BEVERLY, MA — The Beverly City Council, during a four-hour public meeting on Tuesday night, gave preliminary approval to a trash fee increase that is less than what Mayor Mike Cahill recommended to fully fund the service in the city, requiring an estimated $1.4 million in additional cuts to the forthcoming 2027 budget.
The City Council, in a 7-2 vote, approved Councilor Todd Rotondo's proposal to modify Cahill's proposal of an increase from $100 to $425 for most residents, with an option of a $280 price level for those using a smaller (35-gallon instead of a 64-gallon) trash bin, to $300 for the full-size trash bin and $200 annually for the smaller bin. That proposal provides a $400 option for families that opt to use the same 95-gallon bin for trash that will be used for recycling in the new automated system starting July 1.
Councilor Steve Crowley proposed an amendment to keep the fee at $100 for the smaller size, $200 for the standard size, and $300 million for the larger size. That proposal never came up for a vote.
Cahill said the reduced increase would create the need for $1.4 million in cuts, in addition to the 10.5 full-time positions he said he will propose cutting as part of his forthcoming budget, should the trash costs have been fully covered.
City Budget Analyst Gerald Perry said the $1.4 million in cuts could translate into about 20 additional positions lost, though Cahill said one contingency could be less than that, if other cuts — such as eliminating the city's lone municipal bus line — are cut instead of staff.
Cahill said the increases are necessary to offset a trash and recycling contract that jumped from $3.9 million to $5.4 million annually, and to at least delay the need for a Proposition 2 1/2 override.
"I certainly don't want to," he said of raising the fees. "I don't like saying the numbers. I get it. ...
"I am sensitive to the fact that it seems like a lot. It feels like too much."
There were more than 90 minutes of public comment — the vast majority of which was against the increases.
The Council agreed with the modified increase, but will still have to vote a second time at next Monday's regular Council meeting to confirm the ordinance. Council members will have the option at that time to go back to Cahill's proposal, adopt Crowley's amendment, or keep the framework of Rotondo's recommendation from the special meeting on Tuesday.
City Councilor Matthew St. Hilaire, who proposed canceling the $30 million City Hall renovation project as a way to offset the costs of the new trash contract, to avoid raising fees, said the fee increases amount to property taxes paid, no longer providing for a city service that had been covered through those taxes.
He said he would vote against a rise in the fee by any amount.
Cahill defended the City Hall project, calling for an Open House for residents to see firsthand the condition of the building that has not had a substantial renovation in nearly 100 years. He also defended the city's purchase of electric buses and the former Family Dollar building and adjacent parking lot to those who spoke and said the city was wasting money that could go toward covering trash removal and road improvements.
City Solicitor Beth Oldmixon told the Council that only Cahill could nix the City Hall project after funding was approved and that the legislative body had no authority to compel the Mayor's Office to do so. She said that about $3.5 million had already been spent toward the project and that money would be forfeited in any project cancellation.
"This project is anything but what it shouldn't be," Cahill said. "It is basic. It meets the needs of City Hall staff. It meets the needs of the community."
While Cahill said his full budget would be revealed next week, he said that there would be about 10 equivalent FTEs lost even if the full trash fee increase was adopted, including several positions through attrition, and the reduction of the city's DEI coordinator from a full-time to part-time position.
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