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THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2025 Page 11 New Report by State Auditor’s Office Highlights Significant Inequities in Mass Save Program Disproportionate Financial Burden on Gateway Cities, Environmental Justice Communities B OSTON — State Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s Offi ce released a report this past week of the Commonwealth’s Mass Save energy efficiency program. Mass Save was established in 2008 through a partnership between the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and its natural gas and electric utilities, aiming to improve energy effi ciency. The program encourages residents and businesses to upgrade their buildings through a wide array of services, rebates, incentives, and training. Mass Save is consumer-funded — Massachusetts consumers, whether residential or commercial, pay a surcharge on their electric and gas bills to fund the program. The report, produced by the State Auditor’s Division of Local Mandates (DLM), examines the municipal distribution of incentives from Mass Save. DLM reviewed the correlation of Mass Save net benefi ts with socioeconomic factors including income, population density, and owner-occupied housing rate. Furthermore, DLM assessed the distribution of Mass Save incentives in Environmental Justice (EJ) municipalities and Gateway Cities. The report identifi es signifi - cant disparities in Mass Save’s distribution of incentives, with some higher-income commuRCCR | FROM Page 9 alties and liens for noise ordinance violations. According to the special legislation, the city may issue citations, establish appeal and hearing processes for the citations, fi le real estate liens to collect unpaid fi nes, penalties or assessments from the citations and avail itself of any and all relevant enforcement or procedural provisions provided in chapter 40U of the General Laws for violations of the noise ordinance of the city. Councillors supported a related motion from Ward 2 Councillor Ira Novoselsky that Police Chief Maria LaVita purnities gaining more benefi ts than contributions made, and many lower-income municipalities contributing much more than their residents receive. The report found residents of 48 out of 175 Massachusetts municipalities with incomes below the state median contribute more to Mass Save than the state average. Many residents of EJ municipalities and Gateway Cities disproportionately contributed more to Mass Save than residents of other municipalities, with residents in communities with over 90% EJ populations contributing on average 151% more per capita compared to municipalities without EJ populations. Furthermore, residents in Gateway Cities contributed approximately 24% more per capita than those in non-Gateway Cities, despite having considerably lower household incomes and getting fewer Mass Save benefi ts than higher-income communities. The report also shows that as population density and the proportion of renters increase, Mass Save benefits typically decrease. High-density urban areas and municipalities with higher renter populations— groups less likely to directly benefi t from property-based energy effi ciency upgrades— were consistently found to chase decibel meters for all police cruisers for the purpose of enforcing the noise ordinance. LaVita told councillors she did not expect the meters to cost more than $15,000. Bench Trial T he City Council voted 10-1 to approve a $5,000 appropriation from the Community Improvement Trust Fund to replace park benches at Kimmerle Park in Beachmont. Councillor-at-Large Juan Pablo Jaramillo voted against the appropriation because he wanted more information. According to Ward 1 Councillor Joanne McKenna, who contribute more to the program even when they ultimately do not get much back, if anything, from the program. Moreover, the report highlights how utility bills lack transparency regarding required Mass Save contributions. It is noted how utility bills remain unnecessarily opaque due to unfamiliar terminology and a lack of clear itemization, leaving many ratepayers unsure of what they are actually paying for. While the bills break down charges into supply and delivery components, key fees are labeled with technical or vague terms that provide little meaningful information to the average consumer. Among the report’s recommendations, aimed at ensuring greater equity and efficiency, are to consider transferring Mass Save’s administration to an independent entity, expanding legislative oversight, creating more incentives to boost renter participation, and improving transparency and data accessibility. “While Mass Save has a noble mission of promoting energy effi ciency in the Commonwealth, its current programmatic structure undermines its mission by widening inequality, eroding economic justice, equity, fairness, and opportunity — and deepening the very disparities that contribute represents Beachmont, the neighborhood is seeing expanding gatherings of homeless people. The benches at the park were removed on the advice pf Police Chief Maria LaVita and Public Works Supt. Chris Ciaramella to prevent people from sleeping on them. McKenna said people gathering at the park are partially dressed, openly drinking alcohol and urinating in bushes. The Beachmont School is about 800 yards from the park, and children often cross through it to get to school. McKenna said that since last June the situation has become a public safety issue. to the environmental justice challenges we must continually seek to address,” said Auditor DiZoglio. “We urge the adoption of our recommendations, which seek to help ensure greater integrity in a program meant to serve all residents of this Commonwealth.” “Chelsea residents face some of the highest energy costs in the state and could benefi t greatly from the potential savings off ered by Mass Save programs,” said Chelsea City Manager Fidel Maltez. “Chelsea is an Environmental Justice Community with unique needs, and we recognize that language barriers, high rate of renters, and program complexity have limited our residents’ access to these programs in the past. However, with targeted support, we’re optimistic that these programs can make a meaningful diff erence. We look forward to working with Mass Save to break down these barriers and ensure that all Chelsea residents can fully benefi t from these resources.” “This report shows we are not seeing equitable benefi ts in return,” said Fitchburg Mayor Sam Squailia. “We need a Mass Save program that is fair and transparent, stops shifting the energy savings burden onto working-class communities like ours, and lowers costs for our families already paying the highest utility prices Ward 6 Councillor Chris Giannino, a retired Revere Police Sergeant, said he is familiar with the area, and he agreed it is a public safety is a concern. But Beachmont wants its benches back. The new benches will have protruding arm rests in the center to prevent people from sleeping on them. Jaramillo questioned how many arrests or citations have been made for the problems McKenna listed. Jaramillo said he wants to understand what problems could be solved through the appropriation. McKenna added that the city has sent counselors, soin the state.” “It is very concerning to see our Gateway Cities, such as Lowell, contribute to the Mass Save program at a rate higher than the average resident in the state, with little to no return to our community,” said Lowell City Councilor Erik Gitschier. “Gateway Cities are being used as a checkbook for wealthier communities, which is not the goal of the Mass Save program. I want to thank State Auditor DiZoglio and her staff for their continued oversight and for this report, which highlights many inequities for the very people the program was designed to help.” “The findings of the Auditor’s report are unacceptable,” said Revere Mayor Patrick M. Keefe, Jr. “Residents in Gateway Cities and Environmental Justice communities like Revere are being squeezed by a program that was intended to help them. Meanwhile, our utilities continue to seek rate increases while hard-working families struggle to put food on the table. I urge our state leaders to urgently review this report’s findings and implement its recommendations. The same utility companies that stand to gain from higher energy use cannot also be paid to oversee energy-saving programs — it’s a clear confl ict that we cannot tolerate in the Commonwealth.” cial workers and staff from the city’s Substance Use Disorder and Homelessness Initiatives Offi ce to the park to help people there. “We did our homework,” she said. Community Trust Fund accounts Ward 1 Councillor JoAnne McKenna and Ward 3 Councillor Anthony Cogliandro fi led a motion to have City CFO Richard Viscay provide the City Council with a comprehensive account of the Community Improvement Trust Fund RCCR | SEE Page 19

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