Source Lookup: Where Every Number Comes From

Use this to trace any chart number back to its original document and page.

Tax Levy ($30.2M in FY01 to $82.2M in FY24)

• FY01-FY10: FY10 ACFR page 121, “Property Tax Levies and Collections”
• FY05-FY14: FY14 ACFR page 117, same table
• FY15-FY24: FY24 ACFR page 129, same table

Tax Rate ($8.42 in FY03 to $8.56 in FY26)

• All years: MA DOR Tax Rates by Class (select Marblehead, All Years)

Average Single Family Tax Bill ($11,055 in FY26)

• All years, all four towns: MA DOR Average Single Family Tax Bill

Total FTE (599.6 in FY01 to 706.0 in FY24)

• FY01-FY10: FY10 ACFR page 127, “Full-time Equivalent Town Employees by Function”
• FY05-FY14: FY14 ACFR page 123, same table
• FY15-FY24: FY24 ACFR page 136, same table

Education FTE (400.1 in FY01 to 537.0 in FY24)

• Same ACFR pages as Total FTE, “Education” row

Population and School Enrollment

• FY01-FY10: FY10 ACFR page 125, “Demographic and Economic Statistics”
• FY05-FY14: FY14 ACFR page 121, same table
• FY15-FY24: FY24 ACFR page 134, same table

Group Insurance Spending ($8.0M in FY06 to $16.8M in FY27)

• FY06: FY06 ACFR page 82, budget schedule, “Group Insurance” line
• FY07: FY07 ACFR page 84
• FY08: FY08 ACFR page 83
• FY09: FY09 ACFR page 85
• FY10: FY10 ACFR page 83
• FY11: FY11 ACFR page 83
• FY12: FY12 ACFR page 85
• FY13: FY13 ACFR page 85
• FY14-FY16: 2016 FinCom Report page 17, Line 221
• FY17-FY19: 2019 FinCom Report page 14, Line 221
• FY21-FY23: 2022 FinCom Report page 17, Line 221
• FY24-FY25: 2025 FinCom Report page 23, Line 221
• FY26-FY27: FY27 Proposed Budget page 4, Line 221

Pension Expenditure ($5.1M in FY01 to $12.5M in FY24)

• FY01-FY10: FY10 ACFR page 118, “Changes in Fund Balances,” “Pension benefits” row
• FY05-FY14: FY14 ACFR page 114, same table
• FY15-FY24: FY24 ACFR page 126, same table
• CAUTION: This line is volatile due to GASB accounting changes. Not a clean trend.

Pension Assessment - Budget Line ($5,380,625 in FY26)

• FY26-FY27: FY27 Proposed Budget page 4, Line 217 “Contributory Retirement Fund”
• FY27: $5,843,360 (same document)

OPEB Insurance Membership (642-748 active, FY11-FY24)

• FY11: FY11 ACFR page 93
• FY12: FY12 ACFR page 95
• FY13: FY13 ACFR page 72 (also FY14 ACFR page 73)
• FY15: FY15 ACFR page 74 (also FY16 ACFR page 76)
• FY17: FY17 ACFR page 80 (also FY18 ACFR page 81)
• FY20: FY20 ACFR page 82
• FY22: FY22 ACFR page 81
• FY24: FY24 ACFR page 78

GIC Premium Rates ($24,107 in FY19 to $38,562 in FY26)

• FY19: Wayback Machine archive of mass.gov GIC rate chart 1
• FY20: Wayback Machine archive of state employee rate sheet (derived from 20% employee share)
• FY23: mass.gov rate sheet
• FY24: mass.gov rate sheet
• FY25: mass.gov rate sheet
• FY26: mass.gov rate sheet
• Plan: Harvard Pilgrim Independence Plan (FY19-FY23) / Access America (FY24-FY26), Family coverage, Full Cost column

PERAC Retirement System (358 active, 339 retired in FY24)

