Everett Mayor DeMaria overpaid $180K, OIG reports

The Massachusetts Inspector General has called on Everett's City Council to recover $180,000 from Mayor Carlo DeMaria, which was improperly paid as longevity bonuses between 2016 and 2021. An investigation revealed that DeMaria and his administration misapplied the mayoral longevity ordinance, paying him $40,000 annually instead of the intended $10,000 per term, and concealed these payments from the city council and public by obscuring them in the budget. The initial proposal for these payments stemmed from DeMaria's request in 2016, after learning other city employees were earning more than him. The ordinance was manipulated to allow cumulative annual payments, leading to the overpayment. The Inspector General's report criticizes the mayor for his role in orchestrating the ordinance for personal gain and urges the city to conduct a full audit of payments made to him. The City Council has since revised the ordinance to prevent such misapplications in the future.