Several councilors fell behind on bills
Records show 5 had owed fees and taxes
The unpaid bills of state Representative Marie St. Fleur rapidly derailed her candidacy for lieutenant governor and made her a target of some criticism. But some fellow Boston politicians may have felt pangs of empathy.
Public records show that several Boston city councilors know firsthand how it is possible to fall behind on routine personal matters; five of the 13 councilors have been delinquent in paying city property or excise taxes, parking fines, or income taxes.
Three councilors have had liens placed on their homes for failing to pay income or property taxes. Councilor Chuck Turner of Roxbury, before he was elected to the council in 2001, had repeated run-ins with the Internal Revenue Service; it was only in 2004 that he paid off an $18,637 lien placed on his Roxbury home for taxes owed during four years in the 1980s, according to federal tax records.
Other liens totaling $21,571 were placed on his home by the IRS in 1977, by the state Department of Revenue in 2000, and by the City of Boston in 1986. All the debts have been paid and the liens removed.
Councilor Maureen Feeney and her husband, Lawrence, have had two city property tax liens placed on their Dorchester home. The overdue taxes, $234 due in 2000 and $122 due in 1999, have been paid and the liens lifted. More recently, Feeney ran up a $1,358 water and sewer bill, $1,114 of which she paid off last week.
The city put a lien on the Hyde Park home of Councilor Robert Consalvo in 2003 for $455 in overdue property taxes owed in 2002. Consalvo said his property taxes fell into arrears when he switched mortgage companies and his former bank failed to make a quarterly payment. The bank was responsible for the taxes, he said. The taxes eventually were paid and the lien removed.
The councilors acknowledged the lapses and gave a variety of explanations, including hefty financial burdens, hectic schedules, and, in the case of Turner, the demands of a life devoted to public service.
''The reality is that I'm just like a whole lot of other people who have had problems from time to time with taxes, mortgages, etc.," said Turner, who worked as a community organizer before he was elected to the council. ''Those problems have been made more difficult by the fact that I've chosen to spend my life working for change and therefore had a salary that is far below what would normally be expected, given my education, a B.A. from Harvard.
''In this country we acknowledge that part of life is growing in wisdom, and we realize the decisions we made when we were 20 are not necessarily as sound as decisions made in our 30s or 40s. Sometimes it seems that people who run for offices are not given an opportunity to go through that growth experience."
Feeney, who has paid college and law school tuitions for her children, said: ''Yes, I have paid my bills late, but we always pay our bills."
Financial problems sank the one-day candidacy of St. Fleur this month after it was disclosed that she had a record of tax and fee delinquencies. Before she stepped down, St. Fleur said she believed that most people would understand her financial problems because they are so common.
But political watchdog groups say that elected officials should at least be held to the same standards as ordinary citizens.
''The public doesn't want their officials to be above them, but on the same level," said Pamela Wilmot, executive director of Common Cause/Massachusetts. ''That means paying your taxes, paying your student loans, doing all the things everyone else does. It doesn't mean there can't be a blip on the radar screen, something that falls behind. But if there is a pattern, that's a different thing."
Some councilors also failed to pay excise taxes or parking fines. By last Thursday, three councilors -- at-large Councilor Felix Arroyo, Charles Yancey of Dorchester, and Feeney -- had been placed on ''nonrenewal status" at the Registry of Motor Vehicles because of such debts.
Nonrenewal status requires motorists to pay off old parking tickets and excise taxes before they can renew driver's licenses or registrations.
According to the Registry, Yancey, Feeney, and Arroyo owed parking fines; Arroyo also owed four years of excise taxes totaling $399.
In addition, Arroyo and Turner have chalked up a long list of driving violations spanning several decades, including periods when they were not in public office.
Arroyo, who was chairman of the Boston School Committee for several years in the early 1990s, has had his license suspended 11 times, according to Registry records.
Most of the suspensions came from failing to pay citations. He was stopped for speeding nine times and, in November 2003, was ordered to attend the National Safety Course, a driver education class.
Arroyo said he didn't know he owed parking fines and would pay them immediately. He hasn't paid excise taxes because he no longer owns a car, he said. Acknowledging his poor driving record, he said he has stopped driving and is taking public transportation.
''I'm not a good driver," chuckled Arroyo, who said the car he was most recently driving, a
He said he didn't receive notification of outstanding parking tickets and excise taxes, perhaps because he recently moved.
''I have been too busy with other things," he said. ''I recognize I should be taking care of it."
Turner was sent to the eight-hour National Safety Course in 2002 after being hit with several violations during the year, including driving with improper equipment and without a valid inspection sticker.
His license has been suspended nine times, largely for unpaid fees, according to Registry records.
Yancey, who said he was unaware of outstanding parking fines, said he would pay them immediately. ''I pay my parking tickets to the extent I ever get any. I may have received two, and they were both at city events."
Michael Rezendes of the Globe Staff contributed to this report. 