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After three hours of debate and hundreds of votes, New Bedford city councilors approved about $1.7 million in reductions to the general fund Monday night, proposing the elimination of four positions — a chief of staff in the mayor’s office and a special assistant to the mayor, along with the Police Department’s deputy director of administrative operations and an assistant deputy chief — while reshaping Mayor Jon Mitchell’s proposed budget.
The council adjourned at 10:10 p.m., ending a surprisingly quick session in which councilors worked through 182 proposed reductions line by line. By the end of the night, the council had removed approximately $1.7 million from the general fund, $84,000 from the wastewater fund, and $132,000 from the water fund. All the cuts were from the mayor’s proposed budget for the 2027 fiscal year, which starts July 1.
Last year’s cut night lasted seven hours, included more than 1,300 proposed cuts, and resulted in removing $10.2 million from the mayor’s proposed budget.
Fire Station 9 loomed over much of the debate.
Minutes after Monday’s meeting adjourned, Ward 1 Councilor Leo Choquette posted on Facebook that the council had cut “far more than what is required to keep Fire Station 9 open for the coming year” and wrote, “It is now up to Mayor Mitchell to apply this.”
Since Mitchell proposed closing the North End firehouse in his May budget plan, firefighters, residents and councilors have argued that other parts of the budget should be cut before public safety services. But the council cannot add to the budget, only subtract. The mayor would have to reverse course to keep the fire station open.
In their opening remarks before digging into the roll-call votes, councilors reminded each other to keep Station 9 in mind, expressed solidarity with city employees, and reiterated that the administration needed to be held accountable.
“None of the decisions, recommendations or cuts proposed tonight are personal,” Councilor Shawn Oliver said, noting that every department performs important work. “Our responsibility tonight is to represent the taxpayers who sent us here into these seats.”
Councilor Burgo criticized the administration’s handling of the budget crisis and addressed city employees affected.
“I never imagined an administration could handle such a difficult financial situation in such a cold and dismissive manner,” Burgo said. Those who lost their jobs, he said, had been treated as “sacrificial lambs” in the budget crisis. “You are not line items. You are not expendable,” he said.
The Light called the city’s public information officer, Jonathan Darling, and asked to talk to the mayor regarding budget cut night. Darling said the mayor would not be available at any point during the day to answer any questions.
Instead, the administration provided a statement saying it “will now begin the process of carefully evaluating every budget cut to determine whether [it] is implementable or not.”
The council’s budget cuts are final. But the mayor could propose a supplementary budget, or a transfer between departments, which would go to the council for approval. Last year, Mitchell filed supplementary budgets to restore non-discretionary spending that the council had cut.
The administration’s statement said the council had chosen “gimmicks and arbitrary cuts” that would reduce services and did not address rising pension and employee healthcare costs.
The administration did not answer whether the approved cuts would spare Station 9 from closure, despite multiple queries from The Light.
Instead, Darling referred to a line in the statement that says the administration plans to work with the city’s public employee unions this summer to “address health insurance and pension reforms, as well as collective bargaining matters, that … address the long-term financial challenges facing city government.”
The cuts
The council voted 6-5 to cut more than $245,000 in the mayor’s office, by proposing the elimination of one of two chief of staff positions and a special assistant to the mayor position. Councilors later approved an additional reduction of about $38,000 from a different account within the mayor’s office.
A separate proposal by Oliver to eliminate the deputy director of administrative operations and one of the two assistant deputy chief positions in the Police Department, saving more than $288,000, also passed 6-5.
Councilor Joe Lopes secured a 6-5 vote to cut $500,000 from the city utilities purchase of services account, reducing it by about 21% from the mayor’s request of about $2.4 million. The mayor’s office, in its statement, called this “the line item the City uses to pay its utility bills.” The line item was funded at $1.43 million in the fiscal year that’s about to end.
For the Department of Public Infrastructure, councilors approved $66,000 in cuts, including a $21,500 reduction to the purchase of services account, $40,000 from supplies and $4,500 from travel expenses. On a total proposed expenditure of about $4.6 million, the cuts represent roughly 1.4% of the department’s budget.
Councilors also voted 9-2 to reduce the Solicitor’s Office budget for outside legal counsel services by $100,000, a cut of about 20%.
Other approved reductions included a $200,000 cut to Facilities and Fleet Management, which passed 6-5 and represents about 2% of the proposed budget. This is the line item the city uses to buy fuel and replacement parts for public safety and other vehicles, according to the mayor’ office.
In the water fund, councilors unanimously approved a proposal by Burgo to cut nearly $77,000. The cut would eliminate the position of assistant superintendent of greenspace. They later approved an additional $50,000 reduction in debt service and $5,000 in other charges and expenses.
