City Council

Mon, December 15, 2025

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Meeting summaryAI-generated

City Council — December 15, 2025

This was the final meeting of the 2025 City Council, combining a public hearing on the FY2026 tax rate with a full slate of financial appropriations and end-of-year housekeeping items. Several departing councillors — President Ian Kaine, Councillors Bill Harris, David McCarthy, Jim Divine, and Council Leang — delivered farewell remarks, and Mayor Koch attended in person to offer thanks.

*Note: This appears to be an outgoing council session; the councillor names in the transcript (Kaine, Harris, McCarthy, Divine, Leang, Minton, Ash, DeBona, Campbell) differ from the known incoming council roster provided. Names have been transcribed as they appear in the source.*

Public Hearing: FY2026 Tax Rate

Director of Municipal Finance Paul DeLiBara presented the tax rate for FY2026. Key figures:

Residential rate: $11.78 per $1,000 (up from $11.53)

Commercial rate: $23.53 per $1,000 (up from $23.01)

Total tax levy: $334,912,440

Median home value: $663,400

Median tax bill increase: $551.95, or 7.6%

The director noted that Quincy's 7.6% average tax bill increase is below the statewide average of 8%, and far below Boston's 131% single-family increase this year. He explained that the median is used rather than the average because a small number of very high-value homes would skew the average upward; roughly 75% of Quincy single-family homes are assessed between $500,000 and $800,000.

The director also addressed pension funding. The city proposes appropriating $9.1 million into the pension bond stabilization account, with an additional $7 million placeholder from the city's general stabilization fund, pending a new actuarial study expected in January. He expressed confidence that the new study will show a lower pension obligation than the current $16 million schedule.

Public Comment:

*Joanne Collins (88 Hillside Avenue)* expressed concern about rising tax burdens on homeowners and renters and criticized the city's financial management, citing the $3.5 million pension fund discrepancy and the $475 million pension bond. She questioned whether the proposed Maro building arts center would result in lost commercial tax revenue, and objected to a reported large raise for the mayor while residents absorb higher taxes.

*Bill Zamza (46 Chiltern Circle)* called the financial picture "frightening," noting the $16 million mid-year budget cut, the near-depletion of the pension stabilization fund, and the possibility that tapping $7 million from the general stabilization account would leave the city with less than 1% in reserves. He was skeptical that the new actuarial study would produce dramatic savings, noting that much of the pension obligation stems from unfunded COLA costs that are unlikely to change, and warned that even a flat year in market returns could put the city back in trouble.

*Changen (8 Harvest Lane)* criticized the administration for publishing supplemental budget information only 30 minutes before the meeting. She stated she had requested documents from the city clerk's office the prior Friday and again that day and was told nothing was available, yet dollar amounts mysteriously appeared on the agenda just before the meeting. She called on the city to post all supplemental materials online at the same time as the agenda to enable meaningful public participation.

*Kathleen Mahoney (12 Farrad Street)* — described as a former observer familiar with the process — said that appropriation amounts normally appear on agendas and that withholding them until 6:30 p.m. on meeting night "shows disrespect for this council and also for the citizens of Quincy." She argued that relying on free cash and last-minute transfers is "scrambling and unsustainable," warned that S&P and other rating agencies expect clarity, and said the new council would be watching more closely.

*William Farrell (43 Quarry Street)* thanked the council and pushed back against calls to cut small community programs like holiday events and parades, arguing those cuts would be cosmetic and irrelevant to the underlying multi-million-dollar cost drivers.

Appropriation: $8,802.39 — Ward 6 Mitigation Funds for QCAP (2025-138)

Councillor Harris moved to appropriate $8,802.39 in Ward 6 mitigation funds to the Quincy Community Action Program (QCAP), a nonprofit dedicated to reducing poverty and helping low-income residents achieve financial stability. Harris credited Councillor Minton for prompting the action and noted QCAP serves residents across all wards.

Vote: Approved unanimously, 8-0. (Motion: Harris; Second: McCarthy)

Appropriation: $3,386,510 to Community Preservation Accounts (2025-139)

Passed without extended discussion.

Vote: Approved unanimously, 8-0. (Motion: McCarthy; Second: DeBona)

Appropriation: $16.4 Million Budget Reduction — FY26 (2025-140)

This order reduces the FY26 budget by $16.4 million, drawn primarily from the debt service line. The director explained the breakdown: $6.5 million from bond premium (money received when the city issues notes at a slightly higher interest rate), $3 million from proceeds of the sale of the IHOP property, and $6.9 million from grant funds. Councillor Ash asked how often lump-sum bond premium funds are available; the director noted the city goes to market in March, July, and September and typically receives bond premium at each issuance.

Vote: Approved unanimously, 8-0. (Motion: McCarthy; Second: Harris)

Appropriation: $2 Million Free Cash to Reduce the Tax Rate (2025-141)

The city certified $2 million in free cash with the state, and this order appropriates the full certified amount for tax relief. The director noted there may be an opportunity to re-certify for additional free cash in coming months. Councillor DeBona asked for clarification and confirmed this is the full certified amount.

Vote: Approved unanimously, 8-0. (Motion: McCarthy; Second: Harris)

Appropriation: $9.1 Million to Pension Bond Stabilization Account (2025-142)

Passed without extended discussion. This represents the city's proposed FY26 pension contribution from the dedicated pension stabilization account.

Vote: Approved unanimously, 8-0. (Motion: McCarthy; Second: Harris)

Authorization: $3 Million Special Revenue Transfer to Debt Service (2025-143)

This transfers $3 million from special revenue — specifically proceeds from the sale of the IHOP parcel, part of the downtown development — to help pay debt service. Total sale proceeds were $7.4 million; $3 million is used here, leaving a $4 million balance. Councillor Ash confirmed this was the IHOP sale revenue.

Vote: Approved unanimously, 8-0. (Motion: McCarthy; Second: Harris)

Authorization: $7 Million Stabilization as Revenue Placeholder (2025-144)

This order authorizes up to $7 million from the city's general stabilization fund as a placeholder for the pension obligation, if needed. The director explained that the state Department of Revenue (DOR) wants to see the full $16 million pension payment appropriated and ready; PERAC agrees the actual amount will likely be lower once the new actuarial study is completed in January. Councillor DeBona confirmed this is a placeholder — the money will only be drawn if the new valuation requires it. The director noted the general stabilization fund currently holds approximately $9–10 million, meaning this commitment could reduce it to less than 1% of the city's budget if fully used. Councillor Divine asked whether the two-year-old actuarial valuation could be made more current; the director noted the retirement board would need to approve any change and said it could cut either way.

Vote: Approved unanimously, 8-0. (Motion: McCarthy; Second: Harris)

Appropriation: $1.5 Million Hotel/Motel Tax — Quincy 400 (2025-145 and 2025-149)

Two related orders transferred $1.5 million each from hotel/motel tax revenue: one to cover costs already incurred for Quincy 400 events this year, and one to provide seed funding for events in the coming year. City Manager Walker confirmed that several hundred thousand dollars in private sponsorships have already been received (including Cork Auto and Santander Bank as major sponsors) with more expected. He noted the city is conducting an economic impact study; early indications are that the economic output from events like concerts, the Dropkick Murphys show, and the Christmas tree lighting (drawing 5,000–6,000 people) is "well into the millions of dollars." Councillor Divine noted the broader economic ripple effect on restaurants and businesses across the city.

Vote (each order): Approved unanimously, 8-0. (Motion: McCarthy; Second: Harris)

Appropriation: $150,000 Transfer — Public Buildings Personal Services (2025-146)

An intra-departmental transfer from the Public Buildings contractual budget to personal services, allowing Commissioner Hines to use city staff for more work rather than contracting it out. No net new spending.

Vote: Approved unanimously, 8-0. (Motion: Divine; Second: McCarthy)

Appropriation: $6 Million for Union Contract Settlements (2025-149)

This appropriates $6 million across city departments to fund collective bargaining cost-of-living adjustments, retroactive to July 1. More than half of the city's union contracts have been settled, including with the Quincy Education Association and police patrolmen. The administration deliberately withheld this appropriation until tax recap time to avoid revealing the city's negotiating position during ongoing contract talks.

Vote: Approved unanimously, 8-0. (Motion: McCarthy; Second: Harris)

Adopting FY26 Residential Factor and Tax Classification (2025-128 and 2025-129)

The council adopted a residential factor of 87.6332 and the corresponding tax classification percentages for each class of real and personal property for FY26. Councillor Ash asked for clarification that the assessment year and the tax rate year run on the same July 1–June 30 fiscal calendar, which the director confirmed.

