Tax hike, layoffs looming

Council tightens mayor's budget

A sharp increase in property taxes along with public employee layoffs and reduced services appear to be coming in Quincy.

The City Council on Monday night approved a $3 million cut in Mayor Thomas P. Koch's original $233.9 million spending plan for the fiscal year that starts July 1.

Koch had called his initial proposal a level-services budget that would have boosted taxes $600 a year for the average homeowner. Administration officials said the budget approved by the council is a reasonable compromise.

"It's certainly going to mean a reduction in manpower for the city, but we are hopeful we can maintain a level of services the citizens expect and deserve," Chris Walker, spokesman for Koch, said after the council vote. "But make no mistake. It's going to be difficult."

The positions of four firefighters, four police officers, and an assistant city solicitor will be eliminated through attrition, according to Walker.

Layoffs also will be necessary, although the positions have not been identified, according to the mayor's chief of staff, James Fatseas. He said reorganization in some departments could reduce the need for layoffs.

The extent of the property tax increase and what it will mean for individual homeowners is uncertain. The Koch administration's early estimates indicated the council-approved budget could increase the tax bill on the average home in Quincy more than $500. The average home has a value of $356,900 and currently has a tax bill of $3,865.

Walker said administration officials are still trying to determine if, indeed, there are any surpluses in different accounts which could affect the tax rate.

Koch and his predecessor, William J. Phelan, have traded charges in recent weeks about the state of the city's fiscal health. Koch maintains that Phelan overdrew some accounts before leaving office, while Phelan says he left Koch with surpluses.

Koch recently hired an accounting firm, Powers & Sullivan of Wakefield, to audit the city's finances. One of the principals of the firm, James Powers, at a brief meeting Monday night promised to keep city councilors informed about the audit findings.

The council approved the $230.9 million budget by a vote of 6 to 3 and without debate. The councilors who voted against it said in interviews afterward that they believed the cuts did not go far enough.

"I think we are in a situation that is serious enough that a $5 million cut was needed," said Councilor John F. Keenan, who chairs the council's Finance Committee.

Councilor Daniel G. Raymondi said city residents are going to be hit with higher sewer and water bills along with a big tax hike. "I don't think we cut enough out of it," he said.

But council president James H. Davis III, who voted with the majority, said the $3 million cut was appropriate. "We still want to have quality schools. We still want to have adequate fire protection," he said.

While taxes will be going up significantly, the revenue will remain within the state's Proposition 2 1/2 tax cap.

The budget approved by the council trimmed $1.5 million from the mayor's proposed spending for the School Department. What the effects of that cut will be are uncertain, according to Walker. School officials have said more than a dozen jobs would have to be eliminated.

The council's budget deliberations took place at a series of committee meetings over the past six weeks. Councilors initially wanted a $5 million reduction affecting all departments.

That action brought an outpouring of opposition from school advocates and municipal employees. Koch then proposed scaling back the cuts to $3 million.

"I think we're comfortable with the compromise," said Fatseas, Koch's chief of staff, after the council's final vote. "It has been a long road."

Robert Preer can be reached at preer@comcast.net.