Legal & Legislative Committee — 2025-04-28
Attendance
Cal Finocchiaro ; Mark Garipay ; Maya Jamaleddine ; Leila Migliorelli ; Devin Romanul ; Kimberly Vandiver
Agenda
Minutes
CITY OF MELROSE LEGAL & LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE CALENDAR● APRIL 28, 2025 Council Chamber, First Floor, Melrose City Hall Committee Meeting 7:15 PM 562 Main Street, Melrose, MA 02176 The public should take notice that the Melrose City Council may, on certain occasions, have a quorum in attendance due to standing committees of the City Council consisting of both voting and non-voting members. Members attending this duly posted meeting are participating and deliberating only in conjunction with the business of the standing committee. Attendee Name Title Status Arrived Devin Romanul Vice Chair Present Cal Finocchiaro Absent Mark Garipay Present Kimberly Vandiver Present Leila Migliorelli Ex Offico Member Present Maya Jamaleddine Chair Present
(ID # 12522) Acceptance of general law; decision; fund Requesting the acceptance of Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 59, Section 5, Clause 22J for Veteran Tax Relief Available Under the HERO Act Recommend as Voted City Council City of Melrose Page 1 8/19/2025 3:49 PM
Transcript
▶ 0:01 Maya Jamaleddine: Recording in progress. Recording. Recording in progress. Good evening. The time is seven 15 on, uh, Monday, April 28th, 2025. This is the, uh, meeting of the Legal and Legislative Committee. I am Maya Jamal, Dean pronouns, she and her the chair. And joining me tonight, our, uh, vice Chair Romanul, uh, counselor gpe. Hi, counselor Ver and President Ra LAX officio, um, in accordance with the Open Meeting law. This meeting is being recorded, recorded and broadcast live on MMTV, um, Adam Clerk. Um, if, uh, if there is no objection, I would like to open the floor for, uh, public comment. Seeing no objection, the floor is now open. Please say your name. Sure. Good evening. My name is Leo Boudreaux.
▶ 1:10 I served in Afghanistan in 2010 with the Massachusetts Army National Guard. I'm here tonight to support the local passage of the Heroes Act. The Heroes Act. Signed by Governor Healy. Last August is the most comprehensive veterans legislation in the past 20 years. I support House speaker Ron Mariano when he stated, ensuring that state government is doing everything that it can to support the Commonwealth Veterans is one of the most important responsibilities that we have as elected officials. Veterans represent the very best of us having risked their lives in service of this country, which is why we owe them nothing less than our own wavering support said House Speaker Ronald Mariano Quincy.
▶ 1:54 This legislation not only provides increased support for veterans in Massachusetts through tax credits and enhanced benefits, it also takes steps to ensure that the Commonwealth goes to even greater length to honor our veterans and gold star families. I want to thank Governor Haley for filing the Heroes Act, majority Leader Moran and all my colleagues in the house as well, our partners in the Senate for recognizing the importance of supporting our veterans. However we can, the city of Mel Rhode demonstrates its continued support of its veterans with the passing of this legislation. I thank the city council for their support as well as Mayor Gregory. Thank you. Have a great night. Thank you.
▶ 2:40 Thank you. And we appreciate your service. Anyone else? Hi, I am Jim Ette. I'm a, a veteran. Um, I was wounded critically twice in Vietnam. I went through, uh, jump school, jump Master school, ranger school, jungle school, jungle school, and my platoon of, um, 54 men repelled into Ca Cambodia in 1967. And four and a half months, um, 16 were killed. The rest of us were wounded at least once. Um, I think that this bill is necessary and it has my full support. Thank you. Thank you. Good evening. Um, good evening. My name's Robert Driscoll. I served in the Air Force for 38 years. I'm an Iraqi war veteran. I support this legislation and request, respectfully request of each of you to vote in favor of it.
