Council Approves TIF

We support the recent unanimous vote by the City Council to approve the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Agreement for DeMoulas at the Northgate Shopping Mall.  The amount of money that is to be foregone by the City (about $100,000 per year for 10 years, as compared to the yearly tax revenue of almost $210,000 per year) clearly tips the scale in favoring of  granting the TIF agreement.

There are two important side notes that can be gleaned from the Councilors’ action and are as follows:

The first is that the City of Revere is willing to be competitive in granting a TIF Agreement to the right developer.  This surely will give Economic Development Director John Festa another card to play when trying to attract any developer whom Mayor Rizzo and the City Council deem to be appropriate for the City of Revere.  Make no mistake that Revere is in competition with many other municipalities to attract the right industry and that new tax revenues are absolutely necessary to maintain the level of services of  city government that our residents are accustomed to having.

The other point to make is that for the taxpayers, this vote reinforces the Council’s attitude that TIF Agreements are to be doled out very sparingly.  In many cities and towns where TIF areas are designated, those municipal agencies give out these agreements very easily, whereas in Revere, the Councilors grant these agreements like they weigh a ton.  During the 10 year period in which  Revere officials have been able to designate TIF areas, there has been only one other TIF agreement.

The recent vote, while difficult for the Council in some respects, was (to paraphrase Gen. Omar Bradley) the right vote, at the right time, for the right developer.

 

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