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NEW BEDFORD — City councilors flexed their budget-cutting muscles last week, chopping more than $4 million of proposed spending on city improvements, then sharing a vision of a much leaner and “modernized” government in New Bedford.
Mayor Jon Mitchell’s proposed $13.4 million in Capital Improvement Plan spending on parks, libraries, city vehicles, and the zoo went through a four-hour cut session in council chambers last Thursday night, with capital spending culled down to $9.3 million.
Ryan Pereira, the young Ward 6 representative, led the charge for City Council, and said the evening was a successful, if aggressive, effort from the council. “Fiscal responsibility, to me, doesn’t just mean keeping the taxes low; it means being able to work within our needs,” Pereira said.
As each leader of a city department came to the dais — whether representing parks, wastewater, or the airport — Pereira often stewarded the council’s actions. For example, parks director Mary Rapoza mostly nodded along as Pereira explained her proposals’ costs to the council and suggested cuts that would reduce their scope.
The council voted on parks proposals — as well as cemetery roadways, playground construction, zoo habitats, airport maintenance, and some vehicle spending — according to Pereira’s explanations and recommendations. Several other councilors — including Linda Morad, Shawn Oliver, and Naomi Carney — suggested wholesale eliminations of projects throughout the night, rather than just targeted cuts.
For the city departments that presented, already tight purse strings grew tighter.
The library director, Olivia Melo, told councilors that the Lawler Library needs a new heating and cooling system after it suffered near freezing conditions this winter that violated federal workplace rules. Her request was denied.
Superintendent Andrew O’Leary explained that the South End’s William Taylor Elementary needs a new generator because power outages have caused school closures, and that the Whaling City School (housed in the central administration building) needed exterior improvements to keep water from leaking through the walls. Council decided Taylor students will get the generator, but Whaling City students will wait their turn.
Superintendent Andrew O’Leary (right) and City of New Bedford CFO Bob Ekstrom (left) answered questions from councilors about district proposals for city infrastructure investments. Credit: New Bedford City Council 
Christina Connelly (left), chief operating officer for the City of New Bedford, and Dr. Emmy Budas (right), veterinarian at the Buttonwood Zoo, petition city councilors for the zoo’s funding proposals. Credit: New Bedford City Council 
Councilor Pereira questions library director Olivia Melo about a funding request to improve HVAC at the Lawler library branch. Credit: New Bedford City Council
A zoo veterinarian, Dr. Emmy Budas, told the council the Buttonwood Zoo needs a van and overdue improvements to the black bear habitat. Budas said a city van she rented “burst into flames” in August 2023 and forced her and a zoo colleague to transport two newly arrived, six-month-old black bears in her Subaru Outback and her colleague’s Toyota Tundra. (The bears, Moose and Oona, were in small cages.) The bears are housed in a 90-year-old enclosure that will threaten the zoo’s ability to maintain accreditation in a review this summer, Budas said.
Councilors approved money for the van, but not the new bear enclosure.
Councilors discussed each request at length, citing different reasons for their votes. However, a theme emerged: city councilors intended to promote a vision of leaner government.
On the library, Morad argued that the council should shut down the Lawler branch. “I’m sorry about the situation with the heat,” Morad said, “but the city needs to look into reducing our footprint in the number of city-owned buildings…. The expenses are too high. The overall budget is too high.”
On Whaling City School and the district’s central administration building, most councilors — including Morad, Pereira, and Ward 5 representative Joe Lopes — argued that closing the building should be considered.
As for the zoo, Ward 2 Councilor Maria Giesta again floated the idea that the city should “privatize” it. That could mean anything from outsourcing its day-to-day operations to completely selling off the land and assets. Giesta did not immediately respond to a request for clarification in time for publication.
Pereira, in a later interview, said: “I think we’re ready to roll up our sleeves and modernize city government.” The city should not invest into aging buildings, but could seek modern alternatives, he said. “What do we need for a modern school department headquarters? Are we seeing the use of brick and mortar libraries, or how can we utilize technology, like e-books?”
