Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.

Tonight is uh Wednesday, May 13th, 2026 at 7 p.m.

I'm calling together a special city council meeting for the fiscal year twenty-seven budget submission.

I would like to uh we don't have a member of the clergy with us tonight, so if we could all take a moment of silence, please.

Thank you.

We'll be led in the Pledge of Allegiance tonight by Councillor of Ward 4, Derek Baptiste.

I Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you.

I would like to note that this meeting is being live streamed and recorded.

City Council and Committee meetings can be viewed on the City of New Bedford's homepage under quick links, then meetings.

I am joined tonight in the council chamber by my colleagues, Councilor at Large, Ian Abrew, Councilor of Ward 2, Scott Pemberton, Counselor of Ward 5, Joseph Lopes, Counselor at Large, Brian Gomes, Counselor at Large, James Roy, Counselor at Large, Naomi Carney, Counselor of Ward 3, Sean Oliver, Counselor at Large, Shane Burgo, and First Vice President, and Councillor of Ward 4, Derek Baptiste.

I am the Council of Ward Six and City Council President Ryan Pereira.

I will ask the clerk at this time if there are any letters to be read into the record.

Please read this letter into the record to make my colleagues and the public aware of the reason for my absence.

Sincerely, Leo Choquette, Councilor Ward 1.

Motion received and place on file.

Motion and receive in place on file made by Councillor Oliver, seconded by Councillor Lopes.

Anyone on the question?

All those in favor say aye.

Opposed the ayes have it.

We'll ask the clerk to read item number one, please.

Mr.

President, item one is a communication from Council President Pereira to City Clerk Dennis Farius, requesting that a special city council meeting be called for Wednesday, May 13th, 2026 at 7 p.m.

for the submittal of the FY27 City of New Bedford proposed budget.

Motion receive and place on file.

Motion and receive and place on file.

Anyone on the question?

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Opposed the ayes have it.

Uh at this time the council will take a brief recess to go and get Mayor Mitchell.

As we gather here tonight for the annual presentation of the city's proposed budget.

Amid reports of local governments struggling to pay their bills.

Going into this budget season, the gap between what is needed to run the city and the money available to us was $32 million.

This is more than twice the largest gap in the last 15 years, far too large to be addressed by the incremental measures of past years.

The only responsible way to balance the budget for the coming year, as we must do under state law, is to increase revenue and reduce services.

That is only for the coming fiscal year.

The budget is still in a long-term imbalance.

Because the cost of city government is projected to rise faster than the revenue coming in, still more sacrifices will be necessary to stabilize the budget.

This is a difficult reality.

The current state of our finances feels out of place with the city's hard-earned recent successes.

Lower crime rates, waterfront construction, new housing, a growing arts and restaurant scene, an improved reputation, and so much more.

But to those who have observed or participated in the budget process of late, it should not be the least bit surprising.

Over the last several years and budget presentations, state of the city addresses, and countless media appearances, I have explicitly warned that our ability to operate city government effectively and affordably was being suffocated by diminished state aid and growing non-discretionary costs, such as pension and health care obligations.

New Bedford is hardly alone among Massachusetts cities and towns that are struggling with the fact that the state has not kept up its obligation to fund general government aid.

This spring there have been nearly daily reports of layoffs of municipal employees around Massachusetts.

But I also have repeatedly said that the Council's unwillingness to rein in the growth of health care and pension costs would make our budget unsustainable.

And as I stand here today, I wish I were wrong.

For a few years, we were able to keep things going through a series of efficiency measures.

These steps were appropriate, but they're not nearly enough.

The reality is that the budget has reached a boiling point.

The tough decisions can no longer be avoided.

Today I am presenting to you my best effort at achieving a balanced budget while minimizing the impact on city services and the disruption in the professional and personal lives of our employees.

In the next few minutes, I will explain in detail how we got here, what steps are necessary to balance this year's budget, and what we must do together to set the city's finances on a more stable course.

Let's begin with the revenue side of the budget.

City government relies on a variety of funding streams.

Many of them support specific activities such as user fees for water and wastewater services and Federal and State grants for discrete programs.

Most of city government, however, is funded from two sources: property tax receipts and local aid from the state.

Massachusetts has two major local aid programs for city services.

State education aid, sometimes called Chapter 78, which can only be used for the schools, and unrestricted general government aid, which is used for the rest of city government.