Clear Up Some Confusion
The following letter was sent to the City Council members by School Committee member Michael J. Mangan on Feb. 3.
I would like to take this opportunity to clear up some confusion surrounding the order that I submitted on the last City Council agenda to be appointed as a special municipal employee.
On January 18, 2022, I made a call to the State Ethics Commission to discuss if there were any possible conflict of interest issues in my role as School Committee member as my daughter is an employee of the Everett Public Schools.
After I explained my situation as a full-time city employee who was duly elected to the School Committee, I was informed by an Ethics Commission lawyer that, in order to serve as a School Committee. Member, I would need a designation as a special municipal city employee in accordance with. MGL Chapter 268A.
When I later researched the City Charter change that allowed city employees to run for the School Committee, I found that the updated charter states that a School Committee member cannot hold city employment “unless authorized by Chapter 268A of the General Laws or the state ethics commission.”
It was not until a subsequent phone call with the Ethics Commission on January 26, that I was officially made aware that special municipal employee status would make me eligible to be paid for my School Committee positions. When I was reviewing the charter change mentioned above, I also discovered a clause had been deleted which stated that School Committee members could not receive a second salary had been deleted as part of that same charter change, perhaps because it would have been in conflict with Chapter 268A.
When I decided to run for a School Committee seat, I was under the assumption that I could only be compensated for one city position. I stated many times during my campaign that I would not be receiving the salary for serving as a School Committee member. The State Ethics Commission requirement that I get special municipal employee status will NOT change my position on accepting a salary for my School Committee seat.
I want to state emphatically that, as long as I am a full-time city employee and a School Committee member, I will NOT accept the salary for a School Committee member willingly. If the Ethics Commission ever modified their decision and determines that I must take the salary, I shall donate the salary to some school-related cause, such as the cost of band travel.
Further, I would like to apologize for not submitting any additional documentation with the order that would have identified myself as the person who submitted it and the reason for the submission. As we are entering a new era of transparency by providing the same City Council agenda packet that the councilors receive to the general public, we all must remember to include as much information as we can with the items that appear on the City Council agenda so that we can all be on the same page.
Sincerely,
Michael J. Mangan