The Finance Committee voted on recommendations for 52 warrant articles on April 7, approving most while opposing several citizens’ petitions and deferring action on others until later this month.
During the nearly five-hour session at Abbot Hall, the committee, chaired by Alec Goolsby, endorsed the town’s $119.5 million balanced budget for fiscal year 2026 along with numerous capital and operational expenditures.
“We’ve spent continuous hours for the last six months reviewing these numbers. We balance. It’s great. It was a great process,” Goolsby said while presenting the town’s financial position. “These are all just concepts to think about as we enter next year.”
Articles recommended for adoption
The committee overwhelmingly supported most financial articles, including the town’s operating budget of $119,479,004 (Article 22), which Goolsby explained is comprised of “51% for the schools, about 25% for town side operating departments and then 23% for general government, which includes things like health insurance, retirement pensions, the town insurance itself.”
Several capital expenditures received favorable recommendations, including $301,741 from free cash for equipment purchases (Article 6), $491,218 for lease-purchase agreements (Article 7) and $1,236,958 for capital improvements to public buildings (Article 8). Those projects will not impact residents’ tax bills.
Town Administrator Thatcher Kezer detailed plans for Mary Alley Municipal Building renovations included in Article 8: “One of the Mary Alley projects in particular is the lower room area where you’re normally meeting, is to turn that into a legitimate public meeting space for any boards, committees, anybody who needs the public meeting space.”
Standard annual articles receiving support included $50,000 for walls and fences (Article 9), $400,000 for stormwater construction (Article 10) and water and sewer construction funds totaling $2,835,000 from retained earnings (Article 11).
The committee backed 2% cost of living adjustments for administrative positions, traffic supervisors and seasonal personnel (Articles 12-14) and set the town clerk’s annual salary at $93,048 (Article 15).
School-related expenditures winning approval included $627,323 for Essex North Shore Agricultural and Technical School District (Article 17) and $8,610,602 for a debt-exclusion override of the high school roof and HVAC system replacement (Article 34).
The committee also supported appropriating $7,360,000 from available funds to reduce the tax rate (Article 18), adopting the “Prudent Investor Rule” for town trust funds (Article 26), transferring $2 million to the General Stabilization Fund (Article 27) and establishing a means-tested senior citizen property tax exemption program (Article 28).
Other supported measures included veteran tax exemption increases (Articles 29-30), transfer of the Coffin School for reuse (Article 31), transfer of Gerry School Playground to Recreation and Park Commission (Article 32) and amending a previous allocation for fire station improvements (Article 35).
The committee endorsed increasing fines for snow emergency parking violations (Article 44) and approved transferring funds from cemetery perpetual care and sale of lots trust funds for capital needs, maintenance and operations (Articles 42-43).
After a 90-minute discussion, the committee voted 8-1 to recommend adoption of Article 23, the MBTA Multi-Family Overlay District, citing potential legal costs and grant funding that could be jeopardized if the town fails to comply with the state mandate.
Articles recommended for opposition
The committee opposed several citizen petition articles, including Article 46 requesting $100,000 for an independent town audit, noting that annual audits are already legally required.
The committee also voted against Article 47 to eliminate the sustainability coordinator position and Article 48 regarding departmental head residency requirements.
Director of Community Development Brendan Callahan defended the sustainability coordinator position during public comment: “Logan (Casey) has been critical incorporating energy efficiency technologies and multiple different town projects. He’s assisted on the ADA compliant on 88 compliant projects. He’s helped create environmental sustainability guidelines.”
No recommendation or postponed articles
The committee made no recommendation on articles without financial implications, including Article 24 regarding accessory dwelling units, Article 25 concerning floodplain districts and Articles 49-52 addressing various town meeting procedures.
Articles 19, 20 and 21 regarding collective bargaining agreements for police and fire departments and Marblehead Municipal Employees Union were postponed until the April 28 follow-up meeting as negotiations remain ongoing.
The committee also deferred action on Article 33 regarding Mary Alley Building HVAC system until the April 28 meeting.
Finance Director Aleesha Nunley Benjamin and DPW Superintendent Amy McHugh provided detailed explanations of various infrastructure needs throughout the meeting.
“We have over 100 miles of water main, and we have around 48% that is cast iron unlined pipe,” McHugh said regarding water department needs. “We are under an administrative order to get our infiltration and inflow out. That is to spend a million dollars on lining … We’re supposed to get it done in 10 years.”
With Town Meeting scheduled for May 5, the Finance Committee will meet once more to complete its review of remaining articles and finalize recommendations.
