Issues and Platform
“I don’t care if an idea is a Republican idea or a Democratic idea. I only care if it’s a good idea that works for Methuen and helps us solve the issues we face.” – Acting Mayor D.J. Beauregard
COST OF LIVING
Methuen faces a cost-of-living crisis, and it’s affecting everyone across the board. During his first week on the job as Methuen’s acting mayor, D.J. sought to help alleviate this crisis by signing a three-year agreement that will lower electric utility rates for Methuen residents by roughly 20 percent this winter. As one of Methuen’s Councilors-at-Large, D.J. partnered with Mayor Perry to advance legislation to create a housing and home heating assistance program for residents in need, and he crafted legislation designed to provide qualifying seniors and veterans with expanded tax relief. Going forward, D.J.’s plan is to strive to keep a lid on taxes by maintaining a conservative municipal operating budget and working to proactively grow Methuen’s commercial tax base to reduce the burden borne by residential taxpayers. We must also streamline our grants management operations and seek to obtain more grants to offset costs.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
D.J. is passionate about economic development. One of the best ways to lower costs for Methuen residents is to expand our city’s commercial tax base. To accomplish this objective, we must establish the role of economic planner – the focus of the individual in this role would be to serve as the primary liaison between City Hall and the existing business community while “selling” Methuen’s prime location, competitive commercial tax rate, and outstanding workforce to corporations and entrepreneurs with the goal of bringing new businesses to our city. D.J.’s plan is to take this important step, which can be funded – at least partially – through Methuen’s Community Development Block Grant allocation. As Methuen’s acting mayor, D.J. is also in the process of forming the City of Methuen’s new Small Business Task Force to support our small business community, which is the lifeblood of Methuen’s local economy.
EDUCATION
D.J. is Methuen’s first mayor to receive a public school education through the Methuen Public Schools system as it exists today. D.J. was a student at the Comprehensive Grammar School for grades 1 through 4 and the Donald P. Timony Grammar School for grades 5 through 8, and he graduated from Methuen High School in 2007. As the parent of a small child, he acutely understands the importance of investing in our city’s schools. During his time in office, D.J. has supported substantial investments in school safety initiatives designed to protect Methuen’s kids.
D.J. will work to address the interconnected issues that impact students and families, including economic development, housing, food insecurity, transportation, and public safety. He’ll also advocate for common-sense changes to the state’s education aid formula with the ultimate goal of increasing Methuen’s Chapter 70 aid.
As Methuen’s acting mayor, D.J. is following through with plans to audit the Methuen Public Schools from both an operational and financial standpoint to ensure that our school system adheres to best practices and allocates resources effectively. It’s important to remember that roughly 52 cents of every Methuen tax dollar goes to our public schools. Going forward, we must strive to improve educational outcomes by supporting our teachers and work toward making our base pay more competitive with surrounding districts so that we’re able to attract and retain teachers and paraprofessionals.
D.J. is also in the process of reestablishing our partnership with Northern Essex Community College to bring their Early College program to Methuen High School. This renewed partnership will expand opportunities for Methuen students to earn credits while they are still in high school and get a head start on their college degrees.
ENVIRONMENT
D.J. is committed to taking steps at the local level to preserve our environment. His plan is to wage a War on Litter, continue to hold Methuen’s trash and recycling vendor accountable for performance, and focus on “upstream” efforts to provide every Methuen resident with cleaner drinking water by continuing our city’s partnership with organizations such as the Clean River Project to remove hazardous items and materials from the Merrimack River.
INFRASTRUCTURE
We have to fix the damn roads. D.J.’s plan is to continue setting aside at least $4 million annually in Methuen’s capital improvement plan for road improvements to help supplement our city’s Chapter 90 allocation. However, the issue of infrastructure isn’t limited to roads. During his time in office, D.J. led the team effort to develop a strategy to invest Methuen’s $46.1 million ARPA allocation in upgrades to our schools, water and sewer systems, and recreational spaces.
PUBLIC SAFETY
D.J.’s top priority is to ensure Methuen is the safest city in the Merrimack Valley. During his time in office, he has enthusiastically supported efforts to hire more police officers and diversify the Methuen Police Department. D.J.’s public safety plan includes enforcement of the new ordinance that lowers Methuen’s speed limit from 30 mph to 25 mph in thickly settled and business districts. He will also continue investing in community policing initiatives and installing more state-of-the-art surveillance cameras in strategic locations to help deter and disrupt drug and gang activity. As part of this discussion, D.J. believes that we must also take steps to address issues that are often interconnected with matters of public safety, namely the mental health, substance use disorder, and homelessness crises, through the continued utilization of community-based task forces.
SENIORS
D.J. understands the importance of taking care of Methuen’s seniors. During his time in office, D.J. wrote the legislation that cut property taxes for seniors in need and provides a $2,000 property tax work-off to eligible seniors who volunteer for the City of Methuen. Going forward, D.J. will continue to find new, creative ways to support Methuen’s seniors and make additional investments in our amazing Senior Center.
VETERANS
D.J. deeply appreciates the sacrifices made by Methuen’s many veterans, service members, and their loved ones. His late grandfather served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War, and his brother-in-law is an active-duty service member.
As one of Methuen’s Councilors-at-Large, D.J. wrote the legislation that doubled property tax exemptions for disabled veterans and allows Methuen veterans to keep their exemptions even if they place their home into a trust to protect their assets from the estate tax, probate, and long-term care costs. D.J. also eliminated special perks for city councilors, such as preferred “councilors-only” parking at City Hall, and reserved those spaces for veterans, Purple Heart recipients, and Gold Star family members.
As Methuen’s acting mayor, D.J. is working to establish the city’s first Veterans Task Force to support our community’s veterans. His goal is to make Methuen the most veteran-friendly municipality in Massachusetts and expand efforts to bring much-needed veterans housing to Methuen.