Revere cancels popular parade

REVERE – The city’s decision to cancel the annual Columbus Day parade in a community with a strong Italian-American heritage is just the latest sign of lean times for municipal spending.”It’s a very expensive parade and I just can’t justify that kind of expense,” Mayor Thomas Ambrosino said Thursday, referring to the parade’s $50,000 to $60,000 price tag for traffic control, street cleaning and other parade-related city services.The parade may be the most visible sign of city spending cutbacks in the wake of cuts in state assistance to the city, but it will not be the first sign. Ambrosino last winter ordered City Hall closed on Fridays to save money and the Police Department followed suit by closing its records office on Fridays.After announcing layoffs and reduction in city employees’ work hours in January and February, Ambrosino in June said the city must draw on reserve funds to bridge a $2 million gap in the city plan for the budget year that began July 1.He wants to raise $900,000 in additional revenue for the city by adding a .75 percent meals tax on top of the recently hiked state sales tax of 6.25 percent. Ambrosino says the city needs the 75 cents per $100 tax on meals and an additional 2 percent hotel and motel tax “to survive” cuts in state local aid and the prospect of additional cuts.The city relies on money raised from property taxes and state local aid generated by income tax and other sources to pay municipal expenses.Local merchants oppose the meals and hotel tax hikes, saying they represent an added burden on local restaurants in tough economic times.Ambrosino acknowledged that argument but said city spending could continue through next summer even with additional tax revenue. Some city summer programs could be cut, he warned Thursday.