Okay. The council will come to order. I'll rise and salute the flag. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all. Please remain standing for a moment of silence in honor of our veterans, service members, and those who have given the ultimate sacrifice. We will also be doing an additional moment of silence for two Malden public servants who have recently passed, Jim
Nester and James Holland. Jim Nester was the Ward 4 city councelor from 2007 to 2014. He passed away on September 10th. James Holland served 40 years as a Malden police officer, the last three as the chief before retiring
in 2013. He also served as the Malden representative to the vocational school committee. May they both rest in peace and I ask for a moment of silence in their memory. I'll now turn the mic over to councelor Winslow for an additional moment of silence in memory of a constituent who
passed away this past week. Yes. Um Mike Hard of William Street uh passed away suddenly. Um, so on behalf of the entire city council, we send our deepest sympathies to Lori, Alyssa, and Vanessa, who lost their beloved husband
and father unexpectedly. We all know and refer to you collectively as the Arda family because of your loving dedication to each other. Yet, each of you have a strong and distinct sense of self. Mike particularly struck me as a de dedicated
trad dad, family centered, hard-working, a loving and supportive father to his wife and daughters, a tech genius and a very quirky tinkerer, and a man who served his faith and his community to the fullest. Um, in honoring Mike's
memory, I think we should all strive to be more like Mike. Um, I want to offer uh the following prayer for Mike, Chief Holland, and former counselor Netor before we take another moment of silence. Let us treasure the time we have and
resolve to use it well. Counting each moment precious, a chance to apprehend uh some truth, to experience some beauty, to conquer some evil, to relieve some suffering, to love and be loved, to
achieve something of lasting worth. Help us God to fulfill the promise that is in each of us and to so conduct ourselves that generations hence it will be true to say to of of us the world is better
because for a brief space they lived in it. Amen. And just a moment of silence for Mike. Thank you. Clerk, will you please call the role? Council Cologne Hayes here. Councelor Condan,
Council Crow, here. Council McDonald here. Council Roman Ali. Council Sea, Council Simonelli, Council Spaphora, Council Taylor, here. Council Winslow, here. Council President Lahan here. Now, under the provisions of the open meeting law for everyone in
attendance, please be informed that UMA Urban Media Arts will be recording this evening's meeting. So, just be aware there will be audio and video recordings of this meeting. As our first order of business, I ask that you please all rise to recognize Mayor Christensen in
attendance to address the council. Thank you, Mayor Christensen. You have the floor. Good evening, Madame President and honorable members of the city council. Malden has always been a city that has had to do more with less. In comparison
to other cities, our spending is low in most key areas. In fact, a review of our spending as compared to seven other cities with whom we share common traits
shows that we spend less in virtually every category on a per capita basis. This information is highlighted on the boards you see around the room and I want to repeat it for emphasis.
From public safety to debt to general government spending, we are below the norm as compared to just about every other surrounding city. Despite this, we
have found ourselves challenged every year trying to fund core services and having to utilize reserves to balance the budget. Even with a series of measures to address the ongoing
structural deficit, including extending our pension schedule, refraining from adding personnel or creating new programs, and not issuing any new debt. The situation remains the same, and that
is our revenues no longer support our expenses. We must identify a long-term fix to avoid completely depleting our reserves and drastically cutting services.
It has become clear that additional funding above the current tax levy threshold is needed to stabilize our finances. It weighs on me heavily to have to take this step to go to the hardworking
people of our community. But the alternative would mean drastic cuts and other challenges. Make no mistake about it, cuts will be needed even with the
addition of more revenue. Our goal with this request is to reduce that challenge to minimize the impact on the progress we have made as a city. Our employees will be part of the
solution as we are in the process of moving health care away from being self-insured to being part of the state plan managed by the group insurance commission. Current estimates are that this initiative will save us
approximately $3 million per year. So we are recommending an increase to the annual tax levy limit of $5.4 4 million such that when combined with the $3 million projected health insurance
savings, we would begin the FY27 budget with a structurally balanced FY26 budget. This will be a start but not the end. Tonight, we are asking that this
paper be referred to the finance committee so that there can be detailed discussions about the impact it will have on our residents and the community. Understandably, the most common question is how the override will affect my
taxes. The exact tax increase for your property will depend on its assessed value, but an average single family home valued at $650,000 would see its property taxes increase by
$351 annually or $30 a month as a result of the override. We would ask that people take the time to become informed because there has been no shortage of inaccurate and
misleading information circulated since the docket was posted. There will be several public meetings so that information can be shared and questions addressed. In the meantime, you can
visit city of malden.org/override for further information. Our team will be available and ready to work with you collaboratively to provide the public with factbased answers so that they can
make an informed decision regarding their vote. Thank you for your consideration and I look forward to the continued dialogue in committee. Thank you, mayor. We appreciate you coming tonight. And I just want to um
underscore for the public that what we're going to be voting on tonight, as you stated, is to refer this to the finance committee for further discussion. Um if it makes it to finance committee, we would of course be booking public meetings to help everybody understand what's at stake here. Um but again, we will be taking up public
comment tonight as well and then taking up the paper um out of respect for everybody who's joined us tonight. So, thank you again for coming to present. Um next order of business. Public comment. Okay. Next order of business is public comment which is allowed under our council rules. Each
speaker is limited to the subject matter relevant to our evening's agenda and must keep comments to two minutes or less. Clerk, do we have anybody signed up for public comment tonight? Two people. The first is Neil Kennan. Okay. Neil Kennan, you have the floor. Please state your name and address or
under new rules. Actually, you can just state your street if you'd rather. Neil Kennon, 11 Screw Street, Malden. I only have a few things to say. Uh the first one is n late 80s we went through a recession. 1999 2000 we went through a
recession. 2003 we went through a recession. Then a few of you were up here in 2008 and on uh when we went through what was called the great recession, the worst since the great depression. Since that time we've had pretty good times. We had COVID but you
got vast sums of money to get you through it. And in all that time, city council never went to the public and asked for an override. We are in good times or at least relatively good times right now. So I find that pretty
amazing. Secondly, just so the public knows and I have not taken a position on this yet completely definitively, but in the last five years in 2021, you spent one 182 million. This year have a
budget of 236 million. That's $53 million more. That's an average increase of 5.25%. We don't have a spending problem. We have a spending problem, not a revenue problem. We have a spending problem, not
a revenue problem. If you think you're going to go on averaging 5.25%. People don't get that in their pay. You will break the city. You will break every individual. $350. It's less than a cup of coffee a day. I know that will be
said sometime, but this never ends. The mayor said this isn't the end to it. Well, we shouldn't have given 7.9% 2 years ago and 7.1 3 years ago or 5.3% last year. That's enough for now. But the public needs to know this is a
spending issue. Not with you. You need to fix your state delegation who hasn't done their job in over a decade and lays the bills on you without the money. Thank you. Lara Thompson. Thank you, Lara. Please state your name
and address or your street for the record. Yeah, I'm Laura Thompson. I'm at 53 Placestead Road. Um, and I also have not really made up my mind about this. Um, when I first heard about it, I was um
taken aback given the time um how tight things are for everybody right now and um any amount of increase has an impact on everyone. Um maybe not everyone, but most people I know. So um
I'm concerned. Um I feel like that I have seen things happen where money gets taken away and reallocated in other places and I just want to make sure that we know where the money is going what's happening with the spending
there's transparency around spending I don't have these answers I hope if we go into if we have meetings and discussions that there will be transparency with the public who will be suffer you know the ones paying those bills and are there
going to be new bills every year? Are there going to be increases? Because that's a cumulative effect. It may be 350 for the first year, but over the course of time, how much is that increase going to be? So, those are my concerns and I'm concerned for my
community and I want to make sure everybody I love the city. I want to make sure everybody gets paid what they're owed, their time, their overtime, not having to go sue for it or whatever. Um, I want to make sure that we know what's going on and there's more
transparency. Thanks. Thank you. Clerk, do we have additional comments received via email? We do. The first one states, "To the members of the city council, I am a proud lifelong resident of Malden and I'm writing in support of the proposed tax override
docket 363-25. It is imperative that the city continue to fund public services at the current level, especially continued support of the library, public works department, and the Malden public school system. The ongoing services provided by the city to its citizens should be a priority,
especially in times of economic uncertainty. Thank you, Tom Endott, 2011 Columbia Street. Um, this one says, this one is from Martha North. I am definitely against a passing or even a consideration of a Prop 2 and a half. Uh, Martha North, 50
Presley Street. Hi, just emailing to say we support the tax override at 21 Woodlon Road. We want Malden to be the best it can be and we're well aware that doesn't come for free. This is from Brian St. Marie. Dear members of the city council, I am
writing to express my strong opposition to the tax override proposed in city council file 363-25. I have owned a house in Malden for 13 years and am proud to call Malden home. I work full-time at a grocery store and live by myself. In order to make ends
meet, I need to be frugal and budget my money carefully. As someone on the autism spectrum, I face a lot of challenges, but owning a home and being financially self-sufficient are important to me. So, I have worked hard and made sacrifices in order to accomplish these goals. With the prices of so many things going up, making ends
meet is increasingly difficult for me and other hardworking people. An increase in my property taxes is the last thing that I need. Personally, I will always prefer that government at all levels cut spending rather than raise taxes. No government program or service is more important to me than
keeping as much of my own hard-earned money as possible. Just as I have had to make difficult decisions in order to cut back on my expenses and stay within my means, I think that the city of Malden should do the same rather than asking hardworking people like me to contribute more. I
strongly urge you to vote against the proposed tax override. Sincerely, Marissa Babin, 662 Highland Avenue. Um, I'm writing to express support for the proposed Proposition 2 and a half override. I am a homeowner in Malden and I strongly support stabilizing the city
finances in maintaining city services. Paying my fair share of taxes is a small thing to be asked in return. Theodore Brookings, 11 Wyoming Avenue. Dear members of the city council, I am writing to strongly oppose the proposed
tax override. Residents in our city, homeowners and renters are already facing steep increases in the cost of living. Asking taxpayers for even more money without demonstrating fiscal responsibility is not only unfair, it is irresponsible governance. The city has
not clearly shown what steps have been taken to avoid the need for an override. Taxpayers deserve evidence that every option to cut cost and rep prioritize spending has been exhausted. Without this, an override sends a troubling message that instead of addressing inefficiencies or tightening budgets,
the city will simply turn to residents for more revenue whenever it encounters financial challenges. What is needed is not another tax increase, but a clear strategic plan for the city's finances and priorities. Residents deserve to see a roadmap that explains how current
resources are being managed, how future needs will be addressed, and what specific measures will be taken to keep spending under control. A tax override without such a plan is premature and shortsighted. Our community is full of hardworking people who sacrifice to pay their
mortgages or rent, cover rising utility bills and put food on the table. For many, even the smallest tax increase can mean a meal not eaten, a prescription not filled, or a bill left unpaid. These are not hypothetical hardships. They are the reality for many of our neighbors.