Vote (each order): Approved unanimously, 8-0. (Motion: McCarthy; Second: Harris)

Order: Amendment to Land Disposition Agreement — Parcels R2 and R3, Hancock Parking Lot (2025-147)

The council approved an amendment to a 2020 Land Disposition Agreement (LDA) covering two parcels of the former Hancock parking lot. The R3 parcel (facing Hancock Street near the old Napolitan's location) is currently under active construction by the master developer. The R2 parcel — currently home to the city's outdoor skating rink, across from Quincy District Court — will be formally extracted from the LDA and reverted to city ownership. Walker described the change as "minor in nature but substantive in practicality," noting the developer is focused entirely on R3. No fees were charged for the reversion. The city has no immediate plans for R2 beyond maintaining the skating rink.

Vote: Approved unanimously, 8-0. (Motion: Harris; Second: McCarthy)

Gift: $10,000 from Colonial Federal Savings Bank Charitable Foundation for D.A.R.E. (2025-148)

Accepted without discussion.

Vote: Approved unanimously, 8-0. (Motion: McCarthy; Second: Harris)

Departing Councillors' Remarks and Mayor's Acknowledgments

Mayor Koch attended in person to thank the five departing members: Council President Ian Kaine (3 terms), Councillors Bill Harris, David McCarthy (20+ years combined on School Committee and Council), Jim Divine, Lee Yang, and the absent Councillor Campbell. Each departing member offered brief remarks. President Kaine delivered an extended farewell reflecting on a decade of city transformation — new housing, repaved roads, replaced infrastructure, a city common, and a planned municipal fiber network — and called on incoming members to pursue authenticity and deliberation over political theater. Councillor Leang noted his family's immigrant story and gratitude to the city. Councillor McCarthy noted decades of service dating to the Faiella administration.

Key Takeaways

FY2026 residential tax bills will rise by approximately 7.6% (median increase of ~$552), with the rate set at $11.78 per $1,000 — below the statewide average increase of 8%.

The city is deploying a complex, multi-source package to fund its pension obligation and balance the budget, drawing on bond premiums, IHOP property sale proceeds, $2 million in free cash, $9.1 million from the pension stabilization account, and a $7 million placeholder from general stabilization — raising public concern about the depletion of city reserves.

Multiple residents and a former council watcher sharply criticized the last-minute release of financial information, calling it disrespectful to the council and the public and warning that rating agencies may view such fiscal improvisation negatively.

The R2 parcel of the former Hancock parking lot (current skating rink site) reverts to full city control, freeing the downtown development partner to focus solely on the active R3 construction project.

This was the final meeting of the current council; five members — President Kaine, Councillors Harris, McCarthy, Divine, and Leang — concluded their service, with Mayor Koch attending to offer personal thanks.

AI-generated summary from voice-to-text transcript. Not the official record. Verify important details with the source documents linked above.

Agenda items (13)

Appropriation

1Appropriation2025-138 – Appropriation – $8,802.39 Ward Six Mitigation Funds for Quincy Councillor Harris Community Action Programs, Inc. (QCAP) Mayor Koch

2Appropriation2025-139 – Appropriation – $3,386,510 to Community Preservations Accounts Mayor Koch

3Appropriation2025-140 – Appropriation – Reduction the FY26 Budget Mayor Koch

4Appropriation2025-141 – Appropriation – Free Cash to Reduce the Tax Rate Mayor Koch

5Appropriation2025-142 – Appropriation – Pension Bond Stabilization Account Mayor Koch

8Appropriation2025-145 – Appropriation – Hotel Motel Tax Mayor Koch

9Appropriation2025-146 – Appropriation – $150,000 to Public Buildings Personal Services from Mayor Koch Public Buildings Contractual

Procedural (4)

6Procedural2025-143 – Authorization – Special Revenue to Stabilization Mayor Koch

7Procedural2025-144 – Authorization – Stabilization as Revenue Place Holder Mayor Koch

10Procedural2025-128 – Adopting – Residential Factor of 87.6332 for FY26 Mayor Koch

11Procedural2025-129 – Adopting – Percentages of Local Tax by Each Class of Real & Mayor Koch Personal Property for FY26

Order

12Order2025-147 – Order – Amendment to Land Disposition Agreement, Parcel R2, R3, Mayor Koch Hancock Parking Lot

Gift

13Gift2025-148 – Gift – $10,000.00 from Colonial Federal Savings Bank Charitable Mayor Koch Foundation for D.A.R.E.

Additional votes recorded in minutes

Approve appropriation for $8,882.39 from W6 mitigation funds for Quincy Community Action Program

aye 8

Council Divineaye

Council Harrisaye

Council Leangaye

Council McCarthyaye

Council Mintonaye

Noel DiBonaaye

President Kaineaye

Richard Ashaye

Approve appropriation for $3,386,510 to community preservation accounts (Order 2025-139)

aye 8

Council Divineaye

Council Harrisaye

Council Leangaye

Council McCarthyaye

Council Mintonaye

Noel DiBonaaye

President Kaineaye

Richard Ashaye

Approve appropriation for $16,400,000 reduction of FY26 budget (Order 2025-140)

aye 8

Council Divineaye

Council Harrisaye

Council Leangaye

Council McCarthyaye

Council Mintonaye

Noel DiBonaaye

President Kaineaye

Richard Ashaye

Approve appropriation for $2 million from free cash to reduce the tax rate (Order 2025-141)

aye 8

Council Divineaye

Council Harrisaye

Council Leangaye

Council McCarthyaye

Council Mintonaye

Noel DiBonaaye

President Kaineaye

Richard Ashaye

Approve appropriation for $9,100,000 to pension bond stabilization account (Order 2025-142)

aye 6

Council Divineaye

Council Harrisaye

Council Leangaye

Council Mintonaye

Noel DiBonaaye

President Kaineaye

Approve appropriation for $3 million transfer from special revenue to debt services (Order 2025-143)

aye 8

Council Divineaye

Council Harrisaye

Council Leangaye

Council McCarthyaye

Council Mintonaye

Noel DiBonaaye

President Kaineaye

Richard Ashaye

Approve authorization for $7 million stabilization to revenue placeholder (Order 2025-144)

aye 8

Council Divineaye

Council Harrisaye

Council Leangaye

Council McCarthyaye

Council Mintonaye

Noel DiBonaaye

President Kaineaye

Richard Ashaye

Approve appropriation for $1,500,000 transfer from hotel/motel tax (Order 2025-145)

aye 8

Council Divineaye

Council Harrisaye

Council Leangaye

Council McCarthyaye

Council Mintonaye

Noel DiBonaaye

President Kaineaye

Richard Ashaye

Approve appropriation for $1,500,000 from hotel/motel tax to Quincy 400 (Order 2025-150)

aye 7

Council Divineaye

Council Harrisaye

Council Leangaye

Council McCarthyaye

Council Mintonaye

Noel DiBonaaye

President Kaineaye

Approve appropriation for $150,000 public buildings personnel services and contractual (Order 2025-146)

aye 8

Council Divineaye

Council Harrisaye

Council Leangaye

Council McCarthyaye

Council Mintonaye

Noel DiBonaaye

President Kaineaye

Richard Ashaye

Approve appropriation for $6 million to fund contract settlements with city unions (Order 2025-149)

aye 8

Council Divineaye

Council Harrisaye

Council Leangaye

Council McCarthyaye

Council Mintonaye

Noel DiBonaaye

President Kaineaye

Richard Ashaye

Adopt residential factor of 87.6332 for FY26 (Order 2025-128)

aye 8

Council Divineaye

Council Harrisaye

Council Leangaye

Council McCarthyaye

Council Mintonaye

Noel DiBonaaye

President Kaineaye

Richard Ashaye

Adopt percentages of local tax by each class of real and personal property for FY26 (Order 2025-129)

aye 8

Council Divineaye

Council Harrisaye

Council Leangaye

Council McCarthyaye

Council Mintonaye

Noel DiBonaaye

President Kaineaye

Richard Ashaye

Approve amendment to lien disposition agreement parcel R2/R3 Hancock Parking (Order 2025-147)

aye 8

Council Divineaye

Council Harrisaye

Council Leangaye

Council McCarthyaye

Council Mintonaye

Noel DiBonaaye

President Kaineaye

Richard Ashaye

Approve gift of $10,000 from Colonial Federal Savings Bank Charitable Foundation (Order 2025-148)

aye 8

Council Divineaye

Council Harrisaye

Council Leangaye

Council McCarthyaye

Council Mintonaye

Noel DiBonaaye

President Kaineaye

Richard Ashaye

Approve previous meeting minutes

aye 1

voice voteaye

Motion to adjourn

aye 1

voice voteaye

Verbatim transcript available

256 transcript segments indexed

Good evening everyone. Uh we'll continue with the public hearing on uh the fiscal year 2026 tax rate. Uh if anyone would like to come up to the microphone and speak, they are welcome to. Uh otherwise there is a sign-in sheet in the back of the chamber that people can also sign reflecting their uh opinion on the subject.

