20210623 Special City Council Minutes City of Beverly
Special Meeting of the City Council
Public Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, June 23, 2021, 7:OOpm
City Council Chambers, City Hall, 191 Cabot St.
This meeting was live streamed by BevCam.
1011 JUL 29 P 2- 52
Paul Guanci, City Council President, called the meeting to order at 7:05pm.
Members Present: Stacy Ames, Dominic Copeland, Timothy Flaherty, Kathleen Feldman, Julie
Flowers, Scott Houseman, Todd Rotondo, Estelle Rand, Paul Guanci
Members Absent: None
Rand led the pledge of allegiance.
Resolution
#130 -Ms. Judith Cronin
Feldman and Rotondo read the resolution.
The motion to approve was made and seconded. A vote was taken, and the motion carried (9-0).
A motion for a recess was made and seconded. A vote was taken, and the motion carried(9-0).
The meeting recessed at 7:20pm.
The meeting was called back to order at 7:27pm.
Communications from other City Officers and Boards
#110-Proposed Amendment to the City Zoning Ordinance-IR Zoning District.
Ms. Wynne clarified that the vote was 8-1 at the Planning Board meeting.
Copeland and Ames asked about the one vote against.
Wynne stated that member had indicated some level of discomfort with the fact that it was
related to a single parcel and a particular business. Wynne read a letter to the City Council from
the Planning Board Chair, Ellen Hutchinson.
The motion to approve was made and seconded. A vote was taken, and the motion carried (9-0).
#134-Councilor Houseman-Rodent Management Discussion.
Referred to Committee on Public Services and to Committee on Legal Affairs.
Communications from His Honor the Mayor
Order#117-Mayor's FY22 Budget
The motion was made and seconded to approve General Fund Transfers of$2,000,000.00. A
vote was taken and the motion carried (9-0).
The motion was made and seconded to approve the City Council budget of$648,856.16. A vote
was taken and the motion carried (9-0).
The motion was made and seconded to approve the Executive budget of$837,696.00. A vote
was taken and the motion carried (9-0).
The motion was made and seconded to approve the Reserve for Appropriation at$1,295,000.00.
A vote was taken and the motion carried(9-0).
The motion was made and seconded to approve the Municipal Finance budget of$3,244,221.66.
A vote was taken and the motion carried (9-0).
The motion was made and seconded to approve the Solicitor budget of$602,468.79. A vote was
taken and the motion carried(9-0).
The motion was made and seconded to approve the Human Resources budget of$224,816.18. A
vote was taken and the motion carried(9-0).
The motion was made and seconded to approve the Planning budget of$695,529.20. A vote was
taken and the motion carried (9-0).
The motion was made and seconded to approve the Municipal Inspections budget of
$628,341.19. A vote was taken and the motion carried (9-0).
The motion was made and seconded to approve the Public Safety budget of$16,848,568.01. A
vote was taken and the motion carried (9-0).
The motion was made and seconded to approve the Engineering budget of$2,963,557.00. A vote
was taken and the motion carried(9-0).
The motion was made and seconded to approve the Public Services budget of$6,236,148.20.
Ames stated she supports this but is a little frustrated with the lack of detail and hopes in the next
year there can be more transparency in it just to increase public trust. Ames stated she trusts that
these monies are allocated professionally but it would help government to be just a hair more
transparent.
A vote was taken on the previous motion and the motion carried (9-0).
The motion was made and seconded to approve the Community Services budget of
$4,320,763.68. A vote was taken and the motion carried(9-0).
The motion was made and seconded to approve the Schools budget of$67,274,926.00. A vote
was taken and the motion carried(9-0).
The motion was made and seconded to approve the Debt Service at $10,923,584.93. A vote was
taken and the motion carried (9-0).
The motion was made and seconded to approve the Annuities and Pensions at$12,004,594.00. A
vote was taken and the motion carried(9-0).
The motion was made and seconded to approve the Other budget items totaling$11,648,263.00.
A vote was taken and the motion carried(9-0).
The motion was made and seconded to approve Assessments at$1,783.062.00. A vote was taken
and the motion carried (9-0).
Beverly City Council Meeting Minutes—June 23,2021 page 2 of 4
The motion was made and seconded to approve the Total General Fund Expenditures and
Revenues at$144,180,396.00.
Flowers stated she is going to vote in favor of this but wanted to mention a conversation about
the stabilization fund that started at a previous meeting and when this money would be used.
Flowers suggested the possibility of working collaboratively together with the mayor and
administration to see how to reach the most residents and people who were struggling this past
year and seeing, when the free cash is certified, what can be done creatively to provide help and
support.
