Countdown Till Saugus Town Meeting

Editor’s Note: The 2026 Annual Town Meeting convenes on Monday, May 4. As a special service to our readers and the registered voters of Saugus, we reached out to all 50 Town Meeting members, focusing on one precinct each week over the past 10 weeks leading up to the start of Town Meeting. We have asked all members about their expectations for the upcoming Town Meeting. This week, we received responses from the five Town Meeting Members in Precinct 10. Overall, we have received responses from 34 Town Meeting members. This concludes our series.

Question One: What do you consider the top priority for the town as you prepare for the opening of the 2026 Town Meeting session?

Martin Costello: My primary concern as to the best interests for the Town of Saugus, as a whole, is the maintaining of the town’s excellent Bond Rating. Going back to just 8 years ago, this newspaper heralded a column by you Mr. Vogler, titled “Another historic financial moment,” wherein 9 lending agencies competed in a bidding process to loan money to the Town of Saugus! All of those agencies offering very favorable interest rates on the 65.7 million dollars that the Town of Saugus was seeking back then, of which the bulk of it (63.2 million dollars) was going to provide funding for the construction of the then new High School/Middle School. We cannot afford and by this I mean we literally cannot afford to go back to the “bad old days” in the Town of Saugus, where it was too often, a state of robbing Peter to pay Paul, in order to meet our financial obligations here!

Peter Delios: I believe the most important thing this year is that Town Meeting continues to work together in helping to make Saugus a great place to live for all our residents.

  Peter Manoogian: My top priority would be to prevent Saugus from going backwards financially, or, at the very least, for Town Meeting to be made aware of the consequences if they choose to do so. Saugus, unlike so many communities, both affluent and fiscally challenged, has had solid finances due to policies adopted by the administration and embraced by Town Meeting. Saugus residents have not been asked to fund increased taxes through operational overrides as has occurred in 143 other Massachusetts communities over the past three years. Wealthy communities such as Winchester, Lexington, Brookline, and Marblehead are all facing fiscal challenges. Saugus is one of a few communities that does not require residents to pay a trash fee. We have maintained full services with no cuts to public safety, the library, or other vital town services. Saugus is an island among a sea of communities facing fiscal challenges.

The Town Manager, along with all five Selectmen, originally put forward a proposal to increase the school budget by $1 million. Meanwhile, the School Committee requested a more substantial $2.9 million boost, largely to fund a 5% pay raise for teachers — a decision made by the previous committee just before their term concluded. In addition to these requests, the School Department is seeking another $1.3 million from allocated reserves to cover core programs and staff typically part of the regular school budget. As of this week the Manager is recommending to Town Meeting that the school department receive their total request of 2.9 million. As a Town Meeting Member I want to see how this will project into future years and what the unintended consequences could be.

These financial strains are further complicated by a previous School Committee’s choice to grant a five-year contract to a new Superintendent, something unheard of in any Massachusetts school system, only to terminate it early. This move saddled the town with nearly $500,000 in legal obligations. On top of that, Saugus faces a significant uptick, close to 14%, in employee health insurance costs. Hence, increases for school spending will exceed $5 million just for FY2027. Looking ahead to FY2028, an additional 5% increase in teacher salaries is scheduled to take effect, intensifying the town’s fiscal challenges.

I do not want to see Saugus head towards the fiscal chaos that we experienced 25 years ago. It will only be a matter of time when our bond rating will drop thus costing taxpayers more when Saugus borrows both in the short and long term to complete capital projects, should capital projects even continue.

All of this will take place as our Saugus Public Schools continue to lag in student achievement, consistently placing in the bottom third of the state. Homebuyers frequently ask why our schools show such poor performance. Nowhere is there a plan to turn that around and only excuses as to why it can’t turn around.

Carla Scuzzarella: I think the top priority for our town is maintaining fiscal stability while continuing to fund essential services, especially public education, public safety, and infrastructure.

  Jenna Nuzzo: As we prepare for the 2026 Town Meeting session, the top priority for the Town of Saugus must be establishing a clear, long-term plan for the town’s financial stability and growth. This past year highlighted how obsolete our budget process has become. We need to shift toward a more proactive approach that prioritizes transparency, collaboration, responsible spending, and strategic investment across all areas of town government, including schools, public safety, infrastructure, and municipal services.

Equally important is identifying new and sustainable revenue opportunities. That means taking a serious look at economic development, better utilizing town-owned properties, and ensuring that Saugus is positioned to grow without placing an unfair burden on taxpayers.

Residents deserve more than year-to-year uncertainty. They deserve a plan that reflects the needs of the entire community and puts Saugus on a stronger, more stable path forward.

Question Two: What do you consider the top priority for residents in your precinct as you prepare for the opening of the 2025 Town Meeting session?

Martin Costello: The top priority for the residents of Precinct 10 is and has been for far too long now, is the issue of the Win/Waste incinerator here, which, as everyone knows, including the folks @ Win/Waste is located well within an area of environmental concern, Rumney Marsh! To see this facility still operating there today is an affront to every resident here in Precinct 10, as well as to our neighbors in Revere and Lynn. Win/Waste (then known as RESCO) began their operations there in 1975, that’s 51 years ago now! By all realistic and legitimate standards, the life span of an incinerator is approximately 23 years! From the years 2000-2020 over 44 such incinerators around this country have been taken off line and closed, so Win/Waste is long overdue to bring their operations here in Saugus to a close as well. In fact, even if Win/Waste had embarked upon some major refurbishments to their facility some years ago, they would still be realistically looking at an impending closure date now and not just for the continued use of their toxic unlined ash pile there!

