New Bedford’s state reps will press House leadership to fund Fire Station 9

New Bedford’s state representatives are praising Gov. Maura Healey for helping to keep Fire Station 9 open and considering the inclusion of New Bedford in a public safety staffing program.

Reps. Mark Sylvia and Steven Ouellette said they are drafting a joint letter with the other local state representatives to send to the chair of the House Committee on Ways and Means. It will voice their support for Healey’s new appropriations bill, which includes state funds that will keep Fire Station 9 open.

A $1.3 million line item in Healey’s bill would keep the fire station open through June 30, the end of the current fiscal year. It would provide aid to New Bedford under the Municipal Public Safety Staffing Program, which provides funds to help 10 cities address police or fire department staffing shortfalls. The line item would add New Bedford to the program for this year.

Ouellette, D-Westport, said that he thinks the appropriations bill has a good chance of passing and that New Bedford representatives need to ensure that the city is prepared for the future.

“The five of us have to convince the other 155 legislators in the House that we need this,” Ouellette said.

Sylvia, D-Fairhaven, said that he would support making New Bedford a permanent part of the public safety staffing program. 

“This is a mechanism that would provide more support, as cities and towns across the commonwealth have limited resources,” Sylvia said. “Being able to continue to support critical services like public safety is really important.”

If New Bedford is included in the staffing program this fiscal year, the next step would be to also get it included in next year’s budget, which will likely be approved in June 2027. 

The program’s eligibility is currently limited to municipalities whose police departments had an operating budget of less than $200 per resident in 2010. (That year, New Bedford spent $221 per resident on police.) Fall River, for example, received more than $1.6 million through the program last year, The Light previously reported.

Rep. Antonio Cabral, D-New Bedford, said that he will approach the governor and the secretary of the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security to see how the city can be included in the MPSS program.

“New Bedford meets all the qualifications,” Cabral said. “We should be in that program.”

Rep. Christopher Hendricks, D-New Bedford, said that the New Bedford legislative delegation has been having discussions about the MPSS program over the last six months.

“If any place around the commonwealth needs that extra support, it is places like New Bedford and Gateway Cities that have big budgets and lots of resources and a lot of things to manage,” Hendricks said.

The offices of House Speaker Ronald Mariano, Senate President Karen Spilka, and House and Senate Ways and Means Committee chairs Aaron Michlewitz and Michael Rodrigues declined to comment on prospects for the Fire Station 9 line item.

“The Senate President looks forward to reviewing this legislation alongside her colleagues,” said a statement from Spilka’s spokesperson.

New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell has long argued that New Bedford should be involved in the MPSS program.

“It is ironic (and inequitable) that wealthier jurisdictions continue to receive grant allocations while other localities — that are more resource-constrained — are denied access,” Mitchell wrote in his 2026 letter on the issue, which echoed similar language in his 2018 letter.

This development came after months of conflict between the city, the New Bedford firefighters’ union and state lawmakers over how to save the fire station. The mayor had announced in May that he would shut down the station to address a looming budget deficit. The closure would have resulted in layoffs of 34 people and eliminated 58 unfilled positions. A budget amendment introduced later in May by state Sen. Mark Montigny, D-New Bedford, directed $500,000 in state aid to keep Fire Station 9 open temporarily.

During a Sept. 28 press conference at Fire Station 9, Healey spoke about the new $1.3 million in state funds she has proposed. 

“Public safety is job one in government, and I really appreciate the work that’s done by men and women in public safety across our state, including here in New Bedford,” Healey said, adding she wants to set up a funding stream that would help with construction and renovation of old police stations and firehouses.

“Everything’s changed, and our firehouses need to change too, to be able to house the teams and the equipment here,” she said.

Healey said that the state is focused on fixing the short-term funding problems right now to keep the station open, while also looking into long-term solutions. She said that the state will be releasing public safety grants to other communities soon and will be increasing the amount of funding within those grants.

“I’m going to continue to work with members of the Legislature who are here today on what we can do to support the teams across the commonwealth, including here in New Bedford,” Healey said.

Sylvia, who attended the press conference, said that he was glad that this announcement was made, explaining Fire Station 9 provides critical public safety for the North End of New Bedford, including support for schools, nursing homes, densely populated residential areas and commercial areas.

“I was very concerned about the possibility that that fire station might be closed permanently, so it was very welcome news that the governor has included that amount of money in her supplemental budget to keep Station 9 open,” said Sylvia, who represents part of New Bedford’s North End. 

Cabral, who was also at the press conference, said he is going to work with the governor and the rest of the Legislature to get the proposal approved.

“I am in full support of the governor’s proposal, and I will fight for that appropriation,” Cabral said.

A city spokesperson said that the mayor welcomes direct state assistance. A statement from the mayor’s office said it would help address “unrestrained pension and health insurance spending.”

Rep. Chris Markey did not respond to multiple emails and calls for this story. 

Sen. Mark Montigny, D-New Bedford, did not grant an interview with The Light, but his office issued an email statement.

“Through the budget process, we were able to kickstart the larger conversation of providing New Bedford with longer-term access to the municipal public safety grant program,” the statement read. “I am relieved that the Governor has answered our relentless call to give our fire department access to this crucial public safety program.”

Nicole Abrams is a journalism student at Boston University, covering state government for The Light as part of the Boston University Statehouse Program. Email her at nabrams@newbedfordlight.org.