|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
City councilors for years have campaigned, won their seats, and spent long debates arguing that city government should reorganize, shrink, and cut programs.
In recent years, City Council has denied capital requests for police cruisers and emergency department defibrillators. Councilors have debated zeroing out the budgets for the Buttonwood Park Zoo and Zeiterion. Some have proposed eliminating the position of city solicitor. And the Council passed budgets that did not fund a waste collection contract — all in the name of reining in overspending.
And on Wednesday night, Mayor Jon Mitchell’s address was blunt: services will be cut.
“Cuts are the right thing,” said Ryan Pereira, city council president. But he said the mayor’s proposal missed the mark. “I’m going to work towards fixing what I see as grave errors.”
So, what are the right cuts? The Light reached out to all 11 city councilors to ask how they would tackle the $32 million budget deficit facing New Bedford.
Four councilors — Derek Baptiste, Shane Burgo, Scott Pemberton, Joseph Lopes — did not respond to email and phone call outreach. Three councilors — Brian Gomes, James Roy, and Naomi Carney — responded but could not yet answer how they would bridge the budget deficit.
Four councilors responded to the question. All said they want to avoid the closure of Fire Station 9 in the North End, which Mitchell proposed Wednesday. Closing that station would save $1.8 million, according to Mitchell’s proposal.
All the councilors who responded said there’s still work to do reviewing the mayor’s proposal, including hearing testimonials from department heads and weighing proposals in committee. Here’s how these councilors said they would navigate the challenges ahead.
How Pereira, Choquette, Oliver, and Abreu would cut the budget
Pereira, who’s also the Ward 6 councilor, said staff eliminations will be on the table in all departments. “Fire and police eliminations could still be part of a package,” he said. But he did not believe closing Fire Station 9 was necessary.
Pereira also said he is setting up meetings with department heads — “with or without the mayor,” he said — and had a list of small-budget items for review. “Small cuts add up to big cuts,” he said. “I’m a big believer in that.” Pereira mentioned eliminating employee cell phones, eliminating all travel and professional development, and barring city vehicles from more types of trips.
“My family runs a small business, and when we had a down year, we didn’t renew our membership with the chamber of commerce,” Pereira said. “I know my business is not the scale of the city, but elimination of all travel budgets and professional development subscriptions, that’s low hanging fruit that adds up to big numbers.”
Ward 1 Councilor Leo Choquette said he doesn’t have an exact plan yet, but he knows where to start. “We are going to gut his [the mayor’s] department,” Choquette said.
“He wants to put 20,000 of my constituents’ lives in danger with these antics of closing Station 9, and yet he didn’t make a single cut in his own seven-person department,” said Choquette. “We’re going to go through the budget and find the [money] needed to keep that fire station open by cutting it out of something he did not cut from the budget… his staff and people in his department.” The mayor’s department has a total budget of $0.9 million.
Ward 3 Councilor Shawn Oliver said, “We’re getting very close, especially in this budget, to where the budget being presented is tighter.” However, Oliver said he will look for further cuts that could preserve Fire Station 9. “Everything is on the table,” Oliver said. “We’re going to have conversations about trash pickup and cutting the grass.” Mitchell’s proposal already has cut the budget for the Department of Public Infrastructure (DPI), including eliminating eight vacant positions.
Councilor Ian Abreu agrees that the priority should be stopping the closure and layoffs of public safety officials. But departments will still have to face cuts, and layoffs in other departments are on the table.
“If there’s a certain department where one position can be absorbed by someone else and maybe a team of people adding on to their duties, then unfortunately, those circumstances dictate themselves,” Abreu said. “And that’s the way it has to be.”
“He wants to put 20,000 of my constituents’ lives in danger with these antics of closing Station 9, and yet he didn’t make a single cut in his own seven-person department.”
— Ward 1 Councilor Leo Choquette
Abreu said he has been hearing “radical ideas” about budgetary maneuvering or sending the budget back, but called those “political theater metrics.”
“That’s not realistic or responsive governance,” he said. “I think us working collaboratively as a City Council, in a quasi committee of the whole, and showcasing some leadership as to where we could be fiscally prudent to keep this station open and save these jobs.”
Carney, Gomes, and Roy were the councilors who responded, but did not address how they would make up the deficit. Roy’s emailed response focused on blame: “I reject efforts to place the blame for this situation on the workers of New Bedford,” he said. Carney said she still has to review the budget book: “I don’t know what I am going to propose as of yet.” She added, “I’m just kind of plain flabbergasted on his budget submission,” saying she didn’t agree with the Fire Department layoffs.
