A Just Quincy in the press:
The Quincy Sun interview with Mayor Koch
Topic: Ethics investigation, the raises, issues with residents who oppose him.
October 31, 2024 Quincy Sun
Front Page and continued on P. 28
Scott Jackson
There does not appear to be an online link to this article. If you can’t get your hands on a print copy of that edition, AJQ covers it in this blog/video.
Pay raises for Quincy officials draw State Ethics Commission attention
“QUINCY ‒ The Massachusetts State Ethics Commission raised conflict of interest concerns over the large pay raises approved by Quincy city councilors for themselves and Mayor Thomas Koch, according to Koch's chief of staff, Chris Walker.”
….
“Massachusetts law (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.
Each violation of the law can incur a maximum fine of $10,000 or a maximum prison sentence of five years.”
Peter Blandino, Oct 31, 2024, Patriot Ledger
Local residents of Quincy say that a delay in salary increases for city councilors and Mayor Thomas Koch falls short of what is necessary.
They’re pushing for more public accountability in a monthslong fight by elected leaders to boost their own wages, despite public opinion being sour on the matter.
“We still don’t understand why they’re just deferred and not repealed,” said Joe Murphy, a local resident and founder of advocacy group A Just Quincy. “What we’d like to see is for them to repeal these ordinances and start over with a procedure that makes more sense and includes public input.”
Sarah Betancourt WGBH
October 17, 2024
Public perception and pushback prompted elected officials in Quincy to delay recently approved salary increases of 79 percent for Mayor Thomas Koch and 50 percent for city councilors, according to a statement issued last week by the city.
The raises, scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, will be deferred until the start of the next election cycle, meaning 2028 for Koch and 2026 for the nine councilors, the statement said.
“There's a lot of important work ahead, and we don't need distractions," Koch said in the statement posted on the city's Facebook page. “I love this job, I love Quincy, and I'm committed to making sure we stay on track for progress."
Tonya Alanez, Boston Globe
October 16, 2024
In the face of public pressure, Mayor Thomas Koch and nine members of the Quincy City Council have announced they will defer sizable raises passed in June until after the next election cycle. For Koch, that means 2028. The next term for city council begins in 2026.
The raises were set to take effect Jan. 1, 2025. Around 100 residents attended the first city council meeting of the fall session on Sept. 9 to protest the raises and voice their frustration with the council for approving them.
Peter Blandino The Patriot Ledger
October 11, 2024
Mayor Thomas Koch and City Council President Ian Cain on Friday announced salary increases for the mayor and city councillors would not take effect until the start of the next elected terms for the mayor and city councillors. The new term for city councillors begins in January 2026 and the new term for the mayor starts in January 2028.
“There’s a lot of important work ahead, and we don’t need distractions,” Koch said in a statement. “I love this job, I love Quincy, and I’m committed to making sure we stay on track for progress.”
“We’ve listened to feedback from the community and, after careful consideration, we’re making the prudent decision to defer these raises,” Cain said in the same statement.
Scott Jackson, The Quincy Sun
October 11, 2024
A cadre of residents, incensed by recently approved salary increases of 79 percent for Mayor Thomas Koch and 50 percent for city councilors, rallied at City Hall Plaza Monday evening waving signs that said, “Stop the CA$H grab,” calling for a repeal of the raises.
Under the banner of “A Just Quincy,” the group formed over the summer to oppose the raises that were approved in June, right before the council recessed for the season. Koch’s raise of more than $100,000, slated to go into effect in January, would make him one of the highest paid mayors in the country.
The protesters, nearly 100 strong, warmly greeted one another as they rallied an hour before the council’s 6:30 p.m. meeting, its first since summer recess. Their handmade signs said, “Stop the steal. Repeal the raises,” “We are constituents not hecklers!” and “Quincy has a Koch problem.”
One city councilor says he won't be taking the new increase in annual salary $17,500.
City councilors wrapped up last session before the summer break by approving raises both for the mayor and themselves. But one of the body's nine members, Ward 6 Councilor Bill Harris, announced this week he will not accept the extra in annual salary.
Harris said it was the third time he has opposed pay raises for council members since taking office in 2016. The first two measures failed, but this year's proposal boosting councilors' pay from $30,000 to $47,500 passed with only Harris and Ward 5 Councilor Dan Minton dissenting.