Pereira added that the costs for salaries and pensions concerned him. They are by far the largest items in the city budget.
The mayor’s representative at the city council session, Chief Operating Officer Christina Connelly, didn’t offer much pushback to the idea that city government could be leaner. Asked about the idea of closing a library branch, for example, Connelly said: “It’s a discussion worth having as a whole community.”
After another marathon “cut night,” time to rethink the ritual?
The long, late-night sessions where New Bedford’s city councilors cut the latest capital proposals are a yearly tradition. But it happens differently in some other Massachusetts cities. The extended debates in New Bedford have implications for hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars.
For example, when Jamie Ponte, commissioner of the Department of Public Infrastructure (DPI), defended a request for new vehicles, councilors Lopes and Morad asked how many streetsweepers, utility vehicles, and mowers are in the city’s fleet, then engaged in off-the-cuff negotiations.
“If I gave you the trucks but not the water-filter replacement, would you be happy with that?” asked Morad, referencing Ponte’s separate request to replace an industrial filter for the city’s water supply.
“Can you throw in all the trucks?” Ponte countered.
“Nope,” said Morad. (Later on, a council majority approved the water filter replacement, though Morad voted against it. Ponte said it had never been replaced in 50 years.)
Political objectives tempered other funding requests. Councilors Giesta and Pereira attempted to cut all new funding for police vehicles, but their amendment failed. The councilors cited the department’s lack of response to dirt bike and ATV drivers, who they said were driving recklessly. Ultimately, police received roughly $168,000 of their original $538,000 request to purchase new vehicles.
Giesta said that she and her Ward 2 constituents were “frustrated that police don’t seem to be doing enough to stop these vehicles.” Still, Giesta said she didn’t want to seem anti-police, and added: “No one can ever go on the radio and say I don’t support the police, because I do. But we need to make sure these vehicles driving like crazy are stopped.”
At the end of the night, Councilor Naomi Carney took the most drastic step for budget austerity: she made a motion to disregard all the council’s work that evening. She proposed a hard cap of $5 million, with no recommendation on which specific projects would receive money. After four hours negotiating and voting on more than two dozen capital projects, her motion was not seconded by any councilors.
These types of negotiations extended the session well into the night — past 11 p.m. In a few months, when it comes time to approve the city’s annual operating budget, councilors will do the same thing all over again. But the line-by-line cuts for annual operating expenses usually take even longer. (Last year’s budget cut hearing on more than 400 items extended past 1 a.m.)
In Springfield, by comparison, the process works differently, said Lindsay Hackett, that city’s deputy chief administrative and financial officer, in a phone interview.
Springfield’s capital plan calls for spending over $1 billion over the next five years, Hackett said — 12 times more than New Bedford’s five-year plan. The process in Springfield happens on a different timeline.
According to Hackett, Springfield assembles a capital planning committee (much like New Bedford assembles a committee to vet other expenditures, like Community Preservation Act funds). Springfield’s committee reviews each capital project before presenting anything to the City Council. And rather than presenting all proposals in the same session, Hackett said that proposals often are considered on a rolling basis — sometimes one at a time.
Ryan Pereira, the New Bedford councilor, agreed that New Bedford’s process could be reformed. “I definitely would be interested in looking at any recommendations or changes,” he said.
Like most city councilors, Pereira has emphasized reducing government spending. He touts a background running his family’s small business, called Precision Window and Kitchen. The youngest member of council, Pereira was elected to the Ward 6 seat in 2021 at age 24. More veteran city councilors may have followed his recommendations simply because of the extent of his preparation — which was apparent.
Pereira agreed that it was “not out of line” to expect city councilors to do more homework in advance.
“We’ve had this paperwork since November 17th,” Pereira said. “That’s more than enough time to do your background.” Pereira noted that he had job and family obligations, but that he “took meetings all week for the past two weeks” before he suggested his cuts.
Email Colin Hogan at chogan@newbedfordlight.org
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Cut all spending for offshore wind… problem solved!