Oh is so one moment please. Sorry. What is there? Okay. Sorry. The uh the director of municipal finance is going to make quick remarks and then Thank you very much. Good evening, councils. Good evening.

So, this is a presentation of the fiscal year 2026 tax rate. And first, I'd like to explain why we use the median value instead of the average value. The median home value is a better statist statistic to represent single family home value.

Whereas a small group of highv value homes in in the average can skew the average. We have homes that are valued over 2 $3 million and homes valued in the $100,000 area and that makes the average appear higher.

Most of our homes fall right in the median. Um, but just to step back to the slide, the average home value in Quinsey is almost $37,000 higher than the median. Almost 75% of the single family home values lie between the value assessed value of $500,000 and $800,000.

So for the FY26 tax rate, the FY26 tax rates are coming in at residential $11.78 and commercial at $2353 versus last year's rates which were $153 and 2301 respectively. This year's tax levy is $334,912,440.

This is um the median home tax increase is $551.95 and it's a median increase of 7.6%. Which is right in line in keeping with our goal of being at or below the average of the other municipalities within the state.

Statewide average single family tax bills increasing at 8%. Quincy's average tax bill is increasing at 7.58%. And if you have noticed, Boston's average single family tax bill is increasing by 131% this year.

So, this slide kind of shows you the tax increase by assessment. And if you look at the sweet spots, it's um I'd like to look at $500,000 to $700,000 with the median home being coming in at 663,400. For a 5 to $600,000 home, the yearly median yearly increase would be $44,442 with a quarterly taxable increase of $1111.

And at the higher end of this, at 700,000, you're looking at $521.31 annually and a quarterly tax bill increase of $130.33. So, we have four council orders related to the tax rate um before you this evening.

Order 2025140 is a reduction of the FY26 budget of $16.4 million and that's going to become that's going to be coming from the debt service line. It's mainly done with a reduction of debt service with the band premium accounts.

Uh ban premium is is premium that the city receives when we issue notes. Um, it's premium because we we issue those notes at a slightly higher desirable interest rate to investors and we can use that money that we receive to pay down debt service.

$6.9 million is coming from um from grant monies and $3 million is coming from special revenue which I'll speak about in just one second. Order 2025141 free cash usage. Um, we certified a $2 million today with the state for free cash.

We'll be we'll be requesting to use that for uh for tax relief as well. Order 2025143 is the transfer for special revenue for $3 million. This $3 million is proceeds for the sale of the IHOR parcel part of the downtown development.

Um pro proceeds from that sale were 7.4 million. We're going to use three million for tax relief and there'll be a balance left of $4 million left from that that sale. Order 2025 149 is for a union contract funded at $6 million.

Now, as I understand it, it was discussed at budget time that this would be the number for the colar adjustments for the collective bargaining units. Just to talk about the free cash number. Free cash is a mass dols calculation based on modified gazsby based accounting.

It's calculated through the subtracting through subtracting any fund deficits from the city's operational surpluses. It is not the actual city's surplus. The total appropriation to reduce the tax rate is $2 million from free cash.

Next is the pension contribution. Now, the city has had a great channel of communication with both PRA and do uh throughout this process, and I'd just like to talk about, you know, what they'd like to see us do.

Essentially, do wants the city to show that we have the ability to fund and appropriate the pension cost is necessary. We believe, as Perrick also does, that the pension costs will be considerably lower once the new valuation is completed.

And I believe we'll have that study sometime in in January. Thus, when that comes through, less if any stabilization will be used. We will be replenishing any stabilization that may have to be used next year with free cash, new revenues, and through other means.

Now, just to go through the history of the pension contribution, the city allocated $475 million in FY2022. Per council order 2025-142, the city proposes appropriate $9.1 million in pension stabilization account for FY26.

Per council order 2025144 and add additional $7 million be authorized to be appropriated if necess if necessary from city stabilizations count account account for FY26. The excess levy capacity for FY26 it is believed that we will have an excess levy capacity of 23.97 million.

For FY25 state average was 2.61 million. Quincy would rank seventh out of the 297 currently reported municipalities in FY26 excess levy capacity. Over the last 10 years, the city has left 326.4 million in untaxed uh levy over that time span.

Thank you. Thanks, Paul. Okay. Now, if you'd like to rejoin us uh for the public comment period. Good evening. Joanne Collins, 88 Hillside A. Um thank you for the opportunity tonight to let us speak or me speak.

Like many qu Quinsey residents, I'm deeply concerned about the rising tax burden on homeowners and renters, especially at at a time when household costs are already stretched thin. If residents are being asked to make sacrifices, then we deserve to see the same level of restraint and accountability from city hall.

There's also a deeply disturbing pattern in the city's financial management that cannot be ignored. We have already seen 3.5 million disappear from the pension fund undetected for months. We've also had to borrow close to a half a billion dollars to cover the pension shortfall.

These are not minor bookkeeping errors. They represent serious failures in oversight and long-term planning. Against that backdrop, the city continues to pursue costly discretionary projects. Over the past few years, millions have been spent on statues and now we are being presented with a proposed art center at the Maro building which will be funded in part through future tax revenues.

My question is straightforward. If commercial businesses are lost, displaced or converted as part of this project, does the city lose those commercial tax payments? If so, how much revenue will be lost and who is expected to make up the difference?

At the same time, residents are being asked to absorb higher taxes while a very large raise for the mayor remains on the table. Many taxpayers are struggling to understand how that decision reflects shared sacrifice or responsible leadership.

Before asking more from residents, I would like to hear clearly and specifically how the administration plans to cut costs. What spending will be delayed, reduced, or eliminated? What priorities are being reconsidered?

And how will the city ensure that taxpayers are not continually asked to cover the consequences of poor financial decisions? Transparency matters, fairness matters, and trust matters. If sacrifices are required, they should begin at the top and shared by everyone.

Thank you. Bill Zamza, 46 Children Circle, Quinsey. First off, I must acknowledge that the board that the council made tonight available for another round of public comment given that uh things carried over from last week.

Uh, it's also nice we got some data from the finance director, but the data is rather frightening. We're talking about a 16 million and change cut in the budget halfway through a fiscal year. That's 4% of the budget.

They didn't see this coming. Then it looks like we're going to be taking $9 million out of the pension stabilization fund reserve that they're supposed to be have 25 I think 25 million in at this point per the denture on the 475 bond.

They're just about going to wipe that out. Then on top of that, there's a commitment depending on how they do the PARK assessment review that they'll probably not have to worry about it, but they've pledged $7 million of a stabilization fund, which only has for the city on the city's macro stabilization, and the city's only got about 10.5 million in that.

That would put them at less than a 1% reserve going forward. This is frightening. Now, the good news is it appears that the mayor has blanked on his expectation that he his announced plan to not pay the parak assessment of $16 million.

The problem is the expectation is that the review is going to come in cheaper. I'm not convinced. We had a good year on the market this past year. That's going to have some change in what the assessment is going to be going forward.

But the problem is most of the assessment roughly 11 million is courtesy of the COLA which is not even funded. So that's going to stick around and then they're only going to see a few million dollar improvement probably in the pension position for the fundamental obligation of the pension.

The only hope that the mayor might have is he's going to get the discount rate changed from the current six three six and 3/4 rate to seven. If you go to seven, the way discount rates work and this sort of thing is it makes it makes the need now a little smaller because it it presumes that they're going to do better on a return in investment.

Admittedly, this past year and the couple years before that, we've had a pretty good run on the market. The problem is the first year after they did the assessment or they did the 475 bond obligation, they lost 10% of the portfolio and they're still underwater by about 5% of the value.

We've had three good years in the market. We might be looking at a good fourth. But what happens when we have a bad year? And you figure four or five years of good good years, you're going to be looking at at least one or two sideways.

And just sideways puts them back into trouble. Again, the problem with this is we're looking at massive scrambling at the last minute. massive cuts in spending, taking all the all the quarters out of every sofa of possible reserve funds that the city has and committing what we have left in stabilization to put us in a potentially perilous situation.

I'm almost done. We're we're still doing the threeminut limit and you're over that now. Thank you very much. Appreciate it. I just was you interrupted me in the middle of the sentence and we don't have anything in place for honoring three minutes.

Appreciate your Thank you. No, you don't. Good evening. Thank you the rest of you. Thank you. Anyone else? My name is Changen. I live at 8 harvest land, Quincy. So this is the agenda for today's city council meeting published on Thursday afternoon and only today 6:00 p.m.

I got the updated the agenda just half an hour before the city council meeting and it's at my request. So most of the items on the agenda related to taxes and the councilors are expected to vote on them tonight and the public hearing is also about the taxes.

