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BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson will pay thousands in fines after admitting to hiring family members to Boston City Council staff.
Fernandes Anderson has agreed to pay a $5,000 civil penalty fine for violating the conflict of interest law after hiring her sister and son as full time staff members.
Shortly after Fernandes Anderson's November 2021 election to the Council, she appointed her sister as her Director of Constituent Services. She voted to approve the appointment after her swearing-in in 2022.
Then in June 2022, Fernandes Anderson appointed her son as her office manager. Eleven days after voting to appoint him, she raised his salary from $52,000 to $70,000.
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Fernandes Anderson also raised her sister's annual salary from $65,000 to $70,000 and gave her a $7,000 bonus within a few months of being appointed, the commission said.
In August 2022, she ended her sister and son's employment with the City Council.
Fernandes Anderson took to Twitter on Tuesday to write a message to her sister after the news broke.
"Fernandes Anderson’s actions as a Boston City Councilor concerning the appointment and compensation of her sister and son violated the conflict of interest law’s prohibition against municipal employees participating in their official capacity in matters in which they know members of their immediate family have a financial interest," the commission said.
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