Peter Delios: I believe that Precinct 10 residents & all of Saugus definitely need more safety, better air quality, and the Ash landfill closure is imperative to the health of Saugus residents.

Peter Manoogian: There are several top priorities for Precinct 10. One important priority is the increased frequency of flooding that affects the majority of homes in Precinct 10 and many homes throughout Saugus. In spite of a plan put forth and adopted by the Town to participate in a restart of the 1993 Saugus River Floodgate project, our legislative delegation has not yet followed through by filing legislation and coordinating a regional approach with other affected communities. Our voice continues to be muted on Beacon Hill.

The second priority is to see the closure of the Win Waste Ash Landfill on November 1, 2027, the date set by DEP. WIN Waste will be stepping up marketing and political activity to gain support for their stated desire to increase the ash landfill height from 50′ to 100′ and for another 20 years of operation.

A third Priority would be to see the lower end of Ballard Street and the Belden Bly Bridge project completed. The Golden Gate Bridge was built in less time than this state project.

Carla Scuzzarella: Residents of Precinct 10 consistently raise three major concerns. First and foremost is the ongoing impact of the WIN Waste Innovations facility and landfill. This remains, by far, the most significant issue for many in our neighborhood, with residents continuing to voice concerns about environmental impacts, odors, traffic, and overall quality of life.

Flooding is also a constant concern, particularly for those living near the river and marsh. Residents want meaningful improvements to drainage infrastructure and remain hopeful that state or federal funding can help offset the substantial cost of long-term flood mitigation projects. Addressing these challenges is essential to protecting homes, businesses, and public safety.

Finally, like residents across all of Saugus, Precinct 10 families want to ensure that our schools receive the resources they need to provide a strong education while remaining mindful of the financial burden on taxpayers. Supporting educational excellence while maintaining fiscal responsibility is a priority shared throughout the community.

Jenna Nuzzo: For Precinct 10, the top priority is finally addressing long-standing issues that have been talked about for years but never meaningfully resolved.

That starts with taking a new, more honest approach to the WIN Waste Innovations issue. The same conversations have been happening for decades without real progress, and residents deserve a willingness to look at it differently and focus on what actually moves the town forward. Residents are also focused on concerns like traffic around Ballard and Lincoln Avenue, as well as the lack of follow-through on town properties. The vacant Ballard School and the never been used amenities at Bristow Park like the bathrooms and snack stand are things people notice and expect action on.

My priority is making sure these issues don’t continue to sit year after year, and that Precinct 10 sees real progress, not just discussion.

Question Three: Are you working independently or in collaboration with other members on articles to be introduced for this year’s Town Meeting? Could you please elaborate? Summarize your article and what you hope to accomplish.

Martin Costello: My colleagues and I have been working together with some traffic issues that we have to face here and we have submitted an Article to Town Meeting to hopefully begin the process of seeing those proposals coming to fruition. I can honestly say too, that the Town Meeting members from Precinct 10 are cognizant of a number of other issues facing the Town of Saugus, as some of them are a town wide issues, such as the current situations with E-bikes and other unlicensed motor vehicles and the public safety issues they present and present even to the young operators of those vehicles as well.

  Peter Delios: Yes I have been in full collaboration with my fellow colleagues of Precinct 10 and do hope to work together with the rest of Saugus Town Meeting in the upcoming year. We have a lot of articles to vote on and we hopefully will do the right thing for the town and its residents.

  Peter Manoogian: The Precinct 10 Town Meeting Members met recently to discuss issues facing the Precinct. We discussed the concerns of Bristow Street residents regarding speeding traffic. Four of us prepared and gathered signatures for an article to request the Selectmen as traffic commissioners to develop a policy on the site selection and installation of speed tables and other such traffic calming devices at locations such as the park on Bristow Street.

  I am bringing forth a request to petition the legislature to amend our Special Act Charter to require that a new Town Manager must have a Master’s Degree and 3 years experience. Over the next two years Saugus will see increasing pressure to replace the current Town Manager. My intuition, usually spot on, informs me that the 2027 election will bring forth candidates with that as an unstated goal. This position has high expectations and therefore there should be high standards set for hiring.

  Conversely, to working for a proposal, four of us again met and are working against a proposal by two Precinct 6 Town Meeting Members, a Precinct 2 Town Meeting Member, and sadly, a Precinct 10 Town Meeting Member, to endorse a vague “host community agreement” adopted by 3 Selectmen that would ask the Town Manager to sign that agreement, ignore the authority of the Board of Health, and essentially allow WIN to deliver such to the State to either change policy or create a law to allow the expansion of the ash landfill. The long-standing Saugus Town Meeting norm of “not placing something in your Precinct that I wouldn’t want in mine” could be shattered if this resolution is adopted by Town Meeting. I will conclude with the words of George Santayana, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

  Carla Scuzzarella: I collaborated with my fellow Precinct 10 Town Meeting members on an article requesting a town policy on speed tables and traffic calming devices.

  Jenna Nuzzo: I’m working with a great group of Town Meeting Members on a variety of issues this year. At the same time, I’m personally bringing forward articles focused on addressing the town’s vacant school buildings to hopefully create a clearer plan for their future use. My goal is to move beyond ongoing discussion and push for action ensuring these properties are thoughtfully evaluated and put to better use for the benefit of the community.