Beverly Mayor's Budget Taxes To Levy Limit, Proposes $7.8M Increase

BEVERLY, MA — Beverly Mayor Michael Cahill's proposed 2026 fiscal year budget for the city includes a 9.1 percent increase in school funding, proposes $3 million in surplus "free cash" spending toward road and sidewalk repair, and borrowing to fund the City Hall renovation as part of a $7.762 million overall budget increase year-over-year.

Cahill presented his initial budget at Monday's City Council meeting, with debate on the budget set to continue at the City Council Committee on Finance and Property beginning on Thursday.

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Beverly taxpayers who have been helped by the city not taxing to the Proposition 2 1/2 limit in recent years will see increases to the levy limit starting next year, Cahill said.

He said the 9.1 percent school increase — with a new collective-bargaining agreement with school staff now in place following last fall's two-week teacher strike — comes in the wake of an 8 percent increase last year and results in a $12.7 million increase to the school budget over two years.

"We will undertake our second year of truly massive, historic investments in our public schools," Cahill said. "This proposed budget will ensure that in the next school year, we will employ 55 more school staff than we did in the 2019-20 school year — the last budget prior to the pandemic."

The school budget increase is offset by a reduction in the road and sidewalk budget, as well as city vehicles, which Cahill said he intends to request be supplemented by $3 million in free cash spending. He said that spending, combined with state and National Grid money from recent and ongoing road projects, will provide more than $8 million to fix the city's streets and sidewalks next year.

"A very welcome and need infusion of funds to upgrade our roads and sidewalks and improve safety for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers throughout our community," Cahill said.

The free cash spending will come out of the projected $9.5 million certification later this year.

He said the budget also includes allowances to move forward on bonding debt for the City Hall renovation project that has been estimated in the range of $25 million and will be presented to the City Council during its June 16 meeting.

"The budget before you this evening will empower us to deliver the services our community needs across all departments throughout the coming year," Cahill said.

(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.)