Before placing more weight on the backs of residents, city leadership must show that it is capable of managing existing funds responsibly and charting a long-term plan that balances needs with sustainability. I urge you to reject the proposed tax override. Instead, commit
to fiscal discipline, transparency, and the development of a comprehensive strategic plan that puts residents first and ensures the city lives within its means. Bill Spedhor, Junior, 37 Prospect Street. Regarding docket number 363-25,
I am strongly in favor of the override. We have a civic duty to fund our city services, and there's no viable alternative to this override. We can no longer kick the can down the road via temporary one-time funds or reserves. Making up this difference via commercial
tax is not realistic. First of all, that would take years to accomplish, even if it was possible. And secondly, we can't mimic Cambridge Cambridge's situation because we have nothing close to MIT or Harvard to anchor a Kendall Square level commercial district. Finally, to address
a straw man that I know is being raised on this subject, real estate taxes have basically nothing to do with Malden's affordability. That issue lies with a regional supply shortage, not taxes. Unlike the majority of the council, I am of the age where my peer group is buying
houses now as opposed to 25 plus years ago. None of these people are being scared off of home ownership by a few thousand dollar in annual real estate tax. It is the monthly principal interest that is five times higher. Malden's residential exemption makes the
taxes here very cheap and a couple hundred dollars more a year from this override would not change that. Sean Bonu, 47 Perkins Avenue. Dear members of the council, I am writing to express my strong opposition to the proposed tax override proposed in
council file number 363-25. Before asking homeowners and renters to shoulder yet another financial burden, the city must first demonstrate that it has done everything possible to manage existing resources responsibly. It is unacceptable to request an override
without first providing proving that every effort has been made to cut unnecessary spending, rep prioritize budgets, and operate within the city's means. How can the city guarantee that any additional tax revenue will be spent appropriately without a clear and
forceful plan and independent oversight? Taxpayers have little confidence that new revenue will be managed any better than existing funds. Families, seniors, and renters across our community are already struggling with rising cost. The city must prove it is willing to make difficult decisions
and reduce expenses before turning to taxpayers as the solution. I urge you to vote against the proposed tax override and instead commit to transparency, fiscal discipline, and an independent audit of the city's finances. Yours
truly, Ann Warren, 78 Rutland Street. I'm a condo owner as of last year. I'm okay with a Prop 2 and a half override to help fund schools and other important aspects of the city. I did not get the residential tax exemption yet, but the
increase seems to be nilable in my case, like about $15 a month pre-isount. When I get my discount, the savings from community electricity will probably negate that. Some ideas I have to help increase funding is to lower parking minimums. We could fit in at least one
more commercial building at each shopping plaza, Stop and Shop, Broadway, Town Line. This was a quick email, sorry. And it signed Samantha Leblanc, 30 Daniel Street. Dear members of the city council, I am writing to express strong opposition to the proposed tax override in city
council file 36325. Before asking residents to bear more financial burden, the city must first show that it has managed existing resources responsibly. To date, no clear explanation has been given as to what steps have been taken to avoid a tax increase. Taxpayers
deserve transparency and accountability, not vague promises, before being asked to pay more. It is unacceptable to pursue an override without first cutting unnecessary spending and rep prioritizing within current budgets. When has the finance committee met with
department heads to thoroughly examine spending and identify savings? Without evidence of such review, residents cannot trust that all alternatives have been explored. Additionally, how will the city ensure that new tax revenue will serve real community needs and not discretionary council projects? Without
a clear, enforcable spending plan and independent oversight, confidence in fiscal management remains low. What's truly needed is not more taxes, but a full independent financial audit. This would help identify inefficiencies and ensure funds are used wisely. Until that
audit is completed, asking for more money is premature and unfair. Families, seniors, and renters are already struggling with rising costs. The city must lead by example, tighten its own belt before expecting more from taxpayers. I urge you to vote no on the tax override and commit instead to
greater transparency, fiscal discipline, and an independent audit of city finances. Sinc sincerely, Denise Belone Kawi, 81 Nuland Street. I want to express my support of a Prop 2 and a half override. Even at the
simplest, most surface level look finances at a local level. We can think about how inflation expenses has varied from 3 to 7% increase since 2001. Prop 2 and a half only allows a 2.5% increase in property tax revenue
increases each year. The city's revenue has been held back out of step with our expenses. To reduce expenses, we would be cutting current service levels, taking away from the resources our city offers our residents. Property taxes contribute about half of the revenue
base of our city based on my reading of the budget. And therefore, even a small percentage increase can provide dramatic relief to our budget constraints. I am happy and proud to invest more in my community through the taxes I pay. It is one of the most passive ways we can
all help support each other and our city. I encourage everyone to know how much they currently pay in property taxes, and I encourage the city council to prioritize communication about how much each homeowner's taxes will change. I think many people would be relieved
and less opposed if they had some idea what the override would mean for them. Personally, I feel the unknown is making many residents understandably upset and afraid. I know this news has just come out, but I would love to see and know how to find some resources on the city of Malden website about what the
proposed levy limit override means for the next fiscal year and the years beyond as well. I look forward to learning more details and appreciate how hard it must have been to come forward with this proposal. Allison Matthews, 105 Elm Street.
Dear Alden City Council, I write today regarding agenda item 363-25. I want to express my strong opposition to approving a ballot question regarding a tax override. I would like to hear what budget cuts can be made before a tax override that shifts the burden of
balancing the city budget to the Malden residential taxpayers. Prop 2 and a half was put in place to help property owners retain their properties without unfair and excessive tax increases. A tax increase would simply make homes in Molden less affordable for all, but especially for
folks with limited income. I ask that you vote no at this time to putting forth a ballot question and holding a special election to override Prop 2 and a half. Sincerely, James Sumner, 759 Highland Avenue. I support Malden scheduling a special
election to vote on a tax override. Many neighboring cities have successfully passed overrides in recent years, and I believe it's time for Malden to do the same. The proposed 5% increase in property taxes, $21 a month, on my property, strikes me as a reasonable step to maintain level funding for
essential city services, staffing, and our schools. Malden has already committed to funding our share of the Wakefield vocational school construction, and of honoring teacher union contracts. We can't go back. This override will allow our city to progress
and remain competitive. I support the conversation and the vote. Thank you, Courtney Dutra, 26 Huntley Street, Malden. And that's all of them. That was a lot. Thank you so much for that, Clerk. Uh our for our next order of business, I'd like to take up the
paper out of order if that's okay with everybody. Paper 633-25. 363-25. order that the city of Malden hold a special municipal election on February 10th, 2026 and to include the following ballot question. Shall the city of Malden be
allowed to assess an additional $5.4 4 million in real estate and personal property taxes for the purposes of stabilizing the city's budget and to support ongoing city services across all departments, including public schools, public safety, public library, public
works, and general government for which the monies will be used for the fiscal year beginning July 1st, 2026. A yes vote would support an increase in real estate and personal property taxes beginning with fiscal year 2026. A no
vote would make no change to the current tax structure. Thank you. And just before we get started, I want to again remind folks that a a yes vote tonight would be to refer to finance. Um so what we're going to be discussing tonight is whether to send this to committee where we will
have that discussion about the intricacies of whether we want to hold a special municipal election. It would then get referred back to the council where we would have additional discussion. Um, and so just to lay the groundwork before we get started, I already see a couple of lights and I'm going to take Councelor Simmonelli
first. Thank you, Madam President. Listen, uh, I never thought I'd see myself being here at this vote, but um, you know, coming up here, uh, I was totally against uh, this Proposition 2
and a half override. I think it's unfair to the to the homeowners. It's tough enough out there for people to make ends meet. Uh, you know, we're not a rich city. Um, but listening to other folks and then you got services for people at the same
time. So, it's like, you know, what do we do? But, you know what I want to know? I want to know how the hell we get here. That's what I want to know because I'm here tonight and I'm hearing all this stuff and you know as we've been moving along throughout the year we haven't been seeing this.
