Essex Select Board Candidates Clash on Taxes, Schools, and Downtown Revitalization

ESSEX — April 30, 2025 — Essex Select Board candidates debate overrides, school funding, and downtown policy ahead of May 12 election. Incumbent Ruth Perrine and challenger Annie Cameron faced off April 30 at a forum organized by the Manchester Cricket and the Greater Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce, covering five prepared topics — downtown revitalization, the municipal budget, coastal flooding, zoning, and affordable housing — before fielding audience questions. Perrine disclosed that the town is projecting annual operational overrides for each of the next four fiscal years, with the Manchester Essex Regional School District budget on track to grow from $32 million this year to roughly $40 million by fiscal year 2030, against a town levy with fewer than 1,249 taxable parcels and under $400,000 in current excess capacity. Cameron called for a joint post-Town-Meeting planning session between the Select Board and Finance Committee and said the board has been "learning about" financial strategy from the advisory Finance Committee rather than driving it. A Manchester resident, Lindsay Banks, asked both candidates how they would repair a fraying inter-town relationship after Manchester passed its school budget with 93 percent support while Essex's override vote remained uncertain; Perrine called the tension "a blip" tied to apportionment cycles and said Essex declined a Manchester request six years ago to pressure the district into a lower budget number.