Town Meeting 2025 – Fiscal Stability with a well-managed town government is the top priority for most Town Meeting members

By Mark E. Vogler

A majority of Town Meeting members surveyed by The Saugus Advocate consider passing a balanced budget while maintaining Saugus’ fiscal stability to be their top priority as they prepare for this year’s Annual Town Meeting, which is set to convene on Monday (May 5). Fifteen Town Meeting members out of 29 who responded to a questionnaire from the newspaper cited doing what they can to maintain good financial management of the town as their most important concern.

Precinct 5 Town Meeting Member Mark Panetta cited as his top priority “Maintaining our AA+/Stable rating from S&P Global, which is the highest in Saugus’ history.”

“This favorable rating helps Saugus achieve more favorable borrowing rates which saves the taxpayers money,” he said.

Several other Town Meeting members stressed the importance of the bond rating being at heart of the town’s fiscal stability. “As to my top priority going into this years’ Town Meeting, I have always been cognizant of the need for the Town of Saugus to do everything it can by way of its’ management and its’ financial and budgetary obligations to secure its’ beneficial bond rating,” Precinct 10 Town Meeting Member Martin Costello said. “There are many other cities and towns in this Commonwealth that do not possess such a luxury! As is the case with every ensuing fiscal year, this one being no different, inflationary pressures and economic uncertainties arise that must be addressed and a financially sound construct in any city or towns’ government, is paramount to that municipality’s being able to provide for all of the necessary elements to that city or towns’ governance & stability! Saugus has been such a place for some time now and I hope for it to remain so for years to come!”

Third fire station high on the list

Also rating high among Town Meeting members’ top priorities was the pursuit of a third fire station to be located on the west side of town. Six Town Meeting members identified the fire station as their number one issue going into the Annual Town Meeting, which gets underway at 7:30 p.m. Monday in the second floor auditorium at Town Hall.

“The top priority for the town has been a 3rd fire station,” Precinct 8 Town Meeting Member William E. Cross III said.

“It’s the hot topic at every re-election cycle since I can remember,” said Cross, who also serves as a captain in the Fire Department.

Many other Town Meeting members cited a third fire station as a runner-up choice.

Of great interest to Town Meeting members is an article submitted by the town manager for one of the Special Town Meetings to seek funding for phase two of a feasibility study for a fire station/West Side Public Safety and EMS Response facility to be located on the west side of town. These funds would be used in conjunction with funds appropriated under Article 7 of the May 2023 Special Town Meeting.

It could be several nights before members tackle any of the articles on the warrant for the Annual Town Meeting, as Town Manager Scott C. Crabtree requested three separate Special Town Meetings. Crabtree told selectmen recently that discussion of a warrant article to amend the town’s Zoning By-laws to add an MBTA Communities Multi-Family Overlay District (MCMOD) could take at least a night during one of those Special Town Meetings.

Other top priorities

Seven Town Meeting members cited top priorities other than the town’s fiscal stability or the public safety building:

• Robert J. Camuso Sr. of Precinct 2: A priority I would like to see addressed is how Saugus is going to fund the upcoming obligated bill from the Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational High School project.
• Peter A. Rossetti Jr. of Precinct 2: I think there are two priorities for Town Meeting. One is housing and the other is education. On the housing side, there are many Saugus residents that are looking for housing; seniors in large homes that wish to downsize, however, there are limited places they can go…

Education is another key issue. Housing is related to the school system. The better the school system the more desirable the community is to live in and the more expensive the housing. This impacts the tax base, and finances of the town

• Mark V. Sacco, Jr. of Precinct 3: Saugus desperately needs a charter review to correct the imbalance of power in local government. The lack of meaningful voter participation and the repeated rejection of community-driven initiatives—such as the effort to improve transparency and engagement—show that the current system is designed to suppress, not empower, the voices of residents.
• Ronald Wallace of Precinct 5: By far the most important issue for me is the cemetery expansion. The dog park should be below this on the priority scale. Just my opinion. Saugus needs to provide cemetery plots for residents. I myself being a lifelong resident would like to be buried in my hometown.
• John Chipouras of Precinct 7: We are building more and more Apartments and Condos!! How do we educate all the new children that come to town!! We need to reopen some of the elementary schools!!
• Katrina Berube of Precinct 9: The article that I think will spur the biggest debate this year is the proposed Zoning By-law changes to create an MBTA Communities Multi-Family Overlay District to bring Saugus into compliance with the MBTA Communities Act. I think that it is important that we get this right as a town, and I am looking forward to hearing the thought process and reasoning behind the article as presented and the debates both for and against.
• John Cottam of Precinct 9: In my view the top priority is the Selectmen signing Town Manager Scott Crabtree to a long-term contract. It was great news for the Town of Saugus, Scott Crabtree and his family. Town Manager Scott Crabtree has always put Saugus first and led with common sense.

“Two elephants in the room”

Precinct 10 Town Meeting Member Peter Manoogian said he believes there are some controversial issues related to Saugus Public Schools that some school officials may not feel comfortable talking about at this year’s Town Meeting.

“In my opinion there will be two elephants in the room at the 2025 Annual Town Meeting,” Manoogian told The Saugus Advocate.

“The first will be the school budget which, as proposed by the Manager and the Selectmen, cannot sustain the level of spending as well as the demands of the teacher’s union to fund a new contract,” said Manoogian, a former School Committee member.

“Additionally, the School Committee has failed to disclose how much the McMahon arbitration award will cost and how they propose to fund that settlement,” Manoogian said, referring to the town’s financial obligation to ex-Saugus School Superintendent Erin McMahon, who was fired in November 2023. Earlier this year, an arbitrator ruled that the School Committee breached McMahon’s five-year contract and that she was wrongly fired and is entitled to the final two and a half years of her contract minus post-termination earnings. That could amount to up to $500,000 or more.

“Will it be paid in one fiscal year? Will the School Committee seek to pay extra to McMahon to have the award funded over a series of years? Will Town Meeting allow the School Committee to maintain this as secret?” Manoogian asked. “This was an award by an arbitrator and not a court judgement and therefore is not shielded from public disclosure. Hopefully the Finance Committee will request this information and provide this information to the Town Meeting.”