Beauregard's State of the City Address Dissected
Methuen deserves leaders who are willing to say the quiet part out loud … and tonight, that is exactly what the Mayor gave us.
Written by: Dan Shibilia
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The Mayor walked into the Methuen Senior Activity Center tonight and made one thing clear right off the bat: he wasn’t there to tell people what they wanted to hear.
“I’m not going to give you a speech full of platitudes and political BS,” he told the crowd. “This is going to be a straightforward look at where we’ve been, where we are, and where we’re headed as a city.”
And that’s pretty much what he delivered.
He went straight into the economic condition and didn’t sugarcoat the financial reality heading into this budget season. He recapped the bleak conditions he inherited upon entering office with the schools highlighting that we are now investing more than ever in our schools.
This is where he sets the stage for the looming budget season that is undoubtedly going to be horrendous.
He pointed to Lexington and Brookline, two of the most well-off communities in the state, both staring down multimillion-dollar deficits driven by out-of-control healthcare costs. The Massachusetts Municipal Association, he said, calls it “a perfect storm.” Methuen isn’t immune, but Beauregard argued the work done over the past year puts the city in a better position than most. The point he failed to make here is that these communities, even with the deep cuts to their budgets, are cutting from fat since they have systematically invested well above net school spending (state-required minimum education funding), while Methuen has historically treated it as a game of Limbo.
Next, he got into our electric bills. “If you’ve talked to anyone in Methuen lately, you know electric bills are the number one frustration”. Beauregard reminded the room that back in December 2024, the city launched its Community Choice Power Supply Program, locking in a supply rate about 20 percent below National Grid’s for three years. In 2025, the first full year of the program, participating households saved nearly $1.9 million compared to what they would have paid under National Grid’s basic service rate. “That’s real money back in people’s pockets,” he said. He’s also calling on the state to explore similar programs for natural gas. … I wouldn’t hold my breath on Beacon Hill making that move any time soon.
He recounted that when SNAP disruptions hit families late last year, the city organized a citywide food drive. Neighbors helped neighbors. Local businesses showed up. Volunteers filled boxes. “Whenever the federal government sits down, we stand up,” Beauregard said. “In Methuen, we take care of our own.”
“Citizens should expect more from their government at all levels,” fed into the improvements in transparency and he brought specifics. The city launched a real-time financial dashboard where anyone can track spending down to a “box of paper clips at Staples”. They posted the full public payroll online, something most cities won’t touch. “In Methuen, we welcome audits, and we don’t file lawsuits to stop them.” You need to love these shots at the Delegation and their bodies as a whole for hiding from the audit. He continued to outline how Methuen is investing in its employees. For starters, he recently signed an executive order creating the city’s first-ever paid parental leave program for municipal employees
“In my view, this reform-centered mindset, asking tough questions and pushing for better outcomes, has produced real results” said the Mayor in an opening to explain how the city has secured $800,000 in savings and new funding so far this year, including $200,000 from a revamped trash and recycling program and $600,000 in traffic mitigation funding from a developer, about three times what was originally on the table. He also includes a callout for the work done by the Islamic Academy and how he was able to proctor that sale to benefit both parties.
One of the sharpest moments of the night came when he addressed hiring. He laid out the choice without dressing it up: professionalize city government by hiring qualified, credentialed, politically disconnected people based on merit, or slide back into the patronage habits of what he called “Old Methuen.” “This shouldn’t be a difficult choice,” he said. “I’ve made mine.” This is all stemming from the recent rejection by the Council of a qualified and licensed candidate. Beauregard’s statements are a shot through the heart of the “old Methuen” ways. For those paying attention his comments that this shouldn’t be a difficult choice were clearly aimed at the Council members who voted down his candidate for assessor without any discussion and were (in my opinion) clearly made to challenge the Council to be more progressive and transparent to move this City forward.
The Searles Estate came up as was expected. Beauregard was honest about the scale of the problem: restoration costs are enormous, with a “sprinkler system alone running around $3 million. Private capital isn’t optional, it’s required”. “This can’t be done without private capital investment, which is why we went straight to RFP,” he said. He also had sharp words for elected officials who voted in favor of the original acquisition under Mayor Perry and are now raising questions about due diligence. “It is totally inconsistent to support a project at the time of the vote and later claim it lacked the very due diligence you were responsible for evaluating. You can’t have it both ways.” The plan going forward is to bring in an outside firm to build a comprehensive master plan and take the politics out of it entirely.
Focused on community inclusivity, mention of the celebration of Dominican Independence Day, the first St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Methuen, and our tricentennial, our summer music series. He commits to always supporting Methuen residents in deriving a sense of place and belonging.
The focus shifted to the future. First and foremost, the upcoming budget is bleak and he acknowledges that hard decisions are coming. On the policy front, he laid out an agenda that covers housing, with new development districts and plans to convert the Pleasant Valley and Currier Schools into housing for seniors, veterans, and families; infrastructure, with the Oakland Avenue Bridge repair, dangerous intersection redesigns, and an AI-assisted paving program; and education, with a push to expand early college opportunities so Methuen kids can earn an associate’s degree tuition-free alongside their high school diploma. The city is also partnering with the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission to update a zoning ordinance, Beauregard said is stuck in 1996.
He closed the way every mayor closes a State of the City, by saying the state of the city is strong. But he pushed back on the empty version of that line. “It only means something if you’re honest about why.” The strength, he said, comes from the people. The families, the kids, the seniors, the veterans, the small business owners who show up every day. But he also warned that the city is not at its strongest when divided, or when decisions get made for political cronies instead of residents. “People see it. And they’re tired of it.”
This State of the City was different. Mayor Beauregard didn’t come to the podium to read a list of accomplishments and thank everyone for showing up. He came with something to say… and he said it.
In a political climate where a faction of the City Council has made obstruction their platform, the Mayor chose not to ignore it. He addressed it directly, professionally, and without flinching. He didn’t name-call. He didn’t lose his composure. But he made it unmistakably clear that he sees what’s happening, and he’s not going to pretend otherwise for the sake of keeping the peace.
That takes a certain kind of political courage. Methuen deserves leaders who are willing to say the quiet part out loud … and tonight, that is exactly what the Mayor gave us.
The 2026 State of the City Address was held at the Methuen Senior Activity Center and streamed live on Methuen.gov/LiveStream and MCS (Comcast 22 / Verizon 33).