Greenway Conservancy To Stop Getting Public Money

The nonprofit Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy that has come under fire for the six-figure salaries of five officials has been told that it must wean itself off public money by the end of the decade.

State Transportation Secretary Richard Davey said in a letter Tuesday that the agency that oversees 15 acres of parks over the Big Dig tunnels must also be more transparent with its finances.

The conservancy relies on public money for about half of its $4.7 million annual budget.

Davey said in his letter that it was always meant to be a self-sustaining entity capable of raising private funds.

The conservancy came under fire when executive director Nancy Brennan balked at revealing her $185,000 annual salary. The conservancy chairwoman has defended the salary structure as appropriate.

You can read the letter, below:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/80126229/Mass-Transportation-Department-Letter-To-Greenway-Executive-Director

The WBUR Newsroom and The Associated Press contributed to this report.