need for public safety vs. past harms created by the entity’s gang database.

Funding for things that keep our city safe do not need to be aged like a fine wine.

Own your mistakes

If you are the chair of a budget committee which proposes a cut of $900,000 from the city’s Office of Veterans Services, don’t throw a colleague under the bus for allegedly coming up with the idea.

If you are that same budget committee chair and the council OKs a nearly $31 million cut from the Boston Police Department, don’t blame the mayor for not settling the police contract.

Mayor Wu shouldn’t have to bat cleanup for councilors who put agendas before their constituents. A new year and new council is about to begin.

Consider it a do-over.

Editorial cartoon by Chip Bok (Creators Syndicate)