BOSTON — As Mayor Michelle Wu advances a 13 percent tax hike, Mass Daily News is taking a closer look at the kinds of six-figure roles City Hall funds — including a “nightlife czar” paid $130,571.85 to revive a nightlife many residents say is still missing in action.

Corean Reynolds has held the job since the early days of the Wu administration, charged with energizing Boston after dark and helping build a livelier late-night economy. But years later, locals insist the city still empties out by midnight, bars remain quiet, and the long-promised nightlife “revival” has yet to materialize.

The MBTA finally extended weekend service this summer — trains and buses running about an hour later on Fridays and Saturdays — a change residents had begged for for years. But even that, bar owners say, barely made a dent. Boston’s nightlife culture remains stubbornly unchanged: early closures, dark streets, and neighborhoods that wind down just as other cities are gearing up.

The point isn’t that this nightlife advisor caused the tax hike. It’s that roles like this — polished titles with six-figure salaries and limited visible impact — are exactly the type of spending residents now question as the city asks them to pay more.

To critics, the nightlife czar has become a symbol of something larger: a growing administrative class, expensive to maintain yet difficult for everyday people to connect with real-world results. In a city struggling with affordability, transparency, and basic service delivery, Bostonians are increasingly asking what their money funds — and whether City Hall is prioritizing value or vision.

Reynolds’ position is just one example, but it’s the kind that grabs attention: a glamorous job, a big paycheck, and a nightlife revival residents say they simply cannot find.

As the tax debate intensifies, so does the scrutiny. If nightlife remains empty, critics ask, what else inside Boston’s sprawling bureaucracy isn’t delivering?

Nearly two years since the role was created, one thing is unchanged: the streets after dark. Still quiet, still early, and still leaving residents wondering why they’re paying more while seeing so little.