Rizzo: No tax increase beyond normal

REVERE – Taxpayers will not feel any additional pinch in the pocketbook despite the passage of $55 million in bonds, according to Mayor Daniel Rizzo.”There won’t be any impact other than the normal 2? percent increase,” he said Wednesday. “It will be up to me to allocate the budget in a way that we can maintain services and pay down our debt ? I will put it on my financial team; there’ll be no free lunch.”The annual increase of property taxes cannot exceed 2? percent of the current tax levy, according to state law. Rizzo said the city has always raised taxes to the maximum 2? percent so essentially nothing will change.With no plans to ask voters for a Proposition 2? override or a debt exclusion vote and no anticipation of layoffs, Rizzo said he will look to trim budgets and may forgo increases in some line items. He said it will likely come down to paying the bond bill with new growth revenue rather than using those funds in other areas as is typically done.And he is confident he can do it.”I don’t mean to pat myself on the back but I just learned that in my first full year of doing the budget, we were just certified for the highest amount of free cash in the city’s history, $2.8 million,” he said.Free cash is money left over from prior fiscal years minus any unpaid property taxes or other deficits and it must be certified by the Department of Revenue before cities can lay claim to it. The city also has $85,000 in its Water and Sewer enterprise account.Rizzo called investing in a community a balancing act. He also said the risk of making the investments far outweigh the risk of not making them.”The reason we’re in this kind of mess is that no one took bolder steps years ago,” he said. “They just kept kicking the can down the street, no one stepped up.”Rizzo also pointed out that while the total bond is $55 million state reimbursement and grants will cover nearly $30 million so taxpayers will only have to foot a $25 million bill. The bulk of the bond will go to pay for a new 690-student elementary school. Rizzo said the rest of the money is going to purchase the land for the school, which includes taking a piece of parkland that by law the city will have to replace with a like piece of property.”So I have to replace the parkland and if I’m going to replace the park I need to rebuild it,” he said. “The balance of the money will be for the Harry Dello Russo Stadium.”The city received a $2.7 million grant to refurbish the aged stadium but it won’t cover the entire cost. Without the ability to bond for the remaining costs the city would have had to turn down the grant, which Rizzo said would simply be foolish.Rizzo said he feels good about the vote and he hopes the Council will continue to stand by its vote.”I hope they don’t back away from it,” he said. “It’s important we stand together as a team.”Chris Stevens can be reached at [email protected].