However, for six of 13 items on the agenda, there is no information provided beyond the titles of the orders. For example, order number 2025-140 appropriation reduction of the fiscal year 26 budget. That's all the public is giving.

There is no information about how much money is involved. They just add that amount half an hour before the meeting. But still which areas are being reduced and which funds and programs are on the chopping block and which service will be affected.

Those are all important details to be considered. I requested a supplemental materials from the city clerk's office last Friday and again today and was told that no information was available. So I have to assume there are no supplemental documents for this meeting or that any information was provided to councilors at the last minute.

Is this really the standard way the administration works with the city council? How can counselors be expected to vote responsibly without adequate time to read and analyze the information? And what about the public?

The public received nothing. No supplemental documents online, just a barebones agenda. These are open meetings and this is public information. It should be easy to access. I strongly recommend that all supplemental materials be published at the same time as the agenda and posted online alongside it.

People should not have to file request to obtain information for open meetings. Why add actual barriers? This would allow the public enough time to read, understand, and engage. If transparency and the public public engagement are truly valued by both the administration and the city council and this applies to the new city council as well, then this is where it needs to start.

Be honest about where the resistance is. keep people in the loop and the public will support a real effort to engage them. Thank you. Good evening everybody. Mahoney 12 Farad Street Quincy Mass. So counselors, this is a meeting, the last meeting of the year and there's key financial details that were not shared until 6:30 tonight.

So we know that you don't have the information and we know that we just found out about it when the chief financial financial person came up and spoke, but the appropriation amounts appear on the agenda.

They don't. Normally they would for all the years I was here when we had appropriations and I disagreed when we did it. They were on the agenda. People knew about it. But tonight they didn't show up. And while that may not violate an open meetings rules, it leaves everyone in the city in the dark and shows disrespect for this council and also for the citizens of Quinsey.

The $16 million pension obligation, it isn't new. You've known for a year, but it wasn't properly factored into the budget as we know. Relying on free cash and transfers in the last minute cover obligations is scrambling and unsustainable.

The S&P and other rating agencies expect clarity and responsible in fiscal management. But most importantly for those watching or those reading the paper tomorrow or tuning in later, this approach signals that this administration has lost track of the city's finances.

Residents deserve transparency, accountability, and a clear pan plan, not last minute improvisation. I can tell you there's a new council coming in. We're going to be expecting more. We're going to be looking closer, and we're going to be talking a lot more.

The last year when I was watching city council meetings, 15-minute meetings don't cover it. And the last meeting of the year, the most important meeting, the night that you're setting the taxes. If you don't set them tonight, they won't go out in time.

I'm glad to hear that we're going to be accounting for it using the pension obligation stabilization and $7 million to backfill. That's not planning and that's not really setting the stage for a good plan for the future.

The S&P will knock us down. We had time to look at this. You had over a year to talk about it and we shouldn't be doing it here tonight, the last night. Thank you. Anyone else? Hi, William Farrell. Um, 43 Quarry Street, Quinsey.

Um, I just wanted to thank the council and thank the city for some things. I've spoken before about the issues of the budget that I'm very concerned about and the tax rate that I'm concerned about, but I want to say some of the things that I think realistically have been mentioned aren't going to fix this.

Things like eliminating the Christmas light tree lighting ceremony or we should be eliminating the parade or eliminating the parks and recreations things we do for the kids in the summer. Maybe that'll get a big headline about, oh, the city tightening its belt, but that's going to have nothing to do with fixing the millions and millions of dollars that are resulting in the costs, the debt, and the operation for the cities.

Uh, it may make a splash by someone can say, I forced the let's stop the unnecessary Chris parades, but that's not the issue. The issue is the multi-million dollar um expenses that have been approved and the loans and things that are that have been approved.

Those things are just amongst some of the other things that the city does that make this a great place to live and why I'm happy to live here and why people come here, move here because it makes it a nice town.

And although I have heard people say, "Well, that's something we should cut right away." You really need to look at the real things, the things that costing millions of dollars, not these tiny little things that might make a headline and also prevent the city from being the really great place it is to um um to live in.

But I hope you really will look at that at that issue of of the very large overexpendures that make it a hard place to afford. Um, and I appreciate very much your work on this. Thank you. Okay, open mic.

Open mic night closing. That concludes our public hearing. Good evening. We call the Monday, December 8th, 2025 city council meeting to order. Madame clerk, please call the role. Councelor Ash, Councelor Campbell, Council Divine, Council Debana, present.

Council Harris. Council Lee Yang. Council McCathy. Council Minton. President King present. Eight members. Would everyone please stand and observe a moment of silence? Please use this moment as you will.

Please turn to the flag for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

I do want to note that uh Councelor Campbell uh couldn't be with us tonight. He's picking up his daughter in Europe from her uh study abroad journey, but wanted to send his message and greetings in his unfortunate uh lack of presence tonight.

Madame clerk, first item, please. Number one, 2025138, an appropriation for $8,82.39 cents from W 6 mitigation funds for Quinsey Community Action Program in Q. President recognizes Council Harris. Thank you, President Kaine.

Um, I want to uh um thank um Council Minton who kind of uh uh stirred me uh by his actions this the last meeting on this um with that with money that's been sitting and um you know there's some good that needs that can be done with this money.

And to be real quick, QCAP uh Quinsey Community Action Program, simply put, is the leading private nonprofit organization in the greater Quinsey area dedicated to reducing poverty and helping the lowincome residents achieve financial stability and security.

Uh community engage engagement, advocacy for racial, social, and economic justice. QCAP assists pathways to assist families and individuals from diverse backgrounds in their efforts to realize economic opportunity and create meaningful connections to improve the quality of their lives.

I um I I ask for the council to remember QCAP helps every single ward in this and and and touches every single ward in this city. So uh I I ask uh motion to approve and ask for your support. Thank you.

Great motion to approve made by council Harris, seconded by council McCarthy. Madam clerk, please call the role. Councelor Ash, yes. Council Divine, yes. Council Dona, yes. Councelor Harris, yes. Council Leang, Council McCarthy, Council Me.

Yes. Did I say President King? Yes. Eight members. Thank you. Thank you, Council. One second. I could just add on that. I'm sorry. I I'm Council Divine um helped us helped it last week. I sorry about that.

I was bad glasses that I have cheetahs and looking across the way. I apologize. But uh yeah, thank you. Sure, Council Divine. I really appreciate that because QCAP is in in Ward 4, but they also uh expand even further to some other towns and cities, too, because they're they're much larger than that.

They are they are fuel assistance also and uh they also help people with mental health and a lot of other aspects. So thank you very much. Uh it's a great cause. Thank you madam clerk. Next item please.

Number two 2025139 and appropriation for $3,386,510 to community preservation accounts. Motion to approve made by councelor McCarthy, seconded by councelor Dabono. on the motion. Seeing none, madam clerk, please call the role.

Councelor Ash, yes. Councelor Divine, yes. Councelor Deana, yes. Councelor Harris, Council Leang, Council McCarthy, Councelor Mitten, President Kaine, yes. Eight members. Thank you. Next item, please, Madam Cler.

Number three, 2025140, an appropriation for 16,400,000 reduction of FY26 budget. Motion approve. Motion approved made by councelor McCarthy, seconded by councelor Harris. On the motion, president recognizes Councelor Ash.

Thank you, Mr. President. Um, there's a it's the before us is a 16,400,000 uh reduction of the of the budget, it seems, from the long-term short-term debt service. I'm just uh wondering if we can elaborate on where that where that money comes from and and um directly, you know, where it will go in the budget, what line items, if any specific it will be reducing or um you know, the the background of the funds really.

Probably I'm sorry, director Dela Barber. Thank you. That's okay. So $6.5 million of that reduction is coming from band bond premium. $3 million is coming from a special revenue fund which was proceeds from the sale of the IHOP property and $6.9 million is coming from uh from grant uh funds from grant funds.

Yes. How often do we have uh a lump sum of bond pre bond premium money? Is that is that like a a semiannual quarterly? No, it's it it happens whenever we go out to market, right? So, we're going out to market again in March.

Uh depending on the size of the offering we put out, we generally get ban bond premium on that. Uh, I believe this upcoming offering in March will probably receive $2 million and then we're going out again in July and September, which will be another $10 million, $12 million we put back into ban bond premium at that time.

Okay. And so is it is it an appropriation that we move do we move this money over at the the second to last or the last meeting of every calendar year or is this um a different line item? This this is different uh this year uh we are allowed under statute to use this money to pay down debt service.

Okay. Thank you. Mhm. Good. Okay. All right. We have a motion on the floor from uh Council McCarthy, seconded by Council Harris. Madam Cler, please call the RO. Council Ash, yes. Council Divine, yes. Council Debona, yes.

