Cha-CHING for Quincy Mayor Thomas P. Koch!

Why this man is smiling.

— News covered by Quincy Quarry News with commentary added.

“I’m in the money!”
Image via danieldervartanian.com

Cha-CHING for Quincy Mayor Thomas P. Koch!

The City of Quincy scored big on the latest federal COViD-19 predicated federal spending program care of a $46.3 million community block grant.

Not only on a total amount basis, but also as compared to other communities given the way that community block grant funding is allocated in ways favorable to larger communities as well as other factors.

How favorable?

The resemblance is uncanny!
An Easy Money Associates/Orion Pictures

Quincy will be receiving more than half again as much money as Weymouth – the second most benefited as well as the second-largest municipality in Norfolk County – on a per resident basis, over three times as much as third-largest South Shore community Plymouth on a per resident basis, and roughly five times as much as all of the other communities in South Shore communities on a per capita basis.

The good news/bad news: Quincy Quarry News’ Financial and Other Affairs Desk has already projected that upwards of roughly half of the forty-six large is likely already looking to be allocated to cover the breathtaking declines in local excise, hotel, motel, and meals tax revenue care of COVID-19 during the multiyear timeframe this funding is supposed to last and thus surely limiting what Quincy Mayor Tom Koch can do with the forty-six large.

Unclear, however, is if any of this federal funding can be finessed so as to help replenish the $8.3 million in various city reserve funds that Mayor Koch tapped to help cover the nut for city spending during Calendar Year 2021.

Up in smoke?
A file photo

The Koch Administration so tapped core city reserve funds accounts by roughly a third, with one of them – the Other Post Employment Benefits (“OPEB”) reserve fund – all but emptied

Depending on how one cares to do the accrual projections, the City of Quincy has an unfunded OPEB liability surely in at least the upper mid-nine figure range at this point, not that the $2.1 million withdrawal of practically all of what was formerly in the OPEB reserves was going to make even but merely a dent on an approaching billion dollar unfunded liability that local taxpayers are on the hook to cover. 

Will the burn rate continue to burn?
Image via the CheatSheet.com

As such, why not all but drain the account as what was in it would not have done squat to cover this massive funding gap.

Regardless, in recent weeks Mayor Koch has proposed issuing somewhat north of half a billion in new city debt on proposals that ultimately are arguably plans to try to paper over past bad decisions made during his maladministration.

Source: How much will your town get from the federal stimulus?

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