MELROSE — One of the most austere municipal spending packages in recent memory was submitted to the City Council this week by Mayor Jen Grigoraitis, who told a joint meeting of the council and the School Committee she is hardly proud of it but there’s not much financial firepower left at her disposal.
While the total of $107,575,802 for fiscal year 2026 may sound like a lot, Grigoraitis said Monday that in the year beginning July 1, Melrose will see 21 municipal positions eliminated across multiple departments. Adding the jobs cut in fiscal 2025, the city’s workforce will have been reduced by 10 percent over the past two years.
Those coming reductions include both unfilled vacancies and the wholesale elimination of positions: five positions in the Department of Public Works; two positions in the police department; one position at the Library, one position in the Solicitor’s Office; the Emergency Management Director; reduction of Veterans Services staff by 50 percent; and reductions to the Clerk and Elections staff positions.
“All of these cuts will come in addition to the difficult cuts we made last year for the FY 25 budget: the elimination of the City’s Sustainability Manager, Economic Development Director, and Social Services Coordinator. Deferred investment in our information technology capital needs. Cuts to Health Department, Veterans Services Department and Council on Aging programs. And the painful elimination of several teacher positions at our public schools,” the mayor said as she officially presented her budget plan to the City Council for its review.
Here are some more of the mayor’s remarks from this week:
“This is a survival budget – it is balanced, but it is not moving us forward; at best, we are treading water and trying to keep from being submerged. As rising costs outpace flattening revenues, I cannot say tonight that I am proud of this budget. Although many say that towns and cities like ours should ‘live within our means,’ I regret to reply that this kind of budget does reflect our limited means. This kind of budget, which will not satisfy the priorities and requests of so many of our constituents, is the best that we can do with the resources we have.
“Some of the biggest cost drivers for our budget are: employee benefits (both health and pension); collective bargaining agreements (over 90% of City and School employees are in unionized roles); regional school assessments; and utility costs. All of these costs have increased well beyond the 2.5% property tax levy increase allowed under state law.
“From City Hall, I have the privilege of hearing from a broad swath of the community. Our residents ask local government to deliver on their priorities. But those priorities are not always the same – for many, it is frequently paved roads, or more well-resourced schools. Others prioritize expanding community gardens or ensuring that well-loved traditions such as the Victorian Fair as well as new community events continue to happen, the maintenance and expansion of veterans memorials, or that playing fields and parks are improved, senior center programming expands, bike lanes are added, or fees for school and city services and activities are reduced or eliminated. And you all have priorities too – it is why you ran for these seats (I know it wasn’t for the pay and the glory). But we do not have the sustained funds to deliver on all those priorities, which can mean that the dialogue amongst us and amongst the community becomes about ranking priorities, or, worst, pitting them against one another. But we really need to get to a place where we can deliver. For everyone.
“I know many of you are watching what is happening in other communities as so many are facing similar budget challenges. Milton, which is often used as a comparable community to Melrose given our similar size and largely residential property tax base, successfully passed a $9 million override last week to avoid significant budget cuts next year; meanwhile, our neighbor, Stoneham, failed to pass an override and is currently preparing to eliminate (or nearly do so) all library and senior center services and to drain stabilization funds to close next year’s school budget shortfall. We too will be faced with a similar choice in what path we want to take for our community next year.”
The mayor continued, “In light of our own financial outlook and the overwhelming likelihood of disruptions to state and federal funding, I want to be clear – there is no improving this budget. It will not be impacted by a successful override later in 2025. The chance to ‘save’ FY 26 was last June’s override. “The public told us what they wanted to see, and we are delivering it to the best of our ability.
“Preparation for the FY 26 budget before you began right after the last override failure. My executive team and department heads have been making tough decisions all year – not filling vacant positions even though they were budgeted for this year, carefully guarding overtime spending, and deferring important projects, repairs and initiatives to stay within our budget limits.”
Reductions in city services include: eliminating city support for the downtown flower basket program that has been conducted for over a decade in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce because of the cost of overtime to water and care for the flowers; the parklets program; public safety during certain community events like the Summer Roll and Home for the Holidays; elimination of Sunday hours at the library; cutting back on the number of Saturdays that the City Yard is open for residents; the reduction or elimination of the number of trash barrels at public parks around the city, adopting a “carry in carry out approach” for trash at these locations; elimination of the seasonal Sunday trash pick-up from municipal barrels citywide; reduction of roadway line painting and road sign replacements to only critical work; reducing sidewalk repairs and field maintenance budgets; requiring residents to purchase a sticker, one per vehicle, to access the City Yard during calendar year 2026; elimination of the DPW’s Adopt-A-Site program.
Also, the Commission on Women, the Human Rights Commission, and the Disability Commission, which have previously utilized their budgets for important community education and engagement opportunities, will not have any funding next year
The mayor also explained that at her request, “city boards, commissions, and departments reviewed fee schedules for services and many have increased fees, or are proposing increases effective July 1st, some of which will go before the City Council for approval, including:
• Increases to Memorial Hall rental fees (the first in 16 years)
• Increases to the Wyoming Cemetery fees (the first in 5 years)
• Increases to fees charged by the City Clerk’s office
• Increases to fees overseen by the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals
• Increases to certain DPW disposal fees
• The Liquor Commission and the Park Commission are reviewing their fee schedules as
well
Other fees, such as those for the Inspectional Services Department, the Beebe Estate and the Milano Center, have already been reviewed and raised in the last year.
The mayor concluded, “So this budget comes at a crossroad for Melrose. Without additional investment, we will need to look next year to cut any spending not mandated by law or contract.
“I continue to believe that our path out of these budget woes is clear: In order for us to sustainably provide the level of services this community needs and deserves, we need a greater and more
predictable source of revenue. That option is available to us under Proposition 2 1⁄2. It is an option that Melrose has used once in the past 30 years – there was a successful override in 2019, which provided critical funding to our school district. Prior to 2019, there was not a successful override in Melrose since 1993, which is also the only time City departments received override revenues to support non-school services.
“I know that everyone in this room and in City Hall and Melrose Public Schools will deliver the very best they can next year, based on the budget they have to work with. But we need the public to tell us what they want that budget to be – and an override in November is the right way to change our course. I look forward to discussing that topic with this Council later this month, based on the hard work of our Finance Task Force and the input of countless residents and other stakeholders.
“Everyone in Melrose has important decisions to make in the weeks and months ahead, but Councilors, you’re up first. Thank you for approaching your responsibilities with gravity and thoughtful care.”