Peabody City Council is set to discuss a proposed $200 trash fee per housing unit, which would raise $2.7 million for the city at a time when health insurance costs, Essex Tech assessments, and salary costs are increasing beyond the tax levy's ability to absorb them without an override. An online open letter opposing the trash fee has been circulating on community message boards, with residents expressing concern about the additional financial burden the proposed trash fee would create. The letter also urges greater transparency and accountability about how existing tax revenue is being spent before additional charges are imposed. Beverly Mayor Michael Cahill has proposed increasing the trash rate from $100 to $425 in that city as the new contract for automated trash pickup grew from $3.9 million to $5.2 million per year starting this July.