THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRiDAy, July 17, 2026 Page 7 BUDGET | FROM PAGE 1 still coming in, and money is being moved around to pay Fiscal Year 2026 bills in Fiscal Year 2026. “We’re trying to close out 2026 as cleanly as possible and roll over only exactly what is needed,” Fowler said. “The push is to get everything paid in 2026, if possible. Anything that can’t be off - set would be rolled over. In the past more was rolled over, and it aff ected balance sheets.” For the first time in almost 20 years, a new administration inherited a budget and put a new one together in a matter of months. “Stepping into offi ce in the middle of a fi scal year and then building a budget on such a short timeline was certainly a challenge, but it also gave us the opportunity to take a fresh, honest look at their City’s fi nances and establish procedures that will guide the administration,” Mayor Robert Van Campen said. “From the beginning, our focus was putting forward a responsible, transparent budget that invests in core services while strengthening Everett’s longterm fi nancial stability.” “I picked this up in January, so half of this is mine,” Fowler said of the 2026 budget. “Normally I could make a good estimate as to what would be surplus,” a reference to his experience in similar positions in Sharon and Somerville before retiring in 2024 and working in shortterm jobs since then. “The process went smoothly,” Councillor at-Large and City Council president Stephanie Smith said. “The new administration was prepared for our questions on the new budget and how they were ending 2026. They handled the transition well and city departments continued DIDOMENICO | FROM PAGE 5 insecurity and economic security policies. Thanks to the Senator’s tireless advocacy, the budget protects access to benefi ts through Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children (TAFDC) and Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled and Children (EAEDC) and includes a $500 clothing allowance per child for families receiving TAFDC benefits. The budget repeals the Learnfare law, which cut off TAFDC benefits when children had too to run. Even when personnel changed, people were in place to guide us through the process.” A complicating factor was residents mistrusting the process, based in part on longevity payments paid to the previous Mayor, dissatisfaction with host or Tax Increment Finance (TIF) agreements with businesses and inertia that besets long-term administrations. “We are not going to pretend every inherited issue will disappear,” Van Campen said. “That is why our administration focused on strengthening oversight, improving accounting practices, reviewing internal controls and ensuring decisions are based on numbers.” “It was tough coming in in January and building a budget the day I hit the building,” Fowler admitted. “You don’t know what you don’t know until it comes up.” Looking ahead to Fiscal Year 2027, Smith said the City continues to face increases in fi xed costs for salaries and insurance and increases in costs for public works projects and construction. Increasing revenue can off - set some of these factors, but the devil is in the details. “We need to increase our revenue with more growth including commercial growth with better deals from big companies that want to come in,” Smith said. “If we don’t, the costs fall on the taxpayer.” Fowler said he is confident “the expense side of the 2027 budget is tight. Revenue projections were conservative and we didn’t overestimate to cover the budget.” The City Council is not meeting in July, but at 6 p.m. Thursday, July 23, there will be a forum/workshop in the City Council Chambers on amenities and many unexcused school absences, and ended up hurting families who lost needed assistance. It also provides $56.1 million for Emergency Food Assistance, an increase of $6.1 million over Fiscal Year 2026, and $21.5 million for the Healthy Incentives Program (HIP), which supports local farmers and access to healthy food. • Education: DiDomenico has been a longtime champion for increasing school funding, and this year’s budget completes DIDOMENICO | SEE PAGE 8 programs for a proposed Waterfront Park adjacent to The Kraft Group’s proposal for a soccer stadium at 173 Alford Street/1 Dexter Street (across Lower Broadway from the casino). Discussions about the stadium itself will be at separate sessions. There will be no videoconference internet access to the meeting because it is a design charette in which proposals and information are often presented by planners on panels on easels and/or attendees can provide feedback on blank panels. “It’s meant to present proposals and get feedback,” Planning Director Matt Lattanzi explained. “The Kraft Group asked for this to help guide them towards a design that they’ll eventually present to the Planning Board. It’ll be in the chambers and the hallway and may spill over to the Keverian Room. There’ll be panels and stations on various aspects of the project including amenities and how the history of the area might be presented.” Although Lattanzi said “we don’t want this to be a playground,” elements of passive recreation like benches or tables, whether there could or should be a misting station or splash pool and spaces for events like a farmers’ market or performances will be considered. Although there were presentation and feedback forums on the park and stadium at the Connolly Center in May and August of 2025, the upcoming forum will be more like one hosted by Jupiter Power on a battery storage facility proposal in July 2024, when representatives from Jupiter took small groups on a walking tour of the Connolly Center fl oor fi lled with large English and Spanish printouts of a PowerPoint presentation. Van Campen is planning to attend. “I look forward to hearing directly from residents and having an open conversation about the kinds of amenities and experiences they want to see,” he said. “For a city with nearly two miles of coastland, Everett has never had enough places where residents can enjoy the waterfront,” he said. “The proposed stadium project presents a unique opportunity to change that by creating a waterfront that is accessible, welcoming and designed with the community in mind.” Lawrence A. Simeone Jr. Attorney-at-Law ~ Since 1989 ~ * Corporate Litigation * Criminal/Civil * MCAD * Zoning/Land Court * Wetlands Litigation * Workmen’s Compensation * Landlord/Tenant Litigation * Real Estate Law * Construction Litigation * Tax Lien * Personal Injury * Bankruptcy * Wrongful Death * Zoning/Permitting Litigation 300 Broadway, Suite 1, Revere * 781-286-1560 lsimeonejr@simeonelaw.net SENIOR SUMMER July 23: Wildfire Disco to Pop & In-Between Disco to Pop & In-Between -Be July 30: SeaBreeze with Stephen Savio ItItalian-American Hits n-Ame -American Hits Hi August 6: Ba Giirl Gr 6: Back Track G Groups of the 1960she 1960s August 13: The Ge DooWo The Connolly Center 90 Chelsea Street, Everett, MA Do Wops Greatest HitsHi 13: The Gem Tonesne Gr 6 PM–8 PM Free and open to the public
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