(FROM LOCAL PRESS)
Taxpayers’ Alliance Forms to Fight Override
A group of Melrose taxpayers has formed an official committee to fight the mayor’s proposed $2.25 million Proposition 2½ override initiative on the ballot this November.
The group will be led by Brian and Julie DeLillo. Frustrated by the continuous increases in utility bills and taxes in the city, the couple founded the committee to serve as a watchdog and speak out for the overburdened taxpayers.
Brian DeLillo, who is chairing the committee, says the Melrose Taxpayers’ Alliance will give a voice to the households who will be on the hook for the increased tax bills. “This November is the one chance the citizens of Melrose have to tell the city that enough is enough,” said DeLillo.
“The school budget has been very generously funded. We’ve added five new positions this year, and the Board of Aldermen never hesitates to make additional investments in our infrastructure. This year alone, we’ve taken on over $6 million in new debt for construction and improvements to the schools -- all by unanimous votes.”
This is one of the reasons, they say, an additional $2.25 million right now is just too much to ask of already overburdened residents. In Fiscal Year 2016, Melrose has already hit homeowners with a 6% increase in water and sewer rates and the legally allowable maximum tax increase of 2½%. If the override passes, the average quarterly tax bill this January will go up another $120, and that amount will also be subject to a 2½% increase each year in perpetuity, without additional voting or public discussion.
Chairman Brian DeLillo contends talk of what the override will do has been greatly exaggerated. “Although we are told the tax increase will sustain the city ‘for decades to come,’ the proposal adds not a single dollar for roads, teacher contracts, school supplies or building maintenance.”
When the Aldermen voted to place the question on the ballot, the city solicitor emphasized that it was not appropriate to debate the merits of the question itself at that time.
“Well, now the time has come to speak out, and we urge Melrose join us and vote ‘NO’ to this burdensome and presumptive tax increase,” said Chairman DeLillo.
After falling in love with the city years ago when they lived here with young children, the DeLillos moved back to Melrose in 2010. They love working on the beautiful Victorian they purchased as their “forever home,” running, gardening, spending time with grandchildren, and participating in the lively Melrose community.
In past Melrose override debates, a Melrose Taxpayers’ Alliance served as an unofficial voice for the community’s concerns about affordability. This next generation group, formed as an official political committee, has chosen to continue the name as a tribute to the great legacy that has helped build the Melrose we have today.
The Melrose Taxpayers’ Alliance can be found online at www.MelroseTaxpayers.org, or reached by phone at (781) 462 - 1108.
Come on, folks! They need this extra money for the lawyer fees to fight those nasty civil rights violations pending against the school department. And of course our Mayor need to replenish his slush funds that the school department has been draining away.