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Audit finds Everett mayor received $260K in extra pay
The findings follow a state inspector general report that flagged $180K in longevity overpayments earlier this year.
An independent audit found that Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria received an extra $260,964 in longevity and cost-of-living payments, including a $31,664 lump-sum adjustment in 2023.
The findings, presented Monday at a special City Council meeting by MDD Foresnic Accountants, follow a state inspector general report earlier this year that flagged $180,000 in overpaid longevity funds.
“Trust in government at the end of the day is everything,” City Councilor Robert Van Campen said. “If we lose trust in the city government … then the whole system breaks down.”
The independent audit flagged questionable payment practices to DeMaria, including $30,000 longevity bonuses issued just months apart in 2021, longevity payments hidden in obscure accounts, and payments processed outside the payroll system due to problems filing tax withholdings.
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“It looks like we are in deeper trouble than we originally thought,” Councilor Guerline Alcy Jabouin said. “This should concern everyone in Everett.”
According to the city charter, DeMaria’s salary is $185,000, with cost-of-living adjustments allowed every three years. However, The Boston Globe reports that with $40,000 in longevity payments the audit found were paid between 2018 and 2020, he became the highest-paid mayor in Massachusetts, surpassing Boston, Brockton, and Somerville.
The City Council approved a $2,500 longevity bonus in 2016 to keep pay in line without constant salary hikes. Instead, the inspector general found the city paid him much more, resulting in $180,000 in overpayments between 2016 and 2021.
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The report also cited improper retroactive and advance payments and raised concerns that DeMaria may have violated state ethics laws by helping draft and approve the very ordinance that authorized his longevity pay. The State Ethics Commission is reviewing the case.
In August, DeMaria sued the state inspector general over the interpretation of the city’s 2016 longevity ordinance.
DeMaria said he filed the suit to protect “the residents’ right to truth.”
In preparation for the fiscal year 2026 budget earlier this year, the Everett City Council added an appropriation request for $200,000 to its professional services line to continue paying the attorney it retained to help navigate the inspector general’s recommendations and pursue legal action to recover the funds from the mayor.
DeMaria denied the request.
At this week’s meeting, council members expressed that they would like to seek additional funds to participate in the mayor’s lawsuit against the inspector general.
Still, any additional funds to pursue that would have to be approved by the mayor.
Everett said it could not comment on the numbers presented in the report since the mayor and his administration had not received them.
However, in a statement provided to Boston.com, DeMaria says the administration has been cooperative in providing information and documentation related to questions about his compensation, noting “nothing was shielded or concealed.”
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“What was presented last night was not an impartial audit,” DeMaria said. “It was a PowerPoint presentation that glossed over critical supporting facts and opened the door for misleading statements by councilors.”
During public speaking, residents wore shirts that stated “Safe taxpayers” and “Dump DeMaria” with his picture.
“A group of us residents have been coming before you now in this very chamber for years for no parking, over development, follow the money, and bad behavior,” resident Anthony Raymond said. “That has now been overshadowed by a new complaint — criminal behavior.”
“Carlo, no one is above the law,” he continued. “When you get caught with your hand in the cookie jar, Carlo, you’re caught. Try being a man.”
The story was updated to accurately reflect that DeMaria is suing the inspector general and to better reflect the council’s funding for legal matters.
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