Marty puts off bad news until after election
So the city of Boston shells out a nearly $1 million fine to the IRS on Election Day and Mayor Marty Walsh doesn’t notice? Sure. Right.
Walsh is playing dumb when it comes to the revelation that shoddy and questionable bookkeeping by the city and School Department cost taxpayers a whopping $944,098 payment to the Internal Revenue Service.
‘Pretty much everything but the “dog ate it” was on the excuse list.’
The newly re-elected mayor would have his constituents believe that he only found out about the fines — which the city forked over at City Hall on Nov. 7 — just last week, which would mean he is completely out of touch.
It seems a little convenient that because the city hid the news for weeks, voters never got to find out about the accounting scandal until it was too late.
Not that it would have stopped Walsh’s landslide election, but it certainly would have been an embarrassment if news of the IRS penalties hit just hours before Walsh’s victory celebration.
We know the mayor’s had a very busy schedule lately running to different tree lightings, but you’d think he’d be a little more interested in the incompetence which, apparently, was rampant in the schools’ and city’s accounting departments.
Walsh certainly didn’t seem too outraged when he was asked about the fine this week on a radio show.
“I wouldn’t say angry but I was concerned about it,” Walsh said.
He then brushed off calls for a full investigation by Auditor Suzanne Bump by lashing out at the conservative fiscal watchdog that called for the audit by Bump’s office.
Walsh may not be angry but taxpayers should be.
In case you missed it, here is a list of some of the excuses offered up by school employees for the screw ups:
“Those records were thrown out.”
“I don’t have the names.”
“No recollection of what payments were for.”
Pretty much everything but the “dog ate it” was on the excuse list.
The accounting “errors” were not minor. The city was caught failing to pay Medicare withholding taxes for dozens of employees. A number of schools were caught spending specially designated “school activity” funds that blatantly violated state and federal rules.
Boston Latin spent $15,000 in activity funds for proctors to monitor students taking exams. By spending the federally regulated activity money, the schools avoided using their regular budgets.
And what does School Superintendent Tommy Chang have to say about it? We don’t know. He wasn’t answering questions.
Chang wasn’t yet in his job during the period covered by the audit, but Walsh certainly was in office. And he’s the one who is now avoiding blame.
Walsh should now be held accountable — even if he wasn’t at the voting booth.