Mayor Brodeur’s Statement on Passage of the Fiscal Year 2022 Budget

After several weeks of Appropriations Committee hearings, last night the Melrose City Council unanimously voted to adopt my administration’s Proposed Fiscal Year 2022 budget. I would like to thank the Council and City Clerk Kristin Foote for their partnership and hard work throughout this process.

Designing a municipal budget is a collaborative effort, and I am especially grateful for the leadership of the School Committee and Superintendent Kukenburger, city department heads, and staff members who helped craft this balanced, fiscally responsible, and progressive economic roadmap for the coming year. I am proud to stand hand in hand with these teams and our City Council who harmonized in extraordinary ways over the past year and a half to continue delivering exemplary services to our community. I also want to thank the many residents who shared their thoughts and opinions about their priorities for Melrose as we look ahead toward a vaccinated “new normal.”

In both content and format, this budget represents the model I hoped to present when I took office in 2019, thanks in no small part to former Chief Assessor Chris Wilcock’s innovation in building our interactive budget dashboard, and Assistant Auditor Kerri Golden’s invaluable guidance year after year. This marks an important first step in enhancing accessibility to municipal finance. This balanced budget, combined with strategic capital investments in our parks, schools, roads and traffic safety, and support for our diversity, equity and inclusion goals, moves Melrose forward in a positive direction.