OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Beverly City Council Final Budget Debate and Vote on FY27 Budget – June 23, 2026

City Council — Tuesday, June 23, 2026
BodyBeverly, Massachusetts
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, June 23, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
Meeting Thumbnail
⇩ GET FROM SOURCE

STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE

Transcript — Verbatim
0:29

And that's the last slide.

0:32

That's the type of legend.

0:33

Yes.

0:34

I think so.

0:36

Good evening, everyone.

0:38

Thank you so much to everyone for joining us here in the council chamber.

0:41

And thank you to everyone who's joining us via our BevCam stream right now with our thanks also to Kim in the Bevcam booth, who's making sure that that stream is happening and is accessible to folks who may be joining us wherever you are or watching this meeting later.

0:56

So thank you, Kim, and thank you, Bev Cam.

0:59

Thanks to everybody who's here in the chamber with us this evening.

1:02

I do notice if this were a boat, we would be listening very sharply to this side.

1:06

So folks, if you're watching your head this way, when you come and you're gonna want to sit to the right hand side from the back doors.

1:12

But thank you, no matter where you're sitting in this room.

1:14

Thanks for being here with us.

1:15

And thank you for following us through this budget process.

1:18

Tonight is, of course, a meeting that has largely just one agenda item, and it is for a final discussion and vote from the city council on the proposed FY27 budget.

1:29

I typically like to run through what's on the agenda.

1:31

That really is the main agenda item this evening, and this is the culmination of a month-long budget process.

1:38

As folks know, the subcommittee on finance and property has been meeting after receiving the proposed budget from Mayor Kay Hill at the beginning of June.

1:46

And we've been meeting with department heads and going through the budget, having conversations.

1:51

Last night had a public hearing on the budget with members of the public here speaking and in the chamber, and this evening, counselors, we have the opportunity to have our conversation and ultimately a vote on this proposed budget.

2:04

So with that, I'll officially call to order this special meeting of the Beverly City Council Tuesday, June 23rd, 2026, 6 o'clock p.m.

2:14

Ms.

2:14

Kent, will you please call the roll?

2:16

Crawley?

2:17

Feldman, Houseman, Melanie?

2:19

Here, Retundo, Sonia, Spang, St.

2:22

Hilaire, and Flowers.

2:25

Here.

2:25

Thank you, Ms.

2:26

Ken.

2:26

Counselor St.

2:27

Hilaire, would you lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance?

2:29

And I'd ask that we remain standing for a moment of silence for former Beverly Mayor, Jack Moniken, please.

3:03

Thank you very much, Counselor St.

3:05

Hilaire, for leading us in the pledge, and thank you, everyone for taking that moment of silence.

3:09

As I mentioned, it was an opportunity for us to take a moment of silence for former Beverly Mayor Jack Monahan, actually Frederick Jack Monahan.

3:18

He died at the beginning of the month on June 9th.

3:20

His family was with him at the time.

3:22

And he's remembered, of course, for being a former mayor of the city of Beverly.

3:26

He served in that capacity from 1984 to 1994.

3:30

Before that, he also served as Ward 3 alderman from 1975 to 1977, and our state rep from 1978 to 1982.

3:40

And he was a Beverly Public Schools alum and is also remembered as being not only an excellent student during that time, but an outstanding student athlete.

3:49

And so at a time when we've been thinking about all of the wonderful attributes of our community and the things that we hope for our schools, our students, our teachers, our educators, for all of our different state departments, um, what a what an appropriate time to take a moment of silence for someone who really gave so much to his community.

4:06

And so thank you all for joining me in that moment of silence.

4:09

Our thoughts, of course, are with his family and his friends and our thanks for all of the public service, the many years of public service that he gave.

4:53

And for those who may be following the process or for whom it may be newer.

5:00

Um counselors, if anyone has come either with something that you just have a prepared statement that you'd like to offer at the beginning or the ending of the process.

5:07

I'm happy to have us do that.

5:10

If you have come with any proposed cuts in mind to the budget, I ask that you make those cuts, make your proposal in the form of a motion.

5:18

Um the motion, then if it receives a second, we will have time to discuss it, and then we will vote on each individual proposed uh amendment.

