Quincy, Massachusetts mayor wants a 79% pay raise, taxpayers say it goes too far
QUINCY - The mayor of Quincy, Massachusetts hasn't had a pay raise in years, but residents say what he's asking for goes too far.
This started months ago, when Mayor Tom Koch hired a consulting firm to determine a pay increase scale that it deemed fit for the position. Koch is the city's longest-serving mayor and has not taken a pay increase in a decade.
The 79% raise
That firm, Dorminson Consulting, came back with a suggestion that the mayor should be paid between $298,000 and $370,000 a year, a salary that could have made Koch the highest paid mayor in the country.
But as last week's city council meeting, a representative for the mayor said they would officially propose a $285,000 annual salary. The mayor currently makes $150,943, and the new number would be a 79% pay increase.
Christopher Walker is the Mayor's Chief of Staff and said at last week's meeting, "We believe the number strikes a balance between the analysis provided by the study and some straight comparatives of communities and positions around the greater Boston area and our region as a whole."
WBZ-TV reached out to the mayor's office for comment, but did not hear back.
"As taxpayers we've had it"
A few dozen people showed up to Quincy City Hall Wednesday afternoon to protest the proposed increase.
"I'm not opposed to the mayor making more money than $159,000," said Quincy resident John Fitzmaurice. "What I'm opposed to is this giant lump sum to bring him up to $285,000."
"As taxpayers we've had it," said Kathy Thrun Nason.
"A cost of living, that's fair," Nason continued. "I would be more than happy to support it. But 79%? I don't know anybody in the public or private sector that gets a 79% increase. I won't say that the mayor has done everything bad. He hasn't. He's done some very good things but getting us deeper and deeper into debt, then asking for a 79% raise is just wrong."
The city council is also up for pay increases. That proposal would bring a councilor's annual salary to $47,500.
The city council will meet next Monday to discuss and potentially vote on the raises. As written, if the proposals are approved, the pay increases would go into effect January 1, 2025.