A Just Quincy in the press:
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