Revere councilor asks that city licensing panel be abolished

City Councilor George Rotondo of Ward 4 asked that the City Council look into the feasibility of assuming the duties and responsibilities of the three-member commission, alleging "selective enforcement and backroom deals like the one in Wonderland."

Recently the commission held a hearing with Wonderland Greyhound Park representatives regarding a payment plan for back taxes, in order to avoid revocation of its parking and alcohol licenses.

"It drives me crazy, because what's good for one business is not good for another," Rotondo said. "Wonderland dog track, they're allowed to operate. If you're going to allow one group to do this you should allow all groups. I know people who've lost their homes because they can't pay their taxes. Where's the equity here? Where's the fairness?"

In July, the city, which placed a lien on the property last year, began foreclosure proceedings on the track for failure to pay about $790,000 in taxes since 2006, as well as $16,673 in utility bills. Despite its delinquency, the track received alcohol and parking licenses from the commission, a violation of the city's ordinances. Mayor Thomas G. Ambrosino asked the commission in July to begin a revocation hearing on Wonderland's licenses.

But according to state statute and a city ordinance, before any revocation the license holder must be given the opportunity to enter into a payment plan to avoid loss of the license. A hearing to discuss the track's options was held Aug. 27, where Wonderland representatives proposed an initial down payment of $175,000 and then payments of $5,000 a week, said License Commission chairman Michael Pepe. The hearing was continued to Thursday.

Rotondo and several other councilors took issue with the fact that Wonderland was allowed to operate while in arrears, some suggesting that it created the appearance of favoritism. But Rotondo, while in favor of keeping Wonderland in business, even by way of a payment plan, is taking issue with the way he alleges the License Commission went about that hearing, as well as other past decisions, including the recent closing-time rollback from 2 a.m. to 1 a.m. for alcohol-serving establishments, as well as the requirements for some establishments, but not others, to hire police and fire details to operate.

Rotondo also criticized the commission for moving its Aug. 27 hearing with Wonderland from the council chambers to the American Legion Hall on short notice, because it creates what he termed "the sense of a cloak of secrecy." His request is scheduled to be discussed by the council's Election Laws and Legislative Affairs Committee tomorrow at 4 p.m.

Pepe declined to comment on Rotondo's request to revoke the commission's responsibilities, but said that the reason the hearing was moved from the council chambers to the American Legion was because it conflicted with another board's meeting in the chambers at the same time. The commission clerk found out about this the Friday before the meeting, with enough time under the state's open meeting law to post a change of location. To ensure no one had missed the notice, Pepe said he himself went to the council chambers prior to the start of the hearing to announce that it had been moved.

Ambrosino said Rotondo's request would require special legislation, which he would oppose and would not sign.

"It's important to have an independent body dealing with license commission matters," Ambrosino said, adding that the three members are appointed to six-year staggered terms. "The commission lends itself to apolitical decisions that aren't politically influenced."