Agencies should act responsibly

The Massachusetts Cultural Council is finally being reined in and that is very good for the hardworking taxpayers of Massachusetts.

As the Herald’s Joe Dwinell reported, the Mass Cultural Council board has unanimously adopted strict guidelines for state-issued credit cards and out-of-state travel, with one board member saying they owe it to the taxpayers.

“We always need to remember where the money is coming from,” said council board member Troy Siebels. “We need to govern responsibly and spend taxpayer money in a responsible way.”

The Herald has been reporting on the council’s lavish spending that includes a generous transportation package for the executive director, Anita Walker.

Walker’s salary is $174,400 a year and she is furnished with a leased Toyota Prius at taxpayer expense for $404.63 per month. Parking is also taken care of by the residents of the commonwealth for $340 a month. The car is parked just around the corner from the office in the toney Back Bay neighborhood.

The council has stopped answering any questions from the Herald about the car, credit card expenditures, hotel stays, travel, gas for the Prius or more, which is either evasive in nature or arrogant or both.

As the Herald has reported, the council used credit cards for $17,500 in hotel bills over a recent 12-month period and on $3,700 in food in that same time frame.

Restaurant bills on the Cultural Council’s P-card show stops at the Coors Silver Bullet Bar in Colorado, the Go Bistro Asian Fusion Bar & Grill at the San Francisco airport and Vino Volo at Lambert Airport in St. Louis.

The dining-out details come after the Herald first reported the Cultural Council spent a total of $3,700 in meals off the upscale Davio’s “To Go” menu on the taxpayers’ dime.

It is better late than never that the Cultural Council is righting the ship, but the larger culture of spending should also be remedied and reconciled with the rights of the people of Massachusetts to have an honest steward of their tax dollars in state government.

Also, journalists should not have to pry information from state agencies. Gov. Charlie Baker must insist on a high level of transparency and cooperation with the press from everyone under his purview.