CITY | FROM Page 12 guided our students and families through the challenges of a pandemic with an ever-steady hand, and as we emerge on the other side, you have positioned us to do even more to empower the next generation of Revere leaders. Thank you. Municipalities like ours across the nation are facing difficult decisions as a result of the pandemic. We are charting a diff erent course. Our strong fi nancial management and steadily improving bond rating has positioned us to seize on opportunities, not just at Wonderland, but across the city. And we’ve heard our residents loud and clear when they’ve asked for more programming for our families and children, and more health and wellness services for all ages. On January 1, the City of ReTHE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, MARCH 04, 2022 At the former McKinley School, vere took control of the space at the former Greater Boston Fitness, where we will operate the Robert J. Haas Health and Wellness Center. With an anticipated Spring opening, our fi rst ever health and wellness center will support residents’ physical and mental health – with access to low-cost gym memberships, free recreational programming, nutritional counseling and more. We’re joined tonight by the Haas family. I want to thank you for sharing him with the city he loved for so many years. His legacy will be felt by generations of Revere residents. we will engage community members in a visioning process to reprogram 36,000 square feet of space for early education, child care and community use. In Beachmont, we will reimagine parkland to provide state of the art, year-round recreational space. And at the former League for Special Needs we will off er culinary workforce development training, a commercial kitchen to support the launch of new products and businesses, and continue to operate the weekly food pantry that has been vital to our most vulnerable community members. This food systems hub will address the root causes of food insecurity exacerbated by the pandemic. COVID-19 has shown us the POST ELIGIBILITY TREATMENT OF INCOME M assHealth issued Eligibility Operations Memo 21-13 outlining the post eligibility treatment of income (PETI) process for MassHealth members enrolled in the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) and who had income at or below 300% of the Federal Benefit Rate (FBR) at the time of the member’s initial MassHealth eligibility determination. PETI rules are used to calculate a member’s contribution to the cost of care in a community MassHealth situation (as opposed to someone on MassHealth in a nursing home). For PACE members who had initially been approved for MassHealth benefi ts with income at or below 300% of the FBR, but who later experience an increase in countable income, causing their income to exceed 300% of the FBR, they may retain their MassHealth Standard benefit and remain enrolled in PACE by spending the excess income on medical expenses in order to reduce their countable income to 300% of the FBR. These members will be subject to a monthly patient pay amount that is equal to their excess income over 300% of the FBR, less any allowable deductions. Community MassHealth programs such as the Frail Elder Waiver Program and the PACE Program are subject to income limits. When you initially apply for one of these programs, your income needs to be below the required level. For 2022, 300% of the federal benefi t rate is $2,523, as the FBR for a single person for 2022 is $841. Therefore, your income must be below $2,523 in order to initially qualify for the PACE program. This Eligibility Operations Memo was eff ective on July 14, 2021. It is important to know that someone enrolled in the PACE program will not become ineligible simply because of an increase in countable income, regardless of the source of the income. Rather, MassHealth will simply calculate how much of the excess income will have to be spent down on medical care. Therefore, if you initially qualify for the PACE program as a result of your countable income being at or below 300% of the FBR, you should be able to continue in the PACE program even if your income subsequently increases and puts you over that level. Joseph D. Cataldo is an Estate Planning/Elder Law Attorney, Certifi ed Public Accountant, Certifi ed Financial Planner, AICPA Personal Financial Specialist and holds a Master’s Degree in Taxation. importance of good health, and the role of city government to ensure our residents are safely able to work, live and pursue happiness, now and in the future. This year we will learn to live with COVID as we do with other illnesses; it will no longer disrupt our daily lives, our kids will stay in their classrooms; and our businesses will keep their doors open. Our public health team will fi nally be able to shift its focus to prevention, through education, sound policy and critical serHONORED | FROM Page 1 who was nominated to be recognized as the 16th Suff olk District’s honoree this year by State Representative Jessica A. Giannino and State Representative Jeffrey Turco. “Since Aklog has lived in Revere, he has been heavily involved in community-based organizations that serve to better the city. He is an outstanding member in the community who displays values of humble leadership,” said Representative Giannino. “As a lifelong Revere resident, I am proud to have a man Page 13 vices. To the nearly 54,000 residents who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 to protect our community and make a healthier future possible: thank you. Together we will heal from the tremendous loss we’ve experienced over the past two years and navigate the growth and opportunity that lies ahead. As we have come back together in this room tonight, we must continue to reach out to one another – to find common ground, overcome the divisiveness that has dominated our screens for too long, and support each other through yet another time of uncertainty and collective grief brought on by war. Our Administration will practice what we preach. Beginning in May, my team and I will go ward to ward to engage with residents in person, listen to your hopes and expectations for our city, and seek out the perspectives that don’t always fi nd their way to City Hall. In June of 2020, I committed to calling out and eliminating racism in our city. In 2022, the call remains the same. Racism is not welcome in the City of Revere. Our actions speak louder than words. Meaningful work to right decades of injustices must continue for years to come. Today 55 percent of our residents identify as a race or ethlike Aklog serving the community in which I grew up in. Congratulations, Aklog, and thank you for all you do for Revere.” Aklog immigrated to the Beachmont neighborhood in Revere from Ethiopia in 1997 – since that time, he has built an incredibly fulfi lling life for himself in America. As he had been involved in the political landscape of Ethiopia, Aklog quickly became involved in Revere, volunteering for various boards and commissions and working with community-based organizations. Aklog has gone above and beyond for his Revere neighbors nic group other than white, compared to 38 percent just a decade ago. Over the past 21 months, we’ve developed a racial equity action plan to create a municipal government that better represents the growing diversity of our city. We must continue to work together to build a city that embraces the changes required to become the inclusive and welcoming city that we aspire to be. When our residents look to City Hall for support, at every level, they see people who look like them, can speak their language, and understand their lived experience. We are a changed city, in so many ways, and the fastest growing in the Commonwealth. If we do not adapt to change, we will be left behind. Tonight I assure you that we will not measure our growth simply by the number of people who live here, but in the quality of life we provide to our residents, and in our readiness - and willingness - to capitalize on every opportunity that our growth brings. We will lean in to our growth mindset, and emerge from the COVID era with new energy to execute on thoughtfully laid plans. We will unapologetically continue to raise the bar. This is the state of our city. Thank you. – including as a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals and the Beachmont Improvement Committee and Board Secretary of the Massachusetts Ethiopian Support Association. Aklog proves his dedication to bettering his community. He is also currently serving as member of the Zoning Board of Appeals. Aklog’s family is his world. He and his wife, Sirgut Gurmu, have two children: Hana Aklog (16), Abel Aklog (13). As a beloved and humble father, husband and community leader, Aklog exemplifi es what Black Excellence means in Revere.
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