PEABODY — At Tuesday night’s Peabody Finance Committee meeting, City Council members reviewed the proposed fiscal year 2027 budget after a particularly challenging fiscal year for the city. 

The City Council began the Finance Committee meeting with major concerns pertaining to ordinance employees losing out on a raise that would have made a significant impact on their paychecks, only to then see City Council members receiving an even larger raise.

“I just don’t feel that this is a level playing field,” Councilor Anne Manning-Martin said. “I think we all knew this heading into that vote.”

The current economy has been tough on cities across the Commonwealth, and Peabody has felt that strain, too. During the 2027 budget meeting, Mayor Ted Bettencourt and Peabody City Council members voted, among other things, to reduce their own 3% raises after a failed promise of raises to ordinance employees, both part-time and full-time.

Along with the City Council salary reductions, the council voted on reducing the reserve fund by $100,000 along with an additional reduction of $2,500 from the Finance Office of Outside Services. 

These reductions in the 2027 fiscal year budget will help bring down costs that have left many residents in Peabody feeling frustrated. 

As of press time, the committee is still voting with more to come after.