Other cuts included more than $26,000 from the Assessor’s Office for travel, dues and subscriptions, and more than $22,000 from the Auditor’s Office’s purchase of services account. The latter is the line item the city uses to pay for its legally mandated annual audit, according to the mayor’s office. Councilors also approved roughly $47,000 in reductions to the Management Information Systems Department for purchase of services and other expenses — a line item that the mayor’s office says is used for cybersecurity.
City councilors also cut their own travel expenses, dues and subscriptions by $12,000.
How it works
The council’s biggest influence over the budget comes on cut night, when members can vote to reduce spending line by line. Most roll-call votes move quickly, but on some items councilors — particularly those proposing the cuts — take a moment to make their case. If a proposal fails, councilors often move on to a smaller reduction within the same account.
The debate over the Police Department’s personal services budget offered a good example.
Burgo first proposed a $384,000 cut. The proposal failed 4-7.
Councilors then turned to a slightly smaller proposal from Oliver targeting the same account. That measure also failed, 4-7.
Next came a proposal from Council President Ryan Pereira to cut $306,000. Before the vote, he argued the council should have had a role in creating the chief of staff position.
“It deserved public debate so that the taxpayers who sent us here could know that we were reviewing it and it wasn’t just being created out of thin air,” he said. The proposal came closer, failing 5-6.
Finally, councilors considered Oliver’s proposal to cut $288,000. This time, the measure passed 6-5.
Failed but fiercely debated cuts
One of the night’s most spirited debates centered on a proposal from Oliver, Choquette and Pemberton to cut $177,000 from the Tourism and Marketing Department by eliminating its entire staff.
“Fairhaven is proposing a similar measure,” Oliver said. “In times of restraint, times of fiscal hardship, cities and towns are making difficult decisions.”
“I just don’t think that at this time the city can afford to fund it,” he concluded.
Burgo said the proposed cut would eliminate the department’s staff. “I think it’s irresponsible.”
Pereira agreed. “We know the city deserves this.”
Councilor Brian Gomes complained that he had not seen enough effort from the city to promote the Fourth of July holiday.
“No red, white and blue in the city,” Gomes said. “The city deserves better.”
Choquette, whose ward is home to Fire Station 9, still on the cutting board, brought the debate back to public safety.
“All I want to say is, in Ward 1, there are more firefighter flags than Fourth of July flags, so vote accordingly,” he said.
The proposal to eliminate the tourism staff failed 3-8. Gomes, despite his complaint, voted against the cut.
Later, councilors approved cuts of about $19,000 to the Tourism and Marketing Department for supplies and other expenses.
Another unsuccessful but heavily debated proposal targeted the Zeiterion Theatre. Oliver submitted 13 different options to reduce the theater’s purchase of services budget. Before councilors considered the largest reduction, a $395,000 cut, Oliver argued the money could be better used elsewhere.
“This is our opportunity here to be able to give the taxpayers a little bit of a push to keep the fire station open,” Oliver said.
Burgo opposed the proposal, arguing that the city’s Zeiterion contribution was part of a contractual obligation.
Burgo said approving the cuts could jeopardize the project.
After his first proposals failed in 1-10 votes, Oliver withdrew four additional cut proposals. The rest of the proposals failed as well, by margins ranging from 1-10 to 4-7.
Editor’s note: This story was updated June 25 to correct the number of positions the City Council proposes to eliminate in the mayor’s office and to clarify the titles of those positions. Some line item descriptions were also added to give context to the proposed cuts. A July 7 update further clarified one position.
Email Eleonora Bianchi at ebianchi@newbedfordlight.org.
The Big Cut Night was just another disaster ($1.7 Million Dollars was not even 1% of the proposed FY 2027 budget of $535.2 Million Dollars). Once again all the City Council did was rubber stamp another one of Mayor Mitchell’s Big Bloated Budgets.
We heard impassioned speeches about this administration’s failures, tough talk about making budget cuts, and the support for released city employees and the safety of our city. But once the night went on it was line item after line item being passed and in the end another big bloated budget had been adopted inching our city closer to receivership.
For the record 14 years of this administration and the budget has more than doubled by $286.2 Million Dollars. This budget problem is here to stay and the clear losers are the residents (families and children), taxpayers, businesses, renters, and job seekers. With our city’s high tax rates there will be no new businesses coming to our city.
More than ever it’s real clear the mayor’s vision has not worked and he should never run for reelection again. As far ad the City Council goes, they need serious help and have do a better job in the future (we had city councilors that sat in silence, made no cuts, walked the fence, and in the end just did not do their jobs) this is100% unacceptable.
So here we are New Bedford is severely damaged, we need new leadership (a mayor and city council that can communicate and work together to provide a new direction and a new vision for the future of our city.
IT’S TIME TO PRAY FOR NEW BEDFORD.
