SPORTS
Setting the bar high
IN THIS ISSUE
POTHOLE PROBLEMS
CURRENT EVENTS
The town buys new ‘hot box’
Show off your smarts at Trivia Night!
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MARBLEHEAD, MA PERMIT NO. 25
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NEWS FOR PEOPLE, NOT FOR PROFIT.
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MARCH 18, 2026
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VOLUME 4, ISSUE NO. 17
FIRST WAVE 1
Down to the wire: Town leaders discuss budget gaps, tax hikes. Starting on page 1.
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MARBLEHEADCURRENT.ORG
Democracy is not a spectator sport! Nomination papers for the June election are available. Page 2.
town’s first 3 The sustainability
coordinator is leaving. Page 2.
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ON SOCIAL @MHDCURRENT
local doc is 4 Atraining for the
Boston Marathon. Read what inspired him to lace up. Page 10.
MHS Headlight 5 The reports on the popularity of girls wrestling. Page 15.
Five facts from this week’s Marblehead Current.
DOLLARS & SENSE
Overrides take center stage in budget talks BY LEIGH BLANDER This week, the Select Board and School Committee are moving closer to finalizing potential property tax override requests for May’s Town Meeting. Marblehead hasn’t approved a general override — permanently raising the tax base — in more than 20 years. On March 19 at 1 p.m., Town Administrator Thatcher Kezer is expected to update the Select Board after researching three potential override “tiers” to address a $7.7 million deficit for fiscal 2027. The board is also scheduled to vote on a budget
that day. The override tiers include: » A “restorative” override that would restore proposed cuts. » An intermediate tier that would restore proposed cuts and augment services. » A top tier that would include additional funding to improve and modernize town services. At a March 11 meeting, board members debated whether to present voters with a single override proposal or a menu of options. “It’s a Town Meeting decision, and the more choices we can
give them, probably the better off we are,” said Select Board member Jim Zisson. “That’s going to be my overriding thought.” Member Moses Grader supported the most conservative approach. “I’m in favor of a restoration override only for this year, with multiple questions, allowing the town to select what they restore from the cuts that we’re facing,” Grader said. Others cautioned against solving the problem for only a single year. OVERRIDES, P. 6
CURRENT PHOTO / LEIGH BLANDER
Town Administrator Thatcher Kezer has been researching three override tiers and is expected to update the Select Board on March 19.
ARTS & COMMUNITY
New children’s book puts town, arts festival in spotlight
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OVERRIDING
CONSIDERATIONS
Tough choices prompting override requests BY AKANKSHA GOYAL
COURTESY IMAGES
Jodi-Tatiana Charles has written a new children’s book that pulls heavily from the Marblehead Festival of Arts. She ran the festival in 2023 and 2024.
BY LEIGH BLANDER Anyone who knows Jodi-Tatiana Charles knows she is a force of nature. The international marketing strategist ran the Marblehead Festival of Arts in 2023 and 2024, bringing new events and fresh energy to the popular annual tradition. Now, she has written a children’s book that highlights how festivals build stronger, more connected communities. It’s called “Going to the Festival.” The 58-page story “celebrates community, friendship and the discoveries that happen when children take part in the traditions around them,” according to the book’s back cover. “When four friends stumble upon their town’s annual summer festival, they quickly learn it is more than colorful booths and busy streets,” the synopsis continues. “It becomes a week shaped by creativity, curiosity and the shared spirit of neighbors who make a place feel like home.” The book is heavily based on Marblehead’s Art Festival and Charles’ experiences running it. “Festivals are all about communities coming together,” Charles said. “They’re about economic
Communities across Massachusetts are increasingly turning to property tax overrides as rising costs outpace limits on local revenue growth. Data from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue shows a sharp increase in both the number of communities placing override questions on ballots and the total dollar amounts requested. In fiscal year 2026 alone, 54 municipalities placed 74 override questions on local ballots, seeking more than $158 million in additional tax revenue — the second largest total since the early 1990s. A decade ago, the numbers were far smaller. In FY 2017, 21 communities placed 26 override questions on ballots statewide. Those requests sought about $19 million in additional revenue. “We can tell this is going to be a big, big year for override deliberations,” said John Ouellette, senior executive and director of communications at the Massachusetts Municipal Association. Across the state, he said, communities are confronting similar choices. “Communities are finding themselves in a position where it’s an override or layoffs and service cuts,” Ouellette said. “It’s not any more complicated than that. They just have nowhere to turn.” Marblehead is set to add to that trend. The Select Board last Wednesday tasked Town Administrator Thatcher Kezer with creating three potential Proposition 2 1/2 override options as officials attempt to close a projected $7.7 million shortfall in fiscal
BOOK, P. 3 COMMUNITIES, P. 7
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