Salem Mayor Proposes 4.1 Percent Budget Increase For Fiscal Year 2025

SALEM, MA — A $204 million proposed Salem city budget sent to the City Council is a 4.1 percent increase year-over-year with Mayor Dominick Pangallo attributing the vast majority of the increase to "fixed costs" that include personnel, inflation and the end of COVID-19 American Recovery Plan Act funding.

Pangallo said in a statement that those "fixed costs" account for 81 percent of the increase and that the proposed budget "strategically manages" the rise in costs "without compromising the city's focus on providing critical services and programs for the community and for its schools."

"While the pressures are significant in this coming fiscal year, there are reasons for optimism," Pangallo observed in his budget message. "We have an incredibly strong local economy in Salem, healthy levels of new growth, and solid fiscal policies and practices."

The biggest increases come in the school budget — which is 4.8 percent higher year-over-year.

"Our proposed school budget aligns with the district's new strategic plan with investments in the changing nature of our student population and our continued commitment to innovative and successful programs, including our Pre-K Partnership, Reimagining Middle School, and others,"
said Pangallo, who chairs the Salem School Committee. "Overall, Salem Public Schools are progressing in many areas identified in the strategic plan — educator diversity and retention, chronic absenteeism, graduation and drop-out rates — but we still have a lot of work to do."

The full budget proposal and a "Budget in Brief" summary can be found here.

Pangallo's office said the proposal includes $250,000 for accessibility improvements, $1.3 million for public safety needs, $1.3 million for service delivery and operational improvements, nearly $2.3 million for parks and open spaces, $2.4 million for historic preservation, $3.7 million for climate change resiliency efforts, $6.6 million for water and sewer infrastructure and $6.6 million for road and sidewalk repair and improvements.

"The proposed budget aligns operations with strategic goals and objectives while maintaining a responsible approach to fiscal management," Pangallo said. "It invests in the critical services and projects that make Salem a vibrant and more livable city, with schools in which we can all take pride, excellent municipal services, and a continued commitment to transparency."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)