Jeff
Asking as respectfully (as an online forum can imply otherwise)…
You seem to have done much research and are quite vocal about your opinion on this topic, have you considered running for a council seat?
I have already said, Jeff for mayor. Even though we have had a few differences of opinion, he is very vocal and most of the time right on point.
Thank you Deby, I am not always right, and always can be corrected. I just have always thought that over the 14 years of this administration, if there had been a better management plan in place with some financial spending restraint shown, today our city would not have this budget deficit problem.
We have the management that we voted for.
Should the NB mayor be appointed?
Will you run?
Or just continue to comment on a ‘Left Leaning’
Social Media Websitre?
That would publicly embarrass Jeff.
Uncle Albert you are seriously in need of help. No one ever agrees with you or compliments your comments, because your comments make no sense. So never wonder why no one responds or takes you seriously (the odds are good that most just think your bat crap crazy). Were so sorry Uncle Albert.
Glad to see these cuts as I said before there’s a lot of wasted money in many of the departments! Praying mayor’s office makes the right decisions to cut or eliminate wherever possible without hurting the taxpayers! In tough times we need to make tough decisions!!
Sandra, taxes are going up. The city’s budget deficit amounted to $32 Million Dollars, the Mayor’s solution was to make significant service cuts, close a fire station, cut 94 city positions, and increase taxes by $16 Million Dollars. The City Council budget cuts amounted to only $1.7 million dollars and the hopes are that this money will be used to stop the closure of the Fire Station, but in the end this is the Mayor’s call. Time to Pray for New Bedford.
Time to replace the mayor and superintendent of schools!
Jeff, wages are going up.
What should be cut?
This comment was brought to you by Uncle Albert’s fantasy land productions (if loving mayor mitchell is wrong, I don’t want to be right).
Who should we love?
Did you love our last mayor?
Any of our mayors?
Do you love New Bedford?
It’s voters?
Jeff, that was a good one!
Albert, employees work, therefore wages should go up. Retirees dedicated themselves to the city, they deserve a cola. Albert perhaps stop the OVERSPENDING IN THE CITY AND SCHOOLS. STOP THE OVERPAYING OF INCOMPETENT EMPLOYEES, FAILING CITY AND SCHOOL SYSTEM.
Are school system employees dedicated?
Who are the incompetent employees?
Pray, GOD helps those who help themselves! Vote them out!
Have the people who voted them in changed their minds?
Tough times. I encourage everyone who thinks this is a New Bedford only problem to look outside the goldfish bowl and learn what’s going on in other communities. The whole state is getting hit. Time to pressure our legislators to rethink the state aid formulation. Enough is enough.
I only care about New Bedford, we have to focus on the here and now. The failing school dept and the failing city. Laughing stock of Massachusetts.
The City of New Bedford has to come together as voters. We need to watch the going on’s with the spending. We the voters are paying for all of this with our property taxes going up to much. We the seniors cannot keep giving more every year, with the cost of everything else going up. The city check book needs to be looked at monthly and quarterly like we do.
The City of New Bedford voters have come together.
64% voted for Mitchell.
Wages keep going up.
Social Security keeps going up.
The stock market keeps going up .
Every frickin thing in New Bedford keeps going up. 36% of voters was against him, 14% + 1 (ha, ha) need to speak up, stand up and vote him out. 14% was not a landslide as to him winning. Especially when people like you keep voting him in.
You mean the clear majority.
Keep it personal.
You do not get to say what I mean. I MEAN WHAT I SAID!
Mitchell won by a landslide.
A real landslide.
Not a MAGA landslide.
In 2024 Trump won 49.8% of the vote.
No related to Ms Hess
That would make too much sense! The City and School are like teenagers with a credit card! The problem is the people keep voting the mayor in thinking something’s going to change. Brian Gomes, went for Mayor, we needed a change, not that he was better, but we needed to see if we could get out of this hole Mitchell has dug us. But what happened, he pulled out of the race. We need change!
When will that happen?
You could cut 10-20% and our city still wouldn’t be close to a balanced budget. SHAMEFUL AND THE FOUR PEOPLE WHOSE NAMES WERE ON THE MAYOR’S FUND RAISING TICKET ALL WORK FOR THE BOSTON LAW FIRM TROUTMAN, PEPPER AND LOCKE? WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
It means that they have quality legal representation.
“Troutman Pepper Locke is considered a major corporate law firm with a strong conservative leaning in certain practice areas, particularly in its State Attorneys General and Election Law practices. It is not a monolith, but it is known for elite conservative ties and represents high-profile right-leaning clients.”
MONTIGNY’S 500,000 $ HAS YET TO BE APPROVED.
Jack your not posting my comments
Michael, that’s typical, yet the NBL states they are non partisan!
Whose side is NBL on?
