~ Op-Ed ~ A Budget That Serves the City

By Acting Mayor Patrick M. Keefe

Last month the City Council responsibly approved the $262.1-million budget that I submitted earlier in June. The vote culminated a rigorous process that demonstrated how our residents are served when the city’s various executive Departments work in harmony with our legislative branch, the City Council.

When I became Acting Mayor in April, one of my first duties was to meet with every Department head to examine, analyze, and forecast their financial needs in Fiscal Year 2024—which runs July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024. This process considers staffing, municipal growth, and the importance of every service that municipal government provides for its people.

Each Department head was then individually interrogated by members of the City Council Ways and Means Committee during a series of public hearings. The Councilors, holders of the City’s financial purse strings, necessarily view budget requests with their constituents as their primary concern. The Council has the authority to reject or reduce budget line items. The objective is a budget that meets the city’s needs efficiently and economically.

The Council sliced just $10,000 (0.0000381 per cent) from my original budget request of $262,146,012, so I would say we agreed universally on the budget.

What does $262.1-million fund?

• Almost half, $124 million, funds the public schools and Revere’s share of Northeast Metro Tech, where 253 Revere residents are enrolled. The money includes state funding that will allow the schools to hire 97 new employees.
• $31m for public safety, which will continue existing service levels and:

○ Add 11 new fire fighters to bring total head count to 119

○ Add 5 new police officers to bring total head count to 115

○ Increase inspections to enforce the City’s Short Term Rental ordinances.

○ Implement City-wide resident sticker program that ensures that only cars registered in the city are parking on our streets at night.

• $9.2m for general government that will fund all city offices, including:

○ Financial software to integrate all city offices that handle payments;

○ An Election Department that registers some 3000 new voters annually and processes over 16,000 census forms and over 5000 early-voting ballots;

○ Revere 3-1-1, that handles over 36,000 constituent issues annually

○ Management and oversight of over 30,000 linear feet of rehabilitated sanitary sewer main drain.

The list goes on: $4.7 million in public works, $2.5 million in health and human services, $1.7 million for libraries, parks and recreation, and Elder Services. And then there is health insurance for employees, casualty insurance, pension payments.

It is a significant financial responsibility to operate a government that serves some 60,000 residents. Partnership between the Executive branch and the Legislative branch produces the most comprehensive and cost-effective way to pay for it all.

I am pleased that the budget I submitted met with overwhelming support and approval by the City Council. That’s the best way to serve the City.