Peabody May Layoff CIty Workers To Balance Budget

PEABODY, MA — Peabody Mayor Ted Bettencourt is considering laying off or furloughing city workers as he prepares the "worst-case scenario" budget.

Bettencourt told the Salem News the city has already laid off 35 part-time city workers as the city faces declining tax revenue and state aid as a result of the new coronavirus crisis. "I anticipate that there will be another round of layoffs coming up the next couple of weeks," Bettencourt told the newspaper.

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Last week Bettencourt told Peabody Patch the city was facing "painful decisions" in this year's budget process. Peabody officials are waiting for the state budget to be finalized before moving forward with revisions to local budgets. It's a scenario playing out in communities across the state.

During last year's budget process, Peabody saw jumps in several areas, including health insurance premiums, payments to the city retirement program and debt payments.

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Dave Copeland writes for Patch and can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).