Nobody's seen the big picture of this happening as we're moving down the road that this is going to happen. I mean, Council Spatter have been saying now for four years since I've been up here that people uh you know, we we got to we got to start looking at losing commercial properties and gaining commercial and
and and trying to do stuff to get commercial property here so you can get more tax revenue for it because you get no tax revenue apartments. It's like a warehouse rate. That's what they get. So, you see these apartments going up everywhere whether they're affordable or
not. they're uh there's like warehouse tax on that. So, um yeah, you're going to have to do a lot of talking to me, man, to get me to pass this thing because I'll be honest with you, I I just can't put a burden like this on the homeowners of the city of
Maldin and the taxpayers. And you know what? Listen, it's a tough job we got. And if we got to cut, you cut. And that's just the way it is. I've been there. I mean there 2011 after 911 we
had a cut. You see the problem is is the city of Maldon throughout the years have sold off all kinds of property never held anything. You go to a city like Everett and they got like five pieces of property that are worth millions of dollars. So they can sell those off.
Well, you'd have to get a whole rule petition first because it'd have to go into the public properties first. But you can do that. We did it. I did it in 2011. raise $3 million, close the budget so we don't have to lay nobody off. But listen, at the end of the day,
if we're spending too much money, and I'm with some of these people, I'd like to I'd like to see this in front of me. If we're spending too much money, then it's time to cut. I'll do it. If every if if everybody else don't want to, it's that's it.
That's the way it goes. Uh, I don't see ever doing a Proposition 2 and a half override. Anybody else? And where's the casino money? Where's that going? So, listen. I look at I I'm going to be honest with
you. I had a serious problem of even sending this to committee because we shouldn't even be here right now. We shouldn't. We're a lot smarter than that. We should have projected this, but we didn't.
So, I had a I I still have a hard problem even sending this to committee. But to be fair to the council and to the mayor and to the city workers of of this city who do a fantastic job, by the way,
I'll make that exception because honestly, there's some things I'd like to know. I'd like to know where where where the where the spending goes because I got to tell you, let me just say this, right? I'm a regular guy. I think you all know that. Okay. I've been through the gates
of hell and back. And I think you know that too. But I've always budgeted my money so that I can make sure that I don't overspend throughout the month so I could pay my rent. Isn't this the same?
Isn't this the same? If we say, "Oh, we put this program this program in process and if we hire these people, how is that going to affect us? Not this year, but in three years. We didn't do that.
We just went ahead and just spent and look at and in fairness to the administration, they do a great job with what they got and you only have so much money. So, I mean, they do the best they can, but I blame us all tonight for being
here. I really do. I blame us all because we should have we we should have kept a better finger on this and we should have seen this coming. All of a sudden, I get I I get I get told last week that uh we're having a we're having a meeting on on whether we're going to
do a Proposition 2 and a half override. last week. I thought we had $44 million in the in the in the general fund rainy day account for the next two years, we'd be all set. So, I know you're talking about doing it now and having it for for 2027. But like
Neil Kennedy said, right, it gives us a couple of years to get on our state delegation and if they don't do the job, we run against them. That's how it works. If they're not bringing in the revenue that need we that the mayor needs to run the city,
then one of us or one of you should be running for state rep next. If they're not bringing in the revenue listen state senator senator that when do you ever see that guy? So then maybe they should pull him over here by his underwear and bring him
in here and explain to us, you know, how come we don't uh how come he's not bringing in the funding? Where's the funding coming from? I mean, I just I just think this is a horrible position. It's a horrible position for us. It's a horrible
position for the mayor to be in. Uh the guy's done a fantastic job since he's been in office and it's and and it's and it's killing them and I know it is. And for those reasons, I'll support it going into finance because I have some questions, but it's going to take a lot
of convincing for my vote. Thank you very much. Thank you, Councelor Simonelli. Next, I have councelor Spataphora. Why don't follow that up? Sorry. No, don't be sorry.
So, I like when the room is filled. I don't like the situation we're in. But I'll try to speak from the heart and tell everybody I can't believe what I've been talking about and I think everybody in this room
up here knows the same situation. We've had a front row seat for this and I know the police and the fire unions have been in the room when I've said this is coming. Now collectively
we did nothing. So you lose your job, you don't keep spending the same way. So we do have a spending problem. Now I I do like looking at all the data, but I'm going to start with the first
thing. Council Simelli, Neil Kennan, and I've said it publicly. The school funding formula is screwing the city.
And it's not screwing the schools, it's screwing everybody outside the schools. So indulge me. These figures of as of 2024, just to give you what this brings us to,
we're a gateway city. And by the way, I don't think a Proposition 2 and a half, and I might be wrong, has ever passed in a gateway community. Basically, it's the poor cities. The formula right now does not consider actual revenue and this is looking at 2003 data. Excuse me.
Right now we have to contribute as 2023 35%. Let's call it 36. It's 35.76 compared to our peers because we're going to hear about how the other communities have had to do this. River is 27.7. Everett is 23.67.
Lawrence is 9.53. So do the math. we pay more. But what does that mean for this room? That means if we just used an average, the city of Mald would be getting $30 million more.
And what that formula requires us to do is if we don't meet the funding formula for the schools, we have to basically rob everybody else to pay that part of the budget because they set a minimum. So all the unions in here, call the
state reps, call the senator, call the governor because we're getting screwed. Simple as that. It's not picking one union, one one department over the other. There's not enough money. $30 million. And that's an average more
money than we would be getting right now. Same tax base. That's a fact. That's math. And if anybody wants to debate it, we'll debate it. The problem is it's politics. And if we get a change, another the
community gets screwed. Then you know what? We should all go to the governor's office and demand it be fixed. We're the highest dense with the most diversified. We need the money. We need the money. That's a
b. And I've been saying it for years. We're running to the bottom. We're over 90% residential. 90%. So that means we have 10% for commercial and industrial. Let me give you some quick numbers because I'm going to use the benefit of
everybody being here to show what I mean. Chelsea has a population of 40,000 people as of 2024. Their combined industrial, commercial, and tax base as of last year was $25 million.
The city of Malden, I'm rounding up, is $17 million. We have a population of 66,000 of 2024. We're not going to use some of them because it's disgusting. Someville, no, not in a bad way. I'm saying it's
gross how much money they're getting from commercial and industrial. They have 40, they almost have $50 million in commercial and residential. Maldon, it's a 58% tax difference. Not that they're paying more, but we're not
using that money for anything. It's not what you make, it's what you keep. You build a house, you build an apartment, there could be services in there. Children, you got to pay it. It's the government, not commercial. So, for every dollar you're getting, you're probably keeping 98 cents.
You're not spending more money than that. We need You're right. And the the the the the person who wrote it said, "We're not going to change it fast." You're damn right we're not. I've been asking for it for 5 years. If we go to 100% residential,
we either become Lawrence or lower. That's what's going to happen because every tax increase is going to all the residents. Simple as that. More importantly, I forgot about this personal property tax. That's on equipment. And I know
Nate's here. If I get it wrong, uh, furniture, machines, all these things that usually goes to business. City of Maryland last year collected $4.8 million in personal property tax. Again, we don't share that revenue. It's called non-compensatory. Basically goes
right in our pocket. We get to keep more of it. Everett got 12 million. 12. Someville got 10. Sus got three.
Medford got four. We're the lowest. Let me see what Chelsea got. Chelsea got six. That's tied to commercial rate. It's not hard to figure out what we got to do here. People call the state. Try focusing on a plan and a vision. Have a
little patience and increase our commercial tax base. Stop taking every little piece of property that we have, gas stations, convenience stores, and turning them into housing. It's killing us. It's killing us. And to be quite honest with you, it's killing you. Whether you're an employee here or a
resident, it's killing you. I don't want to talk about hotel tax, right? Because we all know what that's going to do. Hotel tax, right? We're not going to talk about liquor licenses every year. We're not going to talk about meals tax every year, right? All the stuff that comes along with those businesses. And God forbid they hire somebody.