The Fire Department’s budget crunch
New Bedford’s fire department finds itself in the crosshairs of this year’s budget fight. During Wednesday night’s address, Mitchell said that its staffing “has become extremely difficult to afford.”
Mitchell’s proposal would eliminate all 20 positions at Fire Station 9 and close that site. Six more vacant positions across the department would also be eliminated, decreasing the department’s operational budget by $885,000. The department’s total budget will be $21.7 million for a staff of 200 employees, according to Mitchell’s proposal — down from 226 employees and $22.6 million.
Total savings from the eliminated positions plus the closure of the station is approximately $1.8 million, according to the Office of the Chief Financial Officer. (In addition to salaries, the city hopes to save on health insurance and other employee benefits.)
If Station 9 were to close, the department would have five remaining stations.
The fire department in recent years has made huge strides toward increasing the city’s safety, and these successes were highlighted in Mitchell’s recent State of the City Address. During that speech, Mitchell said data-driven improvements “exceeded everyone’s expectations,” and led to a 43% decrease in structure fires over the last three years. “This translates directly into lives and property saved,” he said.
In the budget, the cost of proposed cuts for city residents is also clear. After years of declining property loss due to fires, the mayoral administration now projects an $883,000 increase in total property loss in the next fiscal year — for a total of $5.5 million.
The projected increased costs for property loss almost identically matches the operational cuts.
Reviewing the budget yourself
Residents can look over the details in the mayor’s proposed budget book. A few major highlights help explain the contours of the budgeting process.
On page 4, the number of positions in every city department is listed, with the proposed reductions and eliminations summarized on the far right.
On page 9, the breakdown of local property taxes sorts expenses into broad categories. Mitchell spent significant time in his Wednesday night remarks on pensions and health care. Here, residents can see how the budgeted amounts for pensions ($47 million) and health insurance ($24 million) have rapidly increased in the past few years, and are beginning to rival the size of all local government functions (“Departmental expenditures,” $97 million total).
There are summaries of all revenue coming into the city’s coffers, on page 10, and summaries of all planned city expenditures over the next year, on pages 11 and 12. For a detailed breakdown of the positions and functions inside every city department, look through the departmental proposals, starting with the Assessors Office budget, on page 17.
Councilors, department heads, and the mayor’s office will spend the next few months poring over this budget — but it’s residents’ dollars they’re talking about.
Email Colin Hogan at chogan@newbedfordlight.org and Eleonora Bianchi at ebianchi@newbedfordlight.org.
Police don’t and will never 🛑 STOP crime and Firemen will never 🛑 STOP fires period and the city is only 2 miles wide and 7 miles long not much area to cover. “A Penny saved is a PENNY earned”. Pensions r killing budgets everywhere especially some bums and tax stealers that get it over decades.
Excuse me, we paid into the retirement. So we are not getting anything we haven’t earned. As a matter of fact, it’s a shitty one!
You have to work to get a pension. Just as you have to work to receive social security. No matter how long a person collects it, if they worked for it, they earned it. It is basically, “none of your business.” JEALOUS! Put your time in and earn it!
Cutting fire and police are not an option!
This Council needs to do their job and stop being a rubber stamp for Mayor Mitchell. The four senior city councilors Brian Gomes, Joe Lopes, Ian Abreu, and Naomi Carney all were along for the ride, and have just as much responsibility for this budget mess as the mayor, for years not one of them stood up and screamed about the budget till the other night when Brian Gomes stood up (but it’s over $30 Million Dollars to late).
Do not close a fire station and put the safety of resident and businesses at risk.
All staffs, departments, boards, have to be cut, merged or eliminated.
These are some other cuts and adjustments that are needed to be made
1. Port Authority (Make Cuts / Merge the Department / Sell the Building)
2. Health Dept (Make Cuts and Move out of the Quest Center Building)
3. Quest Center (Close the department and Sell the Building).
4. Libraries (Reduce the number of libraries / Sell the Buildings).
5. The Zoo (Privatize the Zoo).
6. The Airport (Make Cuts the Airport needs to be included)
7. Non Profit Organizations (Cut or Claw back all Budget Allocations).
8. Restructure of all City Building Leases /(Everyone has to pay rent).
Once the budget deficit is resolved the city has to move forward and proceed with caution, not let this happen again, and do not spend money we do not have.
