Hey, Big Spender!

LYNN – While 70 pink-slipped School Department employees worry about possible layoffs and every department at City Hall is getting by with less, City Council President Timothy Phelan is on a spending spree.Since his re-election in November, Phelan has moved into spacious quarters on the fourth floor at City Hall and spent thousands of taxpayer dollars on a pet project to preserve and frame historic paintings and photographs, mostly of former Lynn mayors.A review of public expenditures found that Phelan is busy writing checks for custom-built display cases and picture frames, doling out tickets to local entertainment shows and making four-figure donations to charitable events.Meanwhile, Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy, whose office is one floor below, has asked every department to curtail spending amid austere economic times.Phelan ramped up his office spending on Feb. 16 with the purchase of a display case for the council chambers at a cost of $1,450. The furniture was purchased from custom cabinet maker Justin Babcock Designs on Western Avenue.Buying picture frames figured heavily among Phelan’s purchase orders. Starting Dec. 1, 2009, he ordered $1,721 worth of frames and mats for the council office. That started a spree of $2,743.98 in less than three months from I Did It Myself frame shop on Lewis Street.Phelan conceded that the timing could prove sensitive, given the state of the economy.”I think we can all tighten our belts and trim our budgets,” he said. “But there has to be a balance. We found these mayoral paintings in the basement of City Hall. They are mostly from the 1800s and some were badly water damaged. I thought it was important to preserve them for future generations. They are a big part of our city’s history. When it comes to preserving your history, I don’t think you can go over that balance.”Frames weren’t the expenditures by Phelan. He spent $412.50 on Nov. 23 on tickets to the Bill Cosby comedy show at City Hall, which he ended up donating. That practice was repeated on June 15 when he bought tickets to the Michael Jackson Tribute Concert and gave them to Tracy Elementary School Principal Mary Dill to distribute to students and families unable to afford them.And on June 24 he donated $500 to the St. Pius V Parish Endowment Fund as a gift from the Lynn City Council. Phelan’s children attend St. Pius V.Under Massachusetts General Law, the Anti-Aid amendment prohibits giving money or property to a religious institution unless it has a public purpose. Municipal Expenditure Guidelines written by City Solicitor Michael Barry and adopted by the city council on July 22, 2008, allows giving to religious organizations “with a dominant public purpose” – such as recognition of Lynn youth academic or athletic achievement.The council president has ordered trophies, brass plaques, photograph printing and picture frames costing thousands of dollars, since last fall.Among the biggest city council-sanctioned expenditures was a June 14 donation of $1,417.15 to the American Cancer Society. Phelan also ordered the Roman-style clock on the wall of the council chambers repaired on Oct. 1 for $435.The money for these expenditures is held in a special City Council account labeled in the municipal budget as “otherwise unclassified.” The fiscal 2010 and 2011 budgets annually appropriated $57,000 for that account.The mayor has a similar “otherwise unclassified” account that totals $93,000.Municipal finance experts have described these accounts as an anomaly, given that the city uses a line-item budget.”We are unique in that regard, having otherwise unclassified accounts in our budget,” said John Pace, the city comptroller, who must authorize the expenditures as having been made for the public good.Back in May 2008, Pace e-mailed his colleagues on City Hall’s management team, informing them he had identified approximately $55,000 in prohibited donations. He asked that all department heads abide by the same policy, one that is consisten