20240618 City Council Meeting Minutes City of Beverly
Special City Council Meeting
Public Meeting Minutes
Tuesday,June 18,2024, 6:30pm
City Council Chambers, 191 Cabot St.
Julie Flowers, City Council President, called the meeting to order at 6:30pm. City Clerk, Lisa
Kent,took attendance by roll call.
Members Present: Hannah Bowen, Steven Crowley, Kathleen Feldman, Scott Houseman(arrived
6:58pm), Danielle Spang, Matthew St. Hilaire, Todd Rotondo, Brendan Sweeney, Julie Flowers
Members Absent:None
Houseman led the pledge of allegiance.
Communications, from other City Officers and Boards
Order#200-Assistant City Solicitor Oldmixon-Special municipal employee designation of
outside solar energy counsel
A motion to approve was made and seconded. A vote was taken, and the motion carried(8-0).
Unfinished Business from a Previous Meeting
Order#161-City Council final vote on Mayor Cahill's FY25 budget.
Flowers opened the floor for Councilors' comments.
Bowen stated she is not planning to make any amendments and expressed concern about whether
Beverly is adapting fast enough as a city government, especially regarding transparency.
Sweeney expressed concern about the sustainability of the rate of spending that is proposed in
this budget knowing some of the challenges in future fiscal years as well as concern about using
the excess levy capacity and the tax increases for residents.
St. Hilaire stated the proposed budget is overall a 5.38% increase over FY24 approved budget,
including an 8.34% increase in education spending(7.7% for Beverly public schools and 23%
increase for Essex Tech). St. Hilaire agreed the compensation for teachers needs to be
competitive and expressed concerns about tapping the excess levy capacity and increasing taxes.
Houseman joined the meeting.
Feldman commended the public for their involvement and feedback and expressed support for
this budget while sharing the concerns moving forward.
Rotondo stated his intent is not to cut the school budget but that he is a big proponent of the
roads and sidewalks budget and would like to find more ways to fund that line.
Spang stated the number one issue she hears from residents is about the cost of living and issues
with being priced out of Beverly and the need for higher wages. Spang stated she would like the
city to be able to continue providing quality services.
Flowers opened the floor to amendments.
A motion to amend budget line 14227 58757 in the highway department(the line item to
purchase equipment) from$350,000 to $0 was made and seconded.
Sweeney stated he understands the need for the equipment but it is important to map out a plan
and have more transparency. Sweeney requested looking to free cash or reserves so the Council
is more involved.
Ayles referenced a list from Commissioner Collins that shows the department has 136 registered
pieces of equipment (registered meaning with a license plate on them). 57 of them are more than
ten years old; some date back to the 1960s. Of that 136 registered pieces, 50 are valued at more
than$50,000, 28 are more than$100,000, about 18 are more than$150,000, and some are as
much as $400,000. There is no shortage of need for resources. It would definitely delay
operations and response time.
There was discussion about the need to put a plan in place for when equipment will be replaced.
A vote was taken, and the motion to amend failed (7-2, in favor: St. Hilaire, Sweeney).
A motion to amend budget line 14227 58757 by$175,000 was made and seconded.
A vote was taken, and the motion to amend failed (4-5, in favor: Flowers, Rotondo, St. Hilaire,
Sweeney).
A motion to amend budget line 57820 in the executive budget for the reserve for unforeseen
from$250,000 to $150,000 was made and seconded.
City Council Budget Analyst Gerry Perry recommended the Council not reduce this line item.
Sweeney asked if there is a best practice, such as a percentage of the budget that should be in the
reserve.
Perry stated there is not a set percentage but usually a look at historical trends of what has been
used. Perry stated he cannot think of a time when the funds were reverted back at the end of the
year or not used.
A vote was taken, and the motion to amend failed (8-1, in favor: St. Hilaire).
A motion to amend budget line 11324 57811 (reserve for nonunion salaries) from $200,000 to
$150,000 was made and seconded.