Ames suggested applying some of the stabilization fund money to the water and sewer funds to
help people with their water bills moving forward across the board. She also recommended
taking a look at funding for the Council on Aging because it is a hub of services.
A vote was taken on the previous motion and the motion carried(9-0).
The motion was made and seconded to approve the Water Fund Expenditures and Revenues at
$5,839,000.00. A vote was taken and the motion carried(9-0).
The motion was made and seconded to approve a$900,000.00 Transfer of Retained Earnings
into FY22. A vote was taken and the motion carried (9-0).
The motion was made and seconded to approve the water rate of$3.17 per 100 cubic feet. A vote
was taken and the motion carried(9-0).
The motion was made and seconded to approve the Sewer Fund Expenditures and Revenues at
$8,953,145.73. A vote was taken and the motion carried(9-0).
The motion was made and seconded to approve the $805,145.73 Transfer of Retained Earnings
into FY22. A vote was taken and the motion carried (9-0).
The motion was made and seconded to approve the sewer rate of$6.24 per 100 cubic feet. A
vote was taken and the motion carried(9-0).
The motion was made and seconded to approve the Sanitation/Recycling Fund Expenditures and
Revenues at$3,335,500.00. A vote was taken and the motion carried (9-0).
The motion was made and seconded to approve the Recreation Enterprise Fund Expenditures and
Revenues at $443,575.00. A vote was taken and the motion carried (9-0).
The motion was made and seconded to approve an $80,000.00 Transfer of Retained Earnings
into FY22.
Ayles clarified that the recreation and other transfers should be into FY22 not FY21, as the
handout says.
A vote was taken on the previous motion and the motion carried(9-0).
The motion was made and seconded to approve the Golf and Tennis Enterprise Fund
Expenditures and Revenues at $380,000.00. A vote was taken and the motion carried (9-0).
The motion was made and seconded to approve the Senior Citizen Enterprise Fund Expenditures
and Revenues at$35,196.00. A vote was taken and the motion carried (9-0).
Beverly City Council Meeting Minutes—June 23,2021 page 3 of 4
The motion was made and seconded to approve the $12,476.00 Transfer of Retained Earnings
into FY22. A vote was taken and the motion carried (9-0).
The motion was made and seconded to approve the Airport Enterprise Fund Expenditures and
Revenues at $515,513.64. A vote was taken and the motion carried (9-0).
Guanci thanked Mr. Ayles, Mayor Cahill, and Mr. Perry for their work together.
Flaherty stated that overall this is a pretty good budget. It is not perfect and could look better, but
the mayor, finance director and others are always open to asking questions and getting those
answers. It behooves this council,the next finance and property chair and the next council
president throughout the year to go over the capital improvements budget and to bring Mr. Ayles
in and ask questions on a regular basis. It helps us to educate. Cities,towns and school
departments get squeezed and there is not a lot of wiggle room to make a lot of changes. We
could do a few things in the stabilization fund, but a few years ago we didn't even have a
stabilization fund. It was Powers & Sullivan that said we needed to get our stabilization fund up
and that's why we are able to build police stations and schools because the City is in good
financial shape and that helps the whole City in general. Flaherty stated there is always room for
improvement and changes but he is proud of the work that has been done together.
Mayor Cahill thanked Councilors Guanci and Flaherty at the end of their last budget, stating that
they have been great partners and leaders in the City. Cahill thanked all the partners on the City
Council and School Committee for fantastic work. He also thanked the employees in this
community, department heads, and the team in the finance department and Mr. Perry for their
work, as well as BevCam and the Clerk's Office. Cahill thanked Mr. Ayles for doing a fantastic
job and being so professional and for everything he does day in and day out throughout the year.
Copeland thanked everyone and stated that moving forward, one of the things he is excited about
is the ability to reimagine how to engage with some of these things when looking at different
funds, like looking at rainy day funds and how those can maybe be distributed a little bit
differently. Those are conversations that we will be looking forward to having and that will begin
to shape the scope of the City and the things that we are able to accomplish. We don't have to
wait until the budget season to have those conversations. If we start those conversations now,
then come next budget, we will be able to do some great things that we might not have thought
about before or be able to reimagine how we distribute funds but still keep the City strong and
grow it from there. Copeland thanked Guanci and Flaherty and said they will be missed.
Houseman agreed on the professionalism and great work of Mr. Ayles.
Guanci stated that Mr. Ayles goes above and beyond to make sure that the councilors know and
understand what is going on. In Beverly, the executive and legislative branches here have always
worked well together.
The motion to adjourn was made and seconded. A vote was taken, and the motion carried (9-0).
The meeting adjourned at 8:03pm.
Beverly City Council Meeting Minutes—June 23,2021 page 4 of 4