Michael Flaherty drove Water and Sewer Commission car well outside Boston, GPS records show

In 2021, then-city councilor Michael Flaherty spoke at Boston City Hall. John Tlumacki/Globe Staff

In former city councilor Michael Flaherty’s final three months as the Boston Water and Sewer Commission’s top lawyer, he took an agency-issued car on what appeared to be personal trips to Cape Cod, Braintree, and other locations outside the city, records show.

The travel, well outside the commission’s service area, may have violated the agency’s policy on take-home vehicles. It is unclear if the trips factored into Flaherty’s firing in February, which came amid a clash with the agency’s executive director and allegations that Flaherty favored political cronies on his staff. Commission officials have declined to answer questions about Flaherty’s travel.

Flaherty’s tenure at the commission lasted just over a year, and he was granted the take-home car less than four months before he was fired. GPS logs show Flaherty, a longtime South Boston pol, drove his commission vehicle to a home he owns on Cape Cod twice during that time, once for a weekend in mid-October and again for a few days just before New Year’s Eve.

The data, provided to the Globe in response to a public records request, show other trips outside the city of Boston from October through December, including jaunts to Braintree on Thanksgiving and Christmas. These trips may have violated the agency’s policy that prevents personal use of official vehicles.

The agency’s guidelines say that “all vehicles shall be used solely for official Commission business” and that ”the operation of Commission vehicles for personal use is strictly prohibited unless otherwise authorized specified in writing or for emergency purposes.” Violating the rules can result in discipline, and the loss of take-home privileges, it says.

It isunclear if Flaherty traveled on his time off or during working hours, or if he had received permission to take his vehicle to Dennis, a Barnstable County town about 75 miles outside of Boston, where he hasowned a 1,950-square-foot home since 2003. The Globe sought any records showing Flaherty was given written dispensation and the commission did not provide any responsive records.

Flaherty, who signed a separation agreement that bars him from disparaging the commission, did not respond to the Globe’s questions.

Commission officials have declined to say whether they have examined Flaherty’s use of the vehicle, whether his travel violated the policy, and whether his possible misuse of the car was a factor in his dismissal.

When Flaherty was fired in January, he was serving as general counsel for the commission, which is responsible for delivering drinking water and sewer services in the city of Boston.

The Globe has previously reported that Flaherty was fired after a “breakdown in the working relationship between the Commission’s executive director, Henry Vitale, and Mr. Flaherty,” according to a statement from the commission that provided no further details.

Flaherty’s one-year stint began on New Year’s Day in 2024. By the time he was done, his annual pay had jumped by nearly half, from $164,000 to $239,000. His separation agreement, signed Feb. 7, included a payout of $253,670.

Commission officials have not said why Flaherty, who was generally considered an ally of Mayor Michelle Wu while the two served together on the City Council, received such a large severance check. Wu, who appoints the commissioners that oversee the water agency, has said she was not aware of or involved in the discussions about Flaherty’s departure.

A few months before Flaherty was hired at the commission, Wu appointed him to the board of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, a position he still holds.

After the Flaherty buyout made headlines, Wu recently told GBH that she would be taking a closer look at the commission, according to the Boston Herald.

In recent months, the commission approved spending up to $850,000 for a law firm to conduct an internal investigation. The specific scope of the inquiry is unclear. Former federal prosecutor Brian T. Kelly is heading the inquiry.

It is unclear if Flaherty’s GPS records were generated as part of any investigation or simply in response to the public records request filed by the Globe. The commission’s policy requires that quarterly reports on vehicle usage, accidents, maintenance, and other information be provided to the executive director.