City Manager says New Bern intends to withdraw membership from the Eastern Carolina Council of Governments.
It sounded like City Manager Foster Hughes told the New Bern Board of Aldermen on May 5, 2026, that the Eastern Carolina Council of Governments membership dues would be cut during budget talks at the Stanley A. White Recreation Center in New Bern, NC. The details were sketchy so NewBernNow.com later asked him if he recommended withdrawing from the ECC, and if so, why?
The city manager told NBN, “The City of New Bern provided notice to the Eastern Carolina Council of Governments on March 20, 2026, of its intent to withdraw membership.”
“This decision was made following concerns regarding organizational transparency after the departure of the previous executive director, as well as concerns related to financial management. Additionally, as one of the larger municipalities in the region, the city has found that many of the services offered through the organization were not utilized or directly beneficial to our operational needs,” he said.
We asked Foster Hughes when the board voted to decide to withdraw membership and requested a copy of the letter. We have not received a response by press time.
New Bern, in Craven County, has been a member of the Eastern Carolina Council of Governments for years. The ECC’s office is located inside the O. Marks building on Middle Street.
This comes after Craven County Board of Commissioners voted on April 20 to withdraw membership, as reported here. It’s also been reported that Cedar Point, Cape Carteret, La Grange, Kinston and Greene and Lenoir counties are among the governments that have decided to withdraw or partially withdraw and retain the ECC’s Area Agency on Aging services.
“The Eastern Carolina Council (ECC) is a multi-county, local government planning and development organization serving nine counties and 71 municipal and county governments across eastern North Carolina. As one of sixteen councils of governments in the state, ECC exists to support regional collaboration, assist local governments, and serve as a bridge between local, state, and federal partners,” according to a statement from ECC.
This comes at the same time as New Bern’s aldermen approved a Memorandum of Understanding for the expansion of the New Bern Area Metropolitan Planning Organization planning boundary to include the towns of Dover, Vanceboro and Cove City, and the city of Havelock in the MPO’s planning boundary. The current boundary included areas of unincorporated Craven County, the towns of Bridgeton, River Bend, Trent Woods, and the city of New Bern. Craven County government will take control of the MPO, as reported here.
Related news
Since taking office in December, the newly elected city council has held two day-long meetings “away from city hall.” Although the city recently invested in new A/V equipment, these day-long retreats/workshops are not livestreamed to the internet or broadcast on television, but are later edited, uploaded to one of the city’s platforms and published 1-3 days later.
The Board of Aldermen will consider 44 agenda items during their regular meeting on May 12, 2026, at 6 p.m. in the second-floor courtroom at City Hall. The meeting agenda and packet can be found here.
Meeting videos can be found on City 3 TV or on the city’s Facebook page and/or YouTube channel.
By Wendy Card, editor. Send an email with questions or comments.