LYNN — In his $407 million budget proposal for fiscal year 2022, Mayor Thomas M. McGee touted his administration’s “careful fiscal planning” over the past three years, which he said has resulted in a balanced budget despite the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
McGee presented the budget last week to the City Council, which will begin to hear from department heads about their individual budgets at a council meeting next Tuesday.
The proposed FY22 budget allocates $180.7 million to the Lynn Public Schools, $8.5 million for capital improvements and $500,000 for the formation of an unarmed crisis response team. It also fully funds the city’s net school spending requirement, “correctly” budgets the city’s share of health insurance costs, maintains a more realistic snow and ice budget, and directs more funding to “quality-of-life” infrastructure improvements.
“Coming into office in 2018, I knew there were significant financial issues that needed to be addressed, and getting Lynn back on stable financial footing was my No. 1 priority,” said McGee, who authorized a $14 million loan from the state government in 2018 to balance the city’s budget for FY18 and FY19.
“We had just begun to find our stable fiscal footing from 2018, when in March 2020 (we) were faced with the most devastating public health crisis of our lifetime, the COVID-19 pandemic,” said McGee.
McGee said the city used the FY20 budget to close budget gaps by strategies such as not filling vacant positions, trimming department budgets, and coming to a new health insurance agreement with the city’s unions, which resulted in a significant cost savings.
“It is because of the city’s careful fiscal planning over the past three years that I am able to present a balanced fiscal year 2022 budget that has withstood the interim local and state revenue losses, and maintained full employment even at the height of the pandemic,” said McGee.
Within the proposed budget is a commitment of $500,000 to the creation of an unarmed crisis response team, All Lynn Emergency Response Team (ALERT), to further ongoing work related to ending systemic racism and promoting equality and inclusion.
“My team and I have been meeting regularly with the Lynn Racial Justice Coalition discussing and advancing many social justice topics this year,” McGee said. “That partnership has taught me a lot, and it has improved our community in many ways, though we still have quite a way to go before justice for all is reached.”
To continue this work with the next mayor — McGee is not running for reelection — a line item was put in the budget as a commitment to support these efforts.
Every year, McGee said the city focuses its budget on fiscal stability, responsible spending of taxpayer dollars, taking advantage of savings through efficiencies and grant funding, smart economic equitable growth and ensuring access to municipal government services.
The FY22 budget proposes more than $8.5 million in capital improvements through a combination of cash capital and bonding capital projects, including the replacement of two fire pumpers, five police vehicles, seven Department of Public Works (DPW) vehicles and six vehicle replacements for various other departments.
The improvements also include the replacement of antiquated parking technology and turf irrigation at Gannon Golf Course, citywide master plan funding and improvements at Fraser and Manning fields.
The budget includes a focus for the DPW on keeping recreational areas litter-free and maintained, and provided for the creation of a grants manager position in the comptroller’s office, and an additional role in the Health Department.
According to Chief Financial Officer Michael Bertino, each city department had a meeting with McGee and the senior budget staff to discuss budget submittals. This was followed by both an individual meeting and a capital budget meeting.
Bertino said there are positive things happening in the city, and “we need to continue to work together to build a better city for all.”
Under McGee’s administration, funds have been directed toward quality-of-life programs including sidewalk replacements, street light and traffic light repairs, and transportation and park infrastructure improvements.
McGee said his administration has directed about $1.7 million in local funding to street infrastructure improvements at Olympia Square, Lynnfield Street, Essex Street and Western Avenue. Those improvements have allowed for the city to access $63 million in state and federal funding for the construction of these projects through the Complete Streets and Transportation Improvement Programs.
In addition, about $70 million will be provided to the city through the American Rescue Plan Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden in March, to provide relief and assistance to those impacted by COVID-19 and the resulting economic recession.
“These priorities, set forth in response to the federal money, should synthesize the concerns of the people and the needs of the city,” McGee said.
This budget, if approved by the City Council, would begin on July 1 and end on June 30, 2022.
