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Re: VOTING NO IS EASY!

Like our taxpayers, our leaders need a panoramic view before they make decisions that affect individuals so significantly.

Re: VOTING NO IS EASY

I have been a teacher for almost 30 years- not in Melrose. The truth, as usual, is somewhere in between. I know and have known some teachers who go above and beyond every day. They come in early. They work late. They really differentiate curriculum for a wide range of learners. They do professional development at their own expense during the summer, start preparing for the school year at least a month ahead of time, etc. I also know and have known teachers who look at the job as a job. They come in and leave when the kids do, and don't think much about the job after school gets out. They work more than 182 days, but not much more. By the way, the former are not always better teachers, and the latter are not always worse. Different people have different levels of efficiency and skill.
Regardless, I make a great salary for the work I do. It fulfills me, because it is what I have always wanted to do, and I do it well. I have never felt underpaid or underappreciated, and that is not just because I work in a town that is not Melrose. The town where I work has never passed an override, or even tried to pass an override, to the best of my knowledge. Some contract negotiations have given us fairly large increases to salary (not recently, but in the past). At other times, the budget has been tight, and we have gotten nothing close to what was asked for. Neither outcome determines the quality of education we provide. It is simply crazy to think that teachers are purposely working below their capabilities, because they want to be paid more. Giving them more money doesn't improve their teaching. Teachers want to be good teachers, because it makes the job more enjoyable to know that kids are learning, and that you have created an environment that allows kids to take risks and improve. Or they don't want to put in the effort to do a good job, and more money is not going to change that.
By extension, more money is not going to make the school system run more efficiently. There is no indication that the administration has any idea how to manage money. Why would you want to give them more to mismanage? I know a lot of teachers in town, and of course, they want the override to pass, but when I have asked any of them how they think this override will actually improve the schools, they often reluctantly admit that the administration will probably mismanage whatever money they get their hands on. Melrose is not alone in that regard. The district where I work has great student outcomes, and a high teacher retention rate. Faculty and staff are generally happy, but most teachers would still tell you that the administration often wastes money, creates administrative positions that are unneeded, and introduces initiatives that add little to the quality of education. Parents are generally happy, but there are always going to be those who want more for their tax dollars, and I doubt that an override would ever be on the table.

Re: VOTING NO IS EASY

wow, well written and said. Something for us all to think about. I for one have had several years without raises and I'm putting two kids through college and another coming up. I worry that the water and sewer rate is going up again next month. and feel a second override is coming to fund renovations of library , memorial hall, the police and fire buildings, all needed but not being planned for, When does it stop. this should have been put off until we had an elected mayor with a long term plan. My family will be voting no in this election.

Re: VOTING NO IS EASY

Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't we told two years ago that those pods would solve the space problem for the next 5 to 10 years? Weren't we told at the same time that it would be too expensive to reopen the Beebe, yet supposedly that's exactly what's being planned right now? (Although I don't believe it.) Why aren't we considering closing the ECC and using the Franklin, a perfectly serviceable building? Stop catering to kids who aren't even in the system yet, or are we just catering to those parents to the point of creating an artificial space issue? Too many special interest groups making too many demands. Why on earth would we give them even more money to mismanage? Dumb. A prior poster has it right - giving them more money only invites more mismanagement. It's time they put on the big people pants and actually did the job we hired them to do. Enough already. Voting no.

Re: VOTING NO IS EASY

Weren't we told enrollment was going to explode this year? I think i read enrollment went up by 9 kids across the entire district. Don't believe any of the information being put out there about the city being broke, and enrollment exploding. Voting NO.

Re: VOTING NO IS EASY

Educated and informed voter.We do have.Just to get even basic information in order to make informed decisions on important votes. The voters will do April 2 2019. NO OR YES

Re: VOTING NO IS EASY!

Are we the only young family that worries about where will the extra money come from? Yes vote means more taxes. Sound like a likely increase in water and sewer bills. ECC tuition rising and will education station rates rise?

Re: VOTING NO IS EASY!

No you’re not and it makes me sick the way the yes crowd thinks everyone can just hand over more money monthly. There is a thread right now on uncensored bashing the no crowd asking why help everyone else when you can help yourselves. Yes why spend money on your family when you can spend it on everyone elses’’? Not every middle class homeowner in melrose can afford a tax increase! Listen the schools haven’t changed in umpteen years and even if cuts are made kids will learn, kids will graduate and kids will go to college. It’s up to families to make sure of that. No matter how good or bad the schools are if you want your child to have an education and go to college then it’s up to you to make sure it happens.

Re: VOTING NO IS EASY!

