Boston Audit Committee Demands Answers on Madison Park Delays, Law Enforcement Trust Fund

BOSTON -- March 27, 2025, Boston's audit committee grills finance officials over Madison Park delays and a hidden $11 million trust fund. At a March 27 virtual hearing of the Committee on Post Audit, Government Accountability, Transparency and Accessibility, Chair Julia M. Mejia pressed Chief Financial Officer Ashley Groffberger, City Auditor Scott Finn, and Budget Director Jim Williamson on why Madison Park Technical Vocational High School, in planning for more than a decade, has still not broken ground, with costs now exceeding $700 million. Boston Policy Institute Executive Director Gregory Maynard told the panel that the city's White Stadium cost more than doubling, from $50 million to at least $100 million, was a major factor in the city abandoning its in-house Madison Park renovation process in favor of the MSBA. Maynard said if accepted, an MSBA timeline would push construction to summer 2029 at the earliest and a school opening to 2032. Groffberger confirmed the city ended FY2024 with an $88 million surplus on $177 million in above-budget revenues, and that total capital spending reached $575 million, up from $389.8 million the prior year. Finn acknowledged awareness of an $11 million law enforcement trust fund but said oversight lies with the city treasurer, not his office, prompting Mejia to call for a citywide audit of all trust funds.