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Everett City Council votes no confidence in mayor amid bonus scandal
Mayor says he won’t pay back the $180,000 until he receives “due process.”
On Monday, the Everett City Council unanimously voted no confidence in the city’s mayor and its chief financial officer.
The move came after the Office of Inspector General informed the City Council that the longtime Mayor Carlo DeMaria administration misapplied the mayoral longevity ordinance, resulting in the city overpaying him $180,000.
In an investigation by the OIG, the council learned that the mayor and his administration concealed the payment from the City Council and the public and that the city improperly paid the mayor $30,000 in retroactive longevity payments before the City Council approved it.
The OIG office recommended that the city council conduct an audit, recover the overpayments, and eliminate the longevity payments to elected officials.
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Last week, the City Council demanded that DeMaria pay back the overpaid bonuses and requested his approval to fund an audit.
In response, DeMaria wrote to the City Council stating that he would not return the money until he received “due process” and “the ability to review the evidence, address issues, and confront accusers.”
Carlo DeMaria:
City Councilor Robert Van Campen noted that according to the IGO’s findings, the chief financial officer put the money in an obscure line item, which neither the council nor the public regularly reviewed.
Van Campen added that the city has spent “an exorbitant amount of money on legal fees” over the past few years, and in this case, it will most likely spend close to a million dollars “in a fight over $180,000.”
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“Think about that for a minute,” Van Campen said. “Think of the absolute illogical nature of the City Council now having to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to get professional guidance.”
“My confidence in this administration is beyond shaken right now,” Van Campen continued. “You have to protect the public trust and you have to ensure that once that trust is violated, those who violated it are held accountable.”
Van Campen asked to push the vote to March 24 to give the mayor more time to repay the money. He later rescinded the motion.
“He’s had a year, two years to pay this back,” said City Councilor Peter Pietrantonio. “He defies us. He defies the city, defies the residents, and defies their money. He defies it.”
“He shouldn’t have another minute to pay this back,” Pietrantonio added.
Councilor Guerline Alcy Jabouin agreed, saying the mayor publicly said he would not pay the money back.
Jabouin said another two weeks would not change DeMaria’s mind to thinking, “maybe I can stop this madness, maybe I can stop dragging the city in the mud, maybe I can walk around and put my head up.”
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“We need to vote on this tonight,” Jabouin said. “It’s not fair to the public. It’s not fair to us.”
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