Mayor Michelle Wu probably has a lot on her to-do list when she returns from Washington this week after testifying before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Boston’s immigration enforcement policies, but here’s a suggestion:

Send an email to all city employees, including the City Council, and ask them to list five things they did last week.

If taxpayers are going to foot the bill for the fat salaries and “other” pay going out to city workers, it’s important to know what we’re paying for.

And if taxpayers are being asked to cover some $100 million for an overhaul of White Stadium, it’s especially important to know if there are city positions that can be eliminated in order to save money.

Budget-cutting is anathema to our progressive mayor. That’s how Boston’s payroll grew by more than 2.28% last year, from $2.14 billion in 2023 to $2.19 billion in 2024, when accounting for regular pay, overtime and “other” pay, among other add-ons to annual salaries.

The average salary for city employees was $105,034 in 2024, a big jump over the prior year when employees were paid $74,330 on average, payroll records show.

The 2024 payroll shows that 78 others earned $400,000 or more; 435 city employees pulled down $300,000-plus; 1,810 banked $200,000 and up; and, 8,384 clocked in at $100,000 or more.

Nice work if you can get it.

And Wu’s administration created 54 new positions in 2024 — as part of 301 new positions that have been added during the mayor’s first term.

Roughly a third of those 301 newly created positions earn more than $100,000, and those new employees are paid $84,781 on average, the Herald previously reported.

But are taxpayers getting their money’s worth? What do the people in those 355 new positions added by Wu actually do? How are these lofty salaries justified?

Boston, much like the Massachusetts Legislature, exists in an elitist bubble. Taxpayers are ATMs, tasked with dispensing cash for ever-increasing city and state salaries, bloated pensions and pet projects. Tangible benefits to voters is hit or miss at best.

And “transparency” is too often an inside joke. Just this week the Legislature made another move in the endless chess game with state Auditor Diana DiZoglio over an audit championed by 66% of ballot question voters. So far the Legislature is winning.

The message to taxpayers: Nothing to see here folks, just pay up and keep moving along.

And move they do.

Business coalition Mass Opportunity Alliance provided results to a survey of 498 former Massachusetts residents who now live in Florida or New Hampshire on what caused them to relocate.

Tax policy proved to be the most-cited factor causing out-migration while “a vast majority of respondents” said their current quality of life is better than in the Bay State. Two-thirds of those who moved said Massachusetts became too costly with housing, taxes, groceries and other expenses.

It’s not too expensive for people with high-paying city and state jobs. When you earn a $300,000 salary, $8 eggs aren’t a huge problem. Ditto for soaring gas prices which are walloping Bay Stater’s wallets.

There’s something wrong when taxpayers have to cut back on groceries and space out their utility bill payments to make ends meet, yet cover salaries of government workers making more than they do.

Boston workers, politicians and Massachusetts lawmakers: what did you do last week?

Editorial cartoon by Al Goodwyn (Creators Syndicate)