LIVE: Quincy City Council Joint Finance & Oversight Committee Meeting - September 29, 2026

Lease Revenue Deductions and Financial Discrepancies: Committee members reviewed the quarterly financial statements ending June 30, 2026, for the Granite Links / Quarry Hills lease, scrutinizing significant expense deductions taken against gross revenue before calculating the city's percentage share.

• Under Amendment 5 of the lease, golf cart rental income ($364,000 gross; $293,000 net profit for the quarter) was removed from revenue calculations, reportedly exchanged for city clubhouse access for the Mayor's annual golf tournament.
• Administrative expense deductions included $80,138 deducted on the golf course ledger, along with identical deductions of $542,456.90 taken on both the function line and the food and beverage line, totaling more than $1.08 million in duplicate-appearing administrative deductions.
• Functions reported nearly $4.3 million in gross revenue, which was reduced by extensive deductions—including $165,000 in unspecified "function expenses" and $165,000 in depreciation—leaving a net profit of only $364,000.
• Food and beverage operations reported over $5 million in gross revenue, with substantial deductions including $171,000 in employee/general comps, $31,000 in manager discounts, and approximately $2 million in quarterly payroll.
• Depreciation deductions exceeded $700,000 across categories, despite lease language in Exhibit B restricting clubhouse depreciation exclusively to food and beverage operational areas.
• Maintenance ledgers reflected only $3,753 expended toward municipal youth ball fields for the spring 2026 quarter.

Oversight Fund Utilization: Councilors questioned the administration's use of the dedicated lease oversight fund (funded by 10% of lease proceeds).

• Between 2006 and 2027, the city deposited just over $1 million into the oversight line but expended $1.367 million, resulting in a deficit.
• Only $136,861 of the fund has been spent on actual oversight activities, while $120,000 to $125,000 annually has funded a public buildings project manager overseeing school construction moves (e.g., Squantum, DeCristofaro Center, and Southwest Middle School). Other non-oversight expenditures paid from the fund included DPW curb resets, asphalt work at Crown Colony, tree services, and decorative string lighting.
• Mayor's Representative Christopher Walker stated that the administration treats oversight funds and DPW enhancement accounts interchangeably as flexible funding mechanisms.

Calls for an Independent Audit:

• Councilors argued that the 171 pages of documentation provided by the administration (including reports from Powers & Sullivan, G.T. Riley & Co., Jeffrey R. Dugas, The Innovation Group, and LGA LLP) constitute financial "reviews" or lease market analyses rather than comprehensive forensic audits.
• Committee members cited a 2009 resolution by the late Councilor Brian McNamee requesting an investigation into net deductions and unproduced audits from DePisa & Company.
• Committee members questioned water abatements granted to the operator, including a $42,297 waiver in 2022 that shifted utility costs to regular ratepayers, and noted that proceeds from the annual charity golf tournament have been redirected away from municipal finance to the Quincy Foundation (Christmas Festival Committee) since 2018 without Council approval or municipal oversight.
• Councilors requested the formal reinstatement of the dormant oversight committee provided for under the lease terms.

Background and Overview: Agenda Item 2026-042, originally introduced in February 2022 and reintroduced on March 2, 2026, sought a full public accounting of federal COVID-19 relief expenditures. Quincy received and disbursed over $64 million, comprising $45,392,000 in direct federal funds alongside county grant allocations.

Contracting and Deliverables Concerns:

• Councilor McKee highlighted $52,150 in ARPA funds paid to an entity named after a non-functioning website for "debt and bond transparency," which later received broader financial analysis contracts totaling $132,866.
• A public records request revealed that the company was involuntarily dissolved by the Secretary of State in 2012 and that no work product or deliverables could be produced by the city.
• Representative Walker responded that the firm was retained through a formal Request for Proposals (RFP) to provide advisory support and assist an emerging professional.

Review of Major ARPA Allocations: Councilors reviewed major capital expenditures and questioned whether they aligned with statutory federal intent:

• Property Acquisitions: $15 million allocated to acquire the Munroe Building on Hancock Street (originally proposed for city offices or Quincy College, later designated for municipal tourism); $385,548 to acquire 37 Centre Street plus $98,885 to pay off its private mortgage before demolishing the home; and commercial acquisitions at 662–664 Southern Artery.
• Parks and Beautification: $5 million allocated toward Mount Wollaston Cemetery improvements (including entryway gates and a veterans memorial); $1.5 million for the Lone Sailor statue in Marina Bay; and $1.2 million for the John Quincy Adams Park and Monument.
• Other Expenditures: $305,000 allocated toward the Adams Presidential Library project; $150,000 to the Quincy Chamber of Commerce; $25,000 to Elora Spa (clarified as a local small business grant); and tuition payments to Babson College.

Administration Defense and Committee Debate:

• Representative Walker maintained that all expenditures qualified as economic stimulus under federal portal guidelines and defended municipal beautification and monument investments as crucial to civic quality of life.
• Councilors argued that in light of escalating municipal debt and rising property taxes, federal funds should have prioritized direct taxpayer assistance, community food programs, and public school infrastructure improvements—such as HVAC and air conditioning installations in older school buildings.

Background: The committee took up Council Order 2026-056, introduced on April 6, 2026, to review administrative internal controls, procurement oversight, and cash-handling protocols following the federal indictment and guilty plea of former Council on Aging (COA) Director Thomas Clasby for embezzling municipal and senior funds.

Internal Procurement Failures and Fraudulent Invoices:

• Discussion centered on five fraudulent purchase orders totaling $38,134 paid to "Celtic Safety Consultants," an entity listing a residential apartment address at 5700 Arlington Avenue in the Bronx, New York, purportedly for senior classes that federal prosecutors confirmed never took place.
• Additional fraudulent disbursements included payments for private home cleaning services, personal vehicle towing, lawn mowers, and music recording studio time.
• Councilors questioned why purchasing and accounts payable systems failed to flag an out-of-state residential vendor address, the lack of performance verification, or recurring payments to the same vendor.

Whistleblower Protections and Executive Exchange:

• Councilors questioned whether the city had enacted an independent reporting hotline and whistleblower policy, citing 2025 public statements from former Director of Municipal Finance Eric Mason regarding a planned intake system.
• City Solicitor James Timmons addressed the committee, asserting that staff members who initially suspected misconduct were intimidated by Clasby as their direct supervisor and that Clasby falsely invoked his relationship with the Mayor.
• Solicitor Timmons emphasized that once a formal allegation was brought directly to the Mayor, the administration acted immediately by securing Clasby's keys, placing him on leave, and notifying the Quincy Police Department and the FBI, ultimately resulting in a federal prison sentence.
• Heated procedural exchanges occurred between Solicitor Timmons, Councilor Mahoney, and the Chair regarding speaking protocol and the relevance of administrative policies.

Restitution and Next Steps:

• A federal restitution amount of $136,061.71 was negotiated through Clasby's accrued municipal pension funds.
• The Chair and Councilor Mahoney announced plans to file a resolution requesting that the full $136,061.71 in restitution be placed directly into an account dedicated to the Council on Aging to benefit senior programming, rather than being swept into the city's general fund or free cash.