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— Quincy Massachusetts News by Quincy Quarry News – News, Opinion and Commentary.
(How do you know when a politician is lying? Whenever he is talking)
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Just announced formally yesterday was word that Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch will be presenting his proposed Fiscal Year 2026 Budget at this coming Monday’s city council meeting.
With past as prologue, two things are all but certain.
One is that it is pretty much a given that the proposed budget will be approved with at best a few minor adjustments made mostly for show.
A bad show.
Easy spending
An Easy Money Associates/Orion Pictures
And the other: spending in FY 2026 will yet again outstrip both the rate of inflation as well as likely entail a percentage increase more than what is planned by other Massachusetts municipalities.
How big of an increase?
Quincy Quarry News is already on record as expecting as much as upwards of approaching a 10% increase in spending from FY 2025 spending.
The key driver of the spending increase will be an expected roughly $27 million increase to principal paydown debt expense in FY 2026 and the very real likelihood that the debt service expense in total could well be going up by close to 50%.
The twenty-seven large pop is care of the first principal paydown on a $475 million bond issued three years ago.
Normally, a municipal bond pays down the principal owed every year during the term of the bond as do mortgage borrowers;
In this instance, however, paying down principal was shall we say “curiously’ delayed for three years.
Follow the money ALWAYS follow the money
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And as for why issue a $475 million bond, it was issued to cover the shortfall in city employee pension obligations which are supposed to be self-financed by employee paycheck deductions.
Such was not happening, however, and thus the City of Quincy was ordered to the State of Massachusetts Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission (“PERAC”) to bring the funding of its employee pension fund up to actuarial soundness after decades of underfunding.
How seriously underfunded?
A cyberheister
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The City of Quincy’s pension fund was for over a decade foundering among the most woefully underfunded municipal pensions in the Commonwealth.
Now, however, local taxpayers are on the hook to cover the pension’s massive funding shortfall by paying off the half a billion dollar bond issued to cover the shortfall even though municipal pensions in Massachusetts are supposed to be self-funded via employee paycheck deductions at a level that should cover the nut.
Local taxpayers are also on the hook to cover millions more in related as well as other shortfalls, including the likelihood of eventually having to cover the loss of $3.5 million cyberheisted successfully from the employee pension fund for reasons ultimately facilitated by lax practices of the pension board and the mismanagement of the city’s email system.
Angry taxpayers happen
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And as for the additionally projected 40% of the expected upwards of a 10% spending increase in FY 2026, such is expected to be substantially care of the usual free spending ways of Mayor Koch.
In any event, as well as again, Mayor Koch is scheduled to commence his budget presentations at 7:30 pm Monday night in the city council chamber as well as expected to be concurrently broadcast live on QATV and so make it possible for those who prefer to watch safely from a distance.
Is it true Mayor Koch gave himself a huge salary increase so that he can afford his 2026 property tax bill?
More like to help fund his impending legal bills.
Not to worry Mayor Koch, councilor DiBona will lead the charge for McCarthy and the tribe of rubber stampers to approve his budget even if With a billion five in debt, one would think that someone would challenge at least single line item.
But then again why would there be any challenge when the pension fund lost $3.5 million due to a mistake (so we have we have been told anyway … ) and no real investigation and instead only a whitewash then Followed by a plum appointment for a former rubber stamper from ward 2.
This council needs an infusion of new blood now and let’s start with the empty suits.
Jack — how does one infuse an empty suit?
Seriously, what Quincy needs is some smart skirts on the city council to take the good ole boys to well-deserved task for making a muddle of things.
Mayor Koch is set to unveil his Fiscal Year 2026 budget proposal at the upcoming City Council meeting. Given the city’s recent financial maneuvers, one might expect a masterclass in fiscal responsibility. However, with a proposed budget of $456 million, marking an 8.6% increase over the previous year, it seems we’re in for more of the same.
You should dive deeper into this … Danny — con man — Flynn is on Tommy’s payroll. So wish someone could find out what all is being hidden.
Fraud hater,
Have a key shot grade dime on Danny Boy? If so, drop it via the Quarry’s Drop a Dime Hotline at https://quincyquarry.com/drop-a-dime/
In the meanwhile, Danny Boy is nowhere to be seen in the annual South Shore broadsheet City of Quincy payroll story, however, the Quarry did see that often in need of a job former local ward healer Margaret LaForest is yet again dining at the city’s trough.
In any event, do find some comfort in that the Quarry is working on other embarrassing stories for the Koch Machine.