For the future:
1. Restructure of City Healthcare (this can has been kicked down the road far to long)
2. Address the City Pension Issues (this can has been kicked down the road far to long)
3. Fight to get ownership of the Marina and Wind Property to create New Revenue.
4. No more Water or Sewer give aways to area towns / new connections should cost a $ premium..
5. Pass the Recall Petition.
Again stop spending money we do not have.
100% our City needs new leadership, a new direction, and better vision for the future.
Jeff, you really wrote a great article!
Thank you
Where’s the line in the budget for the port authority?
Hank good catch, going back FY-2025-Adopted-Budget_City-of-NB, on Page 28 the Citywide Organizational Chart the Port Authority was listed under Development Services (in 2026 and 2027 it has been removed) with that said I have not been able to find a line item, so I overstepped on this suggested cut.
Looking deeper into this, the port authority it is mainly run on state and federal funding / grants, while they indirectly contribute to our city with their projects, the buildings and parcels of land (the new port authority office, the marina, the wind terminal, state pier, new bedford seafood, the ocean cluster, fishing piers, the north end port terminal, new train stations and their parking areas) pay no property taxes and add no direct tax revenue to our city’s budget. All revenue streams go to the state.
Knowing the state would never pay rents on city properties or share revenues, it’s time for the city to find a way to claw back ownership of some of these buildings and parcels to start to add this revenue to our depleted tax base.
I have a neighbor in New Bedford, working in another town. Get MASS HEALTH and makes over 55000.00. single income, MASSHEALTH are you freaking kidding me. We need the city to manage the money not waste it or spend money we don’t have that they think they are going to receive.
Yes restructure your future #1 and #2 for working individuals. Leave the retirees alone!
Any new employee can have the retirement changed. Tenure employees know what they are working for. They already did it to ASFCME 2012 how about the teachers!
As for the Healthcare, leave it alone, it’s not as great as you think and it’s expensive now. For those hired after a certain date change them. Just as they did retirement for AFSCME other than that grandfather the current plan in for current employees
Maybe if the budget had not been doubled and we were not seeing a deficit bur sorry Retirement has to be looked as well as Healthcare. Costs for Healthcare are a problem everywhere. Private Industry, Municipal, and even Seniors all see the cost rise and everyone has to share in absorbing the costs (Seniors on Medicare live through this on yearly basis).
I am a senior on medicare coming December. 2 retirees living off 17,000 a year! Don’t mess with our healthcare and retirement!
As a senior you would know retirement and healthcare is messed with every year. Social Security gets raised a little and than that hike is taken away by a Medicare increase.
Yes, social security does get raised a little and is taken away by a medicare increase. Same is with the city retirement, an increase, if one, them it gets taken away by the medical, we do have medical we pay for along with medicare. Then the efin real estate taxes get raised. Now what, genius. Leave the city retirement and the medical alone for retirees. Increase the amount paid into by workers while working it should be the same across the board. What about all the other utilities and groceries rising. LEAVE RETIREES ALONE!
Jeff, this is disappointing from you if you are including retirees, healthcare/retirement. As to the current work force changes, I agree, but even I am a family of 2 person retirees, 24000.00 a year. God only knows how that other commentor 17000.00 2 members. Active employees have time to prepare, retirees don’t.
Sorry Deby, by no means am I in favor of hurting seniors or retirees, but the city is at point of receivership, and reform / cuts are needed on all levels. Maybe the adjustment on seniors or retirees can be considered a last resort. But as former Mayor Lang said this morning this problem is not going away and is only going to get worse next year and the year after and the year after if changes are not made.
Problem is Mitchell created this problem! It just gives him ongoing wastes stating it’s not going to go away and is only going to get worse!
We pay for healthcare, it’s not cheap and has high deductibles.
We pay into retirement, the percentage should be raised so all employees paying in pay the same. Ex someone who started in 1979 pays 2% while newer employees pay 8% or more. All should be paying the same. That would keep building the retirement account.
Agree the healthcare has to be looked at, restructured, and reimplemented
Sorry that was for the retirement not the healthcare!
As for, for the future #4. Why is it parts of Dartmouth use New Bedford water but they pay less?
Our Water and Sewer rates have gone up and any future usage or expansion out of the city has to come a t a premium cost.
