Candidates propose overrides, development and new taxes to close Malden budget gap

At a youth‑moderated forum, multiple Malden city council candidates described the city’s finances as under pressure and outlined several potential revenue strategies ranging from asking voters for an override to pursuing commercial development that would grow the tax base.

"We do have budget challenges in Malden like many cities and towns," said Carrie McDonald, who identified herself at the forum as the chair of the Finance Committee. McDonald said the council is discussing both expense reductions and asking voters to approve a tax‑rate increase via an override as a short‑term bridge while the city pursues longer‑term commercial development.

Craig Spadafore emphasized the difference in revenue between commercial and residential properties and argued the city needs a diversified tax base: "You have commercial, industrial, and residential. Commercial, industrial bring in not only just the taxes ... but also permits, fees, tax uses. Right?" Spadafore also suggested temporary cuts to noncritical expenditures to avoid layoffs.

Several candidates raised specific revenue ideas. Karen Colon Hayes said the city should consider taxing short‑term rentals, mentioning "over 300" Airbnb listings she said are not currently taxed. Other proposals discussed included building a business development office and working with the Malden Chamber of Commerce to attract businesses, increasing meals and hotel taxes linked to nearby development, and pursuing state‑level municipal empowerment measures.

Candidates repeatedly framed commercial and mixed‑use development as a multi‑year strategy that would reduce reliance on residential property taxes. "Long term ... I really wanna see us do more commercial development, mixed use development to build the tax base so that we are not in this situation in the future," McDonald said.

None of the candidates advanced a detailed, binding fiscal plan at the forum. Several said any override or tax increase should be presented to voters and defended through a transparent process. Spadafore noted the council holds public finance hearings but also observed that turnout at those sessions can be low.

Clarifying details discussed at the forum include the candidates' estimate of more than 300 short‑term rental listings and reference to existing revenue streams such as meals and hotel taxes; candidates did not provide specific dollar estimates or a timeline for any proposed override.

The discussion reflected a common local tradeoff: protect services now or pursue tax increases/longer‑term development to shore up revenues later. Candidates asked voters to weigh those tradeoffs at the ballot box.