Why does Melrose need a tax override now?
This override is a vote between two futures:
Do we want to be a thriving community?
Or a declining town struggling to provide basic services?
Because of Proposition 2 1/2, city revenues can’t keep up with rising costs.
Since 1982, Proposition 2 ½ caps property tax increases at 2.5% per year
Since 1990, 303 Massachusetts municipalities have passed 1,899 override measures to maintain adequate funding (avg. 6.3 per municipality)
Since 1990, Melrose has passed only 2 overrides
Melrose Budget Shortfall FY26
Yes for adequate revenue.
Melrose already runs a lean budget.
Melrose’s per-pupil & per-capita spending is among the lowest in the state.
92% of school districts in Massachusetts spend more per pupil than Melrose
73% of cities in Massachusetts spend more per person than Melrose
This crisis is not due to over-spending.
Yes for Melrose pride.
Melrose is dependent on property tax.
The only way to significantly impact city revenue is to increase property tax.
91% of Melrose’s tax revenue comes from residential property taxes
With only 4.76 square miles of mostly residential real estate, Melrose’s potential for new business growth is limited
Melrose’s average single-family tax bill is lower than all peer communities with a comparable or lower commercial tax base
Data from Division of Local Services for residential vs. commercial tax levy and average residential tax bill.
Yes for Melrose’s future.
Melrose is cutting services year after year to balance the budget—but the city has reached a breaking point.
Chronic underfunding has a price.
Cuts proposed for
Fiscal Year 2026
Because the 2024 override did not pass, residents will see deep cuts this year—in addition to those that have already happened.
City Cuts
Eliminate 21 additional positions across public works, fire, police, and city hall departments and the library
Eliminate city funding of Milano center staff, senior service van drivers, and public health specialist
Eliminate Sunday library hours
Reduce Saturdays city yard is open & require residents to purchase sticker to access
Reduce or eliminate trash barrels at public parks & seasonal Sunday trash pick-up for city barrels
Reduce roadway line painting, road sign replacements, sidewalk repairs, and field maintenance budgets
Cuts to Memorial Hall custodial staff, city commissions, and Mayor’s outreach budget
School Cuts
Eliminate over 30 additional teacher and administrative positions.
Increased class sizes at all levels
Shared principal between middle school and high school
Elimination of successful team model at MVMMS
Increased fees for extracurriculars
Cuts taking effect July 1, 2025. Cited from melrosecity.org article “Mayor Presents FY26 Budget.”
When the city cannot accept free flowers from the Chamber of Commerce because we do not have the DPW resources to water them—we have a problem.
Yes for a thriving Main Street.
Melrose Mayor Jen Grigoraitis on proposed budget for FY26:
“This is a survival budget – it is balanced, but it is not moving us forward; at best, we are treading water and trying to keep from being submerged.”
Cuts made for Fiscal Year 2025
Melrose already faced painful cuts last year, which is why the city brought an override to vote in 2024.
Unfortunately, the override did not pass.
City Cuts
Sustainability Manager, Economic Development Director, and Social Services Coordinator positions eliminated
5% reduction to Police, Fire and Public Works overtime budgets
Salary freezes for over 60 non-union City employees (including no cost-of-living increases)
No investment in climate resiliency and extreme weather mitigation, including replacement trees, EV charging infrastructure, and storm drain management
No funding for IT systems improvements, such as cybersecurity or Wi-Fi upgrades
Eliminated the Mayor’s community events budget to support citywide events and activities
School Cuts
13 Melrose Public Schools full-time employees laid off
26 unfilled positions eliminated including teacher, paraprofessional, and special education positions district-wide
25 Melrose Public Schools administrators, teachers and paraprofessionals transferred from current roles (which will not be refilled) to meet needs at Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School
Reduced substitute teacher coverage across all grade levels
No regular education paraprofessionals in kindergarten classrooms
Reduced offerings for Advanced Placement courses at the high school
Reduced materials in all content areas at the Middle and High Schools
No funding for Melrose Public Schools student Chromebook repair or replacement
Cuts took effect July 1, 2024. Cited from cityofmelrose.org article, “City Council Unanimously Passes Mayor’s Balanced Budget for FY25.”
Yes for thriving schools.
We have the power to stop future cuts.
Lawmakers anticipated 2.5% increases would not always be sufficient to maintain city services. So Prop 2 1/2 gives voters the power to override the cap as needed.
By voting yes, we can fix our revenue crisis so Melrose remains a community we’re proud of —where residents of all ages can thrive.