Council Harris, yes. Council Leang, yes. Council McCarthy, yes. Councelor Mitten, yes. President Kane, yes. Eight members. Thank you. Next item, please. Amen. Number four, 2025141, an appropriation for $2 million from free cash to reduce the tax rate.

Motion to approve. Motion to approve made by councelor McCarthy, seconded by councelor Harris. On the motion, president recognizes councelor Deona. Uh thank you, Mr. President. Just a little bit elaboration on the free cash.

Um it says it's $2 million. Where would we be at um for free cash with this appropriation? after the uh if it's passed tonight through you to madam monitor or Mr. Walker through Mr. President you all one time yeah this is this is the full um certified number from free cash that we received from the state there's an opportunity Mr.

Delibaba can elaborate on it. There may be an opportunity to get the number reertified uh in the coming month months and so there'll be some additional potential for some additional free cash, but this is the full amount.

So this is the certified um stuff we were talking about last week that we couldn't do. This is the certified amount. All right, that's really all my questions I really have. Okay, thank you councelor Deona.

Thank you. So we motion on the floor. Motion approved by councelor McCarthy, seconded by councelor Harris. Madame clerk, please call role. Councelor Ash, Council Divine, yes. Council De Borna, yes. Council Harris, yes.

Council Leang, yes. Council McCarthy, yes. Councelor Minton, yes. President Kane, yes. Eight members. Thank you. Next item, please, Madam Clerk. Number five, 2025142, an appropriation for 9,100,000 pension bond stabilization account.

Motion to approve. Motion approved. Made by council McCarthy, seconded by councelor Harris. Madam clerk, please call the role. Councelor Ash. Council Campbell. Oh. Council Divine. Yes. Council Debona.

Yes. Council Harris. Yes. Council Leang. Yes. Council McCarthy. Councelor Mittton. Yes. President Kane. Yes. Eight members. Thank you. Next item, please ma'am. Number six. 2025143. an appropriation for 3 million transfer special revenue to debt services.

Motion to approve. Motion to approve made by councelor McCarthy, seconded by councelor Harris. On the motion, president recognizes councelor Ash. Thank you. Is this the director delare? This is the 3 million from the IHOP sale.

Is that what you're referring to? Yes, it is. Okay. Thank you. Madam clerk, please call the role. Councelor Ash, yes. Councelor Divine, yes. Council Deborn, yes. Council Harris, Council Leang, yes. Council McCarthy, yes.

Councelor Minton, yes. President Kaine, yes. Eight members. Thank you. Next item, please, madam clerk. Number seven, 2025144 authorization for $7 million stabilization to revenue placeholder. Motion to approve.

Motion to approve made by councelor McCarthy, seconded by councelor Harris. On the motion, president recognizes councelor Debono. Thank you, Mr. President. Um, just to elaborate a little bit if you could, anyone, Mr.

Walker or Mr. Deabra, um, on the the revenue placeholder, can you talk a little bit more about um, describing that as, you know, $7 million from stabilization fund? Sure. So, in our discussions with Do and Perk, what they want us to be able to do is have $16 million appropriated and ready to pay the retirement cost.

the $16 million that was on that schedule. Um, PARK agrees with us that, you know, through the new study, the new actuary study that the payment is probably going to come in much lower, but do wants to see that we have a placeholder for the full $16 million payment.

So, that's what we're doing. And that $7 million is going to sit there and depending on where the new actuality study comes in, we either it's either going to be the same $16 million, but we believe it's going to be much less.

This is our city stabilization. Is that correct? Correct. Okay. Um to get a step further, it's just a placeholder for 7 million. Is that correct? That's correct. Um what do we presently have in our stabilization fund?

I believe it's around $910 million. 910 million. Now, just on on a on a city municipality standpoint, how do we build that stabilization fund up um moving forward? Well, there'll be opportunities to do that going forward through um free cash, new revenues uh in different means like um looking at the budgets, making some cuts, doing whatever means necessary to build that up in the future.

But, um certainly free cash is an opportunity uh next year. I knew a few years ago we put a million dollars into stabilization. I believe it was from the co funds and we we did some some movement here which was good.

Um that's a very important aspect of a city municipality moving forward is having that stabilization fund in intact. So absolutely looking forward to the future. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Um on the motion president recognizes councelor vine.

Uh you just mentioned that um the valuation um is that's about two years old. Is that correct? That is correct. Um I I get a regulations and that's how it goes. But will they ever make it closer because it seems uh difficult to try and figure out what something we we should have to pay is two years old.

Um that's correct. But I believe the retirement board would have to approve that change. Um it's something that we're willing to explore. Like anything else, counselor, it could work in your favor. It could work against you.

You could have a good year, you could have a following, you could have a bad year, and you might want to go back and use a two-year schedule. Right. Right. I guess. Yeah. I just wanted to clarify that because I think people may not notice that, and um you know, I heard some people mention, you know, that we knew this a year ago.

Um I don't think that's a fair statement. Um everything fluctuate and moves around. So commend you for being able to balance this and and keep it moving the way it is. So thank you. Thank you councel.

Councelor Ash. Thank you Mr. President. Um just generally do we know how long it's going to take for a final decision on um whether on what what the the number will be from the department. We're hopeful that it's going to be in January.

Okay. Thank you. Okay, Madam Clerk, we uh motion approved. Council McCarthy, seconded by Council Harris. Please call the role. Council Ash, yes. Council Divine, yes. Council Deborah, yes. Council Harris, yes.

Council Leang, Council McCarthy, yes. Councelor Mitten, yes. President Kane, yes. Eight members. Thank you. Next item, please. Number eight, 2025 145 an appropriation for 1,500,000 transfer hotel motel tax.

Uh, president recognizes Mr. Walker. through you, Mr. President. Uh this is the first of two orders that are not uh related to the tax rate, but are um end of the year financial orders uh relative to uh the hotel motel tax and an appropriation uh to provide uh Quincy 400 some cost coverage for uh this year and some seed money uh for some potential events next year.

Motion to approve. Motion to approve a by council McCarthy. seconded by councelor Harris. On the motion, president recognizes councelor Ash. Thank you, uh, President Kaine. Um, with respect to to the sponsorships from last year, uh, Mr.

Walker, is it has all have all of the sponsorship has all the sponsorship money come in yet? I know we we did we transferred some money to for for seed money last year with the hopes or in the expectation rather that a lot of th those funds would be covered by private sponsorships and then we the money would u return revert back to the original funds that that it was transferred from.

Do you have an update on uh whether all those sponsorships came in or where we are with respect to how much money the those events potentially made um and um maybe the sure general update ones related to the same yeah through you Mr.

President, we are still so this is an end of the year fiscal this is an end of fiscal year uh exercise that we're um moving forward with um at this point. Um we are still hunting and chasing and expecting uh further sponsorship money uh to come in um over the course of the next several months.

Again, there wasn't really a deadline put on it. So uh that's been happening in rolling. We have received several hundred,000 uh in in sponsorships. Uh this body knows, I think I mentioned it the last time, uh Cork Auto was a major sponsor of the concert series.

Uh Santana Bank uh stepped up and was a major sponsor of some of the events and there's been a number of sponsors uh throughout the year. We fully expect um to keep building on that number um with the understanding that uh we can't go won't be able to go forward with uh any concerts uh and if the money doesn't work um in uh the next next fiscal year.

So this will cover what we have this year and provide the the base level for what we'll need uh in the in next year. Thank you. Um, we have a motion to approve from council McCarthy, seconded by councel Harris.

Madam clerk, please call the role. Councelor Ash, yes. Council Divine, yes. Council Debon, Council Harris, Council Leang, yes. Council McCarthy, yes. Councelor Minton, yes. President King, yes. Eight members.

Thank you, madam clerk. Next item, please. Number nine, 2025150, an appropriation for 1,500,000 from hotel m tax to Quinsey 400. Motion approved by councelor McCarthy, seconded by councelor Harris. On the motion, president recognizes councelor Divine.

Uh through you, Mr. President, to Mr. Walker. Um I see that we have $1.5 million that we can move to the Quinsey 400. I hear a lot of people talking about our festivals and events. I was wondering uh do we have any idea what type of uptick we get when we have all these events?

I know when we have the free jacks certain things happen and we have convenience stores, gas stations, hotels, restaurants, all these businesses. Uh they clearly do more business especially along the routes or wherever the event is.

Do you have an idea of what we're we're bringing in? because clearly we're probably bringing in a lot I would think through you Mr. Mr. President. Yes, absolutely counselor. We actually uh were engaging in a study on that to determine the exact uh total b net economic benefit for what we uh what we as a community uh did over the last year.

But in talking to some folks early on that number is well into the seven figures. uh the economic output when you talk about restaurant usage, when you talk about business offshoot, uh everything uh as you mentioned council, pretty much everything in the kitchen sink gets impacted when you provide uh when you put thousands of people into one place uh for hours at a time.

