Ward Three City Councilor Henry Bousquet has been unable to collect his $21,000 municipal salary since April 2014, and now state legislators are looking to help out.

A State Ethics Commission Conflict of Interest law prohibits Bousquet from collecting both the City Council salary and his $79,000 salary earned as a culinary instructor at Greater New Bedford Voc-Tech. State Representative Robert Koczera has filed legislation that could allow Bousquet to collect both. "What we've done is we've filed the legislation that says that this compensation as a city councilor is not in conflict. It's two separate pays, if you will," says Koczera.

The Conflict of Interest law states a single person cannot collect two salaries from the same level of government. Koczera says the high school is a regional school, with funds contributed by Fairhaven, Dartmouth, and New Bedford, and is not a municipal school.

A second home rule petition would allow regional school district employees to receive a salary from the City if they were to become elected municipal officials in new bedford.

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