For years, Medford residents have seen the terrible impact of underfunding in our schools, on our streets, and in our city buildings, and recent high inflation has only made solving these problems more urgent.

We deserve a future where our children thrive in well-funded schools, our firefighters operate from a state-of-the-art headquarters, and a permanent in-house crew of city employees repairs and maintains our streets and sidewalks.

Your YES vote on Ballot Questions 6, 7, and 8 on Tuesday, November 5th will empower Medford to make crucial investments in our schools, streets, and fire department.

YES on 6 will allow Medford to issue a bond to pay for the construction of a new, state-of-the-art Fire Headquarters to bolster our public safety services. Once the bond for construction is repaid, this temporary property tax increase would expire.

YES on 7 will prevent significant budget cuts to Medford Public Schools and replace expiring funds used to temporarily stabilize this year’s budget.

• Create a permanent street and sidewalk repair crew in the Department of Public Works to help address the city’s $100 million+ repair and maintenance backlog

• Replace the one-time federal pandemic aid funds used to stabilize the Medford Public Schools budget for this school year and help avoid drastic cuts to the arts, athletics, K-12 classrooms, mental health supports, maintenance, and technology.

YES on 8 will expand vocational programs and increase student access to the arts by giving us the funding to pay for the new programming and staff to help students succeed, fix the school schedule at all levels, and increase educator and paraprofessional compensation to ensure living and competitive wages.

How much will this cost?

Saying yes to all three questions will cost most homeowners LESS THAN $38/month.  Look up your address and the exact impact at investinmedford.com or compare your the assessed value (found on your tax bill) to these examples:

• City Assessed Property Value: $500,000 - Approx. $290/year or $24/month

• City Assessed Property Value: $769,000 (average) - Approx. $446/year or $37/month

• City Assessed Property Value: $1,000,000 - Approx. $580/year or $48/month

Why Vote YES?

1. Properly Fund Medford Public Schools and Street Repairs 

• $3.5 million per year to fund Medford’s streets and schools

• Replaces one-time funds used to stabilize this year’s school budget. Ensures we can prevent cuts to the arts, athletics, K-12 classrooms, mental health supports, maintenance, and technology replacement.  

• Guarantees regular maintenance and operations for the Department of Public Works and creates a dedicated road crew to address our streets and sidewalks

2. Build a New Fire Headquarters

• $30 million for the design and construction of a new Fire Headquarters at 120 Main Street. This temporary increase of about $2 million per year to our tax bills will pay for the project’s construction bond.

• Enhances safety and response times for our community and ensures our firefighters have a state-of-the-art headquarters.

3. Strengthen Our Public Schools

• $4 million per year to invest in our schools

• Change school day schedules at all levels to increase access to the arts, core curriculum, and vocational programming

• Ensure living and competitive wages for our teachers and paraprofessionals

• Increase stipends for advisors and coaches 

• Provide more resources to support educators and professional development

• Expand transportation services for students and families

Here you can find additional information about Medford’s current budget, free cash balance, how we’ve spent federal pandemic aid funds, and answers to frequently asked questions. Learn more on our FAQs page.

Together, we can make Medford a better place to live, work, and raise your family. 

Vote YES on all three ballot questions by Tuesday, November 5th!