Exterior of Melrose High School building with trees and parking lot in front, blue sky background.

Melrose Operating Budget is up 36%

Free Cash is almost 6 Million. The city is adequately funded.

Melrose continues to easily maintain a AA+ bond rating from Standard and Poor.

“We can all be proud that the latest S&P review of our city’s bond rating returned another favorable result, helping us keep borrowing costs low and giving Melrose the best possible financial position,” said Mayor Jen Grigoraitis

https://www.cityofmelrose.org/home/news/sp-affirms-city%E2%80%99s-aa-bond-rating

A table titled 'Division of Local Services' showing Melrose's municipal finance data from 2018 to 2025, including fiscal year, date certified, certified free cash, operating budget, and free cash as a percentage of the budget. Text below highlights that Melrose's operating budget has increased by over 36% in five years and discusses the impact of rising home values, city re-evaluation schedules, and surplus funds for schools and city needs.

Melrose Needs Solutions — Not Just More Taxes

We hear the concerns of our neighbors who support the override. We all want strong schools, safe streets, and thriving city services. But we believe the path forward requires more than simply raising taxes. Here's why:

We Have a Spending Problem, Not Just a Revenue Problem

The city’s budget has grown significantly over the past decade — yet we're still facing cuts. Why? Because spending has outpaced sustainable revenue. Before asking residents for more money, city leadership must:

  • Provide a detailed, transparent account of where current funds are going.

  • Justify past financial decisions, including new hires, raises, and capital projects.

  • ·Work with other communities to create regional services as is typically done in other states to keep cost down.

  • Commit to long-term financial planning — not short-term bailouts.

Overrides Are a Short-Term Fix

This year’s $9, 11, and 13 million ask. Next year, it could be more. Overrides are permanent tax increases, but the problems they claim to solve are recurring. If we vote "Yes" today, what’s stopping the next override in two years?

This Hurts Working Families and Seniors

The override proposal increases property taxes by hundreds of dollars per household per year — on top of recent hikes for trash fees and debt exclusions (like the $900/year for public safety buildings). Many residents, especially seniors on fixed incomes and families struggling with inflation, simply can’t afford more.

We Want a Better Plan

"No Override" does not mean "no investment." It means:

  • Prioritize essential services over non-critical spending.

  • Demand fiscal accountability and smarter use of existing funds.

  • Explore new revenue sources (grants, development partnerships, shared services) before turning to taxpayers.

We Love Melrose Too

This isn’t about partisanship — it’s about responsibility. We believe Melrose can thrive without continually increasing the burden on taxpayers. Let’s press pause and work together on a more sustainable solution.

Bar chart showing the City of Melrose Chapter 70 Aid from FY19 to FY26, with increasing aid amounts each fiscal year, reaching nearly $13 million in FY26, and a highlighted note indicating the city received $305,000 more last year in Chapter 70 funding than originally projected. Text below the chart celebrates a 52.57% increase in aid over five years.

Melrose Chapter 70 (education) funding has increased by over 50% in 5 years!

Yet even this is not enough. No matter how much the city receives it will never be enough, until we insist on financial responsibility!

Vote No, 3 times!

We are told that other cities pay, more per pupil. Yet others like our neighbor Saugus pay millions to bus their students within their city, in grades K-12. Melrose does not, more of our per pupil spending goes directly to education.

Table showing Melrose's rank of 108 out of 351 cities and towns in taxes per household, with data on fiscal year 2025, including single-family values, parcels, average values, tax bills, DOR income, and tax bill percentage of income.

Melrose ranks 108 of 351 communities in percentage of household income paid to city taxes in Massachusetts.