Audit Committee — October 21, 2026

The New Bedford City Council Committee on Audit met on October 21, 2026, to address city financial reporting, mayoral staffing expenditures, and health insurance consulting costs. Following the retirement of Chief Financial Officer Bob Ekstrom, City Auditor Quillan Lowney discussed the challenges facing the audit department in generating quarterly financial summaries. Committee members agreed to accept unformatted Munis expenditure printouts to ensure ongoing financial monitoring, with Councillor Joseph P. Lopes requesting that line items exceeding the proportional quarterly budget allocation be highlighted. The committee tabled the motion with plans to conduct a comprehensive five-to-six-month budget review in December or January.

The committee also reviewed a recent hire in the Mayor's Office for the special assistant/administrative manager position (salary approximately $66,000) following the departure of Melissa Sears. Chief of Staff Neil Mello addressed questions regarding budget cuts enacted by the City Council, which had reduced the executive office personnel budget by roughly $245,000 to $582,000. Councillor Shane A. Burgo and Council President Ryan J. Pereira expressed frustration that the administration filled the role after the council recommended eliminating it during cut night, noting that nearly 100 positions citywide had been eliminated. Mello defended the hire as necessary for managing municipal operations and noted the office was operating with approximately $356,000 remaining in its personnel account. The committee voted to refer the matter to the full City Council with no further action.

Lastly, Personnel Director José Gouveia detailed the city's health insurance consulting arrangements with Lockton Consulting. Gouveia explained that Lockton receives a $40,000 annual flat fee from the city plus commissions on ancillary lines—including MedEx (1.17%), Boston Mutual, and stop-loss coverage (5%)—totaling roughly $300,000 annually, or approximately 0.5% of total plan costs. Council President Pereira questioned whether transitioning to a fixed-fee contract or soliciting competitive requests for proposals (RFPs) could yield municipal savings. Gouveia agreed to compile a comprehensive three-year breakdown of all fees and commissions within three weeks, and the committee voted to table the item.

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