Summer fun?

Not really, but these volunteers and officials are taking on the city's budget crisis

What’s the solution to the city’s ongoing budget crisis? On a beautiful summer night in July, eight people sat around a table on the ground floor of the Beverly Public Library on Monday and began the thankless task of trying to come up with some answers.

It was the first meeting of the city’s newly formed Deficit Reduction Committee, and I decided to check it out. It was either that or watch the red-hot Red Sox, but hey, The Beverly Beat is here for you.

The group was formed by the City Council upon the recommendation of councilors Kathleen Feldman and John Mullady. The city just came off a grueling process that included layoffs and other cuts to close a $4 million gap in the fiscal year 2027 budget. That gap is expected to be even larger next year. The idea was to form a committee of officials and citizens to brainstorm ideas, starting nearly a full year before the next budget is due, and eventually come up with recommendations.

The committee is made up of eight members, including Feldman, Mullady and School Committee members Kaarin Robinson and Madeline Lennox.

The other four are volunteer citizens:

• Lydia Ames, a Spanish teacher at Beverly Middle School and parent to children in the Beverly Public Schools;

• Christine DePalma, director of capital projects at Salem State University with an extensive background in project management and construction;

• Dan Hughes, corporate controller in manufacturing with a background in finance operations;

• Mark Munoz, retired business owner with a long career as an operations manager.

Seated from left to right, John Mullady, Kathleen Feldman, Kaarin Robinson, Lydia Ames. Standing from left to right, Mark Munoz, Madeline Lennox, Dan Hughes, Christine DePalma.

As they introduced themselves at the start of the meeting, each gave their reasons for volunteering for the committee. Munoz said he has lived in Beverly for 20 years and, now that he’s retired, has time to help out. Hughes said his retired neighbor told him she can’t afford the taxes on her house. DePalma said she changed jobs and has a shorter commute, so she also has more time to volunteer. Ames said she wants to “give the perspective of somebody who cares really deeply about our city.”

Feldman said the goal is to brainstorm possible solutions, research them, invite experts, and produce recommendations. She pointed to a project in Dedham as a model for the group to follow.

“Every other community in Massachusetts is going through a similar crunch,” Feldman said. “The resources are out there.”

The committee tossed around lots of ideas for how the city might be able to save money or raise revenue. Reduce the percentage the city pays for employee health insurance? Seek more voluntary payments from non-profits? Create our own public utility for electricity? Offer early retirement incentives for employees? Cap the number of Beverly students who go to Essex Tech? Charge for summer park programs? Increase Lynch Park parking fees for non-residents? Use local college students to help out in schools? Hire an independent auditor to examine the school budget?

Again, these are just ideas. The committee plans to research them, and many others as they come up, before making any decisions on what to recommend. “We only scratched the surface of ideas,” Feldman said.

As for the possibility of a Proposition 2 1/2 property tax override? That didn’t come up last night, although nobody ruled anything out.

The bottom line for me is that eight people are volunteering to take on this difficult task. Nothing against Facebook commenters, but it’s a lot more difficult to give up your summer nights to get into the weeds of a budget crisis. (Also attending were Bryant Ayles, the city’s finance director; Ward 6 City Councilor Matt St. Hilaire; and three members of the public.)

The meetings are open to the public and will be posted on the city website, so anyone is welcome to attend. Even if the Red Sox keep winning.