Melrose Council Holds Levy Flat for Seventh Straight Year, Eyes 2020 Rate Drop

MELROSE -- December 13, 2018, Melrose City Council approves a flat 2019 general-fund levy of $940,000 for the seventh consecutive year. The council voted unanimously Thursday on a full slate of year-end business, highlighted by a 2019 budget showing an estimated tax rate of 66.5 percent, down roughly 2.5 percent, with a projected further drop to below 50 percent in 2020 when a major bond retires. The council approved a $70,000 engineering contract for 2019 street improvements on Turkey Lane, Third Avenue, Worth Avenue, and four downtown alleys, against an estimated construction cost of $422,000. A contract renewal with TRICAP, the regional transit nonprofit, was approved; Executive Director Lori Schultz reported nearly 9,000 bus rides expected for Melrose residents in 2018, up from 7,927 in 2017, at $1.25 per in-city trip. The council also voted to reopen the police sergeant position vacant since 2014 and decertified Tax Increment Financing District No. 8-1 for Cornerstone Development, a move staff credited with saving the city more than $1,200 in additional accounting costs by acting before the new year.