We all hear that Melrose needs to increase it’s taxes because other cities have higher taxes. That’s not a clear comparision because other cities like our neighbor Wakefield don’t have a separate fee for Trash and recycling, it’s included in their taxes. This helps account for why their taxes are higher than Melrose.

We hear that other cities spend more per pupil. What you don’t hear is that millions of that goes to bussing students within their own city. Saugus buses many of it’s students in grades K-12 for traffic safety concerns.

Melrose households already face one of the highest tax burdens in Massachusetts, ranking 108th out of 351 municipalities (top 31%) per the MA Department of Revenue. Melrose residents are already paying higher city taxes than the vast majority of Massachusetts households.