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Quincy council opens new public forum and hears residents pressing to rescind recent raises
Summary
At its Feb. 2 meeting, Quincy City Council opened a newly formalized 20-minute public comment period and heard residents urge rescinding recent mayor and council raises, call for greater transparency on city finances and criticize the mayor's past remarks.
Quincy City Council began its Feb. 2 meeting by holding a 20-minute open forum established by Council President Mahoney and explained in detail by the city clerk. President Mahoney said residents must sign in, give their name and address, and are limited to three minutes each; the council will listen but not engage in back-and-forth during the forum.
Residents used the new forum to press a set of recurring concerns. Joe Herosy urged the council to "rescind the raises for the mayor and city council," calling the pay increases "passed without any real public mandate" and urging formation of "a citizens commission of working class people" to collect grievances and propose policy responses. William Farrell and Kathy Thrun also said they oppose the raises and want a more transparent, data-driven process for future pay adjustments.
Several commenters raised separate but related transparency issues. Jocelyn Setney asked the council to explain Quarry Hills' lease accounting, saying the lease shows $863,290.89 due for 2023 but the city received only $128,719.95 and asking for an explanation and supporting documents. Veronica Bertrand criticized the mayor's prior remarks regarding sexual-abuse reporting and LGBT people, calling those comments "repulsive," and cited the city's $1.6 billion debt as further reason for fiscal scrutiny.
The forum included procedural questions about council rule 23(b). Multiple speakers — including Councilor Anne and the city clerk — discussed whether an objection under the rule stops debate and sends items to a later agenda; the clerk explained that an objection halts deliberation and pushes the item to the next agenda.
The forum concluded after the scheduled speakers; President Mahoney said the council would continue to include public comment on future agendas and that the new rule language would be placed into committee for formal consideration.
