Mayor's $62.9M Budget Proposal Avoids Cuts in Services

Mayor Rob Dolan filed his proposed city budget for next year this week with the Melrose Board of Aldermen, presenting a $62.9 million spending plan avoids any of the cuts facing other communities.

The budget is $1.5 million more than the current fiscal year budget, an increase of 2.43 percent.

In a press conference on Tuesday, Dolan credited last year's city-wide wage freeze with helping Melrose survive the past year.

"We got through it and it did stabilize us," he said. Next fiscal year, employees will receive the contractual pay increases they were originally scheduled to receive this year.

Come July 1, Dolan added, two city unions will be out of contract: firefighters and library employees. The city has put aside money in its contract stabilization fund to settle those contracts.

Dolan also said the city unions agreeing to stabilizes the city's health insurance costs through 2015. The largest line item in the budget outside of the School Department, the city faces a 5.68 percent increase in health insurance costs next year.

In his address to the aldermen on Monday night, Dolan shared a bulletpointed list of budgetary highlights, including:

• at Melrose High School and Pine Banks Park, funded through the Mount Hood Enterprise Fund.
• for DPW and school projects, including SMART Boards in every elementary classroom.
• at Melrose High School.
• City-run basic life support .

Part of the $2.6 million in borrowing is funding for a new Melrose High School roof. Melrose City Planner Denise Gaffey said at the press conference that the city received a grant through the state's School Building Assistance program that will cover a little more than half the cost of that project, approximately $500,000. That will help pay for a new PVC roof replacing the 35-year-old original roof.

The proposed budget is based on a half-million local aid cut included in Gov. Deval Patrick's state budget proposal, Dolan said. The mayor said that he believes the House Ways and Means budget will include an even larger local aid cut, but "we're still using the governor's number because we think when push comes to shove at the end of the day, it's going to be around that half-million dollar figure. If it doesn’t, we have some room in which to deal with it."

New faces, some new positions

In addition to the two new Melrose High School teachers—subjects to be determined, based on class enrollments—next year's budget funds the salary of $56,060 salary for the Melrose Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition coordinator, a position . That position was previously funded by a grant, which will run out at the end of September.

Also, two unfilled DPW positions have turned into a new operations manager position with a salary of $65,253 filled by Dermot Collins, who has been working in Melrose for four months, Dolan said. Collins' responsibility focuses on maintenance and repairs of all city vehicles, from police cruisers to sanitation trucks.

Dolan also used Tuesday's press conference to introduce some new City Hall faces:

• Dawn Folopoulos, Council on Aging Director, who previously worked as the Elder/Human Services Administrator for Reading. She replaces the retiring Jack Beckley.
• Polina Latta, Human Resources Manager, who previously worked as the human resources manager for the May Institute in Randolph. She replaces the retiring Toni White.
• Officer Robert Mann, the new Melrose Police School Resource Officer (SRO). Mann was hired by the Melrose Police Department in 2007 before being deployed to active duty and took over as the SRO on March 18.
• Martha Grover, the part-time energy efficiency manager, a new position funded through the state's Green Communities grant and a conservation block grant.