Tuesday night’s special meeting got heated with residents outraged.
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City councilors in Everett, Massachusetts, demanded that $180,000 in bonuses paid to the city's mayor be returned during a special meeting on Tuesday night.
The Inspector General called the payment "improper" bonus money.
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Not only is Everett Mayor Carlo Demaria expected to refund the $180,000 the state says he was overpaid, there are now calls for him to step down.
In 2016, Everett City Council approved "mayoral longevity pay", which authorizes $10,000 bonuses for each completed term. The Boston Globe reported that the ordinance was the subject of intense criticism during Tuesday night's special meeting.
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“The voters and the City of Everett have put you in these seats to do the right thing, to look to the taxpayers and do what is best for them," resident Kathy McNeil said. "And I can remind you that city elections are not far away.”
A chamber full of angry residents and city leaders were reacting to Inspector General Jeffrey Shapiro's report. Shapiro's post is a non-political agent for the Commonwealth, whose job is to be a watchdog of public funds.
Shapiro determined the $180,000 overpayment between 2016 and 2021 were misapplied funds, designed to be retroactive bonuses for each term the mayor served since his 2007 election. Shapiro also said that Demaria's senior staff didn't report payments and used them to instead pay employees for unused sick and vacation time.
Damaria wasn't at Tuesday night's special meeting, but his lawyer was. He criticized the report, saying it was based solely on interpretation.
