Erin Noonan
Incumbent with five years on Select Board, attorney
Do you support the June 9 override and, if yes, which tier?
I will be voting “yes” on Questions 1, 2 and 3 because I support Question 3 — the $15M request spread over three years. I want to be clear that Question 3 is not a wish-list for a “Cadillac” version of town services. Rather, a “yes” on Question 3 simply restores the town to 2020 service levels, funding everything in Questions 1 and 2 plus additional investments in public safety, capital needs, schools and other town departments.
On public safety, Question 3 funds a total of three police officer positions and four firefighter positions. The four firefighter positions return the Marblehead Fire Department to its 2020 staffing levels and should have an impact on reducing overtime costs.
On the police side, the department currently has 31 officers — down from 32 prior to FY25, which was already the leanest department on the North Shore. Question 3 would bring the total to 33 officers, allowing us to strengthen patrol coverage and place greater focus on traffic safety, community engagement and quality-of-life issues.
Question 3 also restores a number of positions and programs that were cut in recent years. It brings back the DPW foreman and specialized heavy equipment operator position that was eliminated a few years ago. It restores the special education program for 18-22-year-olds that was cut during COVID. Returning this program keeps Marblehead students in Marblehead while creating the potential to generate tuition revenue from other communities. It also restores mental health funding for the Marblehead Counseling Center and returns curriculum and professional development funding to the school budget, both of which had been reduced in prior budget cycles.
Question 3 also dedicates $1.5 million to town and school capital needs covering building repairs, vehicle purchases or leases, and ongoing maintenance of town equipment. There are currently between $8 and $11 million in identified projects waiting on this funding, including the Jacobi Center sunroom and library renovation, an elevator for the Old Town House, improvements to the Chandler Hovey Park pavilion, replacement of aging school buses and rehabilitation of Castle Rock Park. These annual capital expenses were historically covered using free cash, but the town no longer has sufficient free cash reserves to continue doing that.
The only new position added in Question 3 that was not contained in prior budget years is the grant writer position. This position will help us secure outside funding and reduce reliance on property taxes. Taken together, Question 3 represents a responsible, measured path back to the service levels Marblehead residents deserve: nothing more, nothing less.
Aside from passing an override, do you have any ideas for reducing pressure on the town budget, either by raising revenue or reducing costs? If so, what are they?
I served on the Select Board in 2024 when we proposed, and Town Meeting adopted, a 0.75% local meals tax and a 6% local room occupancy tax to capture additional revenue. We looked at a comparative analysis of surrounding towns and found that Marblehead was one of the last communities to implement these taxes, and they have the potential to generate an additional $480,000 per year here. Additionally, please see my response below to the question on economic development.
The town could also realize meaningful new revenue by promoting responsible development in appropriate business areas. I support creating a smart-growth overlay zoning district under Chapter 40R, which requires that 20% of new housing be affordable and provides financial incentives from the state for participating municipalities. Done thoughtfully, this approach could diversify Marblehead’s revenue base, reduce pressure on property taxpayers over time and lead to greater economic vitality for our downtown businesses. We should also restore unused public property such as the Coffin School to the tax base.
This past year, I began speaking with elected officials from other boards to explore ways we might create efficiencies in our operating costs. Although still in the early stages, these conversations have revealed a strong willingness among elected leaders to collaborate on streamlining aspects of town operations and reducing expenses.
For example, several departments currently perform landscaping work across town, including Recreation and Parks, Cemetery, Highway and the Health Department at the Transfer Station. I am committed to continuing to work with colleagues and town department heads to explore how this responsibility might be better coordinated in terms of staffing and equipment.
What role should the Select Board play in economic development?
I served on the Select Board in 2024 when we proposed, and Town Meeting approved, the creation of the Community Development and Planning Department. The department was created to manage capital projects, secure and manage grants, establish long-range planning and policy initiatives, implement sustainability and climate resiliency programs, and support economic development and tourism.
In the past two years, this department has secured $1.9M in grants and is currently managing 35 active projects. In 2024, the CDPD secured a $130,000 grant from EOHLC’s Community Planning Grant Program to help update the town’s long-dormant master plan. Towns use master plans to provide the framework for future physical and economic development based on the community’s vision and goals. This will be an open and public process where we as a community get to decide the priorities for growth and development in the future.
What would you do differently, if anything, in your next term? Is there a decision you made that you would change? Noonan did not answer this question.
What’s your assessment of the degree of distrust of public officials in the town of Marblehead? If you agree that this is a problem, how would you combat it, if re-elected?
Despite the undue attention sometimes paid in news coverage to a small but vocal minority on social media, my experience is that the overwhelming majority of residents have confidence in their elected officials and the process. I point to the recent Town Meeting, where a unified group of town leaders presented a comprehensive general override proposal that received approximately 90% voter support as evidence of that trust.
Assuming the state gives its final approval to the town’s plan to comply with the MBTA Communities Act, how will you look back on this chapter in the town’s history? What lessons, if any, do you take from it?
I think David Modica’s now-viral statement at Town Meeting is the appropriate conclusion to this entire saga.
