Marblehead voters head to the polls on June 20 to approve or reject a $2.5 million permanent override and elect many town leaders. It has been 18 years since Marblehead has approved a general override.
Launching today within its comprehensive Election Guide, the Marblehead Current is including an override calculator which allows residents to input their property’s estimated value and learn their additional tax burden should the override be approved.
The calculator, created by Marblehead resident and web developer Ed Lewis, shows additional taxes for year one, and also quarterly within that year. Unlike a debt-exclusion (temporary) override, which comes off the rolls once a building or project is paid for, a general override becomes a permanent part of the tax base. This means the town would be allowed to increase the tax levy by 2.5 percent above a new, larger number in subsequent years. In the override calculator, residents can also learn how approval of the override could affect their tax bill as far as 10 years into the future.
The Election Guide also features deep background on the override question and information on races for Select Board, School Committee, Board of Health, Recreation and Parks Commission, Light Commission and Abbot Public Library Board of Trustees, including news articles, candidate Q&As and statements, editorials and letters to the editors, plus clips of the League of Women Voters of Marblehead’s candidate’s forum, courtesy of Marblehead TV.
Editor Leigh Blander is an experienced TV, radio and print journalist.