Melrose Special Election Set: Override Question Goes To Voters

MELROSE, MA — The Proposition 2 1/2 override question will hit the ballot in April. The Board of Alderman passed the order to allow voters to decide on the $5.18 million override that city and school officials said is necessary to get the district back on track after struggling to make ends meet during over the summer's budget process.

The override proposed by Mayor Gail Infurna will go to the voters in a special election scheduled for April 2, 2019.

Dozens of residents have showed up to meetings over the past few weeks, many passionately arguing in favor of and against the override. The arguments splintered off into whether the vote itself should be allowed, with some opposing a vote on a hefty override put forth by a mayor who was not elected to her office.

"Say what you will about the mayor," Alderman Shawn MacMaster said of Infurna, who has said she will not seek reelection. "But she is the mayor. And the fiscal health of the city is a chief priority."

In the end, the special election was approved by a 10-1 vote. The dissenting vote came from Alderman Monica Medeiros.

"We have a good quality city here and it's worth investing in," Alderman Peter Mortimer said at the end of a long night.

>>>Read: Melrose's Tenuous Financial Position At Center Of Override Talks

Melrose School Enrollment Continues To Balloon

The override would total $5.18 million, including:

• $1.905 million for adding teaching and school staff positions;
• $1.850 million for increasing salaries for Melrose Public School employees;
• $750,000 to eliminate the funding shortfall created by permanent reductions in state funding;
• $675,000 for classroom space and infrastructure.

Infurna said the override would cost $554 per year in additional property taxes for the average Melrose single-family residence with an assessed value of $538,000.

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Photos by Mike Carraggi, Patch