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    • Quincy civil servants’ pay raises draw attention from State Ethics Commission
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    Quincy civil servants’ pay raises draw attention from State Ethics Commission

    Umito Posted on

    QUINCY – The Massachusetts State Ethics Commission has raised conflict of interest concerns regarding significant pay raises approved by Quincy city councilors for themselves and Mayor Thomas Koch, according to Koch’s chief of staff, Chris Walker.

    In June, councilors approved the mayor’s salary increase from $150,000 to $285,000 and advisor compensation from $30,000 to $43,500. This decision aroused popular opposition, including several demonstrations and a effort to repeal increases thanks to a petition campaign which ultimately did not reach the required number of signatures.

    State intervention played a role in the decision by Koch and board Chairman Ian Cain. decision to postpone increaseswhich otherwise would have started Jan. 1, 2025, Walker said.

    Due to the postponement, they will not come into force until after the next election cycle for each position – 2026 for municipal councilors and 2028 for mayor.

    When Koch and Cain announced the postponement of the raises until mid-October, they made no mention of the National Ethics Commission. Walker told the Patriot Ledger that the state has been involved “for the last couple of months.”

    Citing confidentiality requirements, a spokesperson for the National Ethics Commission said he could neither affirm nor deny the agency’s involvement in the matter.

    Conflict of interest law and its applicability to raises

    Massachusetts law (Chapter 268A, Article 19) prohibits municipal employees from participating in matters in which they, or members of their family, have a direct and immediate financial interest.

    Each violation of the law can result in a fine of up to $10,000 or imprisonment of up to five years.

    Under the law, the financial interest must be reasonably foreseeable to create a conflict. A case before the Commission since 1987 specifies how this stipulation applies to raises for municipal employees.

    In this case, a municipal councilor had voted on a proposal to increase the position of mayor, a position he intended to run for in the next municipal elections.

    The commission decided that the councilor’s participation in the salary increase did not constitute a conflict of interest because “the political success of any potential candidate for political office is, at best, speculative when the individual is competing among a pool of candidates.

    In contrast, Koch proposed — and the council approved — the raises in the legislative session that directly followed the November 2023 mayoral and city council elections, making them in theory a direct and immediate financial interest.

    Walker told the Patriot Ledger that conflicting state laws complicated the problem. But rather than go through an arbitration process, Koch decided to accept the commission’s interpretation and delay the raises until after the election, Walker said.

    “We think we’re right, but we’re not going to continue down this path,” Walker said.

    City Attorney Jim Timmins has already been summoned Chapter 39, Article 6A of state law to justify the timing of the increases. It specifies that “no increase or reduction in salaries will take effect during the year in which such increase or reduction is voted on”.

    Under ordinances passed in June, the mayor and councilor raises were to take effect January 1, 2025.

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    How the National Ethics Commission works

    The National Ethics Commission is investigating alleged conflict of interest violations. It receives complaints from the public and generates its own complaints by reviewing media reports or other sources of information, according to a agency web page.

    After an initial review by staff, they either close the complaint for lack of evidence or recommend a formal investigation into the allegations, after which the person involved in the complaint receives notice of the investigation, including specific laws that may have been raped.

    The investigation aims to establish “probable cause” to believe a violation occurred. If three of the agency’s five commissioners determine there is cause, the matter moves to a public hearing.

    Alternatively, a public settlement could be reached, in which the person under investigation agrees to pay a civil penalty, comply with orders, and admit to the commission’s findings of fact.

    Although deferred, the increases remain on the books. What happens to the money?

    Unless councilors vote to rescind the items authorizing salary increases, the money remains part of the budget, whether the mayor and city councilors agree to it or not.

    Each June, at the end of the fiscal year, unspent money from various budget lines is subject to transfers, where surpluses in the accounts offset deficits elsewhere in the budget, according to municipal finance director Eric Mason.

    After transfers, any remaining surplus falls into a “free cash” account, Mason said, which the board can reallocate for different purposes.

    For example, available cash can reduce the budget and thus reduce homeowners’ property taxes for the next fiscal year. Alternatively, free money has been used to purchase equipment such as fire trucks in the past, according to Mason.

    Thank you to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, consider supporting quality local journalism with a Patriot Ledger subscription. Here is our latest offer.

    Contact Peter Blandino at [email protected]

    Umito
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