The New Bedford Committee on Finance discussed a mayoral communication seeking a $63,662 appropriation to MIS purchase of services on Oct. 16, but a motion to refer the supplemental to the full City Council failed in committee by a 3–4 vote.

What the money would cover: MIS staff said the amount reflects shortfalls caused by a budget cut earlier in the year that removed about $162,000 from the department; MIS reported it had recovered roughly $98,000 through internal reductions (for example, removing Microsoft 365 licenses for employees who do not use city email) but still needed $63,662 to avoid turning off nonessential software and to maintain security and data services.

Key testimony: Bob Ekstrom said MIS “got rid of anybody that was in the system that we felt didn't need to have a Microsoft license,” saving about $30,000, and Jonathan Nunes explained that some subscriptions are tied to widespread services such as ArcGIS and web tools used across departments. Ekstrom warned that without additional funds “anything related to data security and data storage” would be prioritized and other services could be cut.

Council debate and outcome: Several councilors pressed the administration to find the money elsewhere in the city budget. Chair Linda Morad repeatedly said she considered it premature to restore cuts only months after the council reduced these line items, and she declined to support sending the supplemental to full council. Councilor Ryan Pereira moved to refer the item to the full City Council for adoption; Councilor Brian Gomes seconded. The committee’s motion to refer failed in committee by a 3–4 vote; the committee therefore did not report the supplemental to the full council.

Next steps: Committee members suggested the administration identify alternate internal transfers or other offsets if MIS cannot absorb the shortfall; the MIS representatives said their next option would be to turn off nonessential software or subscriptions when licenses come due.

Ending: The committee did not advance the supplemental and the administration will need to account for the line items within existing departmental budgets or return with a different funding plan to a future meeting.