I would strenuously oppose any move to close the Buttonwood (Lawler) Library. It is an essential public space and provides a vital community service. It is also a defining physical feature of the West End. The last thing we need is another casualty of the ongoing digitization/virtualization of our world.
Please, not the libraries and school buildings! Prioritizing education over street cleaning trucks seems like no brainer. Older buildings can be maintained for a fraction of the cost of new buildings.
Claudette, you state no brainier, they have no BRAINS and no COMMON SENSE. Now the whole city sees instead of only the employees.
They may have degrees but if they don’t have common sense, they have NOTHING and are NO ONE!
The request for 13 million dollars and the passing of 9 million dollars on loan is still spending money that we do not have. Using the form of loan is just a smoke screen for higher taxes and only spreads the bill out over several years. The city residents and small businesses cannot afford higher taxes and it is time for the Mayor and the City Council to be financially and physically responsible and put a cap on spending.
Jeff, you really have commented with the most common sense. Please keep commenting, just don’t hold your breath for things to be fixed as YOU CAN’T FIX STUPID! I challenge them to prove me wrong! They have to start with their own administration in the school. They know exactly where the problems are. I’d love for them to prove me wrong. The New Bedford could be great again!
Deby, you have a great opinion and make great comments. Thank you for the kind words. Jeff
Sounds like the council’s primary goal is to make New Bedford even less attractive of a place to live than it already is. Despite Mayor Mitchell’s imperfections the prospect of any of these councillors being elected mayor is absolutely nauseating.
Agreed
Being on top of reading the articles there is a commenter Jeff R, I would love to hear who he would suggest if not himself. He really seems to care and have knowledge and common sense. New Bedford needs big changes and if we don’t do it soon there will be escape with the same old, same old. It won’t change if we don’t make everyone aware.
Not fixing compromised building weatherization issues is going to be much more costly at the end of the day. Its how a small problem becomes a big problem. Tax payers money is invested in these buildings not paying to maintain them is a waste of taxpayer funds.
I love New Bedford, and I love living here. The library system is one of the things I love about this place as is the park with a zoo in it for families. I don’t want my city council doing a hatchet job on the budget. I don’t understand from reading this article what the motivation is other than just to cut money out of the budget. Why do we need to cut money out of the budget? Our taxes going up? Is income going down? And are these the most strategic things to cut out of the budget, services directly to people who live here? I’m glad to know that city Council members, at least one of them, is scrutinizing our spending. But I want to know what the principles are or what the goals are for cutting things out of the budget proposed by the mayor and his administration. Voters need this kind of information, not just that there is a fight between Council and the mayor. Thanks to the Light for starting to cover city government, we need much more of that!
Budget cuts are necessary as spending needs to be controlled. Everyone realizes taxes increase annually, but when you consider the increased costs of everything from property taxes, auto insurance premiums, home insurance premiums, health insurance premiums with increased co-pays for doctors appointments, and prescriptions, water and sewer rate increases just to name a few of the mandatory expenses that can’t be cut, or cancelled by people.
Most people with a decent job do get an annual pay raise, but it doesn’t cover the combined price increases listed above, so budget cuts must be made, and in a city like New Bedford with a large portion of public housing projects, there’s no annual increase in taxes to be gained on all of those properties, they don’t even pay for utilities.
Several fire stations have been closed, and no additional closings are possible, so closing libraries, and privatizing the zoo are a few options that must be considered, when additional costs increase annually for home owners, like the property taxes, water & sewer rates, property insurance, and maintenance, rents will continue to rise until very few people will be able to afford to live here, one of the lowest cost cities in the state.
I beg to differ with those comments. But, you do deserve your opinion.
Someone needs to remind these folks that there’s more to quality of life than simply low taxes, which New Bedford will never have unless it can actual develop a local and sustainable private sector economy. Funds spent on education and amenities like the library and zoo should be viewed as an investment, not a target for the local DOGE patrol.
only a society lead by imbeciles would mess with public libraries the greatest gift a society can give itself
An article about city loan request that makes no mention of debt or bonds. Amazing from the Light