All in the Family: City of Methuen Officials tiptoe around conflicts of interest

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Methuen Mayor James Jajuga
A Carl Russo image

– News about elsewhere covered by Quincy Quarry News with commentary added.

 

All in the Family: City of Methuen Officials tiptoe around conflicts of interest

 

With no resolution in sight to myriad of problems caused by the massive salary increases provided to supervisory police officers the Methuen Police Department in particular care of their new union contract, Methuen Mayor James Jajuga has had to put forward a placeholder budget to keep the city running through the end of July and so give him more time to perhaps work out a deal with the unions to undo the massive pay raises.

 

Cha-CHING!!!!
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There is a “small” problem, however – Mayor Jajuga is not the one in talks with the Methuen police patrolmen and superiors unions.  

 

His son is a captain in the Police Department, creating a conflict of interest that led Jajuga to delegate his authority in the matter to Paul Fahey, his chief of staff. 

 

Under Massachusetts’ conflict of interest law, municipal employees – those holding an office, position or employment with a municipal agency, whether elected, appointed or contracted – cannot participate in matters in which they or their immediate family have financial interest.

 

The mayor’s conflict of interest isn’t the only to come up in the contentious and prolonged fiscal year 2019 budget cycle.  

 

Several councilors also have family members who work in city departments – the city council chairwoman alone has four family members with jobs in three major departments.

 

Obviously not friends or family seeking work
A Quincy Quarry News file photo

In short, City of Methuen officials’ level of familial conflicts of interest could in total rival those of Quincy Mayor Thomas P. Koch.

 

Methuen community members in recent weeks have expressed concern about these and similar conflicts of interest, particularly when it comes to the police contracts negotiated and approved under the previous administration. 

 

In the meanwhile, Methuen is looking to be laying off dozens of teachers even if it is able to renegotiate the supervisory police officers’ new salaries to something reasonable as opposed to amounts higher to significantly higher than those in similar ranks anywhere in the country and especially so for those working in a small suburban city.

Source: All in the family: Officials tiptoe around conflicts 

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