Fiscal 'reformer' hands taxpayers a big bill

Mayor Thomas P. Koch of Quincy ran as a reformer. (YOON S. BYUN/THE BOSTON GLOBE)

QUINCY - Last January, Thomas P. Koch won the mayor's office in an upset victory, billing himself as a reformer who would "right the ship" of the city's finances, yet this week he proposed a tax increase that will be one of the largest in city's history.

What Koch didn't mention was that taxpayers will also foot another bill for nearly $60,000 in renovations to City Hall offices, including the mayor's suite. The money will pay for such items as a 47-inch flat-screen television monitor and plush wall-to-wall carpeting in the mayor's office, as well as a new City Hall security system.

The mayor's new carpet alone, with its dramatic gold-and-blue garland pattern, cost $19,000. Koch said he paid for half the cost of the new carpet with funds he raised in his campaign for mayor. Taxpayers will pick up the $9,400 difference, as well as the rest of the renovation costs.

"This office belongs to the city," Koch said in an interview Thursday. "It's the face of the city, whether it's Joe the plumber or officials from other countries."

But many Quincy political observers, homeowners, and business people questioned how Koch could ask residents to make do with less while he spends extravagantly.

Bob Haley, founder of the Quincy Taxpayers' Association, a tax watchdog group, said he is considering reviving the group, which has been dormant for years. He called the mayor's office expenses ridiculous and unnecessary, comparing them to Governor Deval Patrick's much-criticized decision to upgrade his official state car to a more expensive Cadillac.

"You can't wave this stuff in people's faces and think they're going to put up with it," he said.

Koch, 44, took office last January in an upset victory over the incumbent, William Phelan, a local lawyer. Koch - a high school graduate known widely by his nickname, Wink - had served as the city's parks commissioner, as his father did, and has deep roots in the community. His brother-in-law, John Keenan, serves on the City Council; his brother is a foreman in the Parks Department; and other family members hold municipal jobs, prompting one political observer to call city government the "Koch family business."

In fact, while Koch served as parks commissioner, he regularly signed off on overtime pay for his brother Joe, a foreman in the department and the city's tree warden.

Councilor at Large Joseph Finn said he did not know about the office spending, which came out of bond money the city borrowed for building repairs, according to Koch.

Finn said it has generally been the responsibility of a city auditor to monitor such spending under the purview of the city council. But after the auditor left his post earlier this year, the mayor created the new position of chief financial officer, at a salary of $100,000 a year. The chief financial officer does not report spending to the City Council, but to the mayor directly.

"The carpet is one thing," Finn said of the expense to the city. "But I think this whole situation highlights the need for the City Council to have better oversight over what's happening."

City Council President James H. Davis III said this week that he knew of the renovations Koch made to City Hall, although he did not know the exact cost. He said he had heard rumors about an expensive carpet, but thought they were only rumors.

"What's it made out of . . . gold?" he asked.

Not gold, but wool. And while nylon and polyester carpets can sell for as little as 99 cents a square foot, woven wool rugs can fetch $15 a square foot or more, said Tom Rypkema at Kent's Carpetland in Norwell. Rypkema said such carpets are usually woven to order in Belgium or elsewhere in Europe.

"For the square footage you're talking about and a wool carpet with a design on it, it's like buying a watermelon in January," he said.

Koch bought his carpet at Harry's CarpetOne in Wollaston. He invited a reporter into his spacious, 1,500-square-foot office for an interview, although he would not allow a photographer to take a picture of the office. When asked about the room's blue and gold color scheme, he smiled and said he selected it himself, adding that his office staff jokingly call him Martha, because of his penchant for interior decorating.

Officials at the state's Office of Campaign and Political Finance said elected officials are allowed under state law to spend campaign money "to enhance their political future," as long as the expense is not a personal one.

Koch did not use campaign funds to pay for the LCD flat-screen television, which his spokesman said he uses for presentations.

Koch also used more than $40,000 in city funds to pay for carpeting to other rooms in City Hall, ordering a less expensive Patchcraft brand carpeting and carpet tiles.

"Why does everyone else get carpet tiles?" restaurant owner Julie Loebardt asked when she learned of the expenditure. A former bankruptcy lawyer, she said she was concerned that the proposed tax increase could cause her rent to skyrocket and put her restaurant out of business.

"We're struggling as it is," she said.

Koch's tax proposal would raise taxes for the average homeowner (with a house assessed at $347,000) about $580 a year. The commercial tax rate would increase from $22.22 per $1,000 assessed value to $26.23.

"I think it's outrageous," said Ed Smith, a lifelong city resident and homeowner as he walked to the bus station. He said he is unemployed and on disability, yet has been helping his sister with three children make ends meet financially.

"He could be spending the money elsewhere," Smith said.

The $60,000 in building improvements could have also paid for more than 100 city homeowners who will see their taxes go up in 2009.

The City Council has not yet voted on the tax proposal. A public hearing will be held Dec. 15.

Megan Woolhouse can be reached at mwoolhouse@globe.com.

Correction: Because of a reporting error, a story in Saturday's Metro section about Quincy Mayor Thomas P. Koch's office renovations mistakenly used a previous mayor's nickname in reference to Koch. Koch has no widely used nickname.