New Bedford facilities department requests staffing, faces vacancies as utilities moved to new cost center

Director Jennifer Viera told the City Council on June 5 that the Department of Facilities and Fleet Management (DFFM) is proposing a FY26 budget reduced by $1.3 million after utilities and the Ziterion were reallocated into separate cost centers. Viera said DFFM — which she described as “a multifaceted organization composed of approximately 80 committed professionals” — is proposing two new positions: an assistant project manager to serve as the city’s recycling coordinator and a second plumber, while eliminating one signal maintainer.

The assistant project manager position has been funded externally for eight years by a MassDEP grant, Viera said, and “with the grant term now expired, continued funding is necessary to retain this critical position.” She added that recycling is mandated in Massachusetts and said the coordinator oversees public workshops, educational materials and the…