At last week’s meeting of the Medford Ward 8 Democratic Committee, the membership voted unanimously to join the Medford Democratic City Committee in opposing this November’s ballot question 1. The question would eliminate the state income tax, costing the state approximately 40% of its annual revenue. The Coalition For Our Communities estimates that eliminating the state income tax would lead to the Medford Public Schools losing 71% of their state funding and the city losing over $10 million (65%) of its state funding. This would guarantee a dramatic increase in property taxes, major cuts in city and school programs, and a bunch of new taxes and fees at the state and local levels to help pay for the deficit.
This is a reckless idea, and the ward 8 committee strongly encourages all voters to vote no on question 1 in November. We also encourage you to help spread the word through phone banks, sign holding, and/or lawn signs.