A stinging critical report released last Thursday by the State Auditor’s office detailed how money from parking fees was mishandled to the tune of $200,000.
The administration paid out salaries, mailroom expenses and landscaping charges even as an auditing team inspected the badly damaged, partially condemned UMass Boston parking garage. According to Tom Breire, a spokesman at the State Auditor’s office, “That’s a no-no.”
Previous complaints about handling of the Parking and Transportation Trust Fund, which is collected entirely from the $5 parking fees paid by commuters, date back to 2001, when union officials complained that money was being paid out of the fund to meet expenses that had nothing to do with the garage. From an open letter to Chancellor Gora, the unions wrote, “Were you aware of significant yearly expenditures from the Parking and Transportation Trust Fund that have nothing to do with parking and transportation?”
Now that the state auditing team has completed its report, the administration has conceded that money from the garage fund was mishandled and promises that the appropriate steps will be taken to redress the issue.
When asked at a recent Faculty Council meeting about the issue, Vice Chancellor of Administration and Finance David MacKenzie explained how the money was used, for example, Customer Service people were “paid out of the pot” of the trust fund, which he called “inappropriate.” He also said he was going to be sending out a memo to the university, stating that anyone on campus who has control of trust funds will need to be careful and justify expenditures. “We don’t want this happening in any other area.”
Director of Auxiliary Services Forrest Speck could not be reached for comment at press time.
The revelations about the garage money come at a bad time for the campus and uncertain times for the ailing, two-level parking garage. While the money wasn’t stolen and went to necessary expenses around campus, the garage fees students pay are specifically earmarked for the battered, 29-year-old garage, and can’t be used for anything but repairs and normal operating expenses. Said Tom Breire, “Maybe I wouldn’t say it was finagling, but… you call it whatever you want.
“That money shouldn’t have gone anywhere else.”
The university spent 1 million dollars in a rather unsuccessful renovation in 2001, which was never completed, but the damage has been revealed to be a good deal more extensive. The auditor’s reports notes the complete renovation will cost $42 million dollars and that part of the reason the garage has fallen into such disrepair is “a lack of proper maintenance and upkeep,” and “shoddy construction,” including cheap concrete.
The $200,000 is about six percent of the garage fund’s yearly budget. Some of the misspent funds included $12,000 for landscaping along the front of the campus and overtime pay for mailroom employees.
An integral part of the campus’ structure, the garage has been in poor repair for years now, and two years ago commuter shuttles were diverted from the upper busway because of the damage the buses were causing to the ceiling of the lower level. They now travel to a stairwell at the far end of the Quinn building where students walk up two flights of stairs, instead of being let off in front of the bookstore and the main lobby.
The garage is in such poor shape that temporary bracing made of I-beams and lolly columns had to be installed to prevent the collapse of the upper level into the lower level. The concrete walls are pitted and holed and reinforcing rod shows through the damage in many places. Potholes are a common nuisance, and last week a heavy cable fell from the ceiling of the upper level garage and struck a parked car.
While the auditors were conducting their inspection, which included, among other things, a manual count of all the light fixtures in the garage in order to estimate power costs ($50,000 for 575 fixtures), part of the garage actually collapsed, leaving a gaping, 8-foot square hole in one of the upper level entrance ramps. A hundred and thirty-one spaces in the immediate area were condemned and cordoned off, including reserved spaces for campus police and others.
The garage at UMass Boston has 2,398 spaces and is a constant source of vexation for students who drive to school. Parking fees are slated to rise to $6 dollars next spring and many students are forced to park in an overflow lot blocks away from the campus. An aggrieved parker, on the condition of anonymity, was critical of the facility. “It’s f*****g awful. Look at this place. It’s disgusting, it’s scary, it’s always f*****g full. They need to get something done about this.”
Construction on a new, 1,500 slot garage is scheduled to begin next year, and a bond sale is being readied to raise enough money to repair the current garage.