Now, the other thing, and I'll turn it over. I I will be quick. This is not court. Um, I have a question, but I'll hold that to the end. My My other point was two communities around us. Melrose and
Medford did do an override. Um, you guys, I told you about the commercial base. I told you how we're getting screwed there, right? So before before Meetford did their override, they they
laid off 32 people. It doesn't say I don't think it was police or fire or teachers. I think it was just 32 people. And I know it's not good news for those 32 people, but they cleaned up their act. Nuros laid off 50. Good, bad, and different. Mold and hired
more. And again, we're in a front row seat. We're all collectively I didn't vote for the budget last year because of this. Simply didn't vote for the budget last year. We saw the plane crash. We did nothing and we hoped that we were going to land and we didn't. I
didn't think it was going to come this fast, especially not before election day. My point is this is a fundamental structural deficit that has short-term solutions and long-term solutions. asking the residents the first thing to
do is put their hand in the pocket is is not best thing I think we should do. Now, I'm not saying we're probably not going to get there, but my last thing to the and I don't know who to ask. My question is simply this. I know collectively it's small. I understand
that and for for some I think for most of us it's not going to be a painful endeavor. But I also hear that Marvin's very poor and you know we have high heating bills. We're the second highest state in the
country other than Hawaii to live in. So people are people not live comfortably without making probably $100,000. Let's be very realistic. So if you make $100,000, 30 bucks a month is probably the difference between buying, I don't know, fruit and vegetables or a Big Mac.
That's the reality. We see it every day. My question is, if this were to pass, does this solve our problem? Do we have to come back in two years or the year after and ask for more money?
Because the way I see it, $8 million gets us back to what we borrowed last year out of our free cash to equal. I told everybody before, we have a structural deficit. That means there's a hole in the middle of the ground. And no matter how much money we pour in that hole, the hole is
still going to be there. So, it's not what happens this year that concerns me as much as if we don't fix that school spending formula, which is going to require us probably to give another million and a half dollars this year. This isn't going to be an override. This
is going to be an this is going to be a subscription model like Netflix. Every year we're going to be asking for more than two and a half%. And then Malden will never become affordable. We will never be able to look people in the face. So we got to
collectively look at these problems. Leadership means two things. Understanding the problem and to be quite honest you having the guts to fix the problem. And not everybody in here is probably going to be happy with that. But that's what we're going to have to do.
But don't think we don't understand the problem. We do fix the tax base so we're not putting all the eggs in one basket and have a plan and work on the plan. And then collectively let's get whoever the
delegate is. If it's a senator that's fine. It's not if not I would tell you I would go to the state house with everybody in here. This is not going to go away. And in and in two years, there'll be a new council up here if this continues. I promise you that.
And that's not what this is about. This is about making sure people can stay in their home, making for affordable. And I'm not picking on any of my colleagues. We're all in it together. Regardless how I voted, but the idea of everything's important and we're going to fix this in one year. To be quite honest here, it's And everybody up here knows
it. It's Fix it. Identify the problem. have some real decisions because I don't believe it's do we make cuts and pass the the override. It's we need to make cuts and pass the override and pray to God
something happens good in two years because that's the reality. I apologize for my time. Thank you very much, M. Madam President. Thank you, Councelor Spataphora. Councelor McDonald. Yeah, thank you so much. Um, I actually just wanted to start by saying I I know
our mayor and his team brought charts with some of these uh some of the data about our spending and our financial situation relative to other communities and could we hear what's on those charts and could we maybe position them so that the folks who are watching online can see what's on the charts that are here?
Is that okay? That's perfectly fine. Could we I'm not sure which of you is best to describe the charts. Um, but I think that we usually see the We've got some charts here. What's the best camera? Usually we get a camera. Yeah. So, I I don't think we have them
digitally available to show on screen, but if we could move them, we move them so they're on camera kind of facing the other direction like we would get somebody standing at the podium. Right. What is the best way to do that? Oh, what? Maybe if we just turn them around. Yeah, just turn them around maybe. Thank you.
Thank you, Councelor Ali. And I I IMA Can I Can I ask our UMA folks who are who are on the cameras? Can they Can they see these charts? Because I actually I I don't know whether this is going to work. I Thank you for blocking me, Ron. Really appreciate that. Um, I think they're gonna I think we're going
to be able to see them best if they're next to the podium facing the other way like we would see somebody on camera. You know what I'm saying? All right, there we go. Oh, we got some charts. Okay. Oh, there we go. There we go. There we go. Could someone could one of you from your team please come and just describe what's on these charts for folks who can't read them at home? Can you can you
just describe what's on the charts? Can you please Chuck just read the charts? Okay. So, thank you. Um, so I just want to reiterate as the mayor said in his um in his opening comments um we have a website that um was created uh city of
malden.org back override. These charts are all are are all out there along with a bunch of other information um a um a link where a homeowner can plug in their address, get their actual assessed value, see what the actual override would mean to them on a yearly basis.
But yeah, we like we can just go through these charts one by one. Like I said, they're they're they're um right now we're looking at the required school spending percentage one. Yeah. So so I think that you know to to councelor Spataphor's point earlier that's the crux of the problem here
where this is the only slide where Malden is the the highest to the far right. Um or the blue the tall one on the right. The tall blue on the right. Yeah. We're required to contribute more money um I can that side
on the screen. Yeah. to the to the school department than any other city um around us. I mean that that's what's crippling us. Um and can you just describe so at the top Malden is 40 something at the top of that. This is require this is the amount that the state says we have to spend on
our schools or we are violating the law and that's 40ome%. I can't read okay we can't read. These are live on the website right now that you just read out. I did check that before the meeting started. So for the public watching if they want to navigate to citymalden.org org/override.
All of these charts are working so people can follow along in real time if they would like to. On the lefth hand side of the website, there's all the different links. Um there's a link that'll bring you right to all of these slides uh along with explanations. Um the next slide uh to the well to the
right um shows tax receipts um local receipts, unrestricted aid broken up uh for last fiscal year. Um you'll see a trend here. Malden is the lowest um out of all the surrounding cities and towns. Um the one on the bottom shows
police and fire per capita spending for last fiscal year. Again, Malden is the lowest. So, you know, you know, we hear a lot about Malden has a spending problem. We're spending less per capita than every other city or or town around us. Um
if we move over here, total total expenditures not just for police or fire, but total expenditures per capita. Um Malden again is listed in blue on the lefth hand side. We're the lowest of all seven communities. Um the slide on the bottom I think is a um a good highlight
to Malden. We have the lowest average single family home tax bill for for FY25. Um we're again on the left hand side in blue. Um, as the mayor mentioned, you know, we've been really good at containing debt. Uh, the the
slide over to the right. Yeah. So, so Malden is on the left hand side in blue. We're the second lowest, we have the second lowest um debt payment in FY25. Um, I can't see who the uh Medford is the only community lower
than us. Um and then other government spending which is uh DPW uh general government, city hall, human services um broken up per spending per capita. Again, Malden is the second uh community
to the left in blue. Uh we're the um second lowest out of the se uh seven in spending per capita there as well. So, you know, I think it's important just to note that the slides definitely show that spending wise as compared to our
peers, we're definitely spending much less per capita than than comparable cities and towns. But again, to councilor's point, that first slide that we looked at, required school spending as a percentage um of local taxes on for
for the school, that's what's really crippling us. Um, you know, as council spat said, it's upwards of $30 million a year that we're losing out on because of that broken formula. Thank you, Chuck. Can I Yes. Yeah. Sorry, I was just taking a breath in. I wasn't trying to interrupt
you. Not at all. Um, I really do appreciate Yeah, I was looking at these charts also and and so you can look at them in a little more detail. Yeah. Thank Okay, this is great. We're moving them back. Thank you. Appreciate that. Um, and so
I, you know, I do just want to clarify the purpose of sending something to committee is so we can ask questions. So I I hope we can at least pay our mayor the respect of sending this to committee. Um, but I want to say, you know, this sucks, gang. Like, I'm
frustrated. I think we're all frustrated. Can we agree that we're all frustrated? Is anybody not frustrated? I think we're all frustrated. We're frustrated because this in this economy, the inflation is way too high. People can't afford to live. We're frustrated because of the housing crisis is pricing
people out of the community. We're frustrated because we want to support our dedicated public servants and make sure that they get paid fairly. We're frustrated because the cost of health care are through the roof, 15% last year. And anybody who runs a business,
an organization, who has tried to make payroll, uh, has taken a look at health care costs, I mean, you just shudder. And that's not stopping anytime soon. So, we're frustrated about the reality that we're in. We're frustrated about what the state requires us to do. I, and
I want to spend a little more time on that. I'm going to come back to that. We are frustrated about the fact that we have not been able to grow our commercial tax base the way that some of our neighbors have. I completely agree that we have to talk a lot more about that and we're frustrated that it
doesn't seem like we've been in a public conversation yet. Although I have to say, Mr. Mayor, this has worked to start a public conversation about what is needed. And when I listen to the folks who have written in and explained all, you know, their thoughts to and for this override already, I'm really imp it it
impresses on me how important it is to make sure that this is a public conversation. The nature of a debt of excuse me of an operating override like this is that the people decide voters decide actually not us. It's not the people at this we can we get to say