Um the concerts uh at the stadium that was, you know, roughly eight or nine,000 people, two nights, not one single incident. Uh and those people were absolutely in the downtown and at uh our bars and restaurants all throughout Marina Bay to Norfuck Downs to Wallston Center.

you could not move in some of these places uh during those events and the same holds true for the the special Dropkick Murphy show we did and the same holds true to some extent to a lesser extent but even that the events the the Christmas tree lighting um that's 5 to 6 thousand people out here uh in every place is absolutely mobbed uh and that's a big reason why we do it they're great community events of course and they make they instill a level of pride and this year in particular what a great year that we had um national recognition for what we were able to do um through the help of this body and the whole entire in the entire community.

Um but the economic impact is definitely a huge piece of what we try to do and we're going to u be able to show that in the coming months exactly to the greatest degree possible. You know what what those numbers really looked like but they they were substantial and we know that they were well into the millions of dollars.

Okay. Uh, thank you very much. Uh, we do have, uh, I have co-workers. I work at Granite Links and a lot of the co-workers, they come from far away, too. And, uh, quite often they come up. Even just the other night, uh, one came up and said how beautiful Quinzy is this holiday season.

So, uh, we're making some great memories, great traditions. Uh, somebody mentioned that it was the 75th parade. Um, that's a longstanding tradition that I I hope that we continue to do because it's very special.

Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Um, we have a motion to approve by Council McCarthy, seconded by Council Harris. Madam Clerk, please call the role. Council, Council Divine, yes. Council Deona, yes. Council Harris, yes.

Council Leang, yes. Council McCarthy, yes. Councelor Mittton, yes. President King. Yes. Eight members. Thank you. Next item, please. Madam clerk, number 10, 2025 146, an appropriation for 150,000 public buildings personnel for services and public buildings contractual.

President recognizes Mr. Walker through you, Mr. President. Um, this is a budgetary transfer. It's not additional. It's not um eliminating anything. This is an interbudget transfer from contractual within the public buildings department to personal services.

What this will allow Commissioner Hines to do more work uh with his staff uh as opposed to contracting it out. Motion approved by Councelor Divine, seconded by uh Council McCarthy. Madame Clerk, please call the roll.

Councelor Ash, yes. Council Divine, yes. Council Deona, yes. Council Harris, yes. Council Leang, Council McCarthy, yes. Councelor Minton, yes. President Kaine, yes. Eight members. President recognizes Council Divine.

I see uh Mr. Hines out in the audience. Uh I'd like to say thank you very much for all the hard work you've done this year. Uh you do a lot of work for us all the time, but um we have a lot of buildings, a lot of things, and a lot of uh moving parts.

So, great job. Keep up the good work. Thank you. Yeah. Next item, please, madam cler. Number 11, 2025149, an appropriation for $6 million to various departments to fund contract settlements with the city unions.

Motion to approve. Motion approved made by councelor McCarthy, seconded by councelor Harris. On the motion, president recognizes councelor Deon. Thank you, Mr. President. Just for clarification purposes, um what what particular city unions did we um fund for these contractual settlements?

This is inclusive of all collective bargaining units uh within the city. Not all contracts are settled. Um I would say more than half are. Um I think everyone knows the the largest union, the Quincy teacher uh Quinsey teachers, Quinsey Education Association.

Um this number is reflected in that. Um the police patrolman um have come to an agreement um and still working on a number of the contracts. Um but this will as we talked about during budget time when we council we talked um sometimes we've done this as as a reserve for appropriation.

We put the money aside as part of the budget. that that tends to um reveal the city's negotiating position, what the what the the negotiating teams and the administration might be thinking for a cost of living adjustment, wage adjustment for the collective bargain agreements.

So, this year, I believe Eric mentioned, Mr. Mason uh at the time of the budget hearing that we would wait until uh tax recap time before we actually appropriated the money. But this will cover uh the cola for all collective bargaining agreements regardless of those that have been settled or those that will be settled uh we expect within the next couple months.

So is this retrospect back to July 1st? It it would be retro retroactive to July 1. Yes sir. Okay. Thank you. Madam clerk, please call the role. Councelor Ash. Yes. Councelor Divine. Yes. Council Dona.

Yes. Council Harris. Yes. Council Leang. Council McCathy. Councelor Mittton. Yes. President Kane. Yes. Eight members. Thank you, Madam Clerk. Next item, please. Number 12, 2025128 adopting residential factor of 87.6332 for FY26.

Motion to approve. Motion to approve made by council McCarthy, seconded by Council Harris. Madam clerk, please call the role. Councelor Ash, yes. Council Divine, yes. Council Deborn, yes. Council Harris, Council Leang.

Council McCarthy, Councelor Mitten, President Kane, yes. Eight members. Thank you, Madam Clerk. Next item, please. Number 13, 2025129. adopting percentages of local tax by each class of real and personal property for FY26.

Motion to approve. Motion to approve made by councelor McCarthy, seconded by councelor Harris. On the motion, president recognizes councelor Ash. Thank you, President Kaine. Um, I do have a question about the the actual rate and I think this may be the most logical point to raise it.

Um, Director Delibara, um, with with respect to the new residential rate of 1178, um, I I see that as a as a just over a 2% increase from last year of with the residential rate of 1153. Mhm. So, with respect to a median increase of 7.6% 6% of the tax bills.

Are you is that taking into consideration assessments as well? Of course. Yes. Okay. And are the are the assessments and the rates are are those numbers run the at the same time calendar year? So, you know, July 1st to June 30th.

Um, so council, here's your question. I'm I'm going back and forth as to whether this sounds like a like a like I'm missing something, but I'm assuming if I have the question, I you know, my goal is to make sure the the folks at home might have the same question and I can get it answered for them.

So, thank you. Oh, sorry, director. I I'm I'm going Everything's going by the same Everything's going by the same fis fiscal year, right? So, July 1st to June 30th, correct? Okay. Thank you. Thank you.

I I've made that more confusing than it needed to be. Also, councelor Ash. Thank you. Yes. Uh motion on the floor from Council McCarthy, seconded by Council Harris. Madam Clerk, please call the role. Councelor Ash, Council Divine, yes.

Council Dana. Council Harris, yes. Council Leang, yes. Council McCathy, Councelor Mitten, President Kaine, yes. Eight members. Thank you, Madam Clerk. Next item on the agenda, please. Number 14, 2025147.

Order, amendment to lean disposition agreement parcel R2 R3 Hancock Parking. President recognizes Mr. Walker. Through you, Mr. President. uh before the body this evening is a minor uh in nature um but substantive uh in practicality uh change in the LDA that this body approved in 2020 relative to what's known as the R2 and R3 properties um both of which were part of the Hancock parking lot.

just to situate everyone what we consider the R3 property. There is a project being built on that project uh site right now that is the side facing Hancock Street back toward what used to be uh known as the Hancock parking lot.

Uh there was a second piece of property that was part of that original LDA which we called R2. That is where uh our wonderful skating rink is right now. Um just to situate yourself across from Quincsey District Court and the Hancock garage.

Um what this LDA revision does in all essence is basically extract the master developer from R2. Uh the original agreement incorporated both parcels. Um this will revert the R2 parcel back to the city.

The city will be able to do as it sees fit in the coming years with it. So a very um technical minor in nature. The the developer um our development partner on the R3 site is working uh full speed ahead on R3.

They are focused on that project. Um and a mutual determination was made that um the property known as R2 would revert back to the city. So that is what is before the body. We also have I'm sorry, Mr.

President. Uh if there are any questions tonight, we do have the legal and planning teams uh here with us tonight. Thank you. President recognizes Council Dona. Um thank you, Mr. President. Just to R2 parcel, is that is it is that's the parcel next to the to the garage that has the skating rink.

Is that correct? That is correct, Council. Okay. Currently. Okay. And then R3 is what's being worked on right now, right on the corner there, the old um Napoles. Okay. Um, we knew this was we knew we knew we had to get to this decision and I'm glad you put it on the agenda, get this done, get moving.

Thank you. President recognizes Councelor Ash. Thank you, Mr. President. Um, my question is really just if there are any if the city has any plans for that parcel in the current moment, the the parcel where the skating rink is.

Mr. President, it's a great site for a skating rink. Uh, no, counselor. Quite honestly, um there are a number of projects as everyone can see, there are a number of projects ongoing in the downtown right now.

Um the project at R3 right next door is ongoing. Um that's going to take some time. Um these other projects are certainly going to take a little bit of time. Um we are in certainly I don't want to say no rush because we always want it's the mayor's prerogative and the mayor's goal to always keep moving forward but um I would suggest um that there's nothing in the immediate term um that will be uh happening with that site.

