Medford’s budget is in crisis.
Our city needs a plan to fully fund city
services, Medford Public Schools, and
maintenance of buildings and infrastructure.
Medford is not funding our needs.
We need a Proposition 2 1/2 override on the ballot in November.
This affects each member of our community.
The new Medford Public Library cannot afford a full staff and will be closed on Saturdays during the summer months when children and families need this resource the most
Teacher layoffs or “non-renewals” of all non-professional status teachers leads to instability in the classroom
Teacher aides will not be paid a living wage
Sidewalks are inaccessible to strollers and mobility aides
Underfunded planning and zoning departments makes opening new businesses or building new residential homes difficult
Very limited staff dedicated to new affordable housing
The impacts of under funding are serious and longstanding.
Barebones budgets and low staffing levels for most City Departments (DPW, planning, law, health,recreation, etc) that mean Medford provides fewer services than our residents deserve
Very small real-dollar growth of Medford Public Schools budget: limited purchase of new materials,resources, and new staff hires; reliance on fees from families for programs; limits on admin proposals for educator and staff union contracts; years of deferred maintenance leading to costly repairs
Huge infrastructure backlog ($100 million just for roads and sidewalks), crumbling city and schoolbuildings (Fire HQ, MHS, City Hall, etc), and limited capital maintenance investments
City and school staff scrambling to subsidize operating budgets through one-time grants
More cuts in 2024 and 2025 when one-time federal funds run out
