Beverly City Council Swears In New Leadership, Approves 2022 Committee Assignments

BEVERLY — January 3, 2022 — Beverly inaugurates Mayor Cahill for a fifth term and seats a new city council under its first new president in 20 years. At the January 3 ceremony and organizational meeting held at Beverly High School, incoming City Council President Julie R. Flowers replaced longtime council head Paul Guanci, who served 16 of his 20 council years as president. The council unanimously elected Ward 1 Councillor Todd C. Rotundo as vice president and approved nine organizational orders establishing standing subcommittees, liaison appointments, and committee assignments, with the sole contested vote — 8 to 1 — coming on an amendment delaying Ward 5 Councillor Kathleen M. Feldman's chairmanship of the Financial Forecast Committee until April 1, 2022. The council also unanimously approved a $7,500 Massachusetts Cultural Council cultural district incentive grant to fund a part-time staffer, a new logo, and an updated website for the Beverly Arts District. Mayor Cahill's inaugural address previewed a spring submission of a downtown riverfront rezoning proposal and said a racial equity audit of city government is nearly complete.