5:28

If amendments pass, of course, they'll become part of what we will vote on at the end, and any amendments that don't pass, we'll we'll move to the next um proposal that a counselor may have.

5:38

So does is that good?

5:40

Is everyone good with that?

5:41

We're good with that.

5:42

Okay.

5:43

Um I do know that we have many members of our city staff here with us, many department heads.

5:48

Thank you for being here.

5:49

Uh, thank you for your work during this budget process, which of course precedes the presentation of the budget.

5:54

We know the departments were hard at work on what's in this budget book before we received it.

5:59

And so I thank you for being here and thank those of you who were here for your presentations with the finance and property subcommittee as well.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Budget Review█████████████████████████████████████████████47%
Personnel Matters█████████████14%
Procedural███████████12%
Public Engagement███████7%
Fiscal Sustainability███████7%
Racial Equity█████5%
Public Safety███3%
Public Health██2%
Public Education█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Beverly City Council Final Budget Debate and Vote on FY27 Budget – June 23, 2026

The Beverly City Council held a special meeting on June 23, 2026, to discuss and vote on the proposed FY27 budget. The meeting included opening remarks from Mayor Kay Hill, statements from councilors, a series of proposed amendments, and a final vote. The budget was approved 5-4 after incorporating four amendments.

Opening Remarks

  • Mayor Hill noted that reserves had dropped from 20% of the FY26 budget to a projected 17% of the FY27 budget, and free cash declined from $10.4 million to $8.3 million. He urged the council not to cut the line item for COLA increases for non-union department heads, which is about 3%, while union contracts range from 3–4% or more.
  • Councilor St. Hilaire criticized the administration's transparency and the trash fee increase, proposing cuts to non-essential positions and expenses totaling over $700,000. He also urged canceling the city hall project to save $2 million.
  • Councilor Houseman warned of a structural deficit in FY28, stating that an additional $2 million in cuts would be needed. He suggested raising kindergarten fees, cutting school-side budgets, reducing the city's health insurance contribution rate from 80%, and advocating for increased state aid. He also noted that halting the city hall project would waste $5 million already spent and harm the city's bond rating.

Discussion and Votes on Amendments

  • Mayor's Travel (Line 51891): Councilor St. Hilaire moved to cut from $13,500 to $0. Failed 3–6. Councilor Houseman then moved to reduce to $10,000. Passed 9–0.
  • DEI Coordinator (Line 51141): Councilor St. Hilaire moved to cut from $62,621 to $0. Passed 5–4.
  • Constituent Services Director (Line 51137): Councilor St. Hilaire moved to cut from $77,625 to $0. Failed 2–7.
  • Chief of Staff (Line 51130): Councilor St. Hilaire moved to cut from $115,000 to $0. Failed 1–8.
  • Executive Office Other Charges (Line 57301): Councilor St. Hilaire moved to cut from $15,075 to $0. Failed 1–8.
  • DEI Other Expenses (Line 5500): Councilor St. Hilaire moved to cut from $5,000 to $0. Failed 1–8.
  • Health Department Travel (Line 57100): Councilor St. Hilaire moved to cut from $3,000 to $0. Failed 1–8.
  • Reserve for Unforeseen (Line 57820): Councilor St. Hilaire moved to cut from $225,000 to $0. Failed 2–7.
  • Salary Pool for Exempt Employees (Line 57811): Councilor St. Hilaire moved to cut from $150,000 to $0. Failed 2–7. Councilor Houseman moved to reduce by $20,000 to $130,000; vote not explicitly recorded but did not appear in final list of passed amendments.
  • Finance Department Consultant (Line 53034): Councilor St. Hilaire moved to cut from $12,500 to $0. Failed 1–8.
  • Budget Analyst Position (Line 51106): Councilor Houseman moved to reduce from $79,869.75 to $59,869.75. Passed 9–0. Mr. Perry, the budget analyst, stated he could work within the reduced amount.
  • Mail Messenger (Line 51186): Councilor Retundo moved to cut from $7,000 to $0. Passed 5–4. The administration noted the funds would be used to compensate existing employees for added duties.
  • Health Department Consultant (Line 53024): Councilor St. Hilaire moved to cut from $27,500 to $0. Failed 1–8. Finance Director Ayles noted the line generates revenue through biohazard inspections.
  • Planning Department Consultant (Line 53034): Councilor St. Hilaire moved to cut from $17,500 to $0. Failed 1–8.