Is there anyone else who is afraid of the ethical standards of the so-called leaders? Who does the ballot counting and who is there to witness it?

Re: VOTING NO IS EASY!

Worried
Is there anyone else who is afraid of the ethical standards of the so-called leaders? Who does the ballot counting and who is there to witness it?
I wouldn't vote NO with an absentee ballot. City Hall wants this override so I wouldn't trust them when no one is looking. Some may think that I'm paranoid but I have lived here a long time.

Re: VOTING NO IS EASY!

Not gonna lie! Was worried about the absentee ballots myself. There is definitely no one who can stop the person opening them from chucking it. Plus they can see who votes no on them.

Re: VOTING NO IS EASY!

To the No voters. Don’t be discouraged by all the yes signs around town especially in front of the million dollar homes where I’m sure a couple thousand extra a year is chump change. All we saw last override vote was yes signs and it was defeated. So get out and make your vote matter.

Re: VOTING NO IS EASY!

Come On, Man
The fact that you think so little of our community makes me sad, regardless of the outcome. I don't understand how you could possibly come to hate your local government this much.


What I can't understand is how you can't understand. Where have you been for the last fifteen years? Asleep?

Re: VOTING NO IS EASY!

There is no hate. But these city officials need to go. They just want to line their own pockets with our money. How about the water bills?? How do you think those ridiculous fees came to be, that surely was not on the up & up?? If there is a surplus of money in that account why not lower the fees?!! But be rest assured they are waiting for this override to fail so they can once again raise our water bills probably would have been raised even if it passed. That’s how much I trust them.. Can’t wait to vote NO!! I agree with above posters I wouldn’t trust hem with an absentee ballot if my life depended on it...

Re: VOTING NO IS EASY!

Skippy, there is one NO sign on Larchmont, I believe at the same house as before the last attempted override!

Re: VOTING NO IS EASY!

My distrust and disgust traces exactly back to a ballot. One ballot. I was there on the night of Dolan's first election, when the margin was a single ballot. There was one additional ballot that came back not properly locked in the boxes used to transport them to City Hall. The Dolan camp, especially Peter Dolan, went absolutely berserk, to the point where he had to be threatened with arrest by the MPD Sergeant on duty at the election office to shut him up. The abuse that they heaped on the then election commissioner was a disgrace. The Police Chief then quite properly called in the State Police to guard the ballots, rightly removing the Melrose PD from being caught in the middle. The irony was that the ballot improperly returned was a blank.

That was the beginning of Dolan's hatred of the then Chief, and by extension the entire PD, and ultimately led to the Chief's being let go. I knew right then and there that Melrose had just fundamentally changed, and as it turned out, I was right. The rest is documented history, with a list of outrageous behavior and actions that just goes on and on and on, and continues to this day. Everett politics came to Melrose that day, with all it's vicious nastiness. The man is a punk, plain and simple, and he set the standard and the stage for the bad behavior you see today, especially from a great many members of the yes group. He not only engaged in it, he encouraged it. Melrose, for all it's faults, was not like that before then, and seeing what's transpired since then really pi$$es me off.

Re: VOTING NO IS EASY!

Come On, Man
Seriously?
My distrust and disgust traces exactly back to a ballot. One ballot. I was there on the night of Dolan\'s first election, when the margin was a single ballot. There was one additional ballot that came back not properly locked in the boxes used to transport them to City Hall. The Dolan camp, especially Peter Dolan, went absolutely berserk, to the point where he had to be threatened with arrest by the MPD Sergeant on duty at the election office to shut him up. The abuse that they heaped on the then election commissioner was a disgrace. The Police Chief then quite properly called in the State Police to guard the ballots, rightly removing the Melrose PD from being caught in the middle. The irony was that the ballot improperly returned was a blank.

That was the beginning of Dolan\'s hatred of the then Chief, and by extension the entire PD, and ultimately led to the Chief\'s being let go. I knew right then and there that Melrose had just fundamentally changed, and as it turned out, I was right. The rest is documented history, with a list of outrageous behavior and actions that just goes on and on and on, and continues to this day. Everett politics came to Melrose that day, with all it\'s vicious nastiness. The man is a punk, plain and simple, and he set the standard and the stage for the bad behavior you see today, especially from a great many members of the yes group. He not only engaged in it, he encouraged it. Melrose, for all it\'s faults, was not like that before then, and seeing what\'s transpired since then really pi$$es me off.
I'm confused. You think that the government might fraudulently manipulate absentee ballots next week because 20 odd years ago or whatever it was, someone got mad that a blank ballot was improperly handled?
Makes sense to me. It was Dolan 20 years ago and its all still Dolanites now. He was and always will be a big baby who is looking out for #1. It was he who got this city to this point. I"m sure his Dolanites will do anything to help him not look bad. Don't trust any of them. Vote No

Re: VOTING NO IS EASY!

