10 percent tax reduction
Dear Editor:
When I was on the School Committee, I received an education on how to balance a city budget by Mayor George Colella . Not, to say that my math teachers ( Mr. Barnes , Mr.Gold and Mr. Boranes ) did not do their job, but no one went though a budget like George Colella. We reviewed the budget for hours looking for a miscalculated dollar amount that did not add up correctly . No one, was like George when going over figures and I mean this in a good way.
We all have seen political ads in an election year and we all know we have to take some political ads with a grain of salt.
Everyone in the city would love a 10 percent reduction for owner occupied homes. as Candidate for Mayor Brian Arrigo is promoting, but this is a total fabrication . This statement of a 10 percent tax reduction for owner occupied homes should begin with
“ Once Upon a Time “ because it’s a fairytale.
We have to really digests what is being said. Let’s say Candidate Arrigo gets everyone a 10% reduction for owner occupied homes . Who gets the 10% tax reduction?
Let’s break it down.
all single family homes get a reduction if they live in their home
all three deckers get a reduction if the owner lives in the building
all high rise condo buildings ( on Revere Beach get a reduction) if the owner 
lives in the condo unit , this too would qualify as a owner occupied unit
any condo unit in a multi family building will also qualify for a 10 percent tax reduction 
So if we live in a city with approximately 25,000 single family and owner occupied units that qualify for Candidate Brian Arrigo Ìs “tax reduction†.
If the average tax bill in the city is $3,000 and we reduce this by 10 percent (Arrigo’s Plan) that’s $300 per every owner occupied unit. 
If we multiply , $300.00 x 25,000 (owner occupied homes) that’s approximately $7,500,000 reduced from the cities budget. 
We will have to cut the police force down from 103 uniform policeman to 45 policeman. We will have to cut the fire department , then reduce the school system with teacher cuts, parks and recreation will reduced by 65 percent.
Senior citizen programs and the senior center will be entirely gone. 
Brian’s budget “tax reduction†will be a nightmare for many children in Revere’s school system. When I said earlier this is a “fairytale it Ìs a Grimm fairytale with a bad ending.
Candidate Arrigo’s fuzzy math is just make-believe .
This type of math maybe OK for the transportation T budget’s where Mr. Arrigo works and in the budget department where he ‘s is in charge, but it would be devastating to the City of Revere just when the city of Revere is looking good.
A $7,500,000 reduction in the cities budget would guarantee the improvements on Broadway would cease. Gone will be the any hope for any new schools. Gone will be the best improvement in the cities history, Harry Della Russo Stadium. Gone will be any service to our veterans . Gone will be the crime reduction that our police officers have worked so hard for.
There’s one other little “home owner tax reduction†hidden treasure. If you have a single family home with a “ in law apartment “ before you get your 10 percent tax reduction you will have to remove that in law apartment , and that will cost you $10,000 when the building department gets through with you.
A 10 percent reduction looks good but don’t think for one moment that the landlords will be obligated to past their 10 percent savings to the tenants who live in Revere apartments.
If Candidate Arrigo’s budget is approved we can soon say,
“due to Brian’s Arrigo’s budget cuts the light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off”
Hal Abrams
Disappointed taxpayer
Dear Editor:
There is the famous tree on my street, on the sidewalk in front of my house, that I’ve been trying to get rid of for six years. National Grid was gracious enough to move my electrical wires on the other side of my house so I could have electricity and heat in the winter, the cable company bent branches so I can have their services, and the telephone company also bent branches away from their wires connecting to my house. I even called public utilities and they trimmed branches that were wrapped around the streetlight so now we have light at night. Even some neighbors even trimmed it. The City sent a company and they trimmed one branch hanging over the street, and said it was my responsibility to do branches over the sidewalk. Now, can I have a yard sale without a permit because it seems I now own the sidewalk? When they came, it took them longer to put cones on the street than it took to cut the one branch. The sidewalk is even coming up and people walk in the street so they won’t trip. Now it looks like an ugly archway. Trees are beautiful, but not when you look up and all you see are wires. I was in the Mayor’s Office again last Thursday and they are still working on it, it seems. I said I was never voting in this City again until the tree is gone and sewer is cleaned and raised near my driveway. Oh well, not much gets done anyways.
Then on Friday, Oct. 9, I had no water in my new kitchen faucets. The plumber came and said it wasn’t the faucet, but rather it was the main lines that had to be blown out. So, I call the City Yard and the answering service said they gone for the day since it was 3 p.m. She called someone and they called me back. I explained the situation and the person said the couldn’t do anything until Tuesday because of holiday. I said that I had to wash my dishes in the bathroom. I said, ‘Where do I rinse them, in the toilet bowl?’ He said nothing could be done until Tuesday. I said where is 24/7 Donnie Goodwin? Well he went home too, I was told. Add this to the tree and the sewer problem, and I’m suppose to vote. Not likely. It seems this is more of a novel than a letter to the editor.
I am a disappointed City taxpayer once again.
Betty Marotta
