Beverly City Council approves mayor's FY26 budget 8-1 after hours of amendments and debate

The Beverly City Council on Monday approved Mayor Cahill's fiscal year 2026 budget by an 8-1 vote after a lengthy public hearing record and a night of council debate and amendment attempts.

Councilors spent the meeting discussing the budget's long-term outlook, including a forecasted structural deficit in FY27, and considered a slate of targeted reductions proposed by several council members. "The budget before us, the mayor's FY26 budget, will cause a structural deficit in FY27," Councilor Hausman said, urging that any cuts proposed that night add up to at least $800,000 if they were to materially change the projected shortfall.

The council's deliberations followed the administration's presentation and prior subcommittee and public hearings. Finance Director Brian Ailes and budget analyst Jerry Perry answered questions about contingency funding, use of ARPA and free-cash timing, and the limits of the council's powers to reallocate funds. Perry advised the council that a material mitigation for the projected FY27 gap would require cuts in the $800,000 to $1,000,000 range and cautioned that moving contingency funds could limit options before free cash is certified in the fall.

Major debate points

- Schools: Several councilors, including Councilors St. Hilaire, Feldman and Sweeney, pressed that the budget does not fully address challenges at Beverly Middle School and said staff and program reductions there were a particular concern. Councilor St. Hilaire called recent middle-school performance "a historically…