LIVE: Special Quincy City Council (includes Finance Committee) - June 17, 2026

• Date: June 17, 2026
• Governing Body: Quincy City Council (Special Meeting and Finance Committee)
• Meeting Type: Special Meeting / Departmental Budget Hearings
• Attendees:
  • City Councilors: Anne Mahoney (President), Richard Ash, Noel DiBona, Walter Hubley, David Jacobs, Maggie McKee, Deborah Riley, Virginia Ryan, Ziqiang Yuan.
  • Administration: Christopher Walker (Mayor's Representative), Paul Della Barba (Municipal Finance), Jim Timmons (City Solicitor), Sarah Slyman (Library Director), Susan O'Connor (City Auditor).

• Don Hart (Hart Speech Foundation): Spoke regarding the foundation's mission as a 501(c)(3) dedicated to providing advocacy and scholarships for the stuttering community. He noted that most health insurance does not cover intensive speech therapy and requested support for their scholarship program for graduate students specializing in stuttering. "It is our goal to ensure no one is denied this critical therapy."

Tourism Budget

• Action: The committee discussed a new line item for the Director of Historical Society Benefits ($14,814) to cover health insurance and pension contributions, offset by the hotel-motel tax.
• Vote: Motion to approve the amended tourism budget passed unanimously.

Library Budget

• Discussion: Director Sarah Slyman addressed bookkeeping errors in lines 512-765, 512-060, and 512-038. Councilor Yuan questioned a $200,000 transfer from personal services due to unfilled positions (Wollaston Branch Librarian, Adams Shore Librarian, and a custodian).
• Financials: Councilor Jacobs noted a 14% increase in archivist salaries ($140,724).
• Official Action: Councilor Mahoney moved to cut $20,000 from the Library Personal Services line.
• Vote on Cut: Passed 8-1 (Councilor Yuan opposed).
• Vote on Budget: Approved as amended.

Downtown District

• Action: Chris Walker presented DIF (Development Industrial Finance) offsets. $900,000 in savings will be realized in the general fund by paying debt service through the DIF capital projects account.
• Cuts:
  • Motion to cut $20,000 from Contracted Services (530-303) passed.
  • Motion to cut $20,000 from Overtime (510-130) passed (Councilor DiBona opposed).

Short-Term and Long-Term Debt

• Short-Term Debt: Paul Della Barba presented a revised interest obligation of $15,833,818. Councilor Mahoney identified a discrepancy of $149,662 based on Hilltop Securities data.
• Vote on Short-Term Cut: Motion to cut $149,662 passed 8-1 (Councilor DiBona opposed).
• Long-Term Debt: The Council discussed the city's total debt. Councilor Yuan stated, "We both agree the current city debt is $2 billion."
• Vote on Long-Term Cut: Motion to cut $500,000 from long-term debt (due to a 2019 judgment bond rolling off) passed unanimously.

Legal Department

• Discussion: Solicitor Jim Timmons discussed outside counsel fees for the Long Island Bridge case and the ballot petition regarding the Mayor's salary ($110,847.29 spent to date on the petition case).
• Official Actions:
  • Motion to cut $43,000 from Outside Counsel (530-010) passed 5-4 (Ash, DiBona, Hubley, Riley opposed).
  • Motion to cut $20,000 from Contracted Services (530-303) passed 5-4.

Workers' Compensation

• Discussion: 39% of injury reports originate from the School Department.
• Official Actions:
  • Motion to cut $65,000 from Injured Pay (510-173) passed.
  • Motion to cut $50,000 from Medical Bills (570-703) passed.

Mayor's Office

• Discussion: Debate occurred regarding the Community Liaison position ($92,564). Councilor Yuan moved to eliminate the position as redundant, but the motion was withdrawn following council discussion on the need for better metrics and goals for the role.
• Official Action: Motion to cut $780 from Premium Pay (510-193) passed.

Celebrations

• Discussion: Councilor McKee questioned $75,000 paid to the Quincy Foundation for the Christmas Parade, noting the organization's lack of transparency. "I can't find this organization listed in the Secretary of State's corporations database."
• Official Action: Motion to cut $25,000 from the Celebrations budget passed 5-4.

The Council reconvened to vote on the final appropriations for Fiscal Year 2027.

• General Fund Budget (Order 2026-073):
  • Original Proposed: $491,849,702.00
  • Final Approved: $488,464,606.17
  • Vote: Passed 9-0.
• Sewer Enterprise Budget (Order 2026-074): $31,685,202.76. Passed 9-0.
• Water Enterprise Budget (Order 2026-075): $27,580,975.72. Passed 9-0.
• Community Preservation Act (Order 2025-139): $3,386,510.00. Passed 9-0.
• CPA Administration (Order 2026-094): $97,603.00. Passed 9-0.

President Mahoney issued a formal statement addressing Mayor Koch's criticisms of the Council's recent vote against the Eastern Nazarene College (ENC) acquisition.

• Key Quote: "The suggestion that six elected councilors cannot think for themselves, review information, ask questions, and independently reach the same conclusion is offensive to this body and to the residents who elected us."
• Debt Concerns: Mahoney highlighted that city debt was reported at $1.6 billion in November and has now reached $2 billion. She asserted that asking questions about such growth is "oversight," not "obstruction."