Thank you. President recognizes councelor Le. Uh just a quick question about the the fees um if there were any occurred for the transaction or exchange of land reversion. No. No. Thank you. Motion to approve by councelor Harris, seconded by councelor McCarthy.

Madam clerk, please call the role. Councelor Ash. Councelor Divine. Councelor Deona. Yes. Council Harris, Council Leang, Council McCarthy, Councelor Mitten, President Kane, yes, eight members. Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Next item, please. Number 15, 2025148, a gift for $10,000 from Colonial Federal Savings Bank Charitable Foundation. Motion to approve made by Council McCarthy, seconded by Councelor Harris. Madame Clerk, please call the role.

Councelor Ash, Council Divine, yes, Council Deona, yes. Council Harris, Council Leang, Council McCarthy, yes. Councelor Minton, yes. President Kane, yes. Eight members. Thank you. And that concludes our regularly scheduled agenda items tonight.

Approval of previous meeting minutes. Motion approved made by Council Leona. Seconded by Council Lang. All those in favor? Those opposed? Eyes have it. communication and reports from the mayor, other city officers, and city boards.

Oh, we have the mayor with us tonight. Um, let me run Can I just run through these? We got a couple little business left and you can come up. Uh, unfinished business and proceeding meeting. Seeing none reports of committees, none.

Presentation of petitions, memorials, and remmonstrants. motions, orders, and resolutions. Okay, we'll uh we'll save this portion for some open mic from this side tonight. Um first, it's nice to see his honor, Mayor Tom Ko, with us in the council chambers.

I'd welcome him to the podium. Thank you, Mr. President. Appreciate you indulging me here tonight. Uh I did want to come down and uh bring my wellw wishes to a number of you who are leaving service here on the city council.

I think it's important to point out uh particularly to the public that um there's a great work ethic in our city and not everything happens at the meeting that uh we're in conversations quite frequently each of you on different types of issues.

uh you're in contact with department heads, you're in meetings constantly, you're at events across the city on a regular basis. Uh I I understand what that sacrifice is on you and your families. Uh so first of all, let me say thank you for that.

Uh councelor Leang, um 10 years, uh we've almost half of my term uh more than half my term you you've been here. I appreciate the cooperation we've shared and issues and conversations we've had. I appreciate you a council president.

We went through the co issue and I appreciate all of the help uh getting through that. I remember going to a number of community meetings. I remember one at 80 clay street which was quite uh quite robust.

Uh and he handled it well and I just thank you for your service. I wish you all the best uh going forward. I know concert Large Campbell is not with us tonight, but I did want to acknowledge his service and his work continues because he has been uh so supportive of Quinsey Public Schools, boosters, athletics, Hall of Fame.

He continues to work so hard on all those things. So, we're thankful to him. Uh W one counselor McCarthy, um David, we uh had some time on the school committee together as well. Uh I think you've been outstanding ward counselor.

you're on top of all the issues. Uh I know that because I heard from you on a regular basis. Um and as did my my team. Appreciate all the work you've done. Uh I know a couple of the bigger issues, the maritime center which we've laid the groundwork for.

Uh but also the major seaw wall work done in what one post island to the neck and you've been very involved in the design of the next phase. Uh so we appreciate your good work uh over the years councelor.

Um, three councelor Ian Kaine. Uh, you put the city on the map with blockchain and high-tech and appreciate working with you and the Cubix's Cubic Lab. Um, but also on a myriad of other issues. One that's probably most to note is the Furnaceburg Golf Club.

A lot of discussion around that. A lot of questions whether we should move forward on that. Uh, and it is a beautiful asset to the city and exceed it's exceeding revenue projections that we had. So, it's really a home run.

So, thank you for your leadership on that and all the uh issues over the years and you certainly have run a good meeting um from what I understand according to my chief of staff. No offense, I don't watch the meetings.

Uh but appreciate your service uh counselor. Um Jim Divine, our woodful counselor. Um uh in the trenches every day picking up mattresses with his own truck um meeting with the constituents at their house on issues.

um a real constituent oriented counselor, but in addition a bigger picture uh led the effort on the overlay district for Crown Colony. As we know, the world's changing on office parks. So, uh we got to look at things differently and for economic development.

So, Jim, uh you saw the vision on that. Appreciate all of your work uh over the years, Council Minton. Um appreciate your service first with the police department for all those years. uh outstanding reputation and I think you brought that perspective of public safety here to this body.

Uh and uh I know that was helpful in a number of discussions as we continue increase the compliment on both the fire and the police departments. Uh we thank you for your service as well. Uh and my counselor what's councelor Bill Harris um you know worked with you for 10 years I guess as well now your years.

Um, I guess the most no one of the issues in my mind would be the Long Island Bridge for one uh which is a city and uh we've been able to uh keep from being built to this day. I appreciate your leadership on that and your advocacy for the new Squantum School.

Uh as you know run our fifth new school working with the school building authority and that plant was an old tired facility that needed replacement. uh also know that um every year you gave out a lot of scholarships to kids from North Quincy High School going on their colleges.

So uh council appreciate your service. I know that I'm sure I'll see each of you and all of you around the city because I know you love the city as I do. So thank you for your service and best wishes to each of you.

We're in the second day of Hanukkah. We certainly wish those out there celebrating Hanukkah happy Hanukkah, happy holidays, merry Christmas and a new year filled with good health and much joy. God bless.

Thank you, mayor. So, we we do have um some of my colleagues who will be making transitions in the new year uh from this body. So, I would welcome uh them the opportunity to share a few words if they would like.

Uh we can start with councelor Divine. Um, first off, I'd like to say how much an honor and uh how proud I was to represent uh Ward 4, but at the same time, I'm I'm not going anywhere to uh my friends, neighbors, and constituents.

Uh I'm still going to be here, so reach out if you need help navigating your way through the city. Uh I'm here to help with anything. Um it's been uh almost 3 years that I've been in. So it's been a lot of fun.

Got a lot done. Um one of the biggest things I think that's coming to fruition was talking about the garages is the uh almost 100,000 square foot urgent care which is basically going to be a hospital.

You just can't sleep overnight there. Uh I think that's going to be one of the greatest additions to the city and it's going to be coming forward soon. I think the frames being built. Uh I'm very honored to have been able to say yes to all these great projects that have been coming online and uh they'll keep going forward.

Uh the city when I moved here almost uh 21 years ago has transformed immensely and uh I think we're the best one in the state, maybe the best city in all of New England or maybe America. So we're going to keep it going.

Thank you. Thank you for everything. Thank you, Councelor Divine. Uh, councelor Minton, thank you. It's a pleasure to serve the city a couple more years after my retirement of 40 years in as a police officer.

The best part of the job for me was helping so many different people in so many different issues. It was a continuation of what I did as a police officer. It's what these councils do behind the scenes that makes the city so great.

Thank you. Where are the tissues? I'm not ready. Um Oh god. Uh Mayor, thank you so much for taking the time to be here tonight. Um it's been an absolute honor getting to know you over the years and getting to work with you and to collaborate.

Um certainly there were plenty of things that we didn't agree on. Um, I think that was kind of like it started out as like a I'm not really sure how it's going to go, but I think it became a nice fun um running joke, but not really.

That we couldn't be more opposite, right, when it came to things. But the one thing that I think um grew our love for one another was that we're born and bred from this city and we're here because we want to give back to the city.

And I think having that um same goal in mind is what all of us are up here for and to do. and we don't always agree on how to do it, but the fact that we can all relate back to that. Um, and to sacrifice so much in our lives to do that, I think is something that will always keep us all bonded to each other.

So, thank you so much for spearheading that and starting that for me. Um, this is why I don't want to do this. I wasn't going to say anything tonight. Um, but I just, um, I at the very least want to say thank you to I'll get there.

um all of the colleagues that I've had the last 10 years who've held my hand up here, who've been patient with me, um who forgave me when I sprung sanctuary city on them 12 months into our time up here.

Um all the department heads that, you know, walked me through how things can get done for our constituents. Um even the ones that aren't, you know, leading the city anymore, but are happily enjoying retirement.

um all the volunteers that came out over the years and the community for believing in some 27year-old Asian kid who knew nothing about politics. Um like I was saying, you know, I'm I'm who I am today because of this city.

And um when my grandparents came here, I don't think they could have ever imagined how far, you know, our family came or could have come in this city. And I think for anybody who knows, my family knows that we are who we are today because of what the city has given to us.

And thank you for supporting all the restaurants and thank you for hosting the events so that our restaurants can do well. But um you know, folks have been so kind to my parents and to my siblings and to my cousins.

Um I just I owe this city and this community so much and I'm just so so grateful to have been given the opportunity to give back the last 10 years. It's not even a drop in the bucket for what I owe to this city.

