BUMPY RIDE

LAWMAKERS SEEK ACCOUNTABILITY AFTER CULTURAL COUNCIL’S SPENDING ON PRIUS, PERKS

The Mass Cultural Council refuses to say if the taxpayerleased Prius C III given to the agency boss is used for her daily commute.

But records obtained by the Herald show a state-issued agency card was used for gas numerous times in the executive’s hometown on the North Shore.

As the Herald reported last week, council Executive Director Anita Walker has a Prius leased for her by taxpayers for $404.63 a month. She’s enjoyed that perk since 2011, the council confirmed yesterday.

The parking bill is $340 a month in downtown Boston near the agency’s St. James Avenue offices, also paid for by taxpayers, records show.

Walker earns $174,400 a year, and was just awarded a raise.

Gas bills from a stateissued “P-card” show $473 spent in the one North Shore community where Walker lives.

Those gas bills were from credit card expenditures studied by the Herald from May 2017 to May of this year. All but one bill was from a nearby Shell gasoline station.

In justifying the need for a leased car, the agency said in a statement: “A dedicated agency vehicle for use by the Executive Director for statewide work was more cost-effective than either rental cars or paying mileage reimbursement.”

Walker used that car yesterday while attending an agency budget meeting in Lawrence. She declined all comment on the vehicle.

The agency did say in the statement the car is not used as a “personal vehicle,” and taxpayers also pick up any maintenance costs.

Mass Cultural Council chief Anita Walker gets into her tax-subsidized Prius yesterday.

CAR CONTROVERSY: Mass Cultural Council Executive Director Anita Walker gets into her car after a council meeting yesterday in Lawrence. Her use of the vehicle leased with council funds has been called into question.