#StateEthicsCommission Koch Blocks #FatPayRaises For Mayor Koch And City Councillors

Image via threestooges.com

— Quincy Massachusetts News by Quincy Quarry News – News, Opinion and Commentary.

So much for easy money …
An Easy Money Associates/Orion Pictures image

Quincy Quarry News has long provided props to other media that publish stones busting exposés and this week the South Shore broadsheet crushed them as regards Quincy Mayor Thomas P,, Koch and Quincy City Councillors over their endeavoring to grift themselves 89% and 50% pay raises.

Specifically, the broadsheet broke word of how the Massachusetts State Ethics Commission has spanked local elected officials over their grifting outsized raises in violation of applicable law.

Conversely, the local weekly tabloid deserves opprobrium over its facilitating the Koch Machine to spin bovine byproduct as regards the Ethics Commission hammering local elected officials over their endeavoring to grift themselves fat pay raises.

In any event, earlier this month Quincy Mayor Koch and Council President Ian Cain stated that in the face of public outrage over the raises that Koch and the council would defer pay raises for their positions until the start of the next term of office for their jobs.

Not so fast …
A Shutterstock image

For city councillors, their raises are now proposed to be deferred until January 1, 2026 after the all face elections in November of 2025 instead of the fast approaching start of 2025 as they approved last June via a local ordinance without hosting a Public Hearing in spite of serious protesting by locals.

And as for the pending as well as under fire mayoral raise is currently said by Mayor Thomas P. Koch is to be deferred until the start of the next mayor term on January 1, 2028 following November 2027 local elections.

“You’ve got to be kidding me …”
A Paramount Television image

Arguably more importantly, the mayor and city council president clearly look to be caught in a lie as the Ethics Commission has been imposing its sentiments, if not also will, as regards the problems with the way the raises were approved.

Even so, Mayor Koch’s Chief of Staph was quoted as saying that “(w)e think we’re right, but we’re not going to pursue that,”

So what for the fact that the Ethics Commission is tasked to call balls & strikes as well as has far more professional staff to review matters that come to its attention.

Further, the original timelines for providing the raises would clearly appear to be in violation of Massachusetts General Law Chapter 268A, section 19.

Chapter 268A, section 19 bars municipal employees from participating in matters in which they, or their family members, have a direct and immediate financial interest. 

Perhaps they will all end up cellmates
An old Columbia Pictures image

Further, each violation of this law can be hit with a maximum fine of $10,000 or a maximum prison sentence of five years.

In other words, the potential for pension-voiding felony convictions.

Clear language and sanctions imposed if this Massachusetts General Law is violated of notwithstanding, City of Quincy City Solicitor James “Dim” Timmins instead offered his advice to his liege lord and the City Council that Massachusetts General Law Chapter 39, section 6A of state law to justify the timing of the raises. 

An old photo of Dim during happier times
A City of Quincy head shot.

Section 6A states that “no increase or reduction in salaries shall take effect during the year in which such increase or reduction is voted.”

While unclear if this latest finding of Dim’s legal advice to be wrong was because he stopped his review at Chapter 39 and so missed the robust sanctions posed subsequently in Chapter 268A or if he had  instead shopped for a law that facilitated the curious facilitating of the now at least deferred outsized raises for his boss and City Councillors, the City Solicitor did pretty much keep his long ongoing record of ending up overturned upon appeal or otherwise spanked in the wake of an outside review.

Also unclear at this point is if Dim is also mistaken in his view that local ordinance 17A is invalid.

Section 17A calls for votes by locals to be final step for either approving or rejecting mayoral and council pay raises.

“Do you, Thomas P. Koch, promise to (finally, ed.), tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?”
An old Columbia Pictures image.

In any event, the broadsheet reached out to the Massachusetts State Ethics Commission for comment, however, it was advised by a spokesperson for the commission that he could neither affirm nor deny the agency’s involvement given confidentiality requirements,

In turn, such would at least suggest that perhaps Ethics is still pondering things, including perhaps submitting a criminal referral to the Massachusetts Attorney General for further review and possible prosecution.

Accordingly, the Quarry has submitted a Public Records request to the Ethics Commission if for no other reason to obtain a sense if these pay raise griftings may still under review and so report an update to its ever-growing legions of loyal readers as might be appropriate.

And in the meanwhile, neither the mayor nor the city council president have indicated that there are any plans to formally address the problems with the offending pay raise ordinances either by voiding them or at least amending their text.

Needless to say, Quincy Quarry News’ ever-growing legions of loyal readers can count on the Quarry to call on cancelling the pay raises ordinances and then perhaps schedule proper do-overs, including Public Hearings so as to only properly allow public comment about the unpopular pay raises as well as so press for raises more in line with what city employees have seen over the time since the mayor and councillors last received raises

QQ disclaimer