CFO presents good news on FY25 budget, expresses concern over new high school funding

By Barbara Taormina

City Chief Financial Officer Richard Viscay presented the City Council Chambers this week with facts and figures about the FY2025 budget and a forecast that stretches out 10 years in an overview of the city’s financial condition. Viscay divided his number-rich presentation into bite-sized pieces, beginning with some good news.

“The city has always been diligent about funding stabilization accounts,” said Viscay, who mentioned the $9.2 million in the General Fund stabilization account and the $8.8 million in the health insurance trust as examples of the strength of Revere’s Rainy Day accounts.

Viscay presented a broad-brush stroke picture of the 2025 budget beginning with $294.5 in revenue primarily from property taxes, state aid and local receipts from room and meals taxes and fees. The figures are estimates based on 2024.

The largest expenditures for the 2025 budget include $32.7 million for public safety, police and fire, $129.3 million for education, $4 million for public works and $46 million in fixed costs, such as employee health care. According to Viscay, there are still some outstanding issues, such as contracts with police, fire and public works employees, but he said, without hesitation, the budget would be balanced when it is officially submitted on June 3.

But in describing 2026 and beyond, Viscay said forecasts are fluid and many factors can change the numbers. Much of what Viscay presented in his forecast was tied to the theme of creating financial capacity to pay for the new high school and the regional technical high school. About 20 percent of the students who attend Northeast Metro Tech are Revere residents, and the city is obligated to pick up 20 percent of the cost of that high school.

Viscay ran through the revenue the city is expecting from new growth and said that ultimately, with Suffolk Downs and all of the other development taking place in the city, Revere will be collecting an additional $29.2 million in new tax revenue. “New growth will help offset the cost of debt service and all the other services provided by the city. The city is relying on this new growth to help build the high school,” Viscay told the City Council.

And there are other options to increase revenue. The Municipal Empowerment Act is a new tool being considered at the state level that would allow cities and towns to charge a five percent surcharge on excise tax. The Act would also allow communities to increase the local option meals tax from .75 percent to 1 percent and the rooms tax from 6 to 7 percent. That money would be unrestricted and go into the General Fund.

Viscay said department heads are conducting a fee survey to see where Revere stands compared to neighboring peer communities of Everett, Malden, Chelsea and Salem. “We want to see if there are opportunities to increase fees,” said Viscay, adding that some fees haven’t been looked at for 10 or 20 years.

Another opportunity Viscay told the council they may want to consider is marijuana. Communities have benefitted from tax revenue from $1 billion in marijuana sales. “We’re missing out on all that money and I think we should consider it,” said Viscay, who added that the city would have to revoke its ordinance banning marijuana sales.

The Community Preservation Act, which tacks on a one to three percent surcharge to property taxes, is another option. Viscay also mentioned some type of fee for trash collection, adding that Revere is one of the only communities without trash bag stickers or an annual fee.

Viscay said threats that could throw off his forecast are inflation, downturns in the economy, interest rates could change and local aid could decrease. He did not mention the $100 million eminent domain lawsuit the former owners of Wonderland have filed against the city as a threat.

Councillors expressed their gratitude to Viscay for the information, saying they are better informed to vote on the bond for the high school now. The exception was Councillor-at-Large Anthony Zambuto, who has been a vocal opponent of building a new high school at Wonderland and taking that property off of the city’s tax rolls.

“I’m not convinced,” said Zambuto. “I see problems, problem in public safety. I’m hoping these projections hold without reducing services, without reducing public safety. We’re not going to build this high school on marijuana.”

Viscay said that everyone wants a new high school but they are nervous about some things. Viscay admitted he was also nervous but he believes it could be done, but it would require some work. He proposed creating a long-range financial planning subcommittee to track progress.

“I’m worried about taxpayers – young families – this is a risk,” said City Council President Anthony Cogliandro. “But it’s being made more comfortable to take it.”