By Adam Swift
Mayor Patrick Keefe presented a proposed $322.6 million Fiscal Year 2027 budget to the city council on Monday night.
The council will be taking up detailed discussions of the budget in its ways and means subcommittee meetings later this month.
While a more in-depth discussion of the budget is on the horizon, several councilors did raise some questions about the future financial stability of the city, given the price tags of the Revere High School building project and several other major projects.
However, Keefe pointed to the strength of the current year’s budget and said the city is looking at all avenues to address future concerns.
“The budget submitted this year is a responsible, balanced budget with an increase of 1.8% over last year’s adjusted FY 2026 budget,” Keefe stated.
The mayor said he believes that 1.8 percent increase in the budget is the smallest of any community this year in the Metro Boston region. Keefe said that Revere, like all communities throughout the state, continues to struggle with rising health insurance and utility costs as well as increasing demands for service, contractual obligations, and meager increases in state aid for both the city and the schools.
“Despite these challenges, we have put forth a budget and a spending plan that is responsible, with realistic revenue estimates based upon currently known information that has been analyzed and adjusted accordingly,” Keefe stated.
Richard Viscay, the city’s finance director, reviewed the projected revenues and spending in the proposed FY27 balanced budget. The $322.6 million figure includes the city’s revolving funds that are largely self-financed through fees – such as trash and water and sewer accounts – and the paybacks to the state for items such as MBTA assessments that are taken from state aid, as well as the operating budgets for general government and the schools.
The largest expense in the operating budget is the schools, which comes in at just under $138 million, with just under $5 million for the Northeast Regional Voke assessment, and the remainder making up the Revere Public Schools budget.
The public safety budget totals about $35.2 million, with $15.2 million for the police department and $15.7 million for the fire department.
Viscay said the proposed budget includes two new police officers and two new firefighters. The public works budget comes in at just over $5 million.
The proposed balanced budget is funded largely through local property taxes, state aid, and local receipts.
Property tax revenue is expected to be $133.2 million through the 2-½ percent increase in the tax levy under Proposition 2-½ as well as $3.5 million in new growth.
“This new growth continues to be the engine that allows the city to avoid any talks of overrides or debt exclusions as an option for the funding of the new Revere High School, scheduled for completion in December of 2028,” Keefe stated.
Local receipts, including motor vehicle excise and meals and rooms taxes, as well as licenses and permits; are estimated at $23.7 million.
Chapter 70 funds from the state for the school budget are estimated at $108.4 million, and Unrestricted General Government Aid for the municipal budget is penciled in at $13.3 million.
While the presentation to the city council focused on the proposed FY27 budget Monday night, Viscay did address the issues the city looks to be facing to fund the construction of the new high school over the next several years as it waits for tax revenue from new growth to catch up. Viscay noted that a large part of that new revenue growth is tied into the continued long-term development of Suffolk Downs by HYM.
Several of the options Viscay presented included the adoption of the Community Preservation Act, which allows up to 3 percent increase in the tax levy for certain expenses that will create capacity in the general fund, a cannabis excise tax, and other ways to fund the High School Stabilization Fund, which is currently funded with 10 percent of annual free cash appropriation to the fund and with pending tax credits from energy improvements from the construction of the new RHS geothermal wells. Other options Viscay said the council might want to consider include the 50/50 split of all Community Improvement Trust funds (present and future), the sale of largely unused city-owned land, and donations, sponsorships, and other public-private partnerships.
Council President Anthony Zambuto said the cannabis excise tax was a nonstarter since the council had recently voted against allowing recreational marijuana sales in Revere. Several other councillors hesitated at the use of community trust fund money that is earmarked for specific wards from development within them.
Zambuto noted that there will be more time to discuss all the potential budget questions in the ways and means subcommittee.
“I want to thank the CFO for a great presentation,” said Zambuto. “I don’t agree with some of the suggestions, and that’s fine, but it doesn’t take away from the professionalism of this presentation.”
However, Zambuto said he sounded the alarm years before about the struggles the city could have in funding the high school project down the road.
“We knew this was coming, and there’s got to be ways of finding money to pay for this now because you did bond it, you did put the city on the hook for it,” said Zambuto. “So we are all on the same page when it comes to that; some of us don’t like some of the suggestions, we might have some of our own, and we will go from there.”
Keefe said he wanted to make sure the overall message of the budget presentation wasn’t lost.
“The CFO does a very good job of making a very full explanation of not just this year’s budget, which is very good, but also giving you the five-year forecast,” said the mayor. “Everything is very, very good. Almost every community in the Greater Boston area has gone through an override in the last couple of years … we’re not considering things like that. So don’t let the message that (Viscay) is sharing good information with you distract you from a very professional and responsible budget this year.
“We will go at the same process next year and present you with another responsible budget.”
Keefe said that he and Viscay want to be forthcoming with the council by making sure it gets ahead of the discussion about any potential lean budget years.
“That doesn’t mean that those things are going to happen, but if the stars don’t align, then we are going to have to make some different decisions,” said Keefe. “Don’t get distracted, stay focused on the areas in front of you. We presented a good budget, and if anyone here thinks that we’re in trouble, then give us a real recommendation and let us know how you would solve it.
“The word concerned is overly used sometimes without a real solution,” the mayor continued. “So if there is concern, provide me with a real solution and I’ll be happy to work on it.”