whether you decide the voters but it actually is up to the voters of this community to decide the future of this city and I think that that is appropriate. I hope that we're not seeking to shortcircuit the will of the voters by trying to grandstand on any
individual agenda. I actually hope everyone has not made up your mind at this point because this is the first meeting we are having about this friends like let's ask a lot of questions. Let's dig into the data. I think that there's a really strong case just to start out that Malden has in fact managed its
money and gone through a lot of different things to get here. It is I mean anyone who has sat at this table should be able to show that this is 100% not the first thing we're doing. Mr. Mayor, you started by ticking off a whole series of things that we've already done that we've all often voted
on. We've restructured our payments on pensions. We're going to a new health care pool. We have not added positions in the last year. We've reduced the debt service, cut that in half in the last couple years. Um, and we are and we continue to to spend low despite being a
highnee community. So, the reality is though that we have to decide what we're going to do. I mean, I completely agree. We need more commercial taxes. And yes, that's right. That takes years. It takes a concentrated effort. I really don't want
to see us go to the voters and ask you to weigh in without being really clear about how we're going to kickstart that whole piece of our leadership. That's on us to help make that happen. It absolutely is. But as angry as we are, as frustrated as we are, and in so many
ways legitimately so, we have to decide what we're going to do. And the choices that we have in front of us for next year are pretty stark. I want to go back to the school funding piece because this this is unique to Malden. The other the other cities that we're comparing ourselves to don't have this situation
here, right? And we talked about this a lot at this table. So, if you know all these things, like just bear with me for folks who are just tuning in. The state law says here's a formula and it tells you how much it costs to educate the kids in your community. And we got high
need kids in our community. We got great schools. I'm a parent. I got two kids in the schools. And that formula says this is how much it costs. We look at everything. We look at the needs of your kids. We look at where they're coming from. Are they English language learners? Do they have special education needs? And this is how much it costs. And then the state says here's how of
that cost. Here's how much you should pay local community. And they have a separate formula for that. And that formula, my friends, does not work. It does not work. And that is not news. We have passed multiple resolutions. I've sponsored them. Other people have sponsored them. We've had our state delegation in. We have been pushing on
this. That is absolutely right. And it has not changed. The one thing that has happened is there is now a task force looking into this with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. And by God, I'm going to be at those hearings and tell them what I think needs to change about the formula.
again, not going to happen by the ne start of the next fiscal year. So if you look if if you if you're out here wondering why has Malden not managed its finances better, I would just point if you look at nothing else,
just know that we are at the floor and I mean the minimum. We're checking dollars to make sure that we're not breaking the law about how much we have to spend on our schools right now. and that that has gone up $20 million since 2023. The state law that is what's different
about that's why it's not just your family pocketbook. Okay, the the state doesn't come in and say you have to spend $20 million more on the schools or you're breaking the law. That is different and they have not given us a single new tool to do that. And yet still we have kept spending low. We have
done all these other things. So that is a huge part of why we are here today. Even though we are in very good company with Medford and Melrose and Stonem and pretty much every other city that doesn't have a giant casino parked in it that is, you know, basically an ATM for the local city budget or Assembly Row is
pretty much the same thing. So, we don't have that. But we do have choices and we can be as frustrated as we want. But we have to figure out what are we going to do? Do we want to absorb the cuts that would would be required to close this
gap? And it's not going to come out of the schools because we we can't even if we wanted to. And we should invest in our schools. That's great. But it is going to come out of everything else in the city. It's going to come out of the hide of yes, fire and police and library and public safety and public health and
everything else. And that sucks that that's the choice, but that is the choice that we are at. And I really look forward to talking about that in the finance committee. Oh, and there's one other thing is that we all voted for the vote. I mean, the city passed the vote that that we didn't the voters passed
the new funding for the Metropolitan uh North Vacational Technical High School. That's a $300 million project of which we pay about 10%. So, you know, I I think we do the best we can here, but I really want us to talk about this in finance and see what all of our questions are, no stone unturned, before
we decide whether to proceed with this. I really appreciate the honesty of asking our residents to engage in an adult conversation, a mature and honest and open conversation about what city we want to have. That's the conversation I want to have. That's the conversation we're going to be having in finance. I urge
you to send in your questions as we consider this uh and let's figure out what it takes to uh invest in our city and allow our voters to guide us in the path forward. Thank you. Thank you, Councelor McDonald. Councelor Winsow.
Yeah, thank you Council McDonald and fellow counselors. Um I mean I you can hear people are very passionate about this. I mean, your uh family budget is always a very tight thing, and I I actually thank the mayor and the team
for bringing this forward. Now, I mean, I always look at I've been in the over the past few years looking at getting a new refrigerator or a new car, and the sooner you start thinking and and putting the numbers together in your budget, the better. I mean, if you wait till the point where your refrigerator
breaks down, not only do you have the cost of new refrigerator, but all that food that was in there gets spoiled. So I think that's the type of thing we have to think of. If we don't have if we're not there proactively with DPW fixing some potholes, people get flat tires, if
we don't have a fire force that's meeting, you know, insurance standards, your insurance rates go up. So, we have to remember there are consequences to making sure and I I do have to say having worked in Somerville, having worked with Medford and Everett in terms
of the Telecom City project now, River's Edge, working up in Gloucester, I've seen a lot of different things happening in the city. I do have to say our financial team is very solid and um you and so I think of this thing. I think we all as counselors, we know that the
school funding formula is obviously we're a big disadvantage. I think one of the things I often say about that dilemma is having worked on on regional things. There's about 10 communities that fall into this category of having a high percentage of expectation. Um and
and we have been trying to work with that those gateway communities. The challenge is I sometimes say is there's not enough dogs to pull. That's like if if 10 10 communities benefit from some change in legislation, but the other 340
lose, that's a difficult political situation. So that's what we hear. It's it's a tough thing. It's an unfortunate thing. I think we still need to continue to work at that. I even proposed to Senator Lewis to try to create some incentive on override so that if we passed an override that we would get
some extra state money. So we would say they he wants to see us put in our share. Well, if we're going to do that as a community, we should get some more benefit as and to break that log jam. But that's the type of thing we have to be when we get stuck. What I found out is we have to be more creative sometimes
to just, you know, we at the legislative level. So that's the type of thing. But I, you know, I do have to say, I mean, it's we wouldn't be New Englanders if we weren't fighting about some taxes coming up. That's that's New England for us. So, it's definitely something, but there's also this truism about, you know, there's nothing certain but death
in taxes. I mean, that's the type of thing we struggle with it. We do that. And, you know, the reality is is under current law, Prop 2 and a half, the people um, not the city council, make the decision about if your tax rates are going to go up more than two and a half
percent. And you know, for 45 years, ne no mayor or council has stepped forward to ask this residents to even consider this. And so, like I say, it's this is very unprecedented. And I do, you know, Mayor Christensen, he worked for the
Middle Sex Sheriff's Department. He has a great financial team. And and and I know, you know, Ron Hogan's here. These are these are Malden Malden highrads or whatever Malden Malden graduates who know the grittiness here. They they they
know in their heart that um Malden is a community that is a working-class community. They are so aware and that's why we've gotten this far. they have done everything we could to try to make sure we spent wisely and you know we've consolidated you know our you know in
inspectional department to make that more efficient. Uh we we've reworked our health department um you know our police and fire department are are meeting great state and national standards but we also have not really expanded those even though our population has gone up
10%. So we have done a lot. So, um, so I I think we really the the thing about starting this out now is we have time to figure out and, you know, listen to all the public input. You know, yes, we are there places in the budget where we can
scrutinize more, but it's also the type of thing to craft something that we can at least a question that we could put out to the voters. Um, but also work with our state delegation to see, you know, I know, you know, if you're on a fixed income, a senior citizen, that's
really tough. I mean, literally you get maybe 30 bucks a month extra in terms of um, you know, your cost of living increases. So, that's a really tough thing. So, we have to see if there's ways in crafting this. I, you know, we have passed a tax increase. I worked
with the the group um that helped create the Community Preservation Act in Malden, which is a small, you know, like maybe $50 a year um increase that people voted on. And I I give credit to that team. They made sure they took set it up
so that every senior exemption um everything that we could do to make sure that had the least impact on our residents was done. So that's one of the things I think we all will be committing to as counselors is whatever proposal we
will be put out there. We will work as hard as we can to make sure there's nobody that this might tip in them in. Like if you are if you have a home owner and your stove or refrigerator is going to break down. I mean mine cost about
600 bucks. So we're talking about you know that's a that's a good amount of people but um for something. So, it is trying to figure out how how we're going to pay for that. And I say if if we you one of the things I'm very happy with since I've come on the council is before
we we were on the council, we had the the council here had voted like $50 million to help fix our water lines and our our our um and and pave streets. And one of the things I observed was that we had not hired any staff to oversee that money.