So just thank you. Thank you everyone. Seriously. Thank you, Council Leang. Okay. Strong side left. Councelor Harris. Council Gothy. Um Oops. Uh everything's falling out of my pockets. I thought we were leaving.

Um um first and foremost uh I have to the first person and first people I have to thank is is having put up with uh put up with me at home and it's a lot of us that are at home the people that love us that take the burden of the stress that this job puts on you and there's no doubt the stress uh I'm very fortunate having a a long time wife uh of 38 now 39 years if I got it wrong sorry honey um who has you know whether we were out having dinner at Marina Bay and being interrupted or a phone call that would come at an event and all of a sudden my mood would change because I took the call that I shouldn't have or read an email that I shouldn't have But it's those folks that stand behind us, the backbone, whether it's a a wife, a father, a mother, a brother, uh your friends.

I've made so many friends in the last 10 years. Um I it it it I am very very my heart is very full leaving here this evening. Uh because it's it's been a a really really good experience. um 60% of the time.

No, no, most of the time. And helping people was everything. And um and I want to thank my peers, Council Yang, you know, uh I think we voted the same way most of the time, more than any anybody else.

When you think about it, when you think about it, award six counselor and um councelor Kaine 10 years 10 years I was just a little bit behind his but 10 years and and uh I remember 10 years ago we went at it.

We we were in an election just a few you know 10 years ago and it was it's been a I can't believe where did 10 years go. So it's it and but you see the city and the city doesn't look the same as it was 10 years ago.

So that's what I'm kind of proud of, too. So, uh, I love you all. I love the city and Wood 6 has been great to me. So, uh, I wish everybody a long happy life. Thank you, McCarthy. Well, first of all, I want to thank the mayor for the kind words and and thank everybody up here and everybody that that I've worked with.

Uh, you know, I never knew back in 2003 I'd be hanging around here for 20 plus uh on the school committee and and now on the council. But one thing I saw with uh both the failing administration and with the Koch administration is that they're Quinsey people.

Um, you know, they're they're they they have a staff. um men and women that are Quinsey driven to make Quinsey what it is today. And uh when I first started in uh 2003 uh on the school committee, I was under um Mayor Failen and you know you could see um that there were decisions, some good, some bad, but they were trying to make Quinsey better.

And then uh when the mayor came on um a little short of 20 years ago, um I got to know all these guys pretty well. And uh the rapport that I built with them helped Ward One um immensely uh with a lot of things.

as the mayor joked about, I I did I I frequently uh as council Devine and I both say joke about the DPW, but I frequently bother them and they're very responsive and what I've seen is that they they want to see Quinsey succeed and um their foundation is Quinsey.

It's all about Quinsey. Um we joke around, but we we get a lot of things done and everybody on on this council was always geared in. Uh, as the mayor said, it doesn't just happen here on on on a Monday night.

Um, there's plenty of conversations with the mayor, with Mr. Walker, with Mr. Timmons, with Al Grazioso, etc. You get on the line, Mr. Murphy, uh, on agenda items, on um, financial items, and we try to beat it to death throughout the the two weeks we usually have before we have a council meeting um, and get get things done.

So, I want to thank the mayor. Uh, I want to thank your leadership, too, President Kaine. Um, you've done a great job. Uh, everybody that's been up there has done a great job as president, uh, here. And, uh, we moving along.

And, um, again, I wish everybody a happy holiday and a and a merry Christmas. And as councelor Harris said, um, your family is um has to put up with it. Uh if you get into it, which a lot of us do, you're you're you know, you your your first three nights of the week, zoning, council, zoning, planning, concom uh you're on a roll here.

So, uh early on the kids used to enjoy getting in the uh the picture when you do a uh a campaign ad. Now I can't find them. They want nothing to do with me. So, uh they're all grown up, but um it was a it was it was good.

I'm really not going anywhere. Um, you know, I'm too embedded to um to take my uh foot off the pedal. So, happy holidays and merry Christmas and thank you. Thanks, council. I miss anyone. All right. Well, uh to my family and friends, colleagues, neighbors, and people of Quinsey, I hope you've enjoyed this season of the Quinsey City Council.

It had action. It had suspense. We had statues. We had raises. But 10 years ago, this city was a very different place. There was no clear roadmap for redevelopment. The transportation, parking, alarms, and lighting department, affectionately known as TPAL, didn't even exist.

And this council was a wide mix of strong voices advocating passionately and sometimes loudly for very different ideas about Quinsey's future. Today, we've added hundreds, thousands of new housing units.

Hundreds of miles of roads have been repaved and century century old pipes beneath them replaced. We built a city common that brings our community together and gathers thousands for holidays, events, and concerts.

We added new parks, pocket parks, right-siz parks across every corner of the city. And soon, Quinsey will stand among the most innovative cities in the country with its own municipal fiber optic network.

And that progress didn't happen by accident. And while we up here have been fortunate to cast the votes that help move this city forward, none of it happened because of us alone. The city works because of the thousands of people who show up every single day to serve it.

For constituent services, we're just a backs stop. The real work happens on the front lines. To every department head and chief, to your teams and to your squads, thank you. Not once in 10 years did I make a request that wasn't met with professionalism and urgency.

It's been an absolute pleasure to work with you. Your pride shows, your dedication shows, and it shows how good this city looks and how well it functions. To our city clerk, clerk of committees, and the city auditor, thank you for keeping the city council in line during my time here.

You are the true timekeepers, the quiet constants whose work often goes underappreciated. It's been a pleasure to have you, not just as colleagues, but as friends. Mr. Walker, you may be the most loved and hated person in this city for reasons that no one can quite explain.

Congratulations on that. But I, however, have had the chance to see how hard you work behind the scenes. I'm grateful for your partnership, your collaboration, and your friendship. To the mayor, your job is not easy, and there are very few people who bring the level of care, steadiness, and thoughtfulness that you do.

Your love for Quinsey is unquestionable, and when the time comes for someone else to sit in that chair, I hope they bring the same level of care and dedication and the same constructive vision. The city is better for having a mayor who genuinely loves it.

To my colleagues, past and present, thank you for your partnership, the debates, the disagreements, the friendships, and the guidance. I've enjoyed working with most of you, and I respect the commitment though that every one of you brings to the city, even when we see things differently.

But five seasons and 10 years I've been up here, and it's been a treat. It's been wild, actually. And it's been an education that will stay with me for the rest of my life. One thing that you quickly learn in this role is that you cannot solve every problem.

You can't please everyone, but you do your best. Over the years, I've watched national politics, social media, and COVID change the dynamics of local government. And few things have become painfully clear.

People are unhappy. Shared core beliefs feel harder to find. And many of us are being pulled constantly by forces designed to keep us divided, reactive, and distracted. And I believe that all these are connected.

Many people are struggling. And that energy has made its way into nearly every issue debated in this chamber. But here's the hard truth. The votes taken up here are not what make people unhappy. The ordinances, the budgets, the hearings, those aren't the source of people's despair.

And yes, politicians can be wrong. They can also be right. You just might not agree. But what we're experiencing runs deeper. We're living in a time where outrage is incentivized, where certainty replaces curiosity and where entertainment has overtaken substance.

Not just in politics, but in how we consume information and understand the world around us. If someone speaks loudly enough, confidently enough, or angrily enough, their words are treated as truth, whether or not they actually are.

Emotion replaces reflection. Reaction replaces deliberation, and volume replaces wisdom. We are nudged, shaped, and influenced constantly by narratives and systems that benefit more from confusion than clarity.

I don't believe local government or any level of government was ever meant to be theater. This body was meant to be deliberate. It was meant to be imperfect, but it was also meant to be human. And maybe if we took these roles in ourselves a little less seriously and spent more time examining our own motivations, our own fears, and our own egos, we might find more reasonable agreements, more durable outcomes, and a little more peace along the way.

Now, this isn't an accusation. This is an opportunity. This is a call to action to slow down, to look around, and to look inward. Because if we don't understand what we believe or what we think we believe, if we don't question what pulls at us, what provokes us, what drives us, we'll never make the impact that we think we're actually making.

And at the end of the day, one thing is undeniable. Every person in this room wants what's best for Quinsey, but we owe it to this city to make sure that work comes from authenticity. We still have something very special here.

Our community stands above the rest. I'll make that bet any day. We have history, we have grit, and we have a magic. It's this special sauce that will continue to guide this city for the next hundred years.

But from Wallist Elementary to Central Middle School, I'm just a wreck kid that became Quinsey City Council president. But thank you, Quinsey, for the trip of a lifetime. And I want to thank you for being with us for this season of the Quinsey City Council.

I hope you'll stay tuned for next season. With a majority female cast, new characters, returning players, former villains, and a few holdovers from this year, it's bound not to disappoint. You can check it out on QAV.