Once trust is gone, it has to be re-earned. So far, nothing I have seen gives me reason to trust. Do I think someone might go so far as to conspire to throw out votes or falsify the results? Not really, but it's not outside the realm of possibility. We've seen it happen recently in NC and Fla, haven't we? If you do believe that tampering with absentee ballots might be a possibility, show up on April 2d and vote in person.

Re: VOTING NO IS EASY!

Come On, Man has quite a bit of free time on his hands.

Re: VOTING NO IS EASY!

I'll try one more time, and then call it quits. I cited the ballot story as a way to point out what I think of as the day Melrose began to change to what it has become. It isn't that one individual had a hissy fit over a ballot. It's the day that the Dolan administration set the tone for all the backbiting, denigration, insults, nastiness, viciousness and dishonesty that has seemed to rule to this day. It manifests itself in it's latest iteration in the behavior of some, not all, yes supporters, who paint you as an enemy if you disagree, call you a hater, call you stupid, saying you're hurting the kids, and on and on and on. That's right out of the Dolan playbook. It's basically the same bunch, albeit less up front and more behind the scenes driving this one. McAndrew, for instance - she told so many outright lies the last time she made Pinnochio look like he was on truth serum, and she's neck deep in this one too. She's a weasel. McLaughlin - the guy who steamrolled Dolan's raise, threatening retribution against anyone who disagreed - I wouldn't trust that guy as far as I could throw him, which isn't far. It's not that I don't want to support the schools. It's that I just don't believe that we're being told the truth - again - and I don't trust the administration, from Taymore on down, to wisely manage anything, let alone another 5.18 million. You don't strike me as dumb, and I don't believe you don't know exactly what I'm talking about.

Re: VOTING NO IS EASY!

Poster Seriously? gets it. All of it.

Back to the absentee ballots, you are asking someone who stands to gain if the override passes, to watch over the ballots and people are human. I wouldn't want my ballot to get thrown away or peeked at in the office before election day.

Better to vote in person. Vote NO on APRIL 2nd.

Re: VOTING NO IS EASY!

Here's some food for thought. The links are available in two posts in the Alderman & City Politics category.

According to the website ClearGov:

Melrose spends 62% more on General Government Spending than similar communities.

Melrose spends 38% more on Benefits and Withholding than similar communities.

Melrose spends 65% more on Sewer than similar communities.

Melrose spends 213% more on School Debt NOT Related to Buildings than similar communities.

That's not just mismanagement. That's malfeasance.

Are you listening, Come On, Man?

Re: VOTING NO IS EASY!

Seriously?
Here's some food for thought. The links are available in two posts in the Alderman & City Politics category.

According to the website ClearGov:

Melrose spends 62% more on General Government Spending than similar communities.

Melrose spends 38% more on Benefits and Withholdingthan similar communities.

Melrose spends 65% more on Sewer than similar communities.

Melrose spends 213% more on School Debt NOT Related to Buildings than similar communities.

That's not just mismanagement. That's malfeasance.

Are you listening, Come On, Man?

So, what do you say BOA 9 Sychopants ? Loved the picture of “One Melrose” elected “leaders” lecturing people who struggle to pay their bills that they need to invest in the futue. VOTING NO.

Re: VOTING NO IS EASY!

Knock it off, troll. Idiot.

Re: VOTING NO IS EASY!

Who cares? Trolling is the bottom of the barell.

Re: VOTING NO IS EASY!

Ethics failure 101
Me Too
I\'d like better than mediocre too. At least good, and preferably excellent. They were that when I went there.

Unfortunately, throwing more money at isn\'t going to accomplish anything but actually perpetuating or even exacerbating the problem. The same people will be controlling that money, fostering the same sort of environment and making the same sort of decisions that have caused the problem in the first place. Nothing will change. I\'d be happy to give them the money if I felt it as going to be used properly, and most have finally begun to realize that\'s never going to happen with these people in charge.

These people have to go. The only chance the schools have is to force these people out, and denying them any more money is only the first step in a process that simply has to happen if we have even a glimmer of hope of doing that. Sometimes you just have to concede that you need to start over from scratch. We need to take our system back, not allow them to become even further entrenched. I know you understand that, even if you\'re not willing to admit it.

