This Family Is Voting Yes On June 15

As a Norwood resident, father of a young family, and firefighter in another Massachusetts community, I urge my fellow residents to vote YES on June 15 and support the public safety override.

The reality is simple: firefighters, paramedics, and police officers cannot continue to do more with less. When every second matters and can mean the difference between life and death, we cannot expect the same number of firefighters, paramedics, and police officers to meet the needs of a community that has grown significantly over the past two decades.

Norwood is not the same town it was 20 years ago. Our population has grown, development has increased, and emergency call volume continues to rise. Public safety professionals are responding to more medical emergencies, more fire calls, more traffic incidents, and increasingly complex situations than ever before. Yet there is an expectation by some that these services can absorb growing demand without additional resources. That is not a sustainable plan.

When staffing and resources fail to keep pace with community growth, response times suffer, and the burden on first responders increases. Public safety should never be an area where we cross our fingers and hope everything works out.

Like every taxpayer, I understand that no one wants higher taxes. But investing in public safety is not wasteful spending; it is a core responsibility of local government. The June 15 override is not about growing government for the sake of growth. It is about ensuring that the police officers, firefighters, and paramedics we rely on have the staffing and resources necessary to protect our community.

Most of us hope we never need to call 911. But when our child cannot breathe, when a loved one suffers a heart attack, or when a fire threatens a home, we expect help to arrive immediately with the personnel and equipment needed to make a difference.

As a taxpayer, a father of a young family, and a firefighter, I would much rather pay for these services and never need them than need them one day and discover they are not there when it matters most.

I encourage all Norwood residents to vote YES on June 15 and invest in the measures necessary to keep our community safe.

Sincerely,

Rob Green

Norwood Resident

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