By Adam Swift
Traffic and parking has long been a big point of contention in the city, but at last week’s city council meeting, there was some good financial news regarding vehicles parked and traveling through Revere.
The council approved a transfer of rental car fees and other revenue generated from cars currently parked at Wonderland to the high school stabilization fund that was created earlier this year.
“I’ve had a lot of requests, and (Ward 5) Councilor Angela Guarino-Sawaya was one of them, letting us know it would be a great idea to put these revenues generated from that land into the stabilization fund,” said city finance director Richard Viscay. “The administration tends to agree, and what you see before you is a transfer of all the money into that fund for the fiscal year ending in 2024.”
The total amount of the transfer is $483,076.29, said Viscay.
“That will pay for a couple of permits, I guess,” said Councilor-at-Large Anthony Zambuto, who has raised questions about the city’s ability to fund the new high school project. “I think it is a great idea, anything that prevents an override.”
Guarino-Sawaya said she was proud of her motion to transfer the rental car fees into the high school stabilization fund.
“We are going to be raising many, many dollars just by this motion alone by getting this money from the cars that are being parked there until (the high school) is built,” she said.
The council also approved an appropriation of $122,640 for the city’s Transportation Network Assessment. That money comes to the city through Uber and Lyft rides that originate in Revere.
“We receive one dime for each ride originating in the city,” said Viscay.
The money from the rideshares is used to address the impact of transportation on city roads, bridges, and other infrastructure, Viscay said.
“This year, during budget talks, we thought it was a good idea to appropriate the money for the operation of the Blue Bike networks in the city, as well as a lot of the traffic calming measures that are coming before you,” said Viscay.
Councillor-at-Large Robert Haas, III asked if the 10 cent fee was a state-generated number or if the city could raise the rate.
“There is no local option to increase it right now,” said Viscay.
Viscay noted that the $122,640 in fees translates to over 1.22 million rides that originated in Revere in 2023.