Key Outcomes

  • The council adopted the FY27 budget as amended, passing 5–4. The four successful amendments reduced the mayor's travel by $3,500, eliminated the DEI coordinator position, cut the budget analyst's line by $20,000, and eliminated the mail messenger position.
  • The final budget includes a water rate of $4.42 per unit and a sewer rate of $7.76 per unit, with transfers of retained earnings for enterprise funds as part of the adopted order.
  • Councilors noted the need for ongoing work on revenue generation and expenditure control, with a deficit reduction committee being formed. Several councilors expressed concern about the structural deficit and the impact of cuts on services.

Meeting Transcript

And that's the last slide. That's the type of legend. Yes. I think so. Good evening, everyone. Thank you so much to everyone for joining us here in the council chamber. And thank you to everyone who's joining us via our BevCam stream right now with our thanks also to Kim in the Bevcam booth, who's making sure that that stream is happening and is accessible to folks who may be joining us wherever you are or watching this meeting later. So thank you, Kim, and thank you, Bev Cam. Thanks to everybody who's here in the chamber with us this evening. I do notice if this were a boat, we would be listening very sharply to this side. So folks, if you're watching your head this way, when you come and you're gonna want to sit to the right hand side from the back doors. But thank you, no matter where you're sitting in this room. Thanks for being here with us. And thank you for following us through this budget process. Tonight is, of course, a meeting that has largely just one agenda item, and it is for a final discussion and vote from the city council on the proposed FY27 budget. I typically like to run through what's on the agenda. That really is the main agenda item this evening, and this is the culmination of a month-long budget process. As folks know, the subcommittee on finance and property has been meeting after receiving the proposed budget from Mayor Kay Hill at the beginning of June. And we've been meeting with department heads and going through the budget, having conversations. Last night had a public hearing on the budget with members of the public here speaking and in the chamber, and this evening, counselors, we have the opportunity to have our conversation and ultimately a vote on this proposed budget. So with that, I'll officially call to order this special meeting of the Beverly City Council Tuesday, June 23rd, 2026, 6 o'clock p.m. Ms. Kent, will you please call the roll? Crawley? Feldman, Houseman, Melanie? Here, Retundo, Sonia, Spang, St. Hilaire, and Flowers. Here. Thank you, Ms. Ken. Counselor St. Hilaire, would you lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance? And I'd ask that we remain standing for a moment of silence for former Beverly Mayor, Jack Moniken, please. Thank you very much, Counselor St. Hilaire, for leading us in the pledge, and thank you, everyone for taking that moment of silence. As I mentioned, it was an opportunity for us to take a moment of silence for former Beverly Mayor Jack Monahan, actually Frederick Jack Monahan. He died at the beginning of the month on June 9th. His family was with him at the time. And he's remembered, of course, for being a former mayor of the city of Beverly. He served in that capacity from 1984 to 1994. Before that, he also served as Ward 3 alderman from 1975 to 1977, and our state rep from 1978 to 1982. And he was a Beverly Public Schools alum and is also remembered as being not only an excellent student during that time, but an outstanding student athlete. And so at a time when we've been thinking about all of the wonderful attributes of our community and the things that we hope for our schools, our students, our teachers, our educators, for all of our different state departments, um, what a what an appropriate time to take a moment of silence for someone who really gave so much to his community. And so thank you all for joining me in that moment of silence. Our thoughts, of course, are with his family and his friends and our thanks for all of the public service, the many years of public service that he gave. And for those who may be following the process or for whom it may be newer. Um counselors, if anyone has come either with something that you just have a prepared statement that you'd like to offer at the beginning or the ending of the process. I'm happy to have us do that. If you have come with any proposed cuts in mind to the budget, I ask that you make those cuts, make your proposal in the form of a motion. Um the motion, then if it receives a second, we will have time to discuss it, and then we will vote on each individual proposed uh amendment.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com