What\'s the definition of stupid? Isn\'t it doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result?
You are right. The same school administrators will continue of make a mess of things if you give them more money. Unfortunately, you have a school committee, that enables the current superintendent by offering curiously glowing reviews year after year even as our city was the subject of multiple Civil Rights investigations with major findings that resulted in hundreds and thousands of tax dollars being spent on attorneys, settlements, public relations firms and civil rights training in order to meet the requirements of the Dept of Civil Rights settlement agreement. Does hitting the front pages of regional and national newspapers for civil rights violations and squandering the school budget covering your backside qualify for a glowing review? Most towns would have summarily fired such a superintendent. There is something quite wrong in Melrose. Those currently in power enable and even reward unethical behavior and conversely, attack those who attempt to route out bad behavior to keep our city on moral and ethical high ground. I have not figured out why but suspect that those in power agree to tolerate each other's unethical behavior and to not rat each other out.
Medeiros: Taxpayers need unobstructed view

from the M Free Press:

Opinion: Medeiros: Taxpayers need unobstructed view
Posted at 12:40 PM Updated at 12:41 PM

Submitted by Alderman Monica Medeiros.

Last November, I, as an Alderman, voted against moving the Mayor’s proposed $5.18 million tax override question forward. I felt the city had not been thorough enough in evaluating our financial picture, nor in considering the effects of adding these millions of dollars of new spending.

In preparing for this vote, I learned that our city had much bigger problems than I had suspected. Namely that the executives in our city government have failed to do any long term evaluation of our financial outlook.

I felt it critical to have a full understanding of the financial assumptions the city was making before I could vote to pass such a hefty burden on to seniors and families.

After asking Mayor Infurna for copies of any long range budget forecasts that had been prepared and used by the City of Melrose over the last five years, I was forced to appeal to the Secretary of State’s office for this information only to learn that no such documents exist.

The Mayor’s office directed me to a tool on our city website, “Visual Budget.” In the Aldermen meeting, I asked our CFO & Auditor Patrick Dello Russo if this was the tool he was using to make our predictions in terms of revenues and expenditures. His reply? “We don’t make predictions. This is not a magic show.”

Try as I might, I could not seem to match the “Visual Budget” figures to the actual budgets I had voted on. Days later, Kerriann Golden, our Assistant Auditor confirmed, “The last actual figures reflected are Fiscal 2016,” -- two full fiscal years behind.

The outdated “Visual Budget” data was not only a waste of thousands of taxpayer dollars spent on this service, but also so inaccurate that it was actually misleading to the public. Most importantly, it could not have been being used as an accurate tool for evaluating our city’s financial outlook by anyone including our city executives.

Melrose is at a crossroads. Real estate prices have skyrocketed to an all-time high. Many new families have chosen Melrose for its great schools, beautiful downtown and its relative affordability.

Conversely, many of our families, seniors and one-income households are struggling. Recently, a Melrose Housing Authority Commissioner testified at our meeting that the waitlist for housing of Melrose families, seniors, Veterans and the handicap is in the thousands.

Sadly, I hear from residents who are told if they can’t afford this increase, they should move along. But where will they go? After paying their taxes for years, volunteering in our community, donating to all kinds of causes, including our schools, they are told they haven’t paid their “fair share” and should move along. I can think of little that is so cruel.

Even for those of us who are working, many of us are only one lockout or government shutdown away from being in financial peril.

But regardless of income, every taxpayer deserves good fiscal management.

As an Alderman-at-Large, my job is to consider the big picture ramifications of our decisions, especially when it comes to spending and taxation. When it comes to the big picture, the taxpayers deserve an unobstructed view.

If our leaders are not looking forward to ensure we can sustain the costs associated with the hiring of nearly 30 new positions and school department raises (not teachers only) of nearly $2 million included in this proposal, every one of these positions is at risk.

Before final decisions are made, the voters also need to know that large expenditures are waiting in the wings. What’s not included in this override, may be most significant.

This proposed tax increase includes no money for any other city department other than the schools. Although $250,000 is included in the override for the loss of rent from Beebe School, no plan exists to bring this building back online and fund the staff, renovation nor utility costs. As we make room for some Melrose students, we will disrupt the lives of the 30 or so Melrose special needs children who currently attend the SEEM Collaborative who will be uprooted and bussed to a new school outside our city limits.

Plans are in the works for the rebuilding or repair of the police and fire stations, and renovations of the library. Whether or not this question passes, each of these is expected to be presented to the voters in the form of an increase above the Prop 2 ½ limit.

Like our taxpayers, our leaders need a panoramic view before they make decisions that affect individuals so significantly. Financial forecasting in budgeting has been considered a best practice for more than a decade. Melrose can do better. Before any tax increase is considered, our taxpayers deserve an objective analysis of our financial picture and an independent audit of our books.

Demand accountability. Vote NO.