Public Comment

Transcript (~14 min @ 37:38)

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▶ 37:33 Leila Migliorelli: At this time I will motion to approve without reading by unanimous consent. The minutes from the city council meeting on April 16th.

▶ 37:43 Leila Migliorelli: And next up we have public comment. I will motion, um, by unanimous consent to open the floor for public comment. Seeing none, we are now open for public comment. This again is a portion of the meeting where anyone can speak on any item on our agenda tonight. And a reminder again that public comment periods an opportunity for the public to share comments. Counselors will not respond. Is there anyone wishing to speak in public comments?

▶ 38:11 Speaker 6: Hi, Julie Delo. Um, last

▶ 38:15 Leila Migliorelli: The door. Hold on. I I wanna make sure your comments can get heard.

▶ 38:20 Speaker 3: Thank you. Go ahead. Thank you.

▶ 38:21 Speaker 6: Last meeting people talked about the override and the money tied to it, which I agree with. But this meeting, you are voting on whether to put this on the ballot, whether to put it to the citizens. What the mayor just said is that we, the citizens have a voice, but we don't have a voice on the dollar amount. We don't have a voice on how it's being spent. You all get to have that voice on our behalf. So when she says 7.7 million and that we get to make those decisions, we don't, first of all, we have 35 days, whatever it is to even get ourselves informed by it. It's rushed. Many people are not even gonna know. And that's unfair. There's plenty of time. We have many elections that come up, but we need to make sure that people understand what this is for. And I get you have to close a budget. I get that. But to put it on our backs to say we have a voice, I don't have a voice in how that 7.7 is spent. It's already been said. You all should push back. You should ask, is that the amount somebody last time spoke about? Um, you know, doing a level funded? Well, maybe, maybe it is. Maybe it needs to be level funded. Maybe the amount isn't 7.7 million. Maybe it's something different. We don't get that say yet. She just said, the mayor just said we get to say, but we don't.

▶ 40:09 Speaker 6: And I understand you all wanna put it out to the voters, but I would ask that you seriously think about what that means to put that out to voters in 35 days. What they will get to know, what they don't know and what we rush through. Thank you

▶ 40:29 Leila Migliorelli: Ms. DeLillo. Is there anyone else who would like to speak in public comment?

▶ 40:35 Speaker 3: Great. Welcome Mr. Broder.

▶ 40:36 Paul Brodeur: Thank you. Paul Broder, 1 25 Maple Street. I'll be super brief 'cause you've heard enough from me over the years, and that's actually kind of the point, um, as to the process is the process. It's constricted, it's defined by mass general loss. There's certain things you can do and certain things, uh, you can't do. And you all know that from 2019 and you're not going forward. But, um, the, the timing appears to be, I know that's something you're gonna be talking about tonight and this doesn't come to us. No city decision comes to us out of the blue. I can tell you as someone who did this in an important way for four years with a lot of you and with a lot of the members of the school committee, every budget discussion we had over the time that I was in office and most of you were in office, we put the budget in a bigger context and what the future looked like. We have always talked about in in the last, certainly in the last school committee budget emphatically spoke, many members spoke about where the budget is headed without the need for an override. So the idea that we only have 35 days if you've been paying attention and, and residents do have some responsibility to pay attention over time. And this is the last 35 days of a discussion that's been going on for years. Um, so I hope you'll support putting it on the ballot. Quite frankly. I hope you'll all not just vote to put it on the ballot, but we'll vocally support it during, during the deliberations. And I look forward to hearing what you decide. Thanks.

▶ 42:21 Speaker 3: Thank you Mr. Broder. Anyone else? Yep.