and it was spent very unwisely and since we've increased our engineering staff and other type of things, the money that we've put out there is being spent more wisely and efficiently. So there's type of things you can be pennywise and pound foolish. And so that's the type of thing
we have to look at that we we do need to see where we can pinch, but let's not be so foolish that we get to the point where we have so many potholes that maybe you're saving, you know, 300 bucks a year in taxes, but hey, it's $600 to, you know, fix your you couple tires that
got flat or that your your homeowners insurance going up. I mean, look what's happening in Florida down there. So those type of things we have to be aware of if we we have a great fire department, other things um public safety. So that that is the type of thing. So I really I am supportive of sending this to committee and I really
think we do have to listen to people make sure we come up with tap every avenue go to our state delegation to make sure that if we advance this um to the voters to vote that that proposal we put forward is not going to put anybody in fiscal peril that we have every
opportunity. So that's really what I think we have time. It's better than, you know, if if your landlord tells you nine months from now your your rent is going up, you can you can that's disturbing. It's very upsetting. But in the end, if you wait till that time the your eviction notice comes in, that's
not the time of thing. We have time to prepare. I give credit to the mayor for sticking this up now to put it even in election season to put it out there to um to do this so we have this conversation and we have time to talk now and and and before we're you know I
think the other thing if anybody it was about 2008 one of the things that that also motivated me as a counselor the the thing that happened in is 2008 2011 when we went to blue bags the biggest one of the biggest things that upset so many
people about that besides the cost was the fact that it literally happened at the 11th hour with no community input. So I give credit to Mayor Christensen rather than pulling something out of his hat on June 30th, 2026 to balance the 2027 budget. We're going to have this
conversation now and we can work on it. So So let's be open-minded. Let's have that conversation. You know, we are we all love Malden and but we also want to make sure that no one gets put over a fiscal cliff on what this happens. But but you you heard from the public
comments there are people that are willing to try to work this through. So we have to work that balance through. So I just committed to talking about this committee having a great community conversation coming up with some proposal that is pal palable as possible and ultimately that's our role as a
council. Then we bring it to the people. that's the people's right to vote on it and then we as counselors will deal with the you know we will follow the people's will. So that's really we just want to make sure we put something out there that people can can really educate
themselves about make that consideration and we as counselors will all be committed to follow the people's will. So, that's really what I have to say. And I just just one last thing talking about commercial development when I was I worked at city of Somerville when they were planning out Assembly Square. Um,
and and and one of the things I have to say was that there was a determined group of residents who supported they wanted initially that was supposed to be a stop and shop to be uh IKEA. the residents there were determined to make sure that if they brought a new orange
line station into um Assembly Square that that was going to be a major development. The city to make sure that happened to the the state wasn't coming up with the match. They voted on a $50 million bond. I mean, you can see why Somerville has such a high bond rate, but to to get the level of commercial
development that you want, we got to be bolder as a city. So, as we work on our master plan, you got to remember we can't fix ourselves to three-story buildings across the city to think that we're going to make up for the commercial type of thing that's happening in the Somerville or Everett. That casino ain't three stories tall.
The buildings in Assembly Square or or Union Square aren't three stories tall. So, if we really think we're going to build a commercial commercial tax base and not be bolder, we are fooling ourselves. And like I say, I've seen it. those those communities
dug, you know, plunged deeply into that. That's something we have to think about. We're going to have go through that process, too. But that tax base they built is not um just by accident. They really leaned into that. They put money into it and they they redid their
zoning. Somerville zoning is totally different. Our zoning is stuck in the 1980s. So, it's the type of thing if we are talking about commercial development as a solution. That's and and councelor that's 5 years out counselor waiting with their light on. We need so that's what I say. Let's lean in.
Let's get this conversation going and uh go forward from there. Thank you so much. Great councelor Cologne Hayes. Okay. Thank you very much. Um so I feel like we sat through a few finance 101 lectures so I'm not going to go into
like any of these details. Um what I am going to say is I will be honest. I have spoken um previously about a Prop 2 and a half override. Um personally I feel that I am privileged enough to think yeah I can I can afford that and you
know we get what we pay for and we don't want to make making any cuts. No way are we should we be cutting anyone who's in this room especially our safety folks. Um but this isn't about me and it's about the people. And I immediately heard the second this was put on the
agenda tons of phone calls from people very concerned and worried and of course um you know we need to listen to everybody. I also just want to say that none of this should come as a surprise. Um I've only been on the uh city council for four years but Mr. Hogan's come to
us I can remember at least twice with huge uh finance issues that we all heard. I put them out on my Facebook immediately just to let everybody else know like we are having some problems coming down the road. At that point, I I immediately asked, this was I think it
was four years ago, let's talk about a debt override. And that was because we were talking about the garages and how much they were going to cost us um to repair and also the vote, which I voted on. I love the vote. We need to have that there. But we knew both of those
were coming down the road and that they were going to cost us a lot of money. Um, I don't want to look like we could have, should have, would have, but I'm going to vote yes, of course, to, you know, more talk into the finance committee, but I am so still on the fence about what we need to do as a
community to get us through this. We have lots of questions. Um, we need to, you know, ask more what we can do before we put this on um the ballot. One of them I had talked about last night was um an audit. And not the audit that we do annually. We all know we do an audit annually. I mean, a deeper dive audit
and one that comes from the state and we need to talk about it. I did read some of the the mayor's memo and I like the fact that he was talking about bringing it to the CEIC like the committee to have some community discussions. I think that's great, but I would love to um ask
that it's a combination, right? It this is coming from you. I'd love to work with your office. I don't think it should just fall on us, but if we're if we're going to hold meetings, we should probably all hold them together. Um, so we'll talk about that in the meeting. Um, I don't want it just to fall on us. I think we should as a city be working
as a team, legislative, executive branch, um, to get us through this. So, I look forward um, to talking more about this, listening more really from the people and not lecturing. I heard, you know, a lot of lecturing tonight. So,
um, I'll vote yes. Please have this amount of people showing up to all our meetings and I will be on um every social media and anything that I can please, you know, putting out all information and ask us questions and um we need to, you know, get us all through
this. And again, I am on the fence. So, I'm going to be listening to everybody. Thank you. Thank you, Councelor Clone Hayes. Councelor Ali, thank you. Um you know, I think what something that's really important is that we don't fearonger no matter what your position is. um you know and I have
heard that um you know there if we don't do this you know we're going to be cutting rank and file uh employees and I think it's important for people to know that that's a choice that's not that's not a requirement that we cut rank and file employees. Um but it's also true
that what we're dealing with right now is the consequences of of you know years of bad decisions that we've made. Um and these bad decisions to be clear are the responsibility of all of us. This is not all on the mayor's shoulders by any means. Uh we are all elected officials.
We've been hearing this from our financial team for years. Um I've been on the council now for 10 years. We were talking about it 10 years ago. We're still talking about it now. Um and and during those years, uh we had all the information we possibly could need. We've seen this happening. I've
mentioned this many times. Many of my colleagues have mentioned this. Um but what has happened in my opinion, this is my personal opinion, is that um you know it's tough to get reelected every two or four years or whatever your term is. And so oftentimes there's a disincentive to
actually address the structural problems that councelor Spataphora was talking about. Um you know people often put their short-term political aspirations over the long-term health of the city. Um, and I I want to also reiterate what has been said, including councelor Winslow, which I was happy to hear. Um,
a lot of this responsibility does fall at the feet of our our our state delegation. Um, and I'm going to say it, particularly Senator Jason Lewis. Um, Senator Jason Lewis came into this room when we were talking about our education formula and said that Malden doesn't pay
enough taxes. Direct quote. Paraphrase. I don't want to get sued. And I want to say to the public, when does councelor Spataphora, Simonelli, the mayor, and myself all agree and Neil and and Neil Kennet, when do we all
agree? So I would say that that shows you what where the problem is at and we can't just be putting, you know, the fact that we don't want to upset the apple cart and we want to preserve our, you know, political aspirations because we want to go for that next thing. Let's actually
solve the problems. let's work together as a community. And what has been very explicitly said is that the stateation, at least on the Senate side, will not help change the chapter 70 formula until we pass an override.
