By Councillor at Large Brian Arrigo
All over Revere, voters are responding to our campaign’s positive message about the future of this city. Revere’s taxpayers want to see change. They want to see out of control spending reined in at City Hall. They want to see meaningful commercial development that creates jobs and tax revenue in Revere. They want to see a city government that is focused on the fundamentals ​- addressing the needs and concerns of the taxpayers from day one, instead of doing what’s politically convenient in an election year.
Because this message is resonating with the people of Revere, the current Mayor’s campaign appears focused on spreading mistruths about what my campaign is all about. So let me set the record straight.
I am committed to bringing renewed professionalism to City Hall. I don’t owe anybody anything, and have not and will not promise anyone any jobs or favors if I am elected. This may be the way the current Mayor operates, but it’s not the way I operate. When I am Mayor, the City will implement professional human resource practices to ensure the most qualified Revere residents will fill open positions regardless of political or family connection.
I am committed to protecting and strengthening city services, including funding for public safety. The insinuation that my administration would consider laying off police and firefighters could not be further from the truth. The same goes for the idea that I would do anything that would negatively impact programming for our senior citizens or youth. These are desperate scare tactics being spread by a Mayor that will say or do anything to hold onto power.
I believe that we can stop reckless spending increases at City Hall by tightening our belts and examining where we can do things more efficiently. I also believe we can increase city revenues by developing a meaningful plan for commercial development to attract businesses to Revere. This will allow us the room in the budget for a 10% property tax exemption for owner​-occupied homes. The current Mayor may think the only way to bring the city’s budget into balance is to soak homeowners and ratepayers, but that’s not the way my administration will operate. He and his out-of-town supporters may insinuate that the city can’t afford to try to provide relief to taxpayers. I believe that our homeowners can’t afford for us not to try. And we certainly can’t afford four more years like the last four, where the budget has increased by $30 million and single family property tax bills have increased by 16.3%.
Vote for Change on November 3.