Currently parts of Dartmouth use New Bedford water and pay less. I know for a fact, I pay my mother’s bills!
This is much deeper than city politics. Massachusetts taxpayers sent 144B to the feds and got back 24B in federal aid. One of the most lopsided transfer of funds in the country. Now cities like New Bedford are getting squeezed when they should not be. Go figure that one out. Pay attention when you vote.
Heard this before about the Federal Aid and State Aid (the blame game). But our City Leaders should have been doing there jobs and keeping our house in order and not spending money we don’t have, expanding government, and giving building leases and money away to non profits. If the city spent $5 Million Dollars less over the past 12 years of this Administration ($60 Million Dollars) we would have no deficit. There is no one to blame but the Mayor and the City Council for this mess. Our city needs new leadership, a new direction, and a new vision for the future.
We need relief not to pay more for healthcare, taxes and city bills!
Gosh, what happened to all that money New Bedford made from selling out the fishing industry to Vineyard Wind?
Ask, Mitchell!
City residents now have to realize due to failed leadership and poor management we are a broke city and cannot afford all the attributes and bells and whistles of a well managed city.
After over ten years the City Council has gone along with mayor on a lot of issues (see below) and approved every budget (a budget that doubled and went from $247.3 Million Dollars to the current $561.1 Million Dollars).
The Mayor spoke about State Aid has being a problem since 2009 and all these years he did not proceed with caution, he continued to spend every dime he got his hands on, expand government, and gave money and free building leases to non profits.
The mayor also made changes to the school department budget (his Pie Chart) growing it from 40% to 60% (and now the 60% is untouchable). This was another poor decision that handcuffs what can be cut and what can’t be cut (Would love to know if this could be reversed and changed back so that we can have more say in what happens with the school department).
If this Administration had been financially responsible and spent $5 Million Dollars less a year or the City Council had made $5 Million Dollars in additional cuts per year, we would have no deficit.
The Mayor’s vision clearly has not worked and it’s time for the City Council to take a big dive into this budget, make some deep cuts, and try to balance the budget.
Failed City Management and Raising Taxes cannot be accepted any longer.
100% our City needs new leadership, a new direction, and a better vision for the future.
Problems are solved when there’s a Democrat in the Whitehouse. There now exists a damaged Whitehouse needing over a hundred million in repairs, never mind a Republican President! Look up our City’s history when they were bailed out! Look up who started the SAFER GRANTS!
More than laughable, let’s talk about the 15 Million undocumented illegals that were let into this country under Biden and the billions of dollars Healey use on them instead of helping out our cities and towns.
And if you think that if this city received more funding we would not be in the same position you need serious help. The mayor is a tax and spend liberal, the city council is a rubber stamp, both have no financial restraint and spend every dime they get their hands on.
There’s the real Jeff popping out. It’s always the “illegals” with this bunch! But the political grandstanding and soft launching of what I assume will be a far-fetched run for office has been cute to read.
Young people need to run for office in this city. I’m so bored of listening to the same folks who have been around watching just as long as these city councilors have. Why would I listen to the guy who let it happen any more than the guy who did it? These are the same. We will pay for their mistakes unless we get up and get out.
And than there’s Todd, it’s never about illegals. I responded to a comment with facts that the state of Massachusetts / Maura Healey spent over a billion dollars on undocumented illegals that could have been distributed and help our cities and towns with state aid. If your bored and sick of listening to same folks, run for office, but all ages have to be represented in our city to provide true representation for all our residents.
Right. So—you are blaming “illegals—just like my comment states. Classic trope and frankly getting old. You should brush up on some new material if and when you run. But I can promise you that I and nobody else with common sense should be taking pointers from the same people who did nothing for years while this problem grew. And that includes you, my friend.
Todd stop being so clueless and do your own brushing up, I stated facts that are all over the web (billions spent on illegals) a big part of the reason this state and city are having problems.
Jeff would be a great candidate. I am a Democrat and only disagree with a few of his comments! We respect that everyone has their own opinion!
Jon Mitchell projected a 13 million dollar deficit for the City of New Bedford on April 14, 2026 in a letter to the New Bedford State Legislators.
Jon Mitchell then announced a 32 million dollar deficit for the City of New Bedford on May 13, 2026 during his annual budget address to the New Bedford City Council.
In one month, the deficit grew by 19 million dollars and Jon Mitchell, along with his financial “planners”, had no idea of size of the financial shortfall he created by spending non-existent monies.
