SAUGUS — Residents had the opportunity to question their Board of Selectmen candidates Wednesday night about what they plan on doing if elected on Nov. 4.
Questions sent in by voters were drawn from a fishbowl and asked by moderators Janice Jarosz and Mark Vogler. The timekeeper for the evening was Joe Vecchione.
In the first round, each candidate was asked their own question to answer; however, in the following rounds, the candidates answered in groups of four or five.
The first group question asked candidates which departments they feel are underfunded and how they plan to address departmental shortfalls in the town budget.
The first to answer was candidate Debra Panetta.
“Our budget is about $140 million. The schools get a big chunk of the money that comes in. In fact, in 2026, the school’s budget was $34,768,000, but there’s a big chunk of that that you don’t see in Schedule 19, which is the healthcare benefits and the pension,” she said.
Panetta said all departments could use more money, but there’s just a certain amount of money that must be divvied up. One thing she highlighted was the need for more Department of Public Works employees. She feels the Town has done a good job of boosting the Public Safety departments and the schools.
The question was then posed to candidate Stacey Herman-Dorant, who noted that as someone who comes from a family of educators, she knows firsthand the financial strains and the funding cuts in schools.
“There’s always a need for more funding for our schools. We also have some things that we need to be prepared for,” she said regarding rising healthcare insurance premiums and the new trash contract.
Next was candidate Anthony Cogliano, who said, “When we had the school budget proposed last year, we had several people here saying the schools are underfunded.”
He continued that when he asked the superintendent if there was enough money to run the schools properly, the superintendent said yes.
“How do you look for more money when the superintendent is saying they don’t need it?” he said.
Cogliano then noted that the biggest issue was communication.
Candidate Vincent Serino, who is the most recent chair of the School Committee, highlighted that when it comes to talking about the school budget, most people don’t understand what they’re talking about.
“To say the schools are fully funded is technically true, but when you look at other communities and the money they put into schools… I don’t care how much money you give the schools, I can’t ever hear it being fully funded,” he said.
He noted that everything could use a boost in funding, but it depends on what the Town is trying to tackle at the moment.
Candidate Frank Federico said, “As many of my fellow candidates have said, really, which department couldn’t use more money?”
He said that many questions tonight could probably be solved if the Town had more money and that it’s imperative to hire a town planner to develop a plan for the Town that will bring in businesses.
The next question asked how candidates will address motorized vehicles on the rail trail, like electric bikes, ATVs, and electric scooters.
Candidate Jennifer D’Eon felt that the answer was more police enforcement, something she answered in the individual round.
“To the former question, if I could fund another department more, if we needed to, if we could… It would be the police department. I feel like public safety is so important. Everybody is worried about crime… More patrol cars, more police on foot, more security cameras,” she said.
Candidate Michael Serino said that the state should outlaw them on roadways.
“They’re very dangerous. I see police reports and hear news reports about kids being hit by those things. In Saugus, when you’re driving your car over the rail trail, you see people; they don’t even use the lights. They just fly right by,” he said.
Candidate Sandro Pansini Souza said, “There are things that we cannot regulate because of the size of the bike; because of what it is, it falls out of our responsibility in terms of what we can and what we can’t do.”
He said it’s something new that we’re learning to deal with.
“That’s their bike. That’s their future,” he said.
Pansini Souza said the question is what can be done to educate parents and kids on what is going on with the bikes and scooters, and how police can enforce how the vehicles can be used.
Candidate Jeffrey Cicolini said, “I’ve gotten a first-hand look at how serious this problem has become,” during his time campaigning in Town Center.
“You can see the scooters and the e-bikes going in that direction, just cutting cars off… They have helmets hanging on the handlebars, but they aren’t wearing the helmets,” he said.
Cicolini thinks that they must work with the police department and maybe even adopt a town bylaw for more severe fines and impounding the bikes. He also said there should be town-wide education.
Other questions posed to Vincent Serino, Panetta, Pansini Souza, and Federico included if the candidates would campaign to remove the Sachem, which received a resounding no from every candidate, each stating that it is a symbol of pride and that they respect what it stands for.
Another question zeroed in on the Square One Mall, a property that has been widely spoken about by residents.
It asked: “What is your position on the future of that land, and is the current zoning appropriate?”
Cogliano was first to answer, saying it was a mess and that not having a town planner, an economic development coordinator, and the wherewithal to bring developers in was a serious problem.
“The sooner they sell it, the better,” he said.
Herman-Dorant said she believes the zoning is appropriate, but that all the possibilities need to be looked at. She also noted how it could be a larger development, including mixed-use of housing, restaurants, shopping, and appropriate green space.
Cicolini said that the mall was as close to a defunct parcel as possible.
“I definitely would support any type of zoning or rezoning, and I would even go as far as saying the Town consider tax incentives to avoid further apartment growth in that area,” he said.
Cicolini would like to see it go back to where it was: an outdoor type venue where green space can be brought in, but keep it similar to MarketStreet in Lynnfield.
D’Eon said the location was fantastic, and more could be done with it — including rezoning for a medical facility or a large grocery store — and she would vote to rezone the use of the mall.
“Whatever it took to get new growth in the town so that we have more money to fund the budgets to fill the departments that need more jobs,” she said.
This story is currently being updated.
