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Peabody council rejects cut to city hall security position after hours of debate
Summary
Councilors debated a motion to remove $95,968 from the facility security full-time salary line before voting against the reduction. Supporters said the ordinance employee provides cameras, training and cross-department security work; opponents said the role began as ARPA-funded COVID work and overlaps police functions.
Councilor Turco moved to cut $95,968 from the facility security full-time salary line, arguing the ordinance-funded position began as an ARPA-era role and is now a ‘‘nice-to-have’’ in a tight budget. "I will make a motion to reduce line item 51110, salaries full-time in the amount of 95,968," Turco said.
The proposal set off a lengthy, often heated debate that stretched over several hours as councilors, the mayor and staff traded examples and counterarguments. Supporters of the position — including Councilors Gamache, Rossignol, Welton and others — described the staffer as a multi-facility asset who had installed cameras, helped solve vandalism and illegal dumping, supported the water treatment plant and provided de-escalation and safety training to seasonal staff. "He's been able to help where just identifying where there was some illegal dumping that was taking place," the mayor said, citing camera evidence that led to police action.
Opponents, led by Councilor Manning-Martin and Turco, called the position duplicative of police duties and questioned whether it should be continued permanently now that the ARPA funding that helped start it has ended. Manning-Martin said similar functions — especially enforcement and incident response — fall under police jurisdiction and argued the city needs must-have positions before adding discretionary ones.
Several councilors suggested alternatives: spreading the cost among departments that benefit (water/sewer, parks, golf, cemetery), or assigning surveillance-review tasks to civilian staff in the police department to reduce overtime costs. The mayor said he would explore those shared-service ideas with the police chief.
After a procedural vote to move the question, the council conducted a roll-call on Turco’s motion to cut the line and the measure failed in a recorded vote. The council then moved on with the remainder of the public-services agenda.
The outcome leaves the facility security ordinance position in the FY2027 budget at its proposed salary level while staff and members consider whether to formalize cost-sharing or adjust duties in coming months.