These figures sum up the financial skills (null set) of the current administration and prompts me to believe that and audit is justified and should include all bonded debt to get an accurate idea of the exact indebtedness of the City of New Bedford, as this current administration has no idea what it is.
Other commentators have outlined some possible actions to take to mitigate this situation. All municipal assets should be reviewed for best possible use or sale to cover some of this debt. No plan has been forthcoming from the current New Bedford City Hall, at any time, and none should be anticipated.
All that is heard is the “scapegoating” of others for the individual financial failings of Jon Mitchell, who has progressively racked up debt for the Citizens of New Bedford.
This may well be the prelude to the receivership of the City of New Bedford. Good luck with this situation.
Did someone look into a self insurance? If you create a pool of local cities and towns, it might save money? I know it has been done in the private sector.
Given the current fiscal crisis, driven by a $32 million dollar budget deficit proposal, the City of New Bedford needs to audit and verify the balances within both their Stabilization Fund and Unassigned Balance Fund (Free Cash).
If the deficit can increase by $19 million in one month, these Funds could easily be depleted below publicly stated levels. Financial accuracy and transparency is of the utmost importance to the citizens of New Bedford during this crisis.
Trusting financial figures, presented by Jon Mitchell and his administration, without verification is not a responsible action.
Knowing their accurate balances will guide their possible use to ensure public safety within the City of New Bedford.
The mayor and city council made changes to the school department budget, growing it from 40% to 60% by adding other school related services, and now the 60% is untouchable. This handcuffs what can be cut and what can’t be cut during the budget process. Can this be reversed and changed back so that we can have more say on what happens with the school department allocations in the budget?
The mayor and councilors moved money from snow removal causing a shortfall in that budgeted line item. There is a time of year that spend down clicks in. How about just paying active bills and not wasting money by spending down on foolish shit!
New Bedford comes in under Budget by $4.8 million
Reported by Colin Hogan on December 11, 2025
For the first time in more than a decade, every city department was at or under budget.
The general fund of New Bedford’s annual budget has more than 145 budget line items, and for the first time in recent memory, every single one came in at or under budget, said New Bedford’s chief financial officer, Bob Ekstrom.
A new report from the auditor’s office showed that for the 2025 fiscal year, which ended in July, every department was at or below budget, as was every category of city spending.
As a result, New Bedford has a $4.8 million surplus based on its better-than-expected spending, plus another $8.5 million from better-than-expected tax receipts, including license fees, parking tickets, and other revenue. This comes to a roughly $13 million total surplus.
“We kept to the spirit of the budget, but also kept to the spirit of the accounting, so we have some real numbers to look at,” Ekstrom told the City Council’s audit committee on Tuesday.
To the Mayor and City Council what happen to this Surplus?
Now a $32 Million Dollar deficit – a 13 Million Dollar Surplus = a deficit of $19 Million Dollars.
Again to the Mayor and City Council what happen to this Surplus?
100% New Bedford needs new leadership in City Hall and a better vision for the future.
https://newbedfordlight.org/new-bedford-comes-in-under-budget-by-4-8-million/
The City of New Bedford needs an audit by forensic, outside auditors to accurately verify all accounts, especially the Stabilization Fund account and the Unassigned Balance Fund (Free Cash).
It is painfully obvious, by their statements concerning the New Bedford budget, that Jon Mitchell and Bob Eckstrom have no idea about the accurate finances of New Bedford.
They reported a budget SURPLUS of $4.8 million on Dec. 11, 2025.
Then, they reported a budget Deficit of $13 million on April 14, 2026.
Then, they reported yet another budget Deficit of $32 million on May 13, 2026.
Can we have your FINAL ANSWER on this budget deficit?
Honestly, a comparison to outside audited figures is required as these reported variances are too large to ignore.
The Mayor’s Office and Auditor’s Office need reality testing on this issue.
More “retired before fired” possibilities exist in these Offices with the release of these figures.
This problem is not going away, like our state, our city needs an audit. It’s great that our senator got us a few bucks for the fire station, but it’s only a reprieve, it does not mean it’s saved, and won’t be closed in the future. If out of the blue we received more state aid, received better than expected city revenues, and raised everyone’s taxes, these would be nothing more than band-aids. To continue with a city government that is so poorly financially managed, continues to expand government, and has no private economic development on the horizon, would only bring us back to same place next year. It is time for change, our city needs new leadership, and a new direction for the future.