Mayor Michelle Wu is balancing her city budget on the backs of Boston businesses. The math is that simple.

She floated cuts she’d be forced to make if a tax deal wasn’t reached, but that was a political scare tactic.

The mayor now says she’s reached a deal with some business groups on a tax split between commercial and residential property owners that hits businesses harder. That plan must still be approved by the City Council and state Legislature.

But what about the suggestion she try trimming the 8% growth in her city budget first?

If Mayor Wu is serious about helping out bedraggled homeowners, she should invite feedback from residents on what to cut before jacking up anyone’s taxes.

We support Councilor Erin Murphy’s call for an accounting of all the new hires in the Wu administration. Justify each one in a public forum and then put the tough choices back on the table. But don’t take our word for it.

Wu pitched her plan to raise commercial tax rates to neighborhood leaders to mixed reactions earlier this month.

“You’re asking us for support,” Rodney Singleton, a community leader in Roxbury, said at the invite-only session. “There’s a lot of unanswered questions … and I think really we need a bit more information to make a decision that’s as important as this.”

Lavette Coney, another Roxbury leader, also expressed skepticism about the mayor’s tax plan while speaking to what she sees as wasteful city spending on certain positions like a “rat czar” to tackle a rodent problem she said could be handled by changing trash collection methods.

And what about tax-exempt nonprofits and universities? Are all of them making their requested payments to the city as part of Boston’s PILOT, or payment in lieu of taxes program? Councilor Ed Flynn is calling for a review to see just how tough the city could get with non-profit entities. Hold a public session and compel each of the non-profits to testify.

This is Wu’s opportunity to lead. She runs the city government and has a right to demand accountability from all corners. Use the bully pulpit to seek answers today before the higher tax rates are mailed out to anybody.

The commercial business sector is suffering from a post-pandemic shift in the work week. Hybrid office hours that allow for remote work on some days are a reality that businesses must deal with.

Be up front with all the city spending and salaries. Invite-only meetings are an insult. Transparency is called for especially when it comes to higher taxes.

What about a hiring freeze?

Budget-saving measures?

We have a few ideas and residents who work all over the city will, too.

Bring the city budget before the City Council in a public forum and get to work on cuts that would help homeowners and business owners and show everyone this is a city that knows how to collaborate and compromise. Yes, we understand pet projects may be cut and new jobs dropped, but just look around and see what’s happening in the private sector.

Homeowners not named John Kerry (who could see his taxes drop by $22,700) deserve this deep dive before the tax bills arrive. It’s also a show of goodwill that any business owner would appreciate.

Pragmatism over politics, for once!