▶ 42:36 Speaker 1: Hi, my name is Janine Vandi. I live over, uh, Altamont Ave. I have to say I find this completely irresponsible. We held a special election back in the fall that's cost the city over 30 k. Here we are a few months later holding another special, potentially holding another special election for another 30 K that just says to me the CI city is fiscally irresponsible. Literally, the city likes to wipe money on fire. There's no reason why this cannot wait to the general election. Absolutely none. We don't yet know the true cost of the public safety buildings to each homeowner. That's likely $800 per household. This is on top of the last override, which was 554. Here we're looking at a 7.7 million override. That's probably another 850 for the average homeowner that's up into 2000 e easily we've all seen got hit with the, uh, recycling tax increase in that fee. Um, there's been a lot of things said to people that haven't, the city hasn't delivered on the BB was never opened as a public school, even though the city had multiple community engagement meetings on opening it and redistricting the students. There was never when they were doing that a question of, no, we can't open it. It was how would you like to be have that open? When asked to approve the last override a few years ago, the city informed us it would cover the city's needs for the next 10 years. Mayor Gringer, mayor Jen, the former city council president during the last administration and prime supporter of the last overrides, did it at the Democratic primary. She would push for another override. And here tonight she mentions that she will push for one after this one that she believes that the city should have an override every few years. So if you approve this Merose residence, you can expect to get one every few years from Jen. In addition, at the ME merri Democratic primary, Jen said that she would support the Community Preservation Act, which is another additional 3% tax on residents. Residents are suffering right now. Many people are living paycheck to paycheck. We don't need this. So even if you give the city another override, there's no reason to believe they'll manage it correctly. MES is not in need of funds, but like many cities flushed with covid money the last few years, they got used to spending freely mes red in its need to stand up as a residence in Stoneham and Dover and New Bedford have, we have to require those who work for the citizens of marrows to reign in their spending habits. Me's residents have been told many things in the last few years is time we insist they deliver on and with the 5.1 million from the last override, sorry, but I do not feel providing the city more money from another over override. Will contu curtail their habits? If anything, it will only encourage more fiscal irresponsibility. However, there is some good news people. Massachusetts increased its chapter 90 funding from a hundred to 200 million, which is 50% increase, which as Jen said earlier, is what we use to fund our, uh, roads. So we will not, regardless of whether there's an override or not see a reduction, we'll actually see an increase in our road repair. Also, the new fair share tax from which is for transportation improvements. We'll send an additional 250 K to marrows. All this information is in the Merrill's weekly news. We're also getting 50 K for LED lights for the Marrows Hoover School. We're getting another 40 K for a new secure door for the Merose City Hall, which seems expensive. Uh, for a door 126 K will support students social and emotional learning behavior and mental health and wellness. The new Commonwealth Federal Matching and Debit Reduction Fund, see even more mo monetary support coming to Marrows in the next few years.

▶ 47:07 Speaker 1: We need you to do your job. We need you to balance the budget live within your means because if you don't live within your means, you mean you, you're going to make marrows residents, some of them that are barely getting by. Have to go without means. That means food, that means heat, that means medication. We have two food pantries in Merose Merose that you may have and you may live very comfortable and have a very nice house. But we have two fam food pantries. My Merose Running Club every year we have a lovely person. She does a collection. We all pitch in and we donate thousands of dollars to help needing Ians afford the basics for Thanksgiving and Christmas because some people are not able to afford any extras. So mes should live within their means so that they do not cause more burden on the citizens of mes who are already affected by a lot of economic hardships. Right now. Again, there are many people in Maryland for who life is very easy. They won't see any difference. But there these overrides, these tax increases affect disproportionately those at struggling the most. Thank you.

▶ 48:24 Speaker 3: Thank you. Is there anyone else?

▶ 48:29 Speaker 3: Is there anyone online?

▶ 48:31 Speaker 2: Uh, no one has their digital hand raised at this time.

▶ 48:35 Speaker 3: Okay. Okay.

▶ 48:43 Leila Migliorelli: that is the accountant, the CPA, if you will. If you wanna speak in public comment, you can approach here and share your name.

▶ 48:49 Speaker 1: Um, my name's Kathy McNeil Osmo Road.

▶ 48:52 Speaker 1: Okay. Yes. Can you say your name again please? Uh, Kathy McNeil Osmo Road. There's been a number of people that spoke tonight, all of which made very good points. Um, initially the young man who, um, was responsible or he's within some sort of organization here in the city that is advocating for the children, which we all should be. Um, however, um, he, he wants it, it sounded like he wants restraint, um, responsibility, um, amongst the people who make the decisions. This woman back there that said something about, um, All of us having our say in whether or not, you know, $7.7 million is something that as citizens we would all be for. We don't get a say. We are reliant upon you to make those decisions for us. Um, the gentleman that was the CPA, his argument was, does not fall on deaf ears. You have to take a step back. We can't have everything. There are things we need and there are things we don't need in this city. There not everything is an emergency no matter what. How the, the budget is pres presented to the community. There are things we need and there are things we don't need. We don't need it right now. Four months, um, in office. Um, tells me that we could not possibly have managed the process. Um, I contend that saying that it's a math problem versus a management problem. It's both. She to, to say that it's only a math problem. It's, it's not, it's both. We have to manage these budgets in such a way that we are delivering services to the entire community, not just the children, though. That is a major focus of the community and it should be. Um, I I just really think 35 days, if that's the number. Um, is it, it it's like having a vote at midnight. Um, and all of us are left with the result. Um, if you guys have all decided, um, what, you know, whether or not we should have this, you know, special ballot, um, 35 days from now, that's a shame. It's a shame for the voters because it's not visible to them what they're voting for. They may not even be around after school gets out on the 13th of June to to to participate in the vote. So you're not going to get necessarily the representation that would be needed to really understand that you're requesting $7.7 million, um, over and above, but we're already being taxed at, which is very significant. So That's all I have to add. I hope you'll consider that. Thank

▶ 51:56 Leila Migliorelli: You Ms. Miguel. Is there anyone else

▶ 52:03 Leila Migliorelli: seeing no one else? I will motion by unanimous consent to close public comment.