Melrose Lays Out Free Cash Plan, Some Councilors Eye New Focus

MELROSE, MA — The mayor's administration laid out how it intends to spend nearly $5 million in free cash, a plan some city councilors say falls short of the unique moment at hand.

City Auditor Patrick Dello Russo in a memo gave a preliminary estimate of how Mayor Paul Brodeur is considering allocating the money. He put the memo together at the request of City Councilors Jen Grigoraitis, Leila Migliorelli and Maya Jamaleddine, but the order Monday night was held for a later date due to a scheduling conflict for Dello Russo.

Nonetheless, the memo provides a look into how the remaining $4,822,226 left over from the previous fiscal year's budget could be spent. It's an outline that Migliorelli said at the Appropriations Committee meeting appears much the same as previous years — and that just won't cut it in a post-COVID Melrose.

"These past 12 months — and likely the months to come — have been unlike any we’ve experienced in the recent history of the city," Migliorelli said in a statement on behalf of her co-filers. "As such, the way we’ve always done things is no longer sufficient."

Migliorelli said residents have wanted to see an investment in outdoor space, including sidewalk conditions, outdoor rec programs, street paving for cyclists, park improvements and outdoor learning options.

"We need to shift into a COVID-recovery mode to help move this city forward in these areas and many more, including housing, social services, and infrastructure," she said.

But Dello Russo's memo said the surplus money — a product of "consistent conservative budgeting" — needs to not just meet the short- and long-term needs of the city. The investments also must be viewed favorably by the bond rating agencies that influence how the city can borrow money.

Mayor Paul Brodeur's plan would see nearly a quarter of the money — or $1.15 million — go into various stabilization funds, and the same amount go toward paying the snow and ice deficit, though that cost is never known until after the winter. There is $300,000 earmarked for public safety overtime and related costs — again, something not known until the end of the fiscal year — and $75,000 for the School Department Medicaid reimbursement.

There is also $100,000 set aside for the city's racial diversity training initiative, which is supposed to implement changes suggested by an external needs assessment of Melrose.

Dello Russo also provided an outline of how Brodeur is considering spending the rest of the money, though noted nothing is finalized: $400,000 for a generator, $150,000 for a document management system, $50,000 for a tree program, $50,000 for the Council on Aging senior center, $30,000 for cash management application, and undetermined amounts for roadway, sidewalk and crosswalk improvements and solar-powered radar speed signs.

Free cash is a surplus from the previous fiscal year typically used for one-time expenditures. It typically comes from a conservative budget — which Dello Russo said was the case this year — as well as other things like replacing long-time outgoing employees with lower-paid ones.

The city has already allocated nearly $200,000 of its free cash.

Mike Carraggi can be reached at mike.carraggi@patch.com. Follow him on Twitter @PatchCarraggi. Subscribe to Melrose Patch for free local news and alerts and like us on Facebook.