Peabody Mayor, City Councilors Getting Raises

PEABODY, MA — City Council voted 7-4 Thursday to raise Mayor Ted Bettencourt's salary by two percent, bringing his annual compensation to$122,400 from $120,000.

City councilors receive nine percent of the mayor's salary, meaning the board effectively voted a two percent pay raise for each of its members. Councilors will now earn $11,016 per year, up $216 from $10,800. The pay increases take effect with the start of the new fiscal year in July 1.

Ward 4 Councilor Ed Charest, Ward 6 Councilor Mark O’Neill, and Councilors-at-large Jon Turco and Anne Manning-Martin voted against the pay raise. While they agreed that the raise helps keep the salary for Peabody's mayor competitive, they were reluctant to give themselves raises and raised concerns about the pay bump's timing.

"We recently went up 9% on people’s water bills and also went up on their property taxes," Turco said. "At some point we need to tighten the reins a bit, so I would not be in favor of raises this year."