Flaherty blasts plan for social network
Opposes $1m outlay by BRA
Boston City Councilor Michael Flaherty is ridiculing Mayor Thomas M. Menino's plans to spend $1 million on an online social network to unite people worldwide who have Boston connections, saying the city ought to create a Facebook page, for free.
Flaherty, who is weighing a run against Menino in 2009, said the money the Boston Redevelopment Authority has committed to the Boston World Partnerships' fledgling effort could be better spent on city services.
"While every part of our city is being asked to tighten their belts, we see the BRA clearly is flush with cash, and instead of them giving us $1 million to create a network, I ask them to join me in opening a free Facebook account and redirect those million dollars to our schools, to hiring more police officers, and helping us lower property taxes," said Flaherty, who has a Facebook page himself boasting more than 1,200 friends.
But city officials say the money is being spent on more than a website, and add that Boston World Partnerships already has accounts with Facebook and the professional social network LinkedIn.
"We are creating a site that does not compete with Facebook," said Dave McLaughlin, executive director of Boston World Partnerships, a city-created nonprofit Menino established last year to attract businesses to Boston.
"We made the decision that we are not better-funded or smarter than the people who are running Facebook or LinkedIn and that we would create a network to integrate seamlessly with those."
The idea, McLaughlin said, is to give the Boston World Partnerships brand a presence on numerous existing social networking sites and route people to the new site, www.bostonworldpartnerships.com.
"Anybody can do a Facebook or LinkedIn account, but that's just going to be a part of a complete media strategy," said Bob Coughlin, president of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council and a member of the Boston World Partnerships board.
Flaherty said the fact that the BRA is able to allocate $1 million to the effort illustrates the need for more transparency in the agency's finances. Councilors have consistently requested summary budget information from the BRA, but have not received it, council aides say.
To drive home his point, Flaherty said the BRA ought to pay rent to the city for its use of office space on the ninth floor of City Hall.
"I'm curious to see what they have in their bank account," Flaherty said. "It's important for the city to exercise more oversight over the BRA's budget, especially if the BRA can lend its assistance to the city during these difficult times."
A BRA spokeswoman said the development agency provides financial benefits to the city despite not benefiting from city tax revenue.
"The BRA serves Boston's residents, businesses, and visitors by providing comprehensive guidance in planning, economic development, and workforce development," said BRA spokeswoman Jessica Shumaker.
"Our planning division alone has a staff of 43 people who are working on or have recently completed more than 40 planning initiatives. We do all of this work without receiving city operating dollars."
She also said the BRA has provided information to the City Council about its budget and participated in a budget hearing in June, but she could not immediately say what the agency's operating budget is.
John C. Drake can be reached at jdrake@globe.com. 