On June 9, voters will get to decide the outcome of four override proposals. Here are some musings and perspectives. And 3A ain’t done and gone.
Let’s talk trash
The least discussed and consequently the least understood issue facing voters (and even some Town officials) are the options for funding curbside trash and recyclable pick-up. The two options are a “user fee” or a “trash override.” The service provided is the same, but there is a major cost difference. The annual user fee will be $290.76 per household, billed quarterly. The trash override is funded by a property tax rate adder. Property taxes will be increased by adding 23.5 cents per thousand of assessed property value, bundled in your quarterly property tax invoice. (Note: The trash override tax rates come from For Marblehead website based upon FY26 data.) A cost comparison of the two options is below:
The trash override is a progressive tax where high value properties subsidize service for lower value properties. The breakeven is only slightly above the median property value. Half of property owners would benefit from the override and half from the user fee. The trash user fee will be effective unless the trash override secures a majority of votes on June 9.
The other overrides – overs and unders
Unfortunately, the prediction markets such as Polymarket, Kashi and others are not covering Marblehead’s June 9 election and ballot questions. In these markets, bets can be made on nearly anything – politics, weather, economics and more. One of the more esoteric wagers currently active at Polymarket is “what is the next date Trump will dance.” Yes, shake a leg. There are already disputes over what is considered a dance. Marblehead simply harbors too few bettors for these markets.
If there is anything to learn from past Town Meetings (TM) and elections, it’s difficult to make predictions on very controversial issues. Take 3A as an example. At TM2024, 787 attendees, just 3% of registered voters, defeated the 3A plan by a margin of 3%. At TM2025, 1710 attendees, just 11% of registered voters, approved the 3A plan by a margin of 11%. In the following July’s special referendum, 6,391 voters, 38% of registered voters defeated the 3A plan again by a margin of 5%. That was a swing of 16%. Turnout was critical. The No 3A leaders did an amazing job of rallying their troops. The Yes 3A crowd was apathetic, perhaps smug from their TM victory.
At TM2026, 89% of the 1386 attendees, down 19% from 2025 and representing just 8% of registered voters, sent the three multi-tier, multi-year override questions to the ballot box on June 9. This does not imply any of the options will secure a majority vote. First, there is the complexity of the options and the voting rules. What is funded in each of the options? Can you vote for more than one option? Why should you vote for more than one option? What determines the winning option? What do the options cost me? The pro-override For Marblehead group has done an excellent job of answering these questions. But only you can decide what you can afford.
Now there is a late coming, less polished but hard charging anti-override group called Better Way Marblehead (BWM) led by the ringleaders of the No 3A crowd — John DiPiano, Sue McMacInnis. Their disciples congregate at the Facebook page Anything Marblehead 01945. Their mandate is for better management and cost control before pursuing overrides. Reaction to their specific plan, however, has been met with claims of “figures lie and liars figure” (my words) by the town finance director.
An MOU signed by Select Board, School Committee and FinCom promises not to introduce any additional overrides for three years if one of the override options is approved. This non-legally binding document financially boxes in the town unnecessarily. What if Question 1 – the $9M partial-restore-services option passes? The town doesn’t get to reconsider the additional funding needed for two more years? Or if there is a regime change in one of the three boards. Or if there are multi-million, unanticipated expenses or assessments like those envisioned by BWM coming from South Essex Sewer District.
Turnout will be key! Put your helmet on and buckle your chin strap as you go to vote. Nobody knows the outcome now.
3A — Recourse for the golf course
Sorry folks, it ain’t over. Speaking of predictions, in my January 7, 2026 column I wrote:
“Tedesco Country Club and 3A zoning proposal — creative but a blatantly obvious dodge. With their Harvard and Princeton degrees, our governor and AG are not country bumpkins that just fell off a pumpkin wagon. You can bet their staffs are working overtime to find grounds to disqualify Marblehead’s latest 3A proposal … Or perhaps they defer their decision to buy more time to disqualify Marblehead’s latest plan. Acceptance would be precedent setting … other towns would seek to amend their plan around a private country club.”
We know now that all 3A plan comments by the state have been preliminary, not final.
Perhaps our AG was pre-occupied with working behind the scenes to get her older brother out of jail for allegedly very bad behavior. In any case. It took David Modica’s YIMBY questioning at Town Meeting — “Are we kind of being pricks?” — to wake her up. How could she ignore the millions of Instagram and X views and subsequent coverage by the Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe and many other media outlets. On WBUR, the AG stated she will be determining “if there is any recourse we can take.” The Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities has not even started its final review of Marblehead’s plan.
Back-up plan? If the golf course didn’t work, how about the five yacht clubs? There should be no worry about setting precedents since no town has the number of yacht clubs like Marblehead. Oh yeah, I forgot one, the virtual CBYC – Cheap Bastards Yacht Club. Very appropriate. It could be our flagship overlay zoning district. Another idea is our Town-owned buildings. A redeveloped Abbott Hall would be perfect for multi-family housing – high on the hill in the heart of the Historic District. And the Old Town House — right on the MBTA bus route. A third plan might include some combination of Tower Way, MMLD, MHS, Veterans School, Brown, Glover, Eveleth and Coffin. With so many back-up plans we could keep the litigious AG’s office at bay for years to come.
James (Seamus) Hourihan was born in Marblehead and is a MHS graduate. For 35 years, he worked in finance, marketing and executive management roles at high-tech companies. He currently sits on the Town Charter Committee.
