City Council Meeting

The Amesbury City Council met and approved several substantive municipal actions: appointment of election workers for the upcoming state elections; a revision to the Council's 15th-session Rules and Procedures (Addendum L) changing liaison assignments and removing obsolete subcommittees; authorization to borrow up to $1.6 million for the purchase of up to two fire pumpers; a $48,000 transfer from Water Retained Earnings for sick-leave buybacks; a $15,000 transfer from Budget Reserve to increase public health nurse salaries; and the declaration of various municipal vehicles and equipment as surplus. Most measures passed unanimously; the public health salary transfer passed 7–1 with one councilor opposed. Staff and the chief answered detailed financial questions on the fire truck financing schedule, taxpayer impact estimates, and capital planning implications.

Council received a detailed update from the mayor on the Whittier Regional Agreement Amendment Committee's (RAAC) work to modernize the 50-year-old regional agreement. The update described negotiations on capital apportionment (exploring hybrid formulas based on school-age population and enrollment), proposed collaboration with Northern Essex Community College—including a provision naming Northern Essex as a potential location—and a move away from unanimous voting thresholds toward two-thirds votes for many actions. During public comment a resident raised concerns about an extended recent power outage, infrastructure hardening (including undergrounding), and recourse with the utility; councilors advised the State Department of Public Utilities as the appropriate forum and noted ongoing National Grid upgrades. The meeting included committee reports and routine business and adjourned with the next virtual meeting scheduled for August 5.