By Adam Swift
The City Council’s ways and means subcommittee began its public hearings on a proposed $262,146,012 budget for Fiscal Year 2024.
Richard Viscay, the city’s Chief Financial Officer, provided an overview of the budget to kick off the hearings, stating that the proposed FY24 budget is a responsible, balanced budget.
The budget breaks down to a little over $49 million for the municipal costs, $124 million for school costs, and $53 million for fixed costs, such as employee benefits, insurance, debt service, and pension costs that are shared by the city and the schools. In addition, the water and sewer and solid waste enterprise accounts are budgeted at $36,609,112 for FY24.
Viscay ran through some of the key factors in the proposed budget. The education costs include funding for the Revere Public Schools, as well as the operating and debt service costs for the Northeast Vocational High School. The Northeast Voke portion of the education budget is just under $2.3 million.
In the public works budget of $4,687,551, Viscay said some of the key factors include the construction of the new DPW facility, which is scheduled to open in the late summer or early fall.
Several of the city departments, including health and human services and the culture and recreation departments will see some streamlining of services in the proposed budget, Viscay said.
The community engagement and Substance Use Disorder and Homelessness Initiative (SUDHI) departments will be absorbed into the Public Health budget “to create a streamlined organizational structure with program managers and staff reporting directly to the Chief of Health and Human Services,†Viscay said. In addition, the Travel and Tourism department will be merged with Parks and Recreation, with operational funding through ARPA federal relief funds.
There will be a separation of the Building Commission, with all building, plumbing, and electrical staff relocated from Municipal Inspections to a newly created Building Commission department. Viscay said there will be no new employees added to the new department.
Highlights of the public safety budget include the full funding of 11 new firefighters hired in FY23, increasing the total staffing of the department to 119. Viscay also noted that the new Point of Pines fire contract has been signed, with construction of the $16 million facility beginning this month.
There are five new police officers budgeted for FY24, increasing the total staffing for that department to 115.
Viscay also gave an overview of how the city expects to pay for the FY24 budget. The major revenue sources for the city are the property tax levy, including new growth; local receipts; state aid; other financing sources; and enterprise fund revenue which primarily funds the city’s water and sewer and solid waste enterprise accounts.
The FY23 tax levy limit was $107,656,370. Under Proposition 21/2, the city can add 21/2 percent to the FY23 limit, for an additional $2.7 million.
In addition, Viscay said the estimated new growth for FY24 is just under $2.4 million, bringing the estimated FY24 tax levy limit to $112,731,779.
“The tax levy limit is the maximum taxes that the City can raise as part of balancing its budget,†Viscay said.
The FY24 estimated state aid figure is just over $114 million, with the majority of that coming as Chapter 70 funds that can only be used for education purposes. The estimated Chapter 70 amount of $98.5 million is a $12 million increase from FY23.
In comparison, the state Unrestricted General Government Aid figure for the municipal government rose by 3.2 percent to an estimated $12.3 million.
Local receipts are revenues received and collected that are not reserved for a special purpose. Those revenues, which include vehicle excise taxes, licenses and permits, meals and rooms excise taxes, and investment income, are expected to increase 11.8 percent from FY23 to $21,170,000.
Viscay also noted that all collective bargaining agreements in the city are settled through the end of June in 2024, and that there will be a comprehensive salary and benefit analysis coming in FY25.
Once the FY24 budget is passed, Viscay said there will be a new, long-range financial plan that will be updated with a long-range forecast incorporating the cost of building a new Revere High School.
Ways and means subcommittee hearings on the individual department proposed budgets are expected to continue through this week and the beginning of next week.
