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— Quincy Massachusetts News by Quincy Quarry News – News, Opinion and Commentary
Counting up the benjamins before they happen?
Image via danieldervartanian.com
A presentation at this past Monday’s City Council meeting recommended at least a 90% raise to as much as a 136% raise for Quincy Mayor Thomas P. Koch has not only raised mostly unfavorable to outright brutal coverage from local media, even regional print and television news outlets have piled on with often pointed coverage as opposed to their traditional rare instances of covering any news about Quincy.
Even more damning of the proposal, social media was all but universally critical per Quincy Quarry News’ review.
From Facebook to NextDoor to Reddit to X to other platforms, posters were often so brutal that their written comments are often not suitable for reading aloud in the workplace.
X. XXX. Twitter – whatever …
X logo via Creative Bloq
One poster even compared the proposal with the scandalous griftings by former city officials in Bell California and where a number of those involved were run out of town as in to prison.
In fairness, however, surely Mayor Koch is convinced that he is hardest working mayor around and thus most likely also believes that he deserving of the largest mayoral salary paid in the country, not to mention so also blowing away the annual salaries that of Boston Mayor Michelle Wu ($207,000) and Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey ($222,000).
Then again, Mayor Koch should be paid more than the two top elected officials to offices in within the Commonwealth and who are female — just ask him!
And for mayors elsewhere, consider the salaries of mayors of far larger US cities than Quincy.
- Eric Adams, mayor of New York, population 8.34 million: $258,041
- Karen Bass, mayor of Los Angeles, population 3.8 million: $301,000
- London Breed, mayor of San Francisco, population 0.81 million: $357,000
- Brandon Johnson, mayor of Chicago, population 2.67 million: $221,052
- John Whitmire, mayor of Houston, population 2.3 million: $236,189
In any event, there are at least two problems with the stupendous proposed pay pop annual salary range of $299,000 to $370,000.
Generalissimo el Jefe Alcalde Tomas P. Koch
A Quincy Quarry News Photoshop Phun Team meme
One, the proposal mistakenly significantly relies on including consideration of what hired city managers (a.k.a., “Chief Administrative Officers”) are paid to run the operations of a city when such duties are not ascribed to that municipality’s mayor — if, that is, such a municipality it even has a mayor.
While admittedly the workloads might be similar, city managers are required to have considerable germane experience, relevant education, and often appropriate professional certification(s).
City managers are also subject to ready dismissal whereas mayors only face scheduled elections years apart or perhaps recall or some other manner of impeachment depending on local statutes.
Mayors also typically enjoy the ability to make patronage to outright hack hires whereas a city manager doing same would be asking to be fired. Accordingly, it is only reasonable that mayors see less pay given such extraordinary latitudes.
Plus, at the end of the day the role of mayor is purportedly public service whereas the role of city mangers is ultimately but a job.
The other problem is that the outside consultants were both arguably not exactly independent outsiders as well as look to probably not be duly qualified to do such a compensation study.
Piled high …
Image via the San Jose Mercury News
Specifically, the problems range from how the two consultants have college ties to Mayor Koch’s chief financial officer on top of no obvious germane experience to poise what they did with their report and which is underscored by the fact that the report is basically bovine byproduct
Likely further problems for Tommy, the seen it all and then some old hands in the Quarry newsroom suspect that Mayor Koch’s gamey game plan is to pose a stupendous, if not also stupefying, pay increase posed and then announce that he is only going to seek but — say — a “mere” $50,000 raise for the good of Quincy.
He has a nerve look at what he put the teachers through when they were looking for a well deserved raise. Not to mention how he has no sympathy for us taxpayers as we have to pay an outrageous increase while he made deals with rich developers not to pay taxes. Suck it up Mr. Mayor just like we have to!
YES, WE SHOULD JOIN THE OTHER 9 PLACES TO LIVE IN MA WHERE THEY HAVE A RESIDENTIAL EXEMPTION FOR OWNER OCCUPIED PROPERTIES. Boston and communities that abut Boston provide this tax break and so too should Quincy do so what with all of the new outsized the apartment projects to house workers commuting to Boston. We have housing crowding, gridlock traffic, and the tax burden falls heavily on homeowners whereas new developers are scoring all manner of tax breaks for 10-40 yrs and other incentives even though the City of Quincy has over a billion dollars outstanding debt, much of which has been incurred to support these same developer’ projects.
The age-old tale of a mayor with a nose for sniffing out a stupendous raise while the rest of us mere mortals struggle to make ends meet. Bravo, Mayor Koch, for your audacious display of self-importance. Here’s a thought: maybe instead of padding your pockets, try investing in your community. Just a suggestion from the peanut gallery.
No doubt the rubber stampers on the city council are getting their rubber stamps ready. McCarthy immediately came out in support of this outrageous money grab by the Lord Mayor.
If Mayor Koch gets his big raise, McCarthy will be the first one to complain he is now being underpaid and deserves a similar big raise.
Boss Hogg was driving a dump truck before Sheets hired him. Now he holds the Bible in one hand while he goes around with his collection plate in the other. All city workers (especially police) who want to be promoted drop hundreds to thousands on his campaign fund or they don’t get promoted. Look at the City employment list. They either donated to Tommy or it’s like 23 and Me DNA – ALL related.
He studied landscaping at QJC and deserves $380,000? The President of the United States makes $400,000.
He often jokes how the council does whatever he wants. Devine and McCarthy couldn’t wait to affirm the big raise. They need the favors. He got rid of Mahoney who called out his BS.
He goes to all the wakes and funerals as well as sends police with motorcycles on no charge funeral details at a huge cost to taxpayers to buy votes.
And when I review his campaign fund donations I always find it funny that 90 year old homemakers in Newton are making %500 donations to the mayor in Quincy. Construction project? Then again maybe he does deserve at least deserve as much as Chicago’s mayor. After all, Quincy’s politics are as corrupt as Chicago’s.
Kevin,
Utterly no offense intended as the list goes on and on and far longer yet, but you neglected to note that Quincy’s peerless mayor is by far the most noted by the MA Office of Campaign and Political Finance MA politician to have received illegal “straw” campaign fund donations. That and how he spends well into 5 figures a year from his campaign fund on assumed to be condolences floral arrangements.