George Anzuoni to retire after 42 years of distinguished service

George Anzuoni, one of the city’s most legendary public officials who has served with distinction for the past 42 years, will retire as Revere director of finance, collector, and treasurer on Feb. 24.
Former Mayor George Colella appointed Anzuoni to the position of city treasurer on Feb. 22, 1978. He also served in the administrations of former Mayors Bob Haas, Thomas Ambrosino, and Dan Rizzo and current Mayor Brian Arrigo. He is the longest-serving city treasurer in Massachusetts history.
“It’s just the time to do it,” said Anzuoni. “I want to spend more time with my family. And there are different projects that I want to get involved with.”
Anzuoni, a lifelong Revere resident and a graduate of Boston College who also studied at Babson and Harvard, re-established the city’s bond rating in 1979. After changing the city’s banking relationship to a Boston-based bank, presiding over other innovations in the office, and collaborating with the city, Anzuoni has helped build it in to one of the top bond ratings (Standard and Poor’s AA With a Positive Outlook) today.
“I’m very proud of that,” said Anzuoni humbly.
In his 42 years of service, Anzuoni has overseen billions of dollars in the city treasury. He has been involved in 42 city budgets. He brought computerization to the city’s financial department.
“We were at the very cutting edge of computerization in the financial areas,” said Anzuoni.
He had a key role in the city’s implementation of a regional police-and-fire emergency call center through his lengthy negotiations for a contract for new software.
Anzuoni also changed the way in which taxes were collected by the city. In 1991 when he became the collector, he instituted “a very aggressive” tax collection program, helping to lessen the city’s $5.1 million deficit at the time. Other communities began to utilize Anzuoni’s tax title collection system for their cities’ delinquent taxes. He also developed a new tax title program for the foreclosure of properties and launched the public property auction program in the city.
For years Revere has been cited for its excellent investment practices by the state, notably in the 1980s in the Inspector General’s report.
Anzuoni takes considerable pride in his work in helping to finance hundreds of millions of dollars in city projects including new schools.
When he became director of finance in 2004, a number of offices were put under his direction, including the city auditor’s office, the purchasing office, the assessors’ office, the water billing department, and MIS department. He instituted an efficient, automatic water meter reading program throughout the city six years ago.
What is George Anzuoni most proud of in his illustrious career?
“I am most proud that I have always been a servant of this community and to the residents,” said Anzuoni. “I thank the citizens of this community for their support. I’m very grateful that I had the opportunity for many years to serve the city as a public servant. At all times, I adhered to the laws of Massachusetts that governed tax collections. However, I tried to always be fair and compassionate with the taxpayers.”
Looking back at some of the financial challenges the city has faced such as the institution of Property 2 ½ in the 1980s, major cuts in state aid, and 3C cuts in the early 2000s, Anzuoni remembers a particular instance when the city was seeking to cut services late in the fiscal year.
“There was a citizens’ petition to cut the budget by $4.2 million,” recalled Anzuoni. “We were looking at drastic cuts in our police, fire, public works, and school departments. I found the funding in other areas and we were able to present it to the City Council and we didn’t have to cut a dime.”
Anzuoni said there was also a difficult period in the late 1980s when the city had to lay off 25 employees.
“We worked to get all the employees back,” said Anzuoni. “We’re not here to cut people from their positions. We’re here to make the city grow and make sure that the personnel can continue working at a very high level.”
He has the utmost respect for his colleagues in city government.
“I am most impressed with all of the city’s municipal workers,” said Anzuoni. “They are very dedicated individuals. I think they get a bad rap. I will defend their work ethic every time. The people I work with daily at City Hall are very dedicated and it’s been that way for 42 years.”
Anzuoni has three daughters, Nicole, Rebecca, and Christina – all of whom are Revere High graduates. Nicole and Christina went on to graduate from Harvard while Rebecca graduated from Wellesley College.
“I have the highest praise for our school system,” said Anzuoni, who also has three grandchildren, Charlotte, Nolan, and Thatcher. “I decided to raise my family here because I always thought everything about the city was positive.”
Anzuoni has been working with his city officials during the transition period.
“I want to make sure the city always succeeds and progresses and that’s always been my goal,” said Anzuoni.
Anzuoni said he was particularly grateful to the state legislative delegation that has held powerful leadership roles, thanking such former officials as Senate Presidents Thomas Birmingham and Robert Travaglini, and Speaker of the House Robert A. DeLeo. Anzuoni also thanked the other senators and state representatives who have served the city well during his 42-year career in government.
He also praised his staffs throughout the years “for their diligent commitment to their responsibilities.”