To the editor:
Last year, Marblehead passed a debt exclusion override for the high school roof and HVAC project, after it languished for years. I am extremely grateful.
I also feel frustrated. Time and again, we pass debt exclusion overrides to take care of buildings. This project is finally beginning, yet the roof was known to be leaking in 2019. We aren’t saving any money to ensure proactive maintenance to maintain anything.
As the debt exclusions fall off, that portion of taxes will be reduced. There are quite a few individuals and sites who are putting out information that’s confusing and appears to be misleading. We have easily accessible information directly from our leaders to help us all cast educated votes at Town Meeting and at the ballot box. I urge everyone to attend Town Meeting on May 4 at MHS, and to watch recorded select board meetings on MHTV at vimeo.com/marbleheadtv.
Citizens have repeatedly said, “I will vote for a debt exclusion override but not a general override.” Much smaller general overrides were voted down in 2022 (schools) and 2023 (schools and town). We vote to restore buildings but never for the salaries of the people who work in them. Debt exclusion overrides cannot cover salaries and benefits.
Infrastructure sits underutilized and unused. Our roads are in rough shape because it’s extremely expensive to pave them. The DPW and Recreation and Parks have restructured to save money but are still losing staff this round. The schools are losing their school resource officer because the police are losing a position. The library is most likely being decertified and hours cut by more than half. Schools are cutting 22 positions.
Technology refreshes in the Finance Department are being put on hold. The town is utilizing inspectors from the Building Department to do maintenance instead of inspections. The director of community development is being eliminated. (My dad held the director job for over a decade in a different town — he brought in grant after grant.) The Board of Health was going to increase funding to the Marblehead Counseling Center to $120,000, but that was cut back to $60,000 last year. Two custodians are being cut from the Mary Alley building and Abbot Hall. This is all so sad.
Benefits and salaries are worth the peace of mind that our power will be restored in a storm, our children properly educated, a library for all, support for our seniors, mental health accessibility, safe roads and many other services.
I know it’s expensive for people on fixed incomes. There are avenues for relief that might help.
The town pulled the curbside trash and recycling pickup out of the base tax levy to save many municipal jobs. That can only be done once. How many jobs and services will be on the chopping block next January? If an override doesn’t pass, what else will be lost when costs rise again? We have to think of the future. What do we want for Marblehead?
Samantha Rosato
Martin Terrace
