Reduced-services budget passes on first night

BY WILLIAM J. DOWD

Marblehead Town Meeting addressed 30 articles in four hours on Monday night, passing a $112.5 million municipal budget for the fiscal year 2024. The reduced-services spending plan includes two new positions: a sustainability coordinator and a human resources director.

Town Meeting was expected to reconvene Tuesday night with a vote on a proposed $2.5 million override that would add $252 to the tax bill for a median home of about $800,000. The override would restore many of the cuts in the budget, including 32 school staff.

Article 30, which proposes the FY2024 budget, was just one of about two dozen financial articles that attendees cleared on Town Meeting’s first night.

The Town Meeting convened at a time when Marblehead faces a structural deficit, with recurring costs — primarily salaries and employee health insurance — outpacing recurring revenues within the constraints of Massachusetts Proposition 2 1/2. The town is also