Page 4 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, May 23, 2025 LETTER | FROM PAGE 1 a more predictable course. The multi-year trend in double-digit Health Insurance increases continues, with a 17% increase in premiums for active insurance plans for FY2026. Our consultants tell us this is expected to continue as the costs of everything from nurses to weightloss drugs and everything in between drive health insurance costs higher. Our team is looking at every available option to contain these costs while providing our employees with quality health care. Any potential mutually beneficial changes would not yield dividends until the next annual budget. On the education front, our schools continue to see benefits from the Student Opportunity Act (SOA), which has increased both Chapter 70 Aid and the amount we as a City are required to contribute. I’ve covered in depth the lack of equity in the school funding formulas and won’t belabor that point here. However, this is certainly a significant factor in the structurLawrence A. Simeone Jr. Attorney-at-Law ~ Since 1989 ~ * Corporate Litigation * Criminal/Civil * MCAD * Zoning/Land Court * Wetlands Litigation * Workmen’s Compensation * Landlord/Tenant Litigation * Real Estate Law * Construction Litigation * Tax Lien * Personal Injury * Bankruptcy * Wrongful Death * Zoning/Permitting Litigation 300 Broadway, Suite 1, Revere * 781-286-1560 lsimeonejr@simeonelaw.net MALDEN CITY COUNCIL: The members of the Malden City Council’s Finance Committee will review the FY2026 Municipal Budget Proposal of $236.1 million submitted by Mayor Gary Christenson. The City Council includes, from left to right: Front row: Jadeane Sica (Ward 8), Chris Simonelli (Ward 7), Carey McDonald (at-large), Ari Taylor (Ward 5) and Amanda Linehan (Ward 3); back row: Peg Crowe (Ward 1), Craig Spadafora (at-large), Karen Colón Hayes (at-large), Paul Condon (Ward 2), City Council President Ryan O’Malley (Ward 4) and Stephen Winslow (Ward 6). (Courtesy/City of Malden) al deficit. Make no mistake about it, SOA has provided valuable additional funding to our schools, while putting additional pressure on an already out-of-balance local contribution requirement. We must be aware of the impact of the end of SOA in FY2027 and the difficulties school districts will face in adjusting to a ‘new normal’ with annual increases returning to norms at the same time that contractual obligations have been locked in well above these levels. Additionally, this year’s budget carries an almost $1 million cost associated with the NE Voke school building project. While of course much needed to provide a quality education to the students who attend from Malden, this additional burden is significant for Malden and simply adds to an already difficult budget situation. The coverage of the challenges we face would not be complete without covering a couple of important components, despite whatever discomfort comes with recognizing them. First, numbers don’t lie. Malden generates fewer tax dollars per dollar of assessed value than all but two gateway cities. Put another way, our blended tax rate is lower than the norm, the average, and just about every other gateway city. This may present itself in different ways in each community on the residential rate side depending on the ability to shift the burden to the commercial side. The realities of Prop 2 1/2 have ensured that absent overrides, communities are set to stay in a tight band from where they started. Consider Malden as compared to Everett, Fall River, Taunton and New Bedford. All four have assessed values at or below that of Malden, yet on average, they generate $39 million more in tax revenue! This sits at the very foundation of our challenges. Where to from here? Immediately upon the conclusion of this budget, it’s my intent to work with the City Council to establish a working group to look holistically at the structural deficit to chart a course for the future. Everything will need to be on the table. That we are not alone in this predicament is of little consolation. We must identify a solution that works for us as a community, and do so taking into account the great knowledge of this community that we possess. It’s difficult to predict the future, but we can see some things coming, and that will play an important part in trying to develop a long-term plan to address the current structural deficit. Respectfully submitted, Mayor Gary Christenson
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