Seems they are involved personally with school department personnel. They cover their butts and don’t allow comments to be posted.
Exactly, why are comments on the person they identified in a column not being investigated for paying deceased school department employee health premiums. They wrote it but don’t follow up, WHY?
Wow it’s very clear that Albert really loves the mayor, he goes after any one that makes a comment about him.
Just the false one’s
One thing is, we stick up for the sane, therefore, even though we have differences of opinion, we unite!
Albert is an outdated, corrupted circuit board…sporadically producing the same irrelevant data and queries.
Our discussions involve current events, how we got here and how we can attempt corrections to the situation.
We (the 64%) should learn from our prior mistakes and not repeat them going forward.
Although, in one sense, Albert is up to date as a provider of Artificial Intelligence.
Whohoo….Amen to that!
What incorrect data has Albert posted?
Is 64% of the vote for Mitchell a corrupt statement of fact?
Is 64% irrelevant?
Would Mitchell win a recall election today?
Artificial Intelligence is an expanding way of life.
More often than not true.
Have I posted and Artificial Intelligence untruth?
Who did you support in the last mayor election.
Did you donate the maximum?
How many doors did you knock on>
Why do you post without you name?
You know you’re crazy, when you start answering everything with questions.
Why are you talking as if your a different person.
Mitchell winning another vote may be likely because we have a bunch of uneducated residents voting.
Albert,
Read the comment—-“sporadically producing the same irrelevant data and queries”. Again, you continue to do the same, just as an outdated, corrupted circuit board does not produce anything useful.
You might infer my prior vote from my comment mentioning not repeating prior mistakes.
Take the lead from Jeff Rogers and delineate problems to be addressed and how they might be addressed.
Otherwise, you will forever remain “comic relief” for readers.
Good comment and well said.
A lot of good comments here.
For a better future, these 5 City Issues need to be addressed and resolved.
Our leaders, Politicians (City, County, and State), Board Members, and Union Leaders must come together and work to resolve / find a compromise to move forward from this budget disaster.
We have seen the proposed service cuts, employee cuts, and tax hikes. Our city can no longer afford to kick the can down the road and needs to address these issues or it will lead our city to receivership.
1) The Northend Fire Station No. 9, use the cut money and keep this station open (for the safety of residents, businesses, airport area, the industrial park, new proposed housing, and economic development).
2) City healthcare plan issues, we can no longer afford to not resolve this, and it’s time to find a compromise.
3) Retirement board issues. we can no longer afford to not resolve this and it’s time to find a compromise.
4) New Police Contract, we can no longer afford to not resolve this and it’s time to find a compromise (everyday these men and women risk their lives to protect our city).
5) Most importantly there must be a cap put on any new city spending or new expansion of city government without a showing of an increase of new incoming city revenue (the city must focus on new private economic development).
Today everyone knows New Bedford is severely damaged, our city’s future is very unstable, addressing and resolving these five issues would benefit our city’s future tremendously.
Moving forward it’s time for new leadership, a mayor and a city council that can communicate and work together to provide a new direction and a new vision for the future of our city.
The monies are now available for Jon Mitchell to keep Fire Station 9 open for FY27 and ensure New Bedford’s capability to provide timely fire and medical responses to residents.
The $1.7 million dollar question is: Will Jon Mitchell’s ego allow him to reverse course and provide timely fire and medical responses to residents or will he persist in willingly placing residents at serious and real risk to satisfy his vendetta against the Fire Fighters Union of New Bedford.
My opinion is that Jon Mitchell will continue to “play” jeopardy with the lives of residents as he has become too self isolated from the reality of true governance and like Nero, would fiddle away as the community burns.
Both the Free Cash Fund and Stabilization Fund await your utilization as does receivership.
One simple way to increase money in retirement fir the city of NB is have all employees paying the current amount, not be grandfathered in from when you begin, School dept. Also, keep the funds out of the mayor and superintendent hands. Keep the funds in the care of Eric for AFSCME workers. They know what they are doing.
Real estate tax bill are out! I have kept up my property and continue to keep it up. Therefore I expect an increase.
Yes there was an increase in Aug. and Nov. 2026 tax bills and after this years budget meltdown, where out of the blue the city went into a budget deficit in the amount of $32 million dollars, taxes will rise again in 2027 (as part of the resolution to the budget deficit problem the tax payers were saddled with a $16 million dollar increase).
After fourteen years of this administration, the mayor’s vision has clearly not worked, our city is damaged, and some will say beyond repair. The reality is if a cap is not put on spending, the expansion of city government, and the city does not start to create new private economic development to increase city revenue, the budget issues, cutting services, and rising taxes is what residents and businesses of New Bedford will look forward to for many years to come.
100% it’s time for new leadership, a mayor and a city council that can communicate and work together to provide a new direction and a new vision for the future of our city.