Anthony on the Issues

Taxes & Spending

Quincy is a great place to call home, and because of this we’ve seen a massive boom in development as more people seek to become Quincy residents themselves. However, this has played a role in driving up property valuations and causing many longtime residents to feel the squeeze on their property taxes.

To help ease your tax burden, I believe we should implement a “Residential Property Tax Exemption” that would allow owner-occupied homes to see an up to 35% reduction in their property taxes. This exemption is common around Greater Boston and I think our homeowners should benefit more from the development within the city than they have in the past decade.

In addition, I believe the city should be using the $46.3M we received in the spring from the American Rescue Plan on existing priorities rather than taking on new projects. It’s why I wrote and passed a resolution calling on the Administration to provide an accounting to the council on where any of that funding has already been spent and for the Administration to solicit public input just as many towns with mayoral forms of government have done.

Lastly, I know that I can’t say yes to every spending proposal that comes before us at City Hall. During this past budget debate, I voted to cut over $600,000 from the budget overall – while it may not seem like a lot, I know every bit counts. I’ll continue to ask the tough questions and work to ensure that your tax dollars are spent responsibly.

Infrastructure

Our roads are in tough shape. I know it and you know it. With over 250 miles of roadway to maintain, it is inevitable that some areas will fall into worse shape than other.

Upon being sworn-in as your Councillor, I advocated for and voted in favor a a plan to invest $150M into our infrastructure over the next 10 years. The plan will invest $100M into paving our roadways and $50M into water and sewer infrastructure. For Ward 2, this means over 33,000 feet of roadway will be paved and 19 water mains will be replaced.

The list below, highlights the roads that will be targeted. If your roadway is not on the list, don’t hesitate to reach out – we can work together to advocate for your street to get the attention it needs.

Abigail Ave, Apex St, Arnold St, Audrey St, Avalon Ave, Berry St, Brent Pl, Chase St, Claremont Ave, Commonwealth Ave, Dee Rd, Edwards St, Elm St, Farnum St, Forum Rd, Glenview Rd, Grafton St, Hillsboro St, Hyde St, Lancaster St, Lebanon St, Main St, Murdock Ave, Nicholl St, Norman Rd, Oak St, Phipps St, South St, Stanley Cir, Winter St.

Fighting the Compressor Station

For the past four years I’ve stood alongside my neighbors in the Fore River Basin to call for the end to plans to construct a compressor station in North Weymouth. I’ve spoken up at Health Impact Assessment meetings conducted by MAPC, worked behind the scenes as an aide in the State Senate to get an air quality monitoring in the Fore River Basin, and authored a resolution as a member of the City Council calling for the immediate shut down of the station after it experienced multiple unplanned toxic gas releases. We’re five years into this fight because it’s the right thing to do – the station is situated on only 4 acres of land, it’s on a waterway, in an environmental justice zone, next to a $200+M bridge, and surrounded by thousands of residents in harms way.

Development & Traffic

Depending on when you grew up, you’ll envision Quincy in one of two ways: either as the bustling downtown that drew hundreds of shoppers a day with attractions like Remick’s and the Bargain Center, or as a run-down area that had empty storefronts that was longing for life. While I grew up with the latter, I’ve heard plenty of stories from my family about the former.

The revitalization that Quincy's downtown has experienced in the last decade is a welcome change. With that said, the development we have experienced needs to be contained to the downtown and the city must keep the integrity of our neighborhoods. That means opposing projects that don’t fit with the character of existing neighborhoods - a modern four unit, three story building shouldn’t be put up in a neighborhood of mostly single-family homes for example.

Likewise, the rise in development has led to a rise in traffic congestion. To curb this, we need to be encouraging more use of bicycle and pedestrian paths by investing in the infrastructure needed to actually make people want to use those alternatives. Additionally, we need to be pushing developers to include adequate parking for residents and visitors.

Public Input & Constituent Services

The number one job of any public servant is returning phone calls and emails. Whether the concern is related to trimming a tree and filling a pothole, snow plowing issues and sidewalk repair, every issue deserves to be treated with the same level of respect and urgency. As your Ward Councillor for the past year and as a legislative aide in the State Senate for the past 3.5 years, I know just how important this part of the job is.

In addition, I have always prided myself on listening to constituents on the input and receiving your feedback. When I was first sworn-in as your Councillor, I launched a constituent services website, www.AnthonyAndronico.com, that was complete with a welcome survey to help me understand where you needed my focus to be. The survey results were very helpful to me as I got adjusted to the new role.

More recently, I was proud to author a resolution that was unanimously supported by my colleagues calling on the Administration to solicit public input into how the city should spend $46.3M in federal COVID-19 Relief Funding through the American Rescue Plan, and for a full accounting of where any of that funding had been previously allocated.

Your voice deserves to be heard whether it’s regarding relief funding, budget allocation, new investments, or a potential new ordinance.