Would You Support A Melrose Override?

There were more than 1,400 words in Mayor Gail Infurn's FY2019 Budget Speech during Monday night's joint meeting of the Board of Alderman and the School Committee. Twice she uttered what may be the biggest buzzword in Melrose over the next several months.

Override. It's behind the break-in-case-of-emergency glass in many Massachusetts municipalities. An override vote allows a municipality to increase property taxes by more than the 2.5 percent limited by law. Essentially, Melrose needs more revenue in order to keep up with rising costs - particularly in the school department after a painful budget process this year.

"It is my opinion that if the citizens of Melrose do not approve an override in the near future, we will have to start making very painful cuts that will change the quality of life as we know it here in Melrose," Infurna said in her speech. "We must increase our tax base so that we can maintain the fiscal stability of the city, including our bond rating; continue to keep our infrastructure and buildings in good repair; and better prepare the students in the Melrose Public Schools for the future."

>>>Read Infurna's full speech here.

The support for an override in Melrose Facebook groups and among the folks this reporter has talked to appears to outweigh the opposition. But even those in favor concede that the city must do a better job than the last attempt in educating the public and specifying how the extra revenue would be put to use.

So speak up: Without knowing the specifics yet, if there was an override option on the fall ballot, would you vote for it? Why or why not? Send your thoughts to mike.carraggi@patch.com or sign up here to create a free account and post directly to your neighbors.

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Read more:

• Melrose School Budget Tighter Than We Thought?
• Melrose Schools Budget Passed, But Still Needs $660K
• Melrose's Kindergarten Crisis: Where To Put The Extra Classes?

Photo by Mike Carraggi