▶ 4:03 I would echo what Lieutenant Governor Driscoll said last August at the signing of the Heroes Act. She said, Massachusetts is the cradle of American patriotism home to the First National Guard, the birthplace of the American Revolution. The first to declare that disabled veterans must be cared for the first to establish local veteran service officers and so much more. This is our legacy. And as a member of a military family, I am tremendously proud of Massachusetts for leading the nation for veteran services. Today, we honor our heritage and commit to building upon it. With this transformative legislation, we pledge to provide the best veteran services in the country, ensuring every veteran receives the respect
▶ 4:48 and support they deserve. I echo these statements and thank the board, uh, the city council as well as Mayor Gregor eis for bringing this legislation forward, and I hope you support it. Thank you. Thank you. Good evening. I'm Jim Keen. I'm a Vietnam veteran. I was stationed with the River Patrol Force in the Ong Delta. Upon coming back to the United States and being discharged, I went to law school on the GI Bill, and I know about, uh, veterans benefits. In looking at the statistics associated with the, uh, real estate, uh, uh, excise or credit, the last time it was addressed by the legislature was 2006. And since that time, uh, inflation is run at 47% in the consumer price index for Massachusetts
▶ 5:42 or Metropolitan Boston is 54%, largely eroding that tax credit. So if you had $800 in 2006, it's worth $400 today. So we're asking that, that, uh, real estate, uh, credit be, uh, allowed and, uh, forwarded. So thank you very much. Thank you. Good evening, members of the board. My name's Michael Buggy. I'm a resident of Melrose. Um, I'm here tonight to speak in full support of the Proposed Heroes Act initiative, excuse me, heroes Act Initiative for the Veterans. Uh, this initiative is more than just a financial adjustment. It's a reflection of our values as a community. Veterans have made extraordinary sacrifices in service to our country. Many have put their lives on the line, spent months and years away from their families,
▶ 6:48 and returned home to face new challenges, some visible and some invisible. The property tax exemption reduction may seem modest on paper, but to a veteran, it can be a meaningful gesture. It shows that MERYLL stands behind the people who it serves, the people who have stood up for all of us. For some veterans, especially of those who live on a fixed income, it's support. It's this support can make critical difference in their ability to remain in their homes and neighborhoods that they've helped protect and support. This initiative would also send a clear message that Merose does not forget the service and sacrifices of its veterans. We recognize their continued contribution to our community
▶ 7:38 Maya Jamaleddine: and believe they deserve a, they deserve tangible support, not just words of gratitude, but actions that reflect that. I strongly urge the board to pass this initiative and make Melrose a model for how local government can honor uplift those who have served. Thank you for your time and consideration. This is an important step forward. Respectfully. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else wishing to speak? Okay. Do we have anyone online? We do not. Okay. Since we don't have anyone in person or online wishing to speak, um, if there is no objection, I would like, um, to, uh, make, I would make a motion to close public comment. Seeing none, public comment is now closed. Uh, for tonight on our agenda there is, um, ID number
▶ 8:41 Jen Grigoraitis: 1, 2 5, 2 2, um, requesting the acceptance of Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 59, section five, clause 22 J for Veterans Tax Relief available under the HERO Act. And we have Madam Mayor and Ms. McLaren speaking on this order. Good evening, Madam Chair and members of the committee. Thank you for having us tonight. Um, we're here before you to request the council the recommendation of this body to the full council to adopt Clause 22 J of the Hero Act. Um, as our Veterans Advisory Board members who spoke so beautifully in public comment just said, this is a part of the Hero Act that was enacted by Governor Healy and the state legislature in 2024, and represents the first time in decades that there is a local tax relief relief option available
▶ 9:35 Jen Grigoraitis: to municipalities for veterans and their surviving spouses. Um, I know Ms. McClellan was before you back in January under an info order just to provide the context since this is a change to state law. Um, and at that time we also heard in public comment support for adopting 22 J, which we do believe will impact 135 veterans and their families here in Melrose. Um, we're back tonight to seek your approval. Um, and we're excited to be on the forefront of adopting this so that the, um, tax abatement can go into effect during fiscal year 26. Um, Ms. McClellan is our tax expert, so I will defer to her for any specific questions about how to do this, but we're really, um, appreciative of this opportunity.
▶ 10:17 Jen Grigoraitis: And I think just to say, you know, I know often we're here doing sometimes what feel like hard or unpleasant things, um, that are necessary as we run a city, but this is one of these really good things where we can give back to people who have given so much to our country and really make an impact in their lives, particularly, particularly in this moment of rising inflation and costs. So thank you for your consideration and we're happy to answer any questions. Thank you, Madam Mayor Flos, yours. Um, yep, good evening. Um, so just to provide a brief, um, like impact summary, we have some updated numbers for fiscal 25. In my, um, informational, uh, summary in January, I provided, um, numbers from fiscal year 24.
