BEVERLY — Mayor Mike Cahill used his annual State of the City address this week to highlight accomplishments and to reiterate that the city is in a strong financial position.
Mike Cahill
In a 30-minute speech at City Hall, Cahill said the city has built up reserves of over $30 million over the last decade — money that can be used to keep the city running smoothly in the event of an economic downturn.
“Our reserves are meant to get us through a recession when revenues fall precipitously and to do so without wholesale layoffs and drastic deep cuts to critical services,” Cahill said.
“These reserves are not meant to be used to outspend still strong and growing revenues during good economic times,” he added. “They are meant to help us keep delivering the services people need and rely on right through the worst economic times and through economic recovery from those bad times.”
In his speech in front of the City Council on Monday night, Cahill ran down the accomplishments of each city department, calling it “a great year in Beverly.”
Highlights mentioned by Cahill included:
– The hiring of the first woman as city engineer, Lisa Chandler
– Progress on upcoming traffic projects like a proposed roundabout at the intersection of Brimbal Avenue and Dunham Road, a traffic signal at the intersection of Corning, Essex and Spring streets, and the Bridge Street reconstruction project
– Daily visits to the Senior Center are up 63%
– Over 150,000 people visited the library
– Two new parks on Simon Street will be completed this summer
– New tennis courts will be built at Centerville and Cove playgrounds
– A major renovation of Holcroft Park will begin this summer
– The city’s senior tax workoff program has grown from 50 to over 90 seniors
– The city will launch its first Beverly Youth Council for young people to learn more about local government and advocate for youth issues
– The Fire Department has ordered a new pumper truck, which will replace Engine 1 in Central Fire Station when it arrives
– Five new civilian dispatchers have been hired for the combined civilian, emergency medical services, police and fire dispatch system, with the goal to be “fully civilian” by fall, freeing up uniformed police officers to serve out in the community
– The city’s veterans department prevented the eviction of three veterans from their houses
– The city received 73 of the 80 grants it applied for over the last fiscal year, bringing in over $5 million in revenue
– The mayor’s office launched an iPad translation program for visitors to City Hall whose primary language is not English
– Four applications have been submitted under the city’s new accessory dwelling unit ordinance
– The Salem Skipper rideshare program expanded into Beverly starting May 1
– The city’s community garden has moved from Cole Street to Moraine Farm, and garden plots are still available for this season
– The city’s electricity aggregation program started on May 1, providing residents and businesses with lower electricity costs while increasing the amount of clean renewable energy
– Coastal resiliency projects at Lynch Park and Obear Park are in the design and permitting phase
– Beverly Airport had its most flights since 2003 and is planning to rebuild its main runway
Cahill closed by thanking the city’s department heads and staff for their work.
“Thanks in significant part to their contributions, the state of our city remains strong,” he said to the City Council. “With their partnership and with yours, I know the state of our city will improve and become ever stronger well into the future.”
Staff Writer Paul Leighton can be reached at 978-338-2535, by email at pleighton@salemnews.com, or on Twitter at @heardinbeverly.