Sweeney asked about the potential impact of this.
Ayles stated this line is used to make market adjustments to salaries and to remain competitive
with other communities. This is used for employees who are not in a bargaining unit.
Houseman stated he does not support this proposed cut and spoke about the ability to retain staff.
A vote was taken, and the motion to amend passed (5-4, opposed: Crowley, Feldman, Flowers,
Houseman).
A motion to amend budget line 12301 51310 (dispatch overtime) from$100,000 to $50,000 was
made and seconded.
Ayles stated the staffing level accounts for ten dispatchers. If every dispatcher takes on average
four weeks off a year, that would be 1,600 hours of overtime to be filled; this level of funding
provides 1,900 hours of funding. There is a little bit of cushion because some may take more or
less, and there may also be a need to call back in additional dispatchers for a large-scale event.
Budgeting a line item like this is a bit of pulling numbers together and making a good guess
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since there is not a track record yet.
A vote was taken, and the motion to amend failed (4-5, in favor: Crowley, Houseman, Rotondo,
St. Hilaire).
A motion to amend budget line 51180 in executive budget(assistant sustainability director) from
$38,1146 to $0 was made and seconded.
St. Hilaire stated this is a new position that was grant funded but will not continue to be grant
funded and he does not think this reduction would have a significant impact on city services.
Ayles stated the donor covered 80% of the position in year one, 60% in year two, 40% in year
three, and in year four,the city would assume the full cost of the position, which would happen
in the last ten weeks of FY26.
Sweeney stated the Council has supported sustainability and that he is supportive of that work.
Sweeney stated his concern is that the executive budget has increased by$427,000 since FY20,
which is a 68% increase, and the general fund budget has increased 23% in that time. Sweeney
stated he wants the city to continue on these initiatives but is concerned about the increase each
year and does not know that the city could fund this position in future years. Sweeney spoke of
the capacity of Green Beverly and the Clean Energy Advisory Committee as well as the grant
director and constituent services director to continue the work.
Feldman cautioned against this reduction because this position does economically benefit the city
and gave the examples of locking in a lower energy rate with National Grid and the work that has
been done on municipal aggregation. Feldman stated she sees the sustainability office as a
potential source of long-term revenue for the city in terms of funding that is available in these
areas.
Spang stated coastal resilience has a lot of impact on the city and the people in this department
have a lot of specialized knowledge. It is a cost savings to have these positions in house to work
on these types of projects.
Bowen referenced a recent Boston Globe article about how communities that have a
sustainability position have been able to reap much greater revenue,rewards, and rebates from
having dedicated staff.
Sweeney stated he agrees with these initiatives however it is now running up against fiscal
realities. These initiatives will take regional work to be successful. Sweeney spoke about
wanting to continue the work with Salem. Looking at DLS data from FY23, Beverly's tax levy
funds over 75% of its budget while Salem's tax levy funds less than 60% of its budget. Salem
brings in more state and federal revenue than Beverly does to fund some of these positions.
Proposition 21/2 limits the revenue we can bring in.
Houseman agreed with Councilors Feldman, Spang and Bowen and stated this position will be a
revenue generator not a cost center.
A vote was taken, and the motion to amend failed (4-5, in favor: Crowley, Rotondo, St. Hilaire,
Sweeney).
A motion for a brief recess was made and seconded. A vote was taken, and the motion carried (9-
0).The meeting recess at 8:24pm. The meeting was called back to order at 8:29pm.
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Flowers stated the one amendment that passed tonight was to amend the proposed budget by
reducing budget line 11324 57811 (reserve for nonunion salaries)by $50,000.
A motion to approve the budget as amended ($165,954,910) was made and seconded. A vote was
taken, and the motion carried(8-1, St. Hilaire).
A motion to adjourn was made and seconded. A vote was taken, and the motion carried (9-0).
The meeting adjourned at 8:34pm.
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