Tab for bottled water is flooding taxpayers

The news this week has made one thing clear: Massachusetts’ state workers are thirsty, especially when taxpayers are paying for their bottled water.

As the Herald’s Mary Markos reported, taxpayers are on the hook for state workers’ $1.1 million bottled water tab, a bump up of approximately 23 percent in the past five years.

The state’s spending on bottled water and rental costs for equipment have steadily climbed by more than $200,000 over the past five years. In 2014, the state spent $892,843, followed by $920,272 in 2015, $913,806 in 2016, $1.17 million in 2017 and $1.1 million in 2018, according to state records.

The three biggest spenders in recent years have been the Executive Office of Health and Human Safety, the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, and the Executive Office of Education.

HHS, which spent $286,312 on H2O in fiscal year 2018, has 22,000 employees across 154 locations. The Office of Public Safety and Security, spent $184,923 on bottled water. An official cited the agency’s large size, with approximately 2,600 state police employees and 4,500 workers at the Department of Correction throughout 16 prison facilities and offices across the state.

The Attorney General’s Office, along with the state auditor and the judiciary, are also included in the grand total.

Water is a necessary amenity for state workers but spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on bottled water is irresponsible. The state can work with vendors to install water refill stations for people to use in various government buildings and employees can bring their own bottles.

Government earns no money of its own. Every dime in coffers on Beacon Hill belongs to the hardworking taxpayers of the commonwealth. We must demand that frugality rule the day when determining the allocation of the people’s money.