A hostile crowd repeatedly jeered and heckled the Quincy City Council on Monday night, disrupting the body's first meeting after summer recess. Most demonstrators came to oppose the pair of pay raises councilors approved last June, despite the item not being on the agenda.
The raises increased Mayor Thomas Koch's salary from about $150,000 to $285,000 and city councilors' salaries from about $30,000 to $43,500.
Opponents of mayor's, councilors' raises refuse to let the issue go.
City officials in Quincy, Massachusetts, voted Monday night to give the mayor a hefty pay raise, upsetting a number of taxpayers.
If it's finalized in a subsequent vote by City Council, Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch will make a whopping $285,000, representing a 79% raise.
To give some perspective, that's tens of thousands of dollars more than the mayors of both New York City and Boston. New York City Mayor Eric Adam's current salary is $258,000, while Boston Mayor Michelle Wu makes $207,000 annually.
By Kaitlin McKinley Becker • Published June 4, 2024, NBC 10Boston
Screengrab, NBC10’s television coverage
“The council approved the raise by a 7-1 vote, with only Ward 5 Councilor Dan Minton voting against. Minton proposed a salary of $230,000. Council President Ian Cain, who is running for U.S. Senate, did not attend the meeting.”
The lone dissenter, Councilor Minton, suggests smaller raise for Koch
Explaining his no vote, Minton said $285,000 is "on the high side." Alluding to the fact that Koch hasn't received a raise since 2014, Minton asked, "Why didn't those affected ask (for a raise) during this time?"
Minton said he was "very troubled" by the consultant's recommendation and accompanying report, the so-called "Dorminson report," because the comparisons "did not correctly relate to Quincy."
Mayor Thomas Koch makes just over $155,000 a year, but he introduced a proposal to increase that annual salary by 79% to $285,000.
WBZ-TV's Brandon Truitt June 3.
WBZ TV coverage from June 3rd
“In the way the charter for the City of Quincy is set up, which tells us how we can structure our governing body and allows us to tax, Quincy doesn’t have city managers, which many mayors in cities across the country have. This is a big factor in our mayor’s workload and compensation.”
“In more detail, during Boston Blockchain Week last year, I met with the guy who runs it, Ian Cain, who is a really smart guy, who told me about how the CFO of Lugano did it and talked about how beneficial it was. Then we met again after the event, and he asked if the city of Quincy could do something like the city of Lugano did. I wasn’t sure, so I went to the mayor who told me the questions weren’t for him, they were for the [Security and Exchange Commission].”
Adam Zaki interviewing Eric Mason, Quincy Finance Chief, for CFO.com
*Joe Murphy note, Ian Caine (president of Quincy City Council) is a founder of Qubic Labs, A Quincy-based startup incubator with a mission to help foster growth in blockchain technology.
City councilors wrapped up their session by granting themselves and Mayor Thomas Koch significant raises over the vocal opposition of citizen advocates.
Those advocates haven't given up, however.
Instead, they're on a mission to collect at least 8,000 signatures that would suspend the raises and force a referendum.
Peter Blandino, July 1, The Patriot Ledger
“A few dozen Quincy citizens are devoting their holiday weekend to gathering signatures on a petition to roll back the raises City Council approved last month for councilors and Mayor Thomas Koch.”
Paul Singer, GBH News
Claire and John Fitzmaurice and their amazing banner. July 4th, Caddy Memorial Park
“"The collective power of Quincy's citizens is the only force that can start to regenerate democracy and justice in Quincy," wrote Joe Murphy, one of the lead members of A Just Quincy, shortly after volunteers failed to collect enough signatures to force a referendum on what they see as excessive pay increases for the mayor and the council.
As the group tries to sustain and build on the momentum built out of opposition to the raises, member Kathy Nason posted a survey to identify priorities. Among the topics, one suggests running "a slate of candidates that will champion transparency and accountability to replace our current city councilors in 2025."
Peter Blandino, Patriot Ledger
“Mayor Thomas Koch defended his new salary of $285,000, pointing to responsibilities he has as the mayor of Quincy and the work he has done during his time in office. In May, Koch introduced separate ordinances to raise his salary from $150,900 to $285,000…”
Scott Jackson, Quincy Sun
The Quincy Sun web article has been taken down. If anyone has the paper article and is willing to photograph it for our records, you could send the image(s) to info@ajustquincy.com