At the same time, our Department of Secondary and Elementary Education left the city. They the state is literally turning its back on Malden. They are leaving Malden. And it's not just the education formula where they're turning their backs on us, but the loss of Desi impacts our
revenues from our our meals taxes to being able to increase the daytime density so our businesses survive. How in the world did Desi leave? They went to Everett. So I would say that, you know, when it comes to a Prop 2 and a half override,
you know, the the council really there's no restrictions on where that money can be spent. Um the city council has no control over where that money will be spent. It goes into general revenue. Um our finance committee though their only role is to recommend cuts to the budget and that's a responsibility that has not
happened in probably the close to 10 years now. When I first came on, there were often discussions about we need to cut this budget line item so that we can, you know, maintain the long-term health. That hasn't been happening. Um I appreciate that Council McDonald has made the finance committee accessible.
Um, but it's not just about hearing the problems, it's about solving the problems. Um, and I will say that before we do a Prop 2 and a half override, um, we really need to look at other ways to solve this problem. Um, you know, councelor, um, Colon Hayes had mentioned
some stuff about debt. Uh, so a debt exclusion is basically when you put something on the ballot and you say, "Hey, we want to do a capital project um, and we need the funds to do this." The way we have been funding capital projects is from the general fund. If you're spending your general revenue
fund money on oper that should be going to operations on capital projects, you don't have any money left. So, you know, rather than um funding lead pipes, we could be funding lead pipes out of a debt exclusion. We could be funding new schools out of the debt exclusion. We
could be funding the the voke debt out of a debt exclusion. Parks, a new fire station, road works, storm drains. Currently, that's all coming out of general revenue, new growth. I appreciate the mayor and the and the
team for looking to bring new growth to our community, but new growth is how we get out of this. And I know that there has been an anti-development thing for a long time, but new growth is above and beyond the 2.5%. If you encourage high quality development, that is going to bring in
more revenue for us above the two and a half percent. So, we can actually afford the things that we that we expect. And I'll give you an example. We had two class A office buildings that were being proposed on on Pleasant Street. But unfortunately, because of the permitting and delays that happened at the local
level, that pushed it into the pandemic and then into the tariff wars. And it's not possible for them to build these commercial buildings anymore. the tax the tax base that councilor spat wants to build. Um, another way to do this is to bring new businesses. So, changing
our zoning to allow for more by buy commercial and retail businesses. Um, I actually can say that councelor spedor and I crossed the aisle uh many years ago maybe in 2019 and we passed a comprehensive reform commercial development along the Malden River. Um,
these are the things that we can do. It's not just about saying, "Hi, we need to reach into your pocket and take your money." Um, I appreciate that that this is the challenge, but the mayor needs a team here. We as a city need to be like together on what is the problem. The
problem is the education formula. So, I don't want to belabor the point, but we really need to resolve that. Um, and I will also say that I don't think it's fair to the public to have this election in the middle of winter. I just don't think that's fair. Um, it really reminds
me of what happened with the vote, uh, which was, I think, the low the lowest turnout election that we ever had. And as councelor McDonald stated, the the vote debt is one of the other reasons why we're having a significant issue. That doesn't mean I'm anti- voke. That doesn't mean I don't want there to be trades. My father was a union painter. I
want that. Preferably, I would have liked a vote to be built in Malden so it's more convenient for our students to go there. But, you know, we have what we have. Let's try to figure out a way to resolve this. And I would fully support a debt exclusion because then I know it's going to lead pipes. I know it's
going to schools. I know it's going to a park. There's another way. I hope we will explore that in finance. Thank you all. Thank you to the mayor for bringing this to to to the public because I do agree with council McDonald. It has brought this to the surface and I think that we're going to resolve it this time. I
think that collectively we're going to be moving forward. We know what the problem is and we're going to tackle it. Thank you. Thank you, Councelor Ali. So, at this time, I'll be looking for a motion to refer this to finance. Oh my goodness. Okay, I'll take councelor Sika, seconded
by councelor Taylor. All in favor? I. Okay, that motion carries. Thank you all for coming. Next order of business. Are we back to the consensus, but do you mind reading that? Okay, I appreciate
it. We can we don't have a full rest of the agenda. Are you okay? All right. We're good. We're good. Do you think we have I don't think the hearing is going to be very Okay, thank you everybody for that.
Moving on to the next order of business. This evening's consent agenda consists of meeting minutes to be approved, one appointment to be placed on file, four petitions to be referred to license committee, and one paper to be referred to rules and ordinance. Does any council have a desire to remove any of these items from the consent agenda for the
purpose of further discussion? Okay. Motion by councelor Crow, seconded by councelor Cologne Hayes. All in favor? I. That carries. Next order of business. Council will hold a public hearing on National Grid petition to install a new
poll on paper 362-25. Do we have a representative from National Grid in the meeting with us tonight or online? If they are online, please raise your hand. Okay, great. Thank you. Okay, so we have Cam Cameron Hansel
Oh, whoa. Oh, no. like a panelist. Sorry, Cameron. Just hang on with us for a minute. Cameron, if you could unmute yourself, please. We're going to make you a presenter.
I'm going to read the paper into the record. Okay. First and then we will actually Okay. Paper 362-25 petition. Massachusetts Electric Company DBA National Grid plan number 311-92064
National Grid to install one so pole P2363-84 on Weight Street with a sidewalk anchor and to install guywire from P2363 to P2363-84 to prevent P2363 from leaning over and
this is a public hearing on this petition. Okay, so I will declare the public hearing open. Anyone wishing to speak in favor, please like, well, I guess we can recognize Cameron. If you're able to speak, you can unmute and we can recognize you to
state your name and address for the record. Cameron, are you able to turn on your microphone and your camera so that we can speak with you? Even just the microphone would be fine. I don't know. Can't hear anything. Where is it muted?
Oh, the audio at the bottom. That's the computer that's muted. We should be able to hear him through the Cameron. Are you able to hear us? Yes. Oh, there you are. There you go. That's better. Thank you. Cameron is with us.
Cameron's. Okay. Can Can you hear me now? Yes, we can. You can go ahead, Cameron. Thank you. Okay. Um, so yeah, basically the new pole is going to go uh in the sidewalk on Weight Street. Uh,
and then there will be additional supports tying it to the pole at the corner of Weight Street and Church Street to prevent it from falling over. Okay. Do we have questions for Cameron?
Councelor Winsel, this is in your ward, right? Yeah. Okay. Oh, sorry. Hang on. Let me light you up. One second. Okay. Councelor Councelor Winsow. So yeah, I met with uh National Grid on as well as um the Flynn's who live at this
location. Um the Flynn's actually raised this with National Grid. What's happening is is that um you know there's a line of poles on Church Street that connects across um Weight Street. And what's happening is that the poles on Church Street are sorting pulling their
line that's pulling the pole and then pulling the line at their house. They're concerned that their power is going to get snapped. So um the purpose of this pole is to stabilize that the you know often when you have power going around a
corner the poles may get pulled out um you know by the tension from other poles. So it's to put in a stabilizing pole and you know the Flynn's were happy. Um the location is weight street actually uh one of a few streets in war six that actually has a grassy strip
between the sidewalk and the homes. So the pole will be located there. It'll be in a location that's not going to interfere with the trees. So it's actually pretty good. So it's just um something that that'll be helpful to stabilize the um you know the poles and make sure that others don't get out of alignment and stuff like that. And uh
and also make sure the Flynn's uh power doesn't go out. So I am supportive of this and uh you know we had that conversation. So yeah. Okay. Thank you councelor Winsel. Any other questions from among the council for Cameron? Okay.
What's that? Who you just want to open the hearing? Oh, sorry. Councelor Spataphora, go right ahead. Cameron, is there anything else going on that poll? Is there a new poll? No, it's only there for it will only be there for support. So, nothing's going on that poll.
There's no other telecommunications. Nothing else. You're not going to lease it out to a cable box? No, it's a singleowned only national grid poll. All right. I I just want to I put my footnote in here. Not that I'm against that stuff, but this is this is the
trick with National Grid. They put poles up and then they rent it out and then we have 15 polls that hinder, I think, progress. But I understand the situation for Council Winslow. It's structural and I want to make sure that's safe. But I think sometimes we get taken advantage
of because you guys put poles up and then rent it out and then the neighbors call up and say, "Why is there six poles in front of my house and two of them got electricity on them? The other one's got cable boxes." So, as long as you got that on the record, I'm fine with it. I happy to support Council Winso's initiative. Thank you.
Okay. Thank you, Councelor Spataphora, Councelor Ali. I'm sure I'm sure that they don't have a plan to do it now because the poll doesn't exist. But like that doesn't change the fact that their their intention can change and it would they would that would still be true what he said. Um I think the question is going
to be whether or not electricity will be run to that pole. Um that would enable what you're describing. Um but if you wanted to put a condition that there'd be no electricity or or no small cell antennas on the pole cable.
