BROCKTON — Is Brockton going bankrupt? It’s a question Mayor Robert F. Sullivan has started to speak about in public.

“A lot of you have heard ‘receivership,’ ‘control board,'” the third-term mayor told city councilors Monday, March 8. “The word that was mentioned recently was ‘bankruptcy.’ We cannot as elected officials, we all took the same oath, we cannot let the city of Brockton go bankrupt.”

It’s worth noting that it’s against state law for Massachusetts cities to declare bankruptcy. Even if the state were to intervene with oversight or a loan, the City of Champions is not likely literally to file for bankruptcy. So the word “bankrupt” shows how serious Brockton’s money troubles have become.

The city’s chief financial officer put it bluntly at the same Monday meeting where Sullivan dropped the “B” word.

“We don’t have any money left,” said Troy Clarkson. “We drained the piggy bank to address the issues last year.”

On Friday, The Enterprise obtained the final report from TJ Plante’s Open Architects, a firm hired by the state to look into the finances of Brockton Public Schools. The four-page report confirms many details the newspaper has previously reported about multi-million dollar deficits. It’s a sobering read.

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How big is Brockton Public Schools’ deficit?

In addition to the $18.3 million deficit the schools ran in fiscal 2023, the report projects a fiscal 2024 — the year we are currently in that ends June 30 — deficit of up to $25 million. That’s not all. City departments are already crunching numbers for the fiscal 2025 budget. Even with a hefty increase in state funding from Gov. Maura Healey’s proposed budget, the schools face a future deficit of up to $19 million, the report said. Add those up and you have an eye-watering, devastating total shortfall over three fiscal years of up to $62.5M.

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Hiring freeze and fiscal austerity

On the city side, Sullivan has already started checking the couch cushions for any savings he can find. In a leaked email to city department heads that Sullivan confirmed as genuine, he imposed a hiring freeze and other fiscal austerity measures.

“While we are developing a plan to contain cost pressures in the FY24 School budget and prepare for FY25, we need to demonstrate austerity in the city budget as well to prepare for any eventuality,” his memo read.

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‘Dire financial situation’

“We are currently in a dire financial situation,” Sullivan said in a statement to the Enterprise. “Mr. Plante greatly assisted the City of Springfield during their time of financial discord. In my opinion, we need the assistance of Open Architects to guide Brockton Public Schools and the City through this time of crisis.”

Plante’s scope of work with the state ended the last day of February. Sullivan plans to hire Open Architects via the Brockton Schools for a $20,000-per month contract, he said Monday.

The city-side austerity measures include:

• Strategic hiring: Any proposal to fill vacant positions must go through the mayor’s office for approval.

• Limit on tuition and training: The mayor also wants all spending in these categories sent to CFO Clarkson and the mayor’s office.

• Limit on travel: Any travel in or out of state needs approval from both Clarkson and Sullivan.

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Possible hike in trash fees

Sullivan’s administration has several budget-related items on the agenda for Monday’s City Council meeting. They include asking council to approve a hike in trash fees from $280 to $400 a year. The mayor first floated the idea this summer. The refuse fee hasn’t changed in 20 years.

Also on Monday, the City Council will take up Sullivan’s call to create two new positions: an assistant auditor for school finance with a salary of up to $116,831 and an assistant chief financial officer for school finance and procurement with a salary of up to $150,179.

Residents can expect continued sharp debate over a proposed independent review of the administrative structure of Brockton Public Schools. The idea sparked more than two hours of discussion at Monday’s finance committee meeting.

Send your news tips to reporter Chris Helms by email at CHelms@enterprisenews.com or connect on X at @HelmsNews.

This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Brockton bankruptcy talk breaks into the open among political leaders