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Page 20 THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2023 COUNCIL | FROM Page 1 “During the last highly contested mayoral race in 2015, turnout was 30 percent. I think that’s a reasonable number,” he said, adding that it could be a little under or it could be a little over this time around. “Unfortunately, the historical trend has been that turnouts in local elections are not that high,” said Fahey. While that might be the historical trend, some of the candidates on this year’s ballot don’t agree with Fahey’s low prediction. “I think we’ll see closer to 40 percent,” said Acting Mayor Patrick Keefe. “I’m confi dent it will be 37, 38 or 39 percent. That’s it, 37 is my number.” Keefe went on to say that a low turnout typically means people are happy. “People vote angry. They vote because they are unhappy with the situation,” he said. Keefe said campaigning has been extremely positive. “I felt like I had a depth of knowledge of Revere,” said Keefe, who added that he’s been circling the city hearing what people have to say. “A big diff erence between me and a lot of offi cials is I’m yearround. I do things every year, not just election years. It’s what I enjoy,” said Keefe, who has long been involved in youth sports and community programs and events. Some have questioned Keefe’s experience, since prior to being appointed acting mayor, his focus was as a ward 4 city councillor. But Keefe said he debunked that myth early on. “My base is all over the city,” he said. “That made it easy to spread my wings.” Keefe’s opponent, Councillor8 Norwood St. Everett (617) 387-9810 Open Daily 4:00 PM Closed Sunday Starting Monday, September 11... We’re back to serving our Full Menu featuring all your favorite Italian Specialties and American Classics! Catch ALL The Live Sports Action On Our Large Screen TV’s www.eight10barandgrille.com At-Large Dan Rizzo, isn’t quite as sure that campaigning has been positive and civil. Rizzo recently posted a video on Facebook that described how a group of his supporters, many who were seniors, were harassed and bullied by the Keefe camp. “They were bullying and yelling,” said Rizzo. “It was despicable.” Rizzo also felt that the forecast of a 30 percent turnout was a sad refl ection on the apathy of voters. “I’m hopeful voters will turnout just for the purposes of democracy alone,” he said, adding that 30 percent should not make decisions for the whole city. But Rizzo said he also feels very confi dent. “We’ve been working diligently going around the city, talking with people… Regardless of the outcome, we’ve done everything it takes to win,” he said. Incumbent Ward 3 Councillor Anthony Cogliandro, who is running unopposed, said this year has been par for the course for a mayoral election. “Every four years, the city has a stake driven through the middle of it. During the preliminary, there were four candidates and the city was divided into four. Now, it’s divided in two.” But Cogliandro’s focus has been more on the city council, which will have fi ve or as many as seven new members next term. “I’m excited to have a council that’s new and to be one of the people with experience. There are some great people slated to get onto the council and I’m looking forward to working with them,” he said. Incumbent Councillor-AtLarge Anthony Zambuto also looks forward to a city council with new faces. “My pitch has been I’ve been around for a long time, I have a lot of accomplishments and I’ll be around to help the new people,” he said. He said, overall, the election season has been positive. “There are always the haters who don’t like me because I tell the truth, but really, I haven’t seen any of that.” Zambuto stressed his pitch is common sense, fiscal responsibility and experience. “That’s what I bring to the table,” he said. Anthony Parziale, who is running for an At-Large seat, said campaigning has been a very positive experience and all the candidates in the race get along very well. Parziale has held campaign signs for all of the candidates in the race. “There’s no room to rip people down or point fi ngers,” he said. “We’re all on the same side,” he said, “Team Revere. At the end of the day, we all want the same thing, a better city.” Parziale said the feeling he got from voters was that they are looking forward to some new blood on the council. “Little things matter and accountability is important to have a fair city. It’s our city and we have to stick up for it,” he said. “For me, that means putting people fi rst.” SPECIAL NEEDS TRUSTS S pecial needs trusts are often referred to as supplemental needs trusts. The name used isn’t so much important as are the terms of these trusts. A special needs trust funded with assets of a disabled individual as a result of an inheritance or judgment in a lawsuit is often referred to as a sole benefi t trust. Assets in such a trust must be utilized for the sole benefi t of the special needs individual. The special needs individual can now be the Settlor of his or her own sole benefi t trust. It is no longer a requirement for such a trust to be created by a parent, legal guardian or probate court. These are what we call fi rst party trusts as the trusts are created by the special needs individual with his or her own assets. The first party trust must contain a payback provision to MassHealth upon the death of the special needs individual if, for example, her or she was receiving MassHealth benefi ts. If there is money left over after MassHealth is paid back, the remaining monies can be distributed to family members pursuant to the terms of said trust. A third party trust, on the other hand, is created by a parent, for example, with the parent’s own assets. A third party trust is less restrictive than a fi rst party trust and there is no payback provision to MassHealth upon the death of the special needs child. Any monies remaining will be distributed to the remainder benefi ciaries pursuant to the terms of the trust. If a parent was transferring assets to a special needs trust in order to qualify for MassHealth long-term care by reducing countable assets to $2,000 or less, MassHealth will require the Trust to contain a payback provision in order that MassHealth gets paid back for all of the expenditures it made for the parent’s long-term care expenses. Any monies remaining in the trust upon the parent’s death would then be available to provide for the special needs child’s care. Also, keep in mind all of these special needs trusts are designed to supplement the special needs child’s care, but not to supplant any governmental benefi ts being received by the child. A trustee needs to be very careful when administering a fi rst party special needs trust. If expenditures are not made consistent with the law, the special needs child could either have public benefi ts reduced or lost altogether. There is more fl exibility when administering a third party special needs trust in terms of expenses paid for. A trustee should keep very accurate records of trust receipts and disbursements and should be transparent with the special needs child and family members that may be involved in the child’s care. Investments should be prudent and disbursements should always take into account the child’s live expectancy, standard of living, etc. The trustee, if at all possible, would like to make sure that the special needs child does not outlive the funds in the trust. Taking on the role of a trustee in these situations needs to be taken seriously. Money can never be spent willy nilly. 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.

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