Boston 2024 Bid Faces Transparency Test

(ATR) Salaries for Boston 2024 executives are disclosed--along with the $7500 a day fee for a former Massachusetts governor.

The figures were revealed by the Boston Olympic bid after pressure from Mayor Marty Walsh for the bid to follow transparent policies. The tipping point apparently came last week when the bid announced that former Governor Deval Patrick would assist the bid as a global ambassador. Patrick served as governor from 2007 to 2015.

Boston 2024 chair John Walsh tells Around the Rings that Patrick will bring value to the campaign.

Deval Patrick at the headquarters of the United States Olympic Committee in Colorado Springs in Feb. (ATR)"I think his focus with me is going to be in the international arena. And his skill set aligns very nicely with that," Fish says.

Naming Patrick to the Boston team is a matter of selecting the best players, says Fish.

"I think the arrangement we have with him is extremely fair and equitable and my sense is that we’re in this to win the bid. You get the best players on the field. We believe he’s one of the best players on the field."

While the bid confirmed Patrick as a consultant last week, he has already been on the clock for Boston 2024. Last month he was part of the bid team in Colorado Springs to meet with IOC President Thomas Bach. Fish confirms to ATR that Patrick was being paid for that trip.

Boston media have targeted the hiring of consultants by Boston 2024, lampooned by the Boston Herald.Fish says that Patrick will not become a full-time member of the bid team and that he’ll be used judiciously.

Olympic bid consultants contacted by Around the Rings expressed some surprise at the fee Patrick will receive, saying it is more than is normal. But another says that given the prestige that Patrick carries, the price may be right.

Besides the fees for Patrick, the figures released by Boston 2024 show that the bid pays $124,000 a month for the services of three other consultants and their firms.

The list of salaries for Boston 2024 executives reveals CEO Richard Davey gets the top pay packet, $300,000 per year. He’s followed by chief operating officer Erin Murphy at $215,000 annually. Total payroll figure for the bid committee now stands at $2 million per year according to the numbers provided by the bid. The salaries listed appear to be in line with the amounts paid to staff working on the last U. S. Olympic bid, Chicago 2016.

The push to disclose salaries and consultant fees by the Boston Mayor came in the wake of media reports in Massachusetts raising questions about the spending. The coverage is indicative of the pr challenges the bid faces from a skeptical Boston press.

"Deval Patrick gets the gold: $7,500-a-day for Boston 2024 Olympic group"

"Deval, Mitt, Marty, and More: The Politics of the Boston Olympics Bid"

"Former Gov. Deval Patrick Tapped To Lead Effort On Olympic Bid"

"Six Boston 2024 employees make over $100,000 a year"

"Carr: Deval’s gang in place for 2024 hackerama"

Written by Ed Hula.

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