Issues

Overview

Increased Funding for the City's Infrastructure Needs

Beverly is the envy of much of the North Shore because of our vibrant downtown, historic neighborhoods, and quality school and city services. However, it is clear that there’s a need in Beverly to improve our infrastructure, specifically, our roads and sidewalks.

Road and sidewalk infrastructure in Beverly is vital. It allows us to travel throughout the City by car, bike, or by walking around. Our road and sidewalk network is truly our City’s largest and most important asset and it is imperative that we treat it as such. Both a strategic, long-term plan and a sustained financial commitment to address the numerous roads in “poor”, “very poor”, or “serious” according to Beverly’s Pavement Condition Index (PCI) is required. I am committed to working with the mayor and the Public Services team to make sure that we collectively address Beverly’s roads and sidewalks – this issue is a top priority of mine.

In my first term on the City Council, I have worked to improve Beverly's infrastructure by:

If I am re-elected, I will continue to advocate for a sustained increase in funding for road and sidewalk improvements and other crucial city infrastructure projects, as well as a long-term strategic plan to meet Beverly’s infrastructure needs.

Workforce Housing Development

Beverly, like many cities and towns in Massachusetts, is facing two major challenges regarding housing:

1. There are limited housing options for working-class families, young professionals, and seniors, aside from higher-priced luxury units.
2. Housing prices are at record highs, particularly for what could be considered as “starter homes”. Because of this, young professionals and working-class families are unable to make the jump from renter to homeowner in the city.

These challenges exacerbate a vicious cycle; “empty-nesters”, seniors whose children have grown up and moved out, cannot afford to downsize if they would like to because of the lack of reasonably-priced rental housing options in Beverly. This means that there is less turnover of single-family homeownership, as empty-nesters cannot afford to move out, constricting supply and driving up the price of single-family homes for the young professionals and working-class families already in Beverly that are looking to make the jump from renter to homeowner.

To be clear, the solution to this problem is not to allow any and all proposed housing developments to be built without concern for community considerations and the City’s historic character. This is why I supported recent zoning ordinance amendments that aligned maximum building heights in downtown Beverly with what the community considers a reasonable limit in order to encourage the desired types of new housing developments that fit within the character of our historic downtown. Rather, we as a city must focus on an increase in targeted housing development. 

To date, Beverly has done an exemplary job of creating new housing and meeting the state-mandated affordable housing requirement. The state definition of affordable housing is housing that serves households at or below 80% of the area median income. Currently, Beverly’s state-defined affordable housing stock hovers roughly around 12% of the total housing in the city.

However, where we need to be more proactive as a city is in regards to the development of “workforce” housing – this is housing designed to serve households with incomes above the 80% threshold, but who cannot afford the newer luxury apartment units that have been built lately. Creation of workforce housing would support our teachers, firefighters, police officers, and service industry professionals. These housing units, also known as the “missing middle”, will allow more young professionals to move to Beverly, allow working-class families to find decent housing for themselves and their families, and allow for empty-nesters to find an affordable apartment to downsize into, if they so choose. With an expansion of workforce housing in the city, we can begin to free up the supply of existing single-family homes for younger families that are looking to call Beverly their permanent home for the foreseeable future.

In my first term on the City Council, I have supported the development of reasonably priced workforce housing – that fits within the historic character of Beverly – to meet the housing needs of our city’s young professionals, working-class families, and seniors by:

• Appropriating Community Preservation Act (CPA) funding for the Briscoe Village for Living and the Arts project, which will provide housing for low- and moderate-income seniors in Beverly.
• Actively using my position on the Legal Affairs subcommittee to pursue zoning ordinance amendments that will allow for the creation of new, affordable housing without distorting the character of Beverly.

If I am re-elected, I will continue to pursue innovative policy solutions to encourage the development of workforce housing, where appropriate.

Sustainable Community and Economic Development

Beverly is incredibly fortunate to have an abundance of amenities and community assets. We are a historic, seaside New England community with beautiful parks and beaches, numerous historic buildings and landmarks, and a walkable downtown with unique small businesses, restaurants, and a local theatre; not to mention the two colleges within the city – Endicott College and Montserrat College of Art – as well as the five commuter rail stations within our city’s borders; more than any other city in the Commonwealth outside of Boston.

