Is the Mayor's Tax Override a Good Idea for Melrose?

This November, Melrose residents will decide whether or not to approve a more than $2 million property tax increase in order to fund school and public safety initiatives.

The Melrose Board of Alderman approved at a special meeting last month putting Mayor Rob Dolan’s Proposition 2 1/2 override on the Nov. 3 ballot, according to a Wicked Local report.

»Via Wicked Local

If passed, the override would increase Melrose property taxes by $2.25 million, the report stated. That increase would be in addition to the normal 2.5-percent increase, the report added.

The override also would mandate the city use the tax money pay for several public school positions and two new police officers under Dolan’s 2016 budget plan, the report stated.

The last year Melrose residents voted for a tax override was in 1992, the report added.

Dolan assured the board that if the override isn’t passed, the town’s budget would still be balanced, the report stated.

“I am 100 percent in support of this override,” Dolan said in the report. “I’m all in, because I think it’s the right thing to do. But if someone were to say to me, ‘I just can’t afford it,’ that’s a legitimate answer.”

YOUR TURN: Do you think the tax override is a good idea? Will you vote for or against it in November? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section.