Councilor Mahoney is a member in good standing of the Quincy Dems. She has given us permission to place her article here on our blog. This letter originally appeared in the Quincy Sun, May 6, 2021.
The opinions expressed are the original author’s own and do not constitute an official position of the Quincy Dems .

To the editor:

This Thursday, the Quincy City Finance Committee will meet and possibly vote on a $23 million acquisition of the Munroe Building and a parking lot a block away. The administration plans to build a new 16 story – 200K sq ft building to house Quincy College and a new city hall that could open 2026-2027. I am opposed to this for many reasons, including but not limited to that the tax burden for this project falls on the City of Quincy taxpayers. I believe a better course of action is for Quincy College to petition the state to become part of the Massachusetts Association of Community Colleges.

Quincy College Enrollment and Finances

Quincy College, like many other colleges, has struggled with enrollment and finances for several years. The pandemic has only exacerbated these problems. Aware of these issues, the city plans to build a $123 million permanent home for the college. In this plan, the administration will increase Quincy College's footprint by 30% without a realistic chance of growing enrollment. Higher educational institutions throughout New England are experiencing a deep decline in enrollment. This picture will only worsen during the next ten years and is compounded by a significant drop in the US birth rate due to the 2008 Economic Recession.

At the first Finance meeting, I questioned the college president on the accuracy of the total number of students served. To properly determine the validity of the college, we must ensure that we are looking at accurate numbers. We should be looking at FTE (Full Time Enrolled) and retention of students, and volume of transfers. The college needs to be looking at this going back five years and forecasting five years to plan for how the college will remain solvent. To date, they have not provided any real numbers.

Broken Promise of No Cost to Taxpayers of Quincy

Back in 2013, the school made strides to separate from the city. This administration stated in the press that the school would be no cost to the taxpayers of Quincy. They also didn't want to sever the cord using the excuse that it would be too difficult to figure out the pensions.

Wrapping up last year's budget, I unearthed that the college couldn't pay the $2.4 million needed for its employees' health insurance, and the city picked up the tab. The administration neglected to be transparent to the City Council and the taxpayers about the college's financial situation. Historically, the college financed (managed) its employee pension fund and health care. The administration will now have taxpayers permanently fund Quincy College's employee health insurance costs and treat the college like any other city department. Quincy College is now a direct burden to the taxpayer. Looking through their financial information, things get messier for the taxpayers.

In 2006 per Chap 332 of the Acts of 2006 pertaining to Saville Hall. The college is responsible for paying $100k per year, with an increase each year. The college stopped paying this in 2017. If they can't now, what makes the administration think they will pay rent for 12 floors in a brand new building that will, in the end, approach $200 million in cost for the taxpayers.

A New Arena for the current College President

The current College President, Dr. Richard Dicristafaro was a great Quincy "Public Schools" Superintendent, but this is a new arena. For the public schools (K-12), he was given a fixed budget and tasked to mold that budget for an enrollment that was largely independent of market forces throughout his career. Now he must go out and market his college to bring in funds, manage a shrinking budget and attract prospective students in an increasingly competitive marketplace. These are tasks that a planned new building, six years down the road, will not solve. The revolving door of college presidents lacking higher education (college) administration experience has only worsened the reputation and viability of this college. The cost of this plan, if not successful, will lead to a significant burden for the taxpayers.

More Borrowing. No Plan.

I was encouraged by my fellow councilor's questions in the last finance meeting. If they listened to the answers, they should conclude the administration's plan isn't based on anything but wishful thinking, and a yes vote is genuinely counterintuitive. Over the past few years, Councilors have put forth a bill to seek a property tax break for residential homeowners and raised concerns in the press about the administration borrowing tens of millions of dollars without a plan. There is a widespread view in the public that this City Council is nothing more than a minor speed bump for this administration's penchant for spending. Let's stand up for the taxpayers and say "no," and reestablish the council as an essential and independent body.

Munroe Building

Then there is the Munroe Building which is on the National Register of Historic Places. I operated a studio out of the second floor for years, so I am pretty familiar with it. The mayor referred to it as "old and tired" in one of his podcasts. It is an elegant Colonial Revival building that has always been home to restaurants and shops on the ground floor and small businesses on the second floor. It continuously adds to the city's tax base. The relatively new apartment building "Munroe Place'' next door took its name from the Monroe Building. It borrowed its entrance style and was designed to work in harmony with it. President's Place across the street incorporates the gables and other architectural elements from it. The Munroe Building is a welcome contrast to some of the uninspired buildings built recently throughout our city that will not stand the test of time. It would be a shame to demolish this historic building, lose businesses and replace it with what can only be described as a monstrosity.

When it comes to purchasing property in the city, this administration has a pattern of buying high and selling low. The cost of the purchase of the Monroe Building will be twice the assessed value. The cost to purchase the parking lot will be five times the assessed value. Add to this the cost to relocate the businesses and develop plans, and we are at $23 million. The estimated cost to build is another $100 million. That number will undoubtedly grow in the time preceding any opening.

Those are just some of the reasons we should not support this administration's foolhardy, expensive, and disruptive plan. I want to be clear: a new building opening six years from now will not save a college that is struggling today. This plan has nothing to do with keeping a college. It's about a mayor's desire to build "his" city hall because he never liked the original annex building.

Best Course of Action

To save Quincy College, the best course of action is for the college's Board of Governors to seek entry into the Massachusetts Association of Community Colleges. Last week with a unanimous vote, the City Council voted to do just that. Quoting my fellow councilor Ward 5 Chuck Phelan, "We are about to look at committing a large sum of taxpayers' money. It would behoove us all to look at everything first before we go out and spend a lot of taxpayers' money." Becoming part of the state system would also allow the college to take advantage of increased federal stimulus money earmarked for two free years of a community college education.

I will leave you with this. With over 80% of Quincy College's enrollment coming from outside of Quincy, the increasing cost of educating them should be shared throughout the state and not bore solely by the Quincy taxpayers!