We as a community have the unique opportunity to leverage our city’s assets to encourage strategic community and economic development going forward. Given the city’s existing assets, Beverly is a very attractive place for commercial development. This is apparent by our vibrant small business community, which has persevered despite the hardships of the pandemic. We must take advantage of this opportunity by attracting the “right” types of commercial and economic development – mixed-use development that fits within the historic character of Beverly, allows for walkability to one of our many commuter rail stations and various “neighborhood centers” across the city, and diversifies the various commercial industries and businesses operating in Beverly. The “Plan Beverly” Comprehensive Master Plan is a great first step to laying out a road map for the types of future development that we should collectively look to encourage as a community.

The development of the Cummings Center is a prime example of how such proactive efforts can yield successful results for our community. By working with a commercial developer to revitalize an inactive parcel of industrial property, the City was able to transform “The Shoe” into a thriving business center full of life sciences companies, technology developers, and other professional services. In fact, the Cummings Center is a major reason why Beverly is the fourth largest employment center on the North Shore. We need to proactively encourage new commercial and economic development that fits within the historic character of the community and meets the needs of our city.

Additionally, as a coastal community, Beverly has felt the impact of climate change. Going forward, our city’s decisionmakers must take this into account when planning for the future of our city. Climate resiliency and mitigation initiatives must be factored into all conversations surrounding Beverly’s future community development. The state has shown a willingness to partner with communities like Beverly, who place a premium on ensuring that all future development is environmentally friendly and climate resilient, and we have a real opportunity to leverage outside funding sources to meet Beverly’s climate-related needs as we develop further.

In my first term on the City Council, I have worked closely with members of the business community and mayoral administration to support existing businesses, attract new businesses, and build off of the success of recent years.

If I am re-elected, I will continue to encourage community and economic development opportunities that leverage our city’s unique assets and meet the needs of our growing community, while also ensuring that any future development maintains Beverly’s historic character, is in line with our climate resiliency and mitigation initiatives, and adheres to citizens’ needs and concerns.

Strategic Financial Planning and Oversight

The current mayoral administration, as well as the prior administration, have done an admirable job of situating Beverly in the strong financial standing that it is in today. Despite the financial challenges that we are facing in the post-COVID economy, Beverly has been able to maintain an AA+ bond rating from Standard and Poor’s and support a healthy stabilization fund (i.e., reserve) balance of roughly $17 million, or nearly 11% of Beverly’s roughly $150 million annual budget, in addition to a growing free cash balance (i.e., budget surplus) of nearly $7.5 million. During my time on the Council, I have voted to continue these sound financial practices that have resulted in our strong bond rating and have allowed us to borrow for capital projects at a much lower interest rate than the City would otherwise be able to. 

In addition to maintaining strong reserves, in recent years, the City has been able to constrain the growth of our property tax base below the 2 ½ percent increase allowed by state law, something that I am immensely proud of. The taxpayers of this City work hard and it is important to me as a public servant to take great care when spending your hard-earned money, which is why I work to return as much of it back to you as we possibly can.

However, there is some financial uncertainty on the horizon for the City as we move deeper into the post-COVID economy. Costs for municipal services are rising, supply chain issues are still prevalent, and state government is not supporting cities and towns at the same level that it has done so in the past. As Beverly navigates this new economic terrain, three major considerations must be at the forefront of any long-term financial planning:

1. We must ensure that Beverly’s various streams of revenue are stable and sustainable, especially once the additional streams of federal relief funding dry up. The worst-case scenario for the City would be to face a revenue cliff in the years to come. This could occur due to internal factors, such as a drop in “new growth” revenue if development and re-development in the City were to slow, or it could occur due to external factors, such as any reduction to state aid.
2. We cannot place any undue burden on Beverly’s taxpayers. So many Beverly residents have been adversely impacted by the pandemic from a financial standpoint. This has resulted in many residents struggling to pay their current levels of local taxes. Given this, the City must operate with the mindset that no significant property tax or other local tax increases will be acceptable and we must work to minimize any annual increase to the smallest amount possible within the allowable 2.5% levy limit.
3. We must work to maintain essential public services while managing increasing costs. This is where things get tricky – without increasing revenues, local governments are often handcuffed when looking to fund costs that will inevitably increase, such as payroll costs, insurance expenses, and maintenance expenses for the City’s facilities. However, prudent financial management goes a long way to ensure that the City can keep expenses down as much as possible while maintaining the core local government services that are essential to our day-to-day lives. We all must be aware of this reality and hold the City administration and our elected officials accountable to ensure that we are collectively making the best financial decisions for the long-term future of Beverly, no matter the short-term political consequences that such decisions may present.

