Monday’s City Council VOTE

A lot of concerned citizens have shared their opinions in anticipation of Monday’s City Council meeting and final vote on the proposed raises.. In case you aren’t aware, the City Council will be meeting for the last time before Summer break on Monday June 17. This will also be the last time the raise for the Mayor will be voted on.

One citizen wanted to say this to those who want to stand with us on Monday night,

“Like many Quincy residents, I oppose the proposed 79% salary increase for the mayor and proposed 58% salary increase for the city council. That DOES NOT mean that I oppose a raise for them.  It means I oppose such large raises.

I realize that they haven’t received a raise in nearly a decade. Still, raises need to be reasonable and proportionate.  To put the proposed increases in perspective, the mayor’s 79% raise is equivalent to a 6% compounded increase over 10 years.  The council's 58% raise is akin to a 4.6% compounded increase.

It’s disappointing that no citizen input on the proposed raises is allowed during the City Council meeting.  BUT we can voice our opinions in different way. Join us on Monday outside City Hall starting at 5:30 PM and at the City Council meeting at 6:30.  Our presence and our signs will speak volumes.Thank you for standing with us. 

Another person familiar to “A Just Quincy” had this to say:

”We have a government out of touch with the tax paying public. We have told the mayor and the city council repeatedly that we are against a 79% raise. We are already paying for a salary and numerous benefits-pension, health, dental, life insurance, car allowance, longevity bonus, the use of an SUV. How many Quincy taxpayers have that level of benefits? How many have a $285,000 salary?

Quincy is in debt over $1.1 billion. Quincy has a level of nepotism never seen before. Quincy has an Elder Services department being investigated by federal authorities. Quincy buys real estate high and sells low. Quincy loses millions in pension funds. Quincy mayor’s nephew detective is accused of sexting an intellectually challenged girl and is initially protected. Quincy gives favored developers tax breaks and million dollar breaks. Quincy pays a consultant to generate a study of anything but mayors to justify a 79% increase in the Quincy mayor’s salary.  

How much more will the Quincy taxpayers be asked to give? Is Quincy willing to give the mayor a 79% raise to make him the highest paid mayor in Massachusetts?”

And a final thought from one resident with strong feelings on the mayor’s proposed raise:

Like many Quincy residents, we oppose the proposed 79% salary increase for the office of the mayor and the proposed 58% salary increase for the city council salaries. To be clear, that DOES NOT mean that we oppose a raise for those positions.

We recognize that the last mayoral salary increase took effect in 2015.  Looking at the cost-of-living index (CPI), a salary of $159,216 in 2015 is the equivalent to a salary of $231,964 in 2024.  The requested $280,000 salary is well beyond these measures and even higher than the salaries of the mayors of Boston ($207k), Chicago ($221k) and even New York City ($258k) and those city populations are in the millions!
We need a reasonable and proportionate approach. Some say that these objections are politically charged, but to quote members of the city council when addressing this question, “It is not about the person, it’s about the position.” And we couldn’t agree more. Whether it’s Koch, Phelan or whatever last name may be in that position in the future, we need accountability for the tax paying citizens of Quincy.

The city council is the finance committee and the finance committee is the city council. Do you see the ripe potential for conflicts of interest here?  The only thing between the salaries of our elected representatives and their votes is themselves. This is a classic example of the foxes running the hen house and we demand accountability!
If the proposed raises are approved, it could set a challenging precedent.  We need to prevent the proposed raises from being approved and demand a more fair approach towards increasing salaries in the future. .It’s disappointing that no citizen input on the proposed raises is allowed during the City Council meeting. BUT we can voice our opinions in different way. Join us on Monday outside City Hall starting at 5:30 PM and at the City Council meeting at 6:30. Our presence and our signs will speak volumes.

Thank you for standing with us.