BOSTON — One of Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s nominations to the Audit Committee abruptly withdrew his name from consideration after a fiscal watchdog questioned his ability to remain objective, given his PR firm has been paid thousands by Wu’s campaign.

The Boston Municipal Research Bureau, which keeps an eye on City Hall finances, submitted written testimony to the Boston City Council’s Post Audit committee last Friday morning that cast doubts around the mayor’s nomination of William Harry Shipps, senior vice president at the consulting firm 90 West, to the Boston Audit Committee.

“According to disclosure forms filed with the Office of Campaign and Political Finance, Mayor Wu’s political committee paid $19,000 to the firm in 2024 and $15,000 in 2021 for communications consulting,” the Research Bureau’s testimony, obtained by the Herald, states.

“That Mr. Shipps works for a firm paid by the mayor’s political operation strongly suggests he would not have the required independence from City Hall to perform the Audit Committee’s functions,” the fiscal watchdog added.

The Research Bureau further stated that it reviewed Shipps’ professional experience and found that he lacks expertise in municipal finance and auditing. It also went on to raise additional questions about his ties to the Wu administration.

“While one should not be disqualified based on a spouse’s activities, it is worth noting that Mr. Shipps’ spouse, Beata Coloyan, was hired by Mayor Wu as the Community Engagement Cabinet’s chief of staff,” the Research Bureau said. “Before that, Mayor Wu hired her as the executive director of the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services.

“This connection raises further questions about Mr. Shipps’ ability to provide independent oversight,” the Research Bureau added.

The City Council Post-Audit committee was set to consider Shipps’ nomination, along with two other mayoral appointments to the five-member Boston Audit Committee and Wu’s recommended reappointment of attorney and former city councilor Larry DiCara, at a hearing on Thursday.

Shipps withdrew his name from consideration, however, the mayor’s office told the Herald Friday evening, after this publication inquired early on that afternoon about the Research Bureau’s questions concerning whether he could provide independent financial oversight given his connections to Wu and her staff.

Wu’s office didn’t respond when asked when he withdrew his name from consideration and whether there was a reason given.

The Herald had also reached out earlier in the day to 90 West, his communications consulting firm, seeking comment from Shipps about the Research Bureau’s concerns, while also posing questions about whether he felt he could do his job on the Audit Committee effectively, if appointed, given the perceived conflicts, and if he thought he should accept the mayor’s recommended appointment.

Shipps did not respond to that inquiry, and about six hours later, the mayor’s office said he was no longer interested.

“Harry withdrew his name from consideration,” a Wu spokesperson said in a statement.

Councilor Julia Mejia, chair of the Council’s Post-Audit committee, did not respond to Herald inquiries about whether she shared the Research Bureau’s concerns. She also did not respond to follow-up questions about when he notified City Hall.

A public notice for Thursday’s Council committee hearing still lists Shipps’ name as a mayoral nomination to the Audit Committee, along with the two other Wu recommended appointments made last November, Janet Peguero and Samantha Reimer.

DiCara, who has been on the committee since its creation in 1982, is also listed on the docket as a recommended mayoral reappointment.

Katherine Judge, who was appointed by former Mayor Marty Walsh, is leaving the committee, according to DiCara, who said he “thought she was a great member, but the mayor appoints and that’s the mayor’s job.”

DiCara declined to comment on the Research Bureau’s concerns when reached by the Herald last Friday, saying that he “can’t comment on a letter I haven’t seen.”

He also indicated that ties between various board members to the sitting mayor are not all that uncommon, saying that, for example, he’s made campaign contributions to various mayors over the past 40 years.

Of the Audit Committee, DiCara said, “We make our own independent decisions, and we have the same fiduciary duty as do any people appointed to a city board.”

The city is required by state law, Chapter 190 of the Acts of 1982, to have an annual financial audit by an outside certified public accounting firm. The audit, conducted in accordance with generally accepted government accounting standards, provides an independent review of the city’s financial position and results of operations, the Research Bureau said in its testimony on Wu’s nominations.

The 1982 law required the establishment of an Audit Committee. Its primary function is to provide oversight of the city’s external and internal audit activities, the watchdog said.

The committee was created following a late 1970s Supreme Judicial Court ruling, Tregor v. Board of Assessors of Boston, that the city’s assessment practices violated state law. The court ordered the city to refund millions of dollars to commercial property owners who were overcharged on their property taxes, the Research Bureau wrote.

Combined with the passing of Proposition 2 ½ in 1980, Boston was in financial trouble at the time and had to borrow money to cover its obligations, the fiscal watchdog added.

A lot has changed since that time, DiCara said.

“Truth be told, the city is in much better shape than it was 40 years ago for a host of reasons,” DiCara said. “The tax base is pretty good. It’s not as robust as it may have been a year ago, but it’s still the envy of Denver, New York, Chicago, the other cities that were in front of Congress (last) week. We have a AAA bond rating.”

“The people on the (Audit) Committee are people who give up their time,” he added. “We obviously don’t get paid anything. I’d like to think we’ve done some good.”

---------

©2025 MediaNews Group, Inc. Visit at bostonherald.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.