NEW BEDFORD The state Senate's budget committee on Thursday sent the full Senate a $2.48 billion spending bill that keeps the $2 million public safety reserve New Bedford's state lawmakers say will pay to keep Fire Station 9 and Engine 9 staffed. The Senate is scheduled to take up the bill on Thursday, Nov. 5.
State Sen. Mark C. Montigny, of the Second Bristol and Plymouth District, announced Thursday that the extra $1.3 million for the station has been finalized, WBSM reported. He worked on the Senate version with Sen. Michael J. Rodrigues, the Senate Ways and Means chairman, WBSM reported.
"We appreciate the men and women of NBFD and their lifesaving work," Montigny said in a release quoted by WBSM. "While fire department staffing is typically a function and responsibility of municipal government, more assistance is urgently needed to stabilize public safety in our city, and we are pleased to be able to deliver this critical assistance."
He credited firefighters and their union leaders. "None of this would have been possible without the tremendous advocacy from Local 841 President Billy Sylvia, PFFM Secretary Treasurer Billy Cabral, and the many firefighters and their families who spoke up," Montigny said.
What the Senate bill says
The committee's version, Senate No. 3290, was reported Oct. 29 as a full rewrite of the House-passed bill, H.5700. The committee's report puts its direct appropriations at $2,476,841,267, with a net cost to the state of $1.7 billion in fiscal 2026, and it adds $84.6 million in net new spending to the fiscal 2027 state budget.
The line New Bedford's lawmakers point to is item 1599-0911, which reads in full "For a reserve to support public safety in the commonwealth," with $2,000,000 beside it. The House wrote that line into its bill, and the Senate committee kept it word for word. Neither version names New Bedford, its fire department or Station 9. Money in that section of the bill stays available through June 30, 2027, unless the bill says otherwise.
The tie to Station 9 is a commitment lawmakers say Gov. Maura Healey made. After the House vote on Oct. 21, New Bedford's five-member House delegation said in a joint statement, published in full by New Bedford Guide, that the governor had reaffirmed "her commitment to use $1.3 million of this line item specifically for Engine 9 in New Bedford." Healey's own bill, filed in September, had named the city outright, setting aside "not less than $1,300,000" for the New Bedford Fire Department "for critical personnel costs, including staffing to ensure that all fire response facilities may remain open and operational." The House bill does not carry that language; it has the statewide reserve instead.
How Station 9 got here
Mayor Jon Mitchell had planned to close the station, saving just under $2 million, as one of his answers to a $32 million budget shortfall, WBSM reported. The City Council pushed back, and after Montigny secured $500,000 in state money, councilors approved appropriation orders for the remaining $1.3 million from money they had cut from the city budget, and the mayor returned those orders unsigned, according to WBSM.
On Sept. 23, Mitchell announced that the governor had committed $1.3 million in added state aid to keep the station open, with the city to be entered in the state's Municipal Public Safety Staffing program, WBSM reported. That money needed the Legislature's approval, which is the step now underway.
The House passed its version 152 to 0 on Oct. 21. The Senate received it on Monday, Oct. 26, and sent it to Ways and Means, which reported its rewrite three days later.
What happens next
The full Senate is scheduled to take up the bill on Thursday, Nov. 5. Because the Senate committee rewrote the House bill in full, the two chambers will have to agree on one final text before it goes to the governor. Until that bill is signed, neither the $2 million reserve nor the $1.3 million for Station 9 is in hand.
Residents can find their state senator and representative by street address with the Legislature's Find My Legislator tool at malegislature.gov. Montigny's State House office is reachable at (617) 722-1440 or Mark.Montigny@masenate.gov.
Earlier: House passes state budget New Bedford lawmakers say will keep Engine 9 running (Oct. 22).
Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.
Notes
Every fact about the bill comes from the Legislature's own records, read Oct. 30: the H.5700 bill history (the 152 to 0 House vote, the Oct. 26 referral, the Oct. 29 committee report and the Nov. 5 calendar date), the S.3290 text and report page, the House-passed H.5700 text and the committee summary posted with S.3290. The governor's original language is from her H.5679 text. Montigny's announcement and his quotes come from his release as WBSM published it, and the city budget background is credited to WBSM; the governor's commitment is quoted from the delegation's joint statement as New Bedford Guide published it in full. We checked each date and weekday against a calendar.
Corrections
No corrections to this story. If something here is wrong, tell us. Every correction is dated on the story and listed in our public log.
Sources (9)
- Massachusetts Legislature: H.5700 bill historyOct. 21, 2026: passed to be engrossed 152 YEAS to 0 NAYS (Yea and Nay No. 275). Oct. 26: Senate read and referred to Senate Ways and Means. Oct. 29: committee recommended ought to pass with an amendment inserting the text of S3290; placed in the Orders of the Day for Thursday, November 5, 2026. Read Oct. 30, 2026.
- Massachusetts Legislature: S.3290, Senate Ways and Means text of the supplemental budget (Oct. 29, 2026)Report page: direct appropriations $2,476,841,267.00; net cost $1,704,997,592 in fiscal year 2026; $84,580,989 in net new spending added to the fiscal year 2027 budget; signed for the committee by Michael J. Rodrigues. Section 2A, item 1599-0911, $2,000,000; Section 2A sums available through June 30, 2027 except as otherwise stated. Read Oct. 30, 2026.
- Massachusetts Legislature: H.5700, the bill as passed by the House Oct. 21, 2026Item 1599-0911, "For a reserve to support public safety in the commonwealth," $2,000,000. No mention of New Bedford. Read Oct. 30, 2026.
- Massachusetts Legislature: committee summary posted with S.3290Lists $2M for a reserve to support public safety in the commonwealth among $2.48B in appropriations. Read Oct. 30, 2026.
- Massachusetts Legislature: H.5679, the governor's supplemental budget (September 2026)Section 168, item 8324-0050: not less than $1,300,000 to the New Bedford fire department for critical personnel costs. Read Oct. 22, 2026.
- Massachusetts Legislature member profiles: Sen. Mark C. Montigny (MCM0) and Sen. Michael J. Rodrigues (MJR0)Second Bristol and Plymouth and First Bristol and Plymouth; Montigny's State House phone (617) 722-1440 and email Mark.Montigny@masenate.gov. Read Oct. 30, 2026.
- WBSM (Oct. 29, 4:28 p.m.): New Bedford Fire Station 9 funding finalized in state billSource of Montigny's announcement and both release quotes; the same story ran on Fun 107 (fun107.com/new-bedford-fire-station-9-funding-2/). Read Oct. 30, 2026.
- New Bedford Guide (Oct. 22): the New Bedford House delegation's joint statement, carried in fullSource of the governor's commitment quote. Read Oct. 22, 2026.
- WBSM (Oct. 22): Station 9 one step closer to staying openSource of the $32 million shortfall, the savings, the $500,000, the council orders, the unsigned return and the Sept. 23 announcement. Read Oct. 22, 2026.