Mayor Walsh faces criticism for City Hall kitchen renovation
Mayor Marty Walsh recently revamped the kitchen outside of his City Hall office with a granite countertop, new cabinets, and a stainless steel sink, and cut taxpayer cost by getting these items donated. But now, he faces criticisms for failing to disclose this donation.
Walsh didn’t get City Council approval for the kitchen items donated by Joseph F. Fallon, a prominent Boston developer, as required by state law, according to The Boston Globe. Walsh and Fallon say the pieces were heading for the trash anyway, but some critics suggest the donation was made in hopes of getting preferential treatment.
These criticisms come a day after Walsh rejected public records requests seeking access to his text messages around Boston’s failed Olympics bid.
Pam Wilmot, of the open government group Common Cause Massachusetts, told the Globe that the donation doesn’t violate state ethics law since it was given to the city and not to Walsh as an individual, but she still stressed that “Having an open and transparent process is what really helps cure appearances of conflict of interest.’’
The Walsh administration promises to now seek City Council approval for the donation, saying it was unaware of that requirement, the Globe reports.
Read the full Globe story here.
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