20220621 Special City Council Meeting Minutes City of Beverly
Special City Council Meeting
Public Meeting Minutes
Tuesday,June 21,2022,7:OOpm
City Council Chambers, 191 Cabot St. -7 Y
Julie Flowers, City Council President,called the meeting to order at 7:00pm. Assistant City
Clerk, Christine Dixon,took attendance by roll call.
Members Present: Hannah Bowen, Steven Crowley,Kathleen Feldman, Scott Houseman, Estelle
Rand, Matthew St. Hilaire,Todd Rotondo, Brendan Sweeney, Julie Flowers
Members Absent: None
Houseman led the pledge of allegiance.
Public Hearing
Order# 156-FY23 Budget
Flowers opened the public hearing.
Finance Director,Bryant Ayles,presented on the "Others"section of the budget book,most of
which fall under his office or Human Resources. Debt services is comprised of the following
four sections: long-term principal, long-term interest, short-term principal, and short-term
interest. Long term is for big projects, and short term is for things that might arise during the
year. Ayles added that it is important to look at the capital expenditure plan for the full picture
since this shows just FY23. Ayles stated the long-term debt is for projects as far back as 25-30
years and includes things like the Centerville School, construction at the Farms Library, fire
station work,the Lynch Park carriage house,parking lot work downtown, Beverly High School,
Beverly Middle School,the new police station, library repairs and fagade work on City Hall.
Ayles stated the Annuities and Pensions section has to do with long-term pension liabilities and
retirees' healthcare. These get valued every two years by PERAC, and the City is required to pay
that down by 2040.Now, the City is on track to pay that down by 2033. The OPEB liability has
to do with healthcare for retired City employees and retired teachers. The City has close to a
$400,000,000 liability, and this is an effort to pay into a trust fund to help alleviate some of that
burden in the future. The Benefits Administration section represents workers compensation,
unemployment compensation,health insurance costs,life insurance and payroll taxes that the
City has to pay as an employer. State Assessments are given to us from the Division of Local
Services and represents other agencies and services. The state charges these and pays them on
behalf of the City.
Richard Tabbut, 57 Sonning Road, asked if money is being allocated in next year's budget to
alleviate the situation in Ryal Side with the bridge being closed and if any state aid is expected.
Tabbut also asked what will be done for residents affected by noise from Beverly Airport and if
there is any funding.
Rich Donlon, 9 Oakmont Road, asked that attention be given to Oakmont and Putnam Street as
they are the main arteries for parents and buses to the North Beverly School. These two streets
are in such disrepair and hopefully infrastructure funding will go towards it.
Danielle Spang, 16 Mulberry Street, spoke in support of integrated pest management and the
school system. Spang asked that the City continue to prioritize schools and make sure the
increase in Chapter 70 funding does not mean schools get less from the City. It did not this year,
so it would be great if that could continue. Spang stated she found the school budget helpful to
understand and said she would love to see something like that on the city side, even a portion
showing goals and achievements to help understand the broad scope of the budget. Spang
requested that the PDF of the budget on the website be searchable.
A motion to adjourn was made and seconded. A vote was taken, and the motion carried (9-0).
The meeting adjourned at 7:34pm.
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Beverly City Council Special Meeting Minutes—June 21,2022 page 2 of 2
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