Peabody budget lacks utilities funding

Peabody’s 2021 budget was finalized Monday, but did not include any funds for utilities expenses.

The city had $42,022 in utilities expenses in 2019, and had $42,000 in projected expenses for 2020.

The city’s accounting firm is looking into allocating money from the general fund for utilities purposes but no decision has been made, mayor Tom Spencer said.

The budget was supposed to have funding for utilities, Spencer said.

“We had gone over it and over it,” he said. “It just got overlooked.”

If funds are moved from the general fund then the budget will not have to be republished.

The approved budget is $598,470, down from 2020’s projected expenses of $605,545.