This is the final in a six-part series examining Marblehead’s budget challenges and possible paths forward. To read more in the series, MarbleheadCurrent.org.
Over the past several weeks, Marblehead officials have laid out the numbers behind the town’s three-year, tiered override proposal, driven by rising costs, constrained state aid and the limits of Proposition 2 1⁄2.
But beyond an override, are there any other ways to raise revenue locally that can meaningfully help close the $7.7 million gap?
The answer, based on local data, state law and interviews with officials and policy experts, is that few options remain — and those that do are unlikely to significantly change the town’s financial outlook.
MassBudget Reference:
“Property taxes are the overwhelming way that municipalities raise money,” said Phineas Baxandall of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. “There can be small opportunities from things like hotels and rental cars and cannabis shops, or things like fines and fees, but property taxes is king when it comes to revenue in Massachusetts.”