• PERAC Marblehead Valuation Report 2024, page 5 (Executive Summary) and page 14 (Section 8A)
• Funding schedule: same document, page 13

FY26 Budget Line Items (every position and salary)

• FY26 General Fund Budget (Excel)
• Four sheets: TOWN BUDGET, SCHOOL BUDGET, TOWN PIVOT TABLE, SCHOOL PIVOT TABLE
• Key lookups:
  • Town Administrator salary: TOWN BUDGET, “SB-DEPT HEAD” = $207,732
  • Sustainability Coordinator: TOWN BUDGET, “PCD-SUSTAINABILITY COORD” = $79,445
  • Grant Coordinator: TOWN BUDGET, “PCD-GRANT COORDINATOR” = $79,064
  • Health Insurance Transfer: TOWN PIVOT TABLE, “HEALTH INS TSF” = $11,828,487
  • Pension: TOWN PIVOT TABLE, “CONTRIB RETIRE” = $5,380,625

FY27 Deficit ($8,471,823)

• 2026 State of the Town, page 29
• Revenue $101,024,029 minus Expenses $109,495,852 = -$8,471,823

Revenue and Expense Projections

• 2026 State of the Town, pages 13-29
• FY25 actual, FY26 projected, FY27 projected with line-by-line detail

Melrose/Stoneham Case Studies

• Case studies file
• Sources listed within the document

Override Tier Amounts and Tax Impact

• Primary: Town Administrator’s Override Presentation, April 8, 2026 (local copy in data/)
• Summary: Marblehead Independent, “Kezer presents $9M-to-$15M tiered override plan”

Extracted into:

• data/override_town_line_items.csv has every town-side item funded at each tier (slide 6)
• data/override_school_items.csv has school-side items by tier and fiscal year (slides 7-9)
• data/override_draws_schedule.csv has the year-by-year draw schedule per tier (slides 10-12)
• data/override_tax_impact_asf.csv has the annual and monthly tax impact on the average single-family home ($1,291,507) per tier per year (slides 13-15)
• data/override_trash_schedule.csv has the Question 2 trash and recycling draw breakdown (slide 20)

Cumulative annual tax increase on avg single-family home ($1,291,507):

• Tier 1 ($9M): FY27 +$167.90, FY28 +$804.93, FY29 +$1,186.68 (full phase-in)
• Tier 2 ($12M): FY27 +$361.62, FY28 +$1,132.65, FY29 +$1,587.17
• Tier 3 ($15M): FY27 +$555.35, FY28 +$1,369.97, FY29 +$1,985.39

Each year’s draw stays on the levy permanently; Year 3 is the ongoing annual cost.

Marblehead Independent & Current Articles (referenced across site)

• “Marblehead advances $122.8M budget built on cuts, defers override decisions” (Marblehead Independent)
• “Concerns over staffing cuts shape Marblehead school budget hearing” (Marblehead Independent)
• “Select Board locks in three-tier override structure” (Marblehead Independent)
• “Kezer presents $9M-to-$15M tiered override plan” (Marblehead Independent)
• “The line item eating Marblehead’s tax levy” (Marblehead Independent, healthcare costs and loss ratios)
• “Select Board confronts the limits of Marblehead’s tax cap” (Marblehead Independent)
• “Marblehead’s $65.2M payroll” (Marblehead Independent, 1,185 employees)
• “Possible insurance break gives Marblehead budget outlook a lift” (Marblehead Independent)
• “Marblehead officials outline stark choices” (Marblehead Independent, FY27 deficit and cut scenarios)
• “Marblehead officials map out possible $262 trash fee” (Marblehead Independent)
• “Select Board approves Kezer contract through 2028” (Marblehead Current)
• “Select Board backs tiered multi-year override framework” (Marblehead Current)
• “From ADUs to a $120M budget” (Marblehead Current)
• “Marblehead loses its first sustainability coordinator” (Itemlive)
• “Marblehead library at risk of closure amid $7 million budget deficit” (Boston Globe)