During my first term on the City Council, I have voted to continue the best practices that have resulted in a stable long-term financial outlook for Beverly. Additionally, I have utilized my financial oversight role as a City Councilor to ensure that Beverly’s taxpayers are not unduly burdened, which is why I voted to minimize the most recent property tax increase below the 2 ½ percent threshold allowed by state law.

If I am re-elected, I will continue to vigilantly monitor City spending for any waste, fraud, or abuse and work to return as much of your hard-earned money as possible while still maintaining the high level of public services that Beverly has come to expect.

Support for Public Safety and Core City Services

Beverly is an incredibly desirable community, in no small part due to the reputation that we have as a safe community. Families with young children know that Beverly is a city where they can raise their kids without concerns about high incidences of crime or other concerns that sometimes plague smaller cities.

The reason that Beverly has a reputation for being a safe and desirable community is due to the tireless work of our police officers and firefighters. These two roles are arguably the most difficult and dangerous in all of local government, as the men and women that serve in these two departments often put themselves in harm’s way to protect the lives of each and every one of us. This was evident during the pandemic, as Beverly’s first responders admirably placed the lives of others above their own in meeting the community’s public health and safety demands throughout an incredibly challenging year and a half of dealing with COVID-19.

Beverly is a growing community, as evidenced by the population increase that we’ve seen over the last twenty years. As Beverly has grown and continues to grow, we need to ensure that both public safety departments have the resources that they need to serve the Beverly of present day, rather than the Beverly of twenty years ago.

During my first term on the City Council, I have supported the hard-working men and women of our police and fire departments by ensuring that both departments have the resources that they need to effectively serve and protect the residents of Beverly.

If I am re-elected, I will continue to be an ally of our city’s first responders and advocate for their needs before my colleagues on the City Council and the mayoral administration.

A High Level of Constituent Services and an Accountable Government

As Tip O’Neill once said, “all politics is local.” At the heart of local politics is constituent service.

Constituent service is something that I’ve had comprehensive experience with throughout my entire career. Even before my time on the City Council, the core of my professional for experience has been working through government to facilitate solutions for impacted residents. For example, in my first job out of college, working for the Town Manager in Reading, I was the first person that residents saw when they walked through the door at Town Hall and the first voice that they heard if they called in. One of my core responsibilities was problem-solving; I was tasked with either solving a resident’s problem myself or connecting them with the department that could.

Additionally, during much of my time working for the Commonwealth’s executive financial management office, I worked with mayors, town managers, and financial officials across the state to ensure that they had a full understanding of how to utilize the COVID-19 relief funding available to them to meet the pressing needs of their communities during the pandemic. I not only managed the financial aspects of this grant program, I also proactively facilitated the customer service aspects of the program, which I viewed as equally important. This is a responsibility that I took very seriously, given the stakes during the thick of the pandemic.

In my job now working as the Assistant Town Administrator for the Town of Boxford, constituent service is still at the core of my responsibilities. Though I am responsible for crafting the Town’s annual budget and negotiating large contracts on behalf of the Select Board, I still prioritize accessibility and if any resident stops by my office with a question or concern, I drop what I’m working on until I’m either able to solve their problem myself or connect them with the department that can.

During my first term on the City Council, I have answered every phone call or email in a prompt manner, either addressing the problem myself or connecting residents to the department that can address their issue. I have also held monthly “office hours” at coffee shops around the City to give residents the chance to sit with me and discuss the various issues facing our city. Additionally, I have worked to disseminate comprehensive and up-to-date information regarding the operations of Beverly’s city government to the residents of Beverly through social media.

If I am re-elected, I will continue to be an accessible City Councilor so that anyone who wants to can reach out to me directly and ensure that their voice is heard.