▶ 10:58 Um, so for fiscal 25, we had, um, 101 eligible veterans under Clause 22, um, who were granted exemptions by the board of assessors and then 32 eligible veterans under Clause 22 E, who are granted exemptions. Um, this was an increase of about six under the, the clause 22 E, which is the a hundred percent disability rating. So if local option 22 J is adopted for fiscal year 26, these exemption amounts for the, um, for these people would, um, or these parcels would increase from 400 to 800 per parcel under the clause 22 exemptions, which was the 101 parcels and from a thousand to $2,000 per parcel, um, under the clause 22 E exemptions. Um, so that would be the, um, impact change that. So thank you. I can answer any
▶ 11:55 Mark Garipay: other questions that you have too Related to this. Yeah. Thank you. Do we have any question from my colleagues? Councillor gpe? Um, thank you. Thank you. You, I think you answered most of my questions the last time you were in front of us. Um, I mean, I, I think it makes sense to move forward with this. So at this time, I'll make a motion, um, to recommend this, um, this for passage to the full council. Second, Um, we have, uh, a motion made by Councilor Gepe, seconded by Vice Chair Mano on discussion. Sorry. Um, just wanted to thank the mayor and the administration for the, all the helpful information. It was really easy to digest in the, in the memo beforehand, in the articulation just now, um, and to the legislature
▶ 12:42 Devin Romanul: and the governor for, uh, making this change. Uh, I just wanted to say, uh, and also thank you to everyone who came out to support and discuss. This is really helpful to hear your stories and for those watching on MMTV or in the community who think about the military or veterans, as you know, that's a federal government issue. That's not something that has to deal with local government. Like this is the intermingling of local and national governments. This is how we show up here. And, um, as someone who, uh, has made a career of public service and seeing in my own family from my grandfather who served in the Navy, um, in the 1950s all the way back to, we've got a great family tree book with a list
▶ 13:19 Devin Romanul: of all the relatives who served at the Battle of Lexington and Concord and, and they're on, like, uh, I know how important public services, and this is a lifetime commitment that you've made, and we appreciate that, and this is a way we can show up for you there. So, um, wanted to thank you all and, and express my support. Thank you. Um, uh, vice Chair Romanul and, um, counselor Van Dever. Thank You. Uh, thank you for bringing this forward tonight. And, um, to the people who spoke, who, uh, showed up and spoke, I appreciate, uh, that this is being done and right now, as you mentioned, in the midst of inflation and, um, also the, the climate in Melrose and the likelihood of an override attempt,
▶ 13:57 Maya Jamaleddine: I think this is a, this is a wonderful time to, to extend that increase. So thank you. Thank you. Um, um, I wanted to echo my, um, colleagues, uh, with the kind words that, um, they shared, but I also wanted to thank you all for your services. Um, it's, um, uh, your presence here has, you know, speaks its volumes and, uh, we appreciate all your services, um, to the country. Um, and, uh, now, uh, with the motion on floor, um, it's, um, is it call role? No. Is it roll call Madam Clerk? We can, yes. Yep. Uh, councilor Romanul? Yes. Council Councilor gpe? Yes. Councilor Vandiver. Yes. President Ley Rally? Yes. Chair. Jamal ine? Yes. Motion passes. Thank you. And, um, motion is, uh, passes and now it's gonna be, uh,
▶ 14:58 Maya Jamaleddine: on the city council, the full council. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Your service to the city. Thank You. Thank you Madam Mayor. Thank you. And Ms. Clarin. Motion to adjourn. Go ahead. Make a motion to adjourn. Second, Uh, we have a motion to adjourn made by Councilor Garipay Pay, seconded by by Vice Chair Romanul, uh, on discussion. Seeing none. All in favor? Any opposed? Okay, we're adjourn Up anyway. Gotta bring it out every now and then. Good evening. The time Meeting in progress Is 7 49 on Monday, April 28th, 2025. This is a meeting of the Melrose City Council. I am President Melli calling to order in accordance with Massachusetts Open Meeting Law. This meeting is being broadcast and recorded by Melrose Cable Access tv,