Pay increases for Quincy officials are drawing the attention of the State Ethics Commission

QUINCY – The Massachusetts State Ethics Commission According to Chris Walker, Koch’s chief of staff, there were conflict of interest concerns over the large pay increases approved by Quincy city council members for themselves and Mayor Thomas Koch.

In June, Council members approved an increase in the mayor’s salary from $150,000 to $285,000 and councilors’ salaries from $30,000 to $43,500. The move sparked opposition among the population, including several protests and a attempt to repeal the increases through a petition campaign that ultimately did not reach the required number of signatures.

The state’s intervention played a role in Koch’s and council chairman Ian Cain’s decision to postpone the increasewhich would otherwise have gone into effect Jan. 1, 2025, Walker said.

Because of the delay, they won’t take effect until after the next election cycle for each position: 2026 for city council members and 2028 for mayor.

When Koch and Cain announced the postponement of the raises in mid-October, they made no mention of the State Ethics Commission. Walker told The Patriot Ledger that the state has been involved “over the course of the last several months.”

Citing confidentiality requirements, a spokesman for the State Ethics Commission said he could neither confirm nor deny the agency’s involvement in the case.

Conflict of interest legislation and its applicability to wage increases

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

Any violation of the law carries a fine of up to $10,000 or a maximum prison sentence of five years.

According to the law, the financial interest must be reasonably foreseeable in order to cause a conflict. A case before the Commission from 1987 clarifies how this provision applies to wage increases for municipal employees.

In that case, a city councilor voted on a proposed increase to the mayoral position, a position that the councilor wanted to pursue in the upcoming mayoral elections.

The committee decided that the council member’s participation in the pay increase did not constitute a conflict of interest because “the political success of any potential candidate for political office is speculative at best when the individual is competing among a group of candidates.”

By contrast, Koch proposed — and the council approved — the increases during the legislative session immediately following the November 2023 mayoral and municipal elections, making their financial importance theoretically direct and immediate.

Walker told The Patriot Ledger that conflicting state laws complicate the issue. But rather than go through court proceedings, Koch decided to accept the commission’s interpretation and delay the increases until after the election, Walker said.

“We think we’re right, but we’re not going to comment on that,” Walker said.

City Attorney Jim Timmins previously appealed the case Chapter 39, Section 6A of state law to justify the timing of the increases. It states that “no increase or decrease in salaries shall take effect during the year in which such increase or decrease is voted on.”

Under the ordinances passed in June, the mayor and aldermen’s raises would take effect Jan. 1, 2025.

How the State Ethics Commission Works

The State Ethics Commission investigates alleged conflict of interest violations. It receives complaints from the public and generates its own complaints by reviewing media reports or other sources of information, one said agency web page.

After an initial review by staff, the department will either close a complaint for lack of evidence or recommend a formal investigation into the allegations. At that time, the individual will be notified of the investigation, including specific laws that may have been violated.

The investigation is aimed at establishing “probable cause” to believe a violation has occurred. If three of the agency’s five commissioners determine that cause exists, the matter will move to a public hearing.

Alternatively, a public settlement could be reached, in which the subject of the investigation agrees to pay a civil penalty, follow orders and admit the commission’s factual findings.

Although postponed, the increases remain on the books. What happens to the money?

Unless council members vote to repeal the line items authorizing the pay increases, the money will remain part of the budget whether the mayor and council members accept it or not.

Every June, at the end of the budget year, unused money is transferred from individual budget lines, with account surpluses offsetting shortfalls elsewhere in the budget, according to city Finance Director Eric Mason.

After the transfers, any remaining surplus will fall into a “free money” account, Mason said, which the city can use for a variety of purposes.

For example, free cash can pay off the budget and thus reduce property taxes for homeowners for the next fiscal year. Alternatively, Mason has purchased equipment such as fire trucks in the past with free money.

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Reach Peter Blandino at [email protected]