What a huge mistake giving the Boston City Council budget authority.

Tom Menino would never have stood for this.

Now Mayor Michelle Wu is finding out what it’s like for the misguided, far left council to control the purse strings.

In an ironic turn, it was the progressive darling Wu who put a stop to the extremist council’s foolishness, rejecting a 14% reduction in veterans’ services and over $30 million in cuts to Boston Police patrols.

The geniuses on the council had also tried to cut $4.73 million from the Boston Transportation Department and $3.49 million from the Public Works Department.

Yes, that’s right. Cut the budget of the agency that fills potholes. People will love that.

Wu also rejected an $802,000 cut to one of the historic gems of the city, the Boston Public Library, and added an additional $700,000 to that department, her office said.

The council, which passed the budget on a narrow 7-5 margin, can still try to override Wu’s vetoes but they don’t have the numbers to do that. Unless a few councilors flip-flop, which is always a possibility.

Oh, and by the way, these are the same councilors who just got big pay raises.

Wu said she vetoed the cuts “because the scale and scope of amendments passed by the Council would result in reductions to core city services that our residents depend on and deserve.”

Wu also knows if she had caved to the council, she would hear about it the next Election Day.

The attempted cuts by the council are an embarrassment to the entire city. Council President Ed Flynn said he heard from outraged veterans groups across the nation about the council’s actions.

The budget fiasco is all very predictable. This is what happens when the councilors are making budgetary decisions. It was granted to them by voters in 2021 under the guise of democracy. Before, the council could only vote up or down on the mayor’s budget decisions.

Flynn, son of former Mayor Ray Flynn, is a decent guy who tries to do the right thing but he’s lost control of the august council. It’s now controlled by far-left partisans who get a big ego boost from drawing up the budget and other things like redistricting lines.

Wu was once one of those far-left councilors but now that she’s mayor she realizes she has to get them under control. And she has the veto pen to do that.

Wu also knows if she had caved to the council, she would hear about it the next Election Day. And she wants to keep her job.

And if voters are smart, they’ll toss out the councilors who engineered the budget cuts.