Mayor Infurna Thanks Melrose After Override Election

The following was submitted by Mayor Gail Infurna:

I would like to thank all the residents of Melrose who participated in the recent special election on the override.

Asking for more money is never easy, but as I have said before, our budget no longer matches our community values. I particularly want to thank all those who came to our listening sessions and our question-and-answer sessions, who called my office and e- mailed us with your questions. And I appreciate the time you put in studying the issues and educating yourselves about this important decision.

This override does not make our problems go away, but it does allow us to create a budget that meets our immediate needs and allows us to prepare for the future. This will allow us to stabilize our school budget and use our free cash for one-time requests from our city department heads, rather than putting a substantial portion toward the schools. We will also continue to seek ways to bring in new revenue.

I want to thank the members of OneMelrose, who worked so hard to persuade their neighbors to vote yes—and to get them to the polls on April 2. Your energy and enthusiasm were truly inspiring.

To those who did not support the override, I want to say thank you for participating in the process and making your voices heard. I know you are as invested in our community as those who voted yes, and I hope you will continue to be involved going forward.

There are those who feel that the override vote divided us, but I want to make it very clear that we are all neighbors. At the listening sessions, I was impressed to hear young people with children expressing their concern for their neighbors who are on fixed incomes, and I was impressed to hear senior citizens talk about wanting their neighbors’ children to have the best education they can. That is something I want to hold on to, and I want you to hold on to, as we move toward a brighter future for the City of Melrose.

Mayor Gail Infurna