RE R V R E E E EVVEREREE R Vol.29, No.48 -FREEwww.advocat Commercial development helps residential tax rates hold steady Councillors hope new developments will drop rates next year By Adam Swift T hanks to new commercial development in the city, especially the Amazon distribution center on the American Legion Parkway, Revere residents should see either a slight decrease or a minimal increase in their Fiscal Year 2021 property tax bills. Monday night, the City Council once again approved a split tax rate, allowing commercial properties to be taxed at a higher rate than residential properties. Dana Brangiforte, the Chairman of the Board of Assessors, ran down the impact in dollars and cents for Revere residents. “The proposed tax rate this fi scal year for residents would be $11.06 [per $1,000 of property valuation],” said Brangiforte. “That is down 20 cents from the prior fi scal year; last year it was $11.26. For the commercial tax rate, the proposed rate would be $21.83, and that is down fi ve cents from the prior fi scal year.” The other factor in what residents and businesses pay in property taxes for the year is the valuation of the properties. Single-family homeowners are the winners in this year’s tax race, with Brangiforte stating that the average single-family home tax bill will see a decrease of $32. “The single-family value went up just a little bit, about 1.3 percent,” he said, adding that that will actually lead to the slightly lower tax bill. The biggest increase in valuations is for condominiums, which increased on average by 9.6 percent, resulting in an increase of about $227 on the average condominium tax bill. Brangiforte said the average tax bills for two-family homes will rise by $119, and for three-family homes, the increase is $155. “This is a little bit different [this] year because of the introduction of the Amazon property,” said Brangiforte. “Where we did have an increase in the tax levy of $2.6 million, Amazon is picking up a large chunk of that, about $1.6 million, so that is helping stabilize the residential tax increases a little bit.” Revere is fi nally starting to see the fruits of the city’s focus on increasing commercial development, Brangiforte said. “Development is starting to happen, and it softens the blow on the residential side a little bit,” he said. “Growth this year commercial-wise was very big. It was one of the fi rst years where growth on the commercial side outpaced the residential side.” Councillor-at-Large Anthony Zambuto and Ward 2 Councillor Ira Novoselsky both noted that there are a number of largescale commercial developments in the pipeline that should help increase that split next year. “I know that our tax rate has gone down a few cents, but I’m hoping that next year…it will go down in the dollar fi gures rather than the cent fi gures,” said Novoselsky. Have a Safe & Happy Thanksgiving! Have a Safe OCAT OOCC F y By Greg Phipps T ypically, the Revere High School football team would be participating in its annual Thanksgiving Day clash against long-standing rival Winthrop. But with the 2020 campaign wiped out due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Patriots will have to wait until next fall to experience the 91st Turkey Day meeting between the two schools. The annual game is one of the oldest holiday contests in Massachusetts. The Patriots have gotten the better of the Vikings in recent seasons, having won the last four meetings. Winthrop, overall, owns the historical advantage by a wide 56-31 margin. There have been CA 781-286-8500 three ties. The decision to cancel high school football statewide this fall came back in August, when the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) delayed the fall start and approved a gridiron season that would commence this coming February and run through April. If the season does actually take place – dependent on the status of the pandemic at that time – the two squads are likely to square off against each other in April. Presently, nationwide virus cases have increased signifi cantly, and subsequent cancellations and restrictions have come about. As a result, the proposed 2020 season appears to be in jeopDV VOCATA E CA E Wednesday, November 25, 2020 No Turkey Day football for Patriots TASTY TURKEY MEMORIES: Joe Llanos and Mazer Ali posed with their drumsticks as off ensive and defensive players of the 2019 Turkey Day game victory over Winthrop last year. (Advocate File Photo) ardy. Patriots head coach Lou Cicatelli was no doubt looking forward to this season, coming off a memorable 10-1 campaign last year, one of the best seasons in the school’s history. Revere went undefeated and won two playoff games, in which they totaled 84 points, before losing to eventual Super Bowl champion Melrose in the Div. 4 North title game. Last year’s Thanksgiving clash featured a superb performance from outgoing senior running back Joe Llanos, who rushed for 389 yards and scored six touchdowns. Revere broke open a close 19all tie and ended up winning FOOTBALL | SEE Page 7 High school players, fans going cold turkey $1.55 GALLON We accept: MasterCard * Visa * & Discover Price Subject to Change without notice 100 Gal. Min. 24 Hr. Service 781-286-2602 with no Thanksgiving Day Football tomorrow COVID-19 has cancelled the entire HS slate this fall, including traditional holiday matchups By Steve Freker C old turkey’s going to take on a whole diff erent meaning in less than 24 hours, when people arise from their holiday slumber tomorrow morning and realize there is no high school football game to attend. When the reality sets in, that high-pitched wail you hear emanating from the greater Boston and North Shore region, particularly from such high school football strongholds as Everett, Malden, Revere and Saugus, will be the sound of the thousands of folks who suddenly realize they have absolutely nothing to do until the mashed potatoes and gravy gets here. This is serious stuff here, folks. Everyone was well aware that there was not going to be a Thanksgiving football feast to complement the turkey and fi xings this year – we all got plenty of advance notice. But when reality really, truly arrives, sometime around 8 o’clock or so tomorrow morning, it is all over, close the curtains. There really, really is no Thanksgiving football game this year! T-DAY | SEE Page 7
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