Peabody City Council Backs Water, Sewer Rate Hikes, Trash Fee During 6-Hour Meeting

PEABODY, MA — Peabody residents are set to pay more for trash and recycling removal, as well as water and sewer services, after the City Council backed the bulk of Mayor Ted Bettencourt's proposed fees and increases during a marathon of meetings on Tuesday night.

The five-hour Finance Committee meeting was followed by a 45-minute Special City Council meeting — ending in front of a near-empty Wiggin Auditorium that was packed with resident speakers when the night began shortly after 6 p.m.

• 'A Day I Have Dreaded For Many Years': Peabody Mayor's $200 Trash Fee Gains City Council Favor

A vote of the City Council ultimately backed a new $200 trash and recycling fee with a $100 discount for seniors, veterans and those with disabilities. The City Council also backed Bettencourt's proposal to place a five-year moratorium on any further trash and recycling fee increases — the time remaining on the current hauler contract with Republic Services.

In the second half of the Finance Committee, Councilors debated Bettencourt's proposal of an 8 percent increase in the sewer and water rates, two years of ensuing 5 percent increases, the addition of a $30 administrative fee to help stabilize resources during times of lower consumption, and the elimination of the 10 percent "early-pay" discount.

Ultimately, the Finance Committee forwarded the mayor's proposals with the administrative fee knocked down to $25.

During the Special City Council meeting, which ended just shy of midnight, Councilors failed to back the deletion of the early-pay discount by a 6-4 vote — leaving it in place for 2026-27 — and reducing the ensuing years of 5 percent increases from two years to one.

Bettencourt called his formal proposal of a $200 annual trash fee "a day I have dreaded for many years" and "the last option for me" early Tuesday night, before adding that he believes the fee is ultimately the best way to preserve city services and put off a Proposition 2 1/2 override discussion three or more additional years.

He expressed similar unease about his proposed water and sewer rate hikes, but said that Peabody's water rates still remain among the lowest on the North Shore even after the increases.

He also allowed during public comment and Committee discussion that he did not want to eliminate the early-pay fee, but wanted to present a full array of options for revenue.

The early-pay discount costs the city between $400,000 and $500,000 per year, according to administration officials.

The Special City Council vote represents a "first vote" necessary to change an ordinance. The second, or final, vote — which could include amendments to Tuesday night's vote- is set to take place on June 25.