Yeah. I don't I don't I can't speak to cable boxes on on the polls, but um yeah, that's my only thought. Okay, so let's conclude the hearing before we obviously do any conditions. Um does anybody else in the chamber wish
to speak in favor of this petition? Going once, going twice. Okay, seeing none, does anybody wish to speak in opposition to this petition? Okay, seeing none, I will close the
hearing and I will entertain a motion with or without conditions on whether to grant this petition. Yep. Councelor Winsow. So, my suggestion is we authorize um this petition for the purpose of a
sidewalk anchor pole that um does not include power or uh other accompanyments. So, that's really they normally don't. So, okay, I think that should be working. Do we have a second to that motion? Okay. On a motion by councelor Winsow, seconded by councelor Spataphora.
Uh, all in favor? I I Okay, that motion carries. The petition is granted. Thank you, Cameron. Thank you. I will. Yes. So the standard positions with the
granting of a petition such as this is that the engineer will be called when dig safe is notified, the streets and sidewalks to be restored to the satisfaction of the director of public works and to include council Winslow's um condition as well of no power the
accompaniment on the poll now or in the future. Okay. So, next order of business, paper 364-25, order authorizing the city of Malden to borrow $1.5 million from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development or any other entity
associated therewith to support a second phase of construction for the Malden River Works project. Okay. Councelor McDonald I can save us all a little time by noting that I think we all love and support this project but we need some
time to talk about this paper. So I would um just to be clear this is another one because all financial papers are proposed by the mayor and I as the city council finance chair put my name on it to escort the paper through the
process but this is not my paper. Um, so we will, uh, I'd like to make a motion that we refer this to the finance committee. Before we take that vote, I'm going to ask the clerk to actually read the memo that accompanies the paper with apologies. We should have done that first. Sure. Dear members of the city council, the
city of Malden is seeking a section 108 loan in the amount of $1.5 million for the second vertical construction phase of the Malden River Works project. The second phase of work will include the construction of a boat house in the Malden River Works Park and a salt shed in the DPW yard. This construction will
cost an estimated $4.1 million. We are planning for approximately 1.1 million of the project's existing grant funding to go towards this phase. We are also pursuing other funding surface sources including Barrett Foundation funding and
a grant through the state's office of coastal zone management though neither of these funding sources is confirmed as of now. As you may know section 108 loan programs is a federal program for the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. Cities like us can borrow
up to five times our annual community development block grant entitlement award less our outstanding commitments and balances which in our case comes to $3.2 million. Previous section 108 loans include Roosevelt Park 2018 road repairs
the senior center and the mayor's housing task force now called problem property unit. As with previous section 108 loans, principal and interest would be paid over 15 years using CDBG funds. Your authorization of this borrowing will allow us to proceed in applying for
the loan, which will bring us closer to determining likely principal and interest payments. As you also know, the Malden River Works project will be impactful on multiple levels. The project not only creates access to one of Maldin's greatest natural resources, the Malden River, but it also addresses
critical flooding issues and needed improvements in the DPW yard. Boat house construction is particularly necessary to support Malden High School's popular rowing team and salt shed construction is necessary to prevent winter rock salt runoff into the Malden River. The entire
project has broad community support thanks to its active and motivated steering committee. Please let me know if you need additional information and thank you for your attention to this. Madison Cele Gary Christensen, mayor, city of Malden. Okay, thank you. So on a motion by
councelor McDonald and who seconded that? Councelor Cologne Hayes. All in favor? I I Okay, that passes favorably to refer to finance. Next order of business.
Paper 365-25. order that the city council will vote whether to go into executive session with legal counsel for the city regarding the matter of tough construction incorporated v city of Malden for the purpose of exemption three Massachusetts general law as chapter 301 section 2183 to discuss
strategy with respect to litigation where such discussion in open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the litigation position of the city if so declared by the chair and if so allowed by the body to admit Maria Louise special assistant to the mayor Roll call required.
I just literally just read that. Yep. Okay. So, citing exemption three of mass general law chapter 38 section 21E wherein discussing paper 424-25 in open meeting would have a detrimental effect on the city's litigating
position. Do I have a motion to enter into executive session? Motion. Okay. On a motion by councelor SEA. We have discussion on the motion. Councelor Ali. Um, I would move that we have this discussion in open session.
We've started doing that. We started talking about our legal cases in open session now. Um, so I' I'd prefer to that we do that. Thank you. Do we have discussion on councelor Ali's motion? Is the p the paper? No, the mot the motion.
We don't have a second on the motion yet. So, So, councelor Seika's motion is is to exe is it prevails because it was taken up first. Correct. Clerk. Okay. So, on councelor Seika's motion seconded by councelor Crowe to enter
executive session. Do we need a roll call vote? We do. Okay. Clerk, will you please call the role? Council clone Hayes? Yes. Council Condan? Yes. Council Crowe? Yes. Council McDonald? Yes. Council Ali? No. Council Seika, yes. Council Simali is no longer with us.
Council Spataphora, Council Taylor, Council Winsow, yes. Council President Lahan, yes. Okay. The council will enter into executive session. Uh the body will not We can certainly do personal privilege.
Is that okay with everyone? Okay. So, we will do personal privilege. We will not reconvene after we will adjourn directly from executive session after we conduct personal privilege. Councelor Sika for personal privilege. Thank you, Council Lahan. I just want to
remind everybody that this Sunday is our annual public safety day down at Lynen Park. Um it is I'm sorry, sir. We're still in session, everybody. Can we please have a little quiet in the chamber? 11:00 a.m. to 100 p.m. I'm
sorry. Council of Sataphora. It's public safety day on Sunday. I know. We're going to do personal privilege right now. So, God knows we might not be out of here till midnight, but um just want to remind everybody that this Sunday, rain or shine, public safety
day, Lynen Park. I unfortunately will not be um present this year. I'm so sad over this, but I have a family wedding that I need to go to in Arizona and nobody wanted to change the date. So, um, but it's fine. It'll run perfectly.
You won't even know that I'm not there. So, I hope everyone has an amazing time on Sunday and I'll look forward to seeing pictures of everybody. Thank you. Thank you, Councelor Sika. Councelor Winslow. Yeah, I just I wanted to thank the War Six voters who came out for the
September 16th primary. I'm honored to have been the leading candidate there and reminding everybody we do have the election on November 4th. So, I'm so everybody u every I saw the counselors at large yesterday at that debate. Uh congratulations to everybody on that. It's great to get the word out to
voters. Um just a few things. Um councelor Crow and I will actually be at public safety day um working to give out some bike helmets. So, um that is happening. Um we'll fill in there a bit for councelor SEA. Um and then on October 26th at the Salemwood school,
the Maplewood Association is hosting the Halloween event there with the uh Salemwood PTO. So, um looking forward to having people come out on the 26th. I think it's starting around 11 o'clock and going till about 3. So, um just want to let people know about that. But
wonderful. Thank you, Councelor Taylor. Did I not Oh, hang on. I shut it off. I don't know. You're all set now. Thank you. Um, so I just want to remind everybody tomorrow we're um hosting Italian Heritage Celebration. Um, October is Italian Heritage Month and
it'll be right at the city hall plaza. So please stop by. Um, I've been told that the traveling afficary is going to make avagadoos. Uh, so gelato with uh, espresso as well as there will be canoli's um, donation from Bianke
sausages and panadosi bread. So, a lot um learn a lot about Italian history and culture and um come celebrate with us tomorrow night from 5:00 to 7:00 and then October 18th um we will be haunting the woods at Pine Banks again. And I
hope you will all join us. Um it'll start at 5:30, go to 8:00 p.m. So, um get in touch. You know, we'll have flyers out soon, but get in touch if you want to participate. Thanks. Awesome. Thank you. And last but not
least, Councelor Ali. Oh, that's okay. Everybody's hot with their Thank you very much. Um, I just want to thank the volunteers that came out to Weights Mount this weekend for our cleanup. Uh, we had a great we had amazing weather and a great turnout. I really appreciate it to
everyone. A special uh thank you to the great Malden Outdoors uh and DJ for organizing uh you know more volunteers particularly from the climbing community. Um I also want to give a shout out to the fact that the live like
Becca scholarship fund night uh or day is occurring on October Saturday October 4th at 2 p.m. You can still buy your tickets. Yeah, you would be great to show up and uh you know remember uh the great contributions of a good friend of mine, Becca Knight, who um unfortunately
passed away from a tragic whitewater rafting u trip. And you know, we get together um every year to remember her and to fund raise for scholarships for Malden students. On that same day, um there will also be a climbing festival
at Weights Mount U put on by the great Malden Outdoors. Um, I believe it's at 3M, but please go and check out the time to confirm. Thank you. Thank you, Councelor Ali. Okay, we will reconvene in executive session. And once again, we will not be returning here. We
are going to adjourn directly from our executive session. Thank you everyone for coming tonight.