Beverly Opens FY22 Budget Review; Analyst Declares Mayor's Plan Balanced

BEVERLY -- June 1, 2021, Beverly's independent budget analyst declared the city's proposed FY22 budget balanced as the City Council opened deliberations Tuesday. Budget Analyst Jerry Perry told the Committee on Finance and Property that Mayor Michael Cahill's plan increases overall spending by 3.59 percent, $5.289 million, over the prior year without drawing on stabilization reserves, a step the city had to take in FY21 due to COVID-19. Perry praised the balance between municipal and school spending but flagged a significant warning: the administration proposes drawing $900,000, or roughly 78 percent, of certified water retained earnings and $805,141, or 70 percent, of sewer retained earnings to hold rate increases below 1 percent in each enterprise fund, leaving little cushion for FY23. "There's a distinct possibility you're going to see an even larger increase in water and sewer rates next year," Perry told councilors. The mayor's budget also absorbs the first full year of salary for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Director Abu Talpin and continues a donor-subsidized arrangement covering 40 percent of Sustainability Director Arena Keith's cost through fiscal year-end; the racial equity audit under way will cost approximately $25,000 more to complete in FY22.