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Date: 11/15/2022
AMHERST – The Amherst Town Council met on Nov. 7 to vote on several action items and receive several presentations regarding parking and the tax classification plan for fiscal year 2023 (FY23).
Amherst Public Schools teachers and faculty sat in on the meeting as a protest demonstration in their contract negotiation process for higher salaries; however, because their union must negotiate directly with the School Committee, the council could not facilitate their requests. This issue will be covered in a separate article in next week’s Reminder.
Additionally, the ongoing debate regarding the council’s decision on restorative justice measures in the wake of the July 5 incident between two Amherst police officers and nine Amherst teenagers was once again postponed, this time before any discussion on the matter could occur. It will be discussed again on Nov. 14.
The council passed two major action items. The first was a single rate tax classification for FY23. A single rate of tax means that residential property owners pay the same rate that commercial, industrial and non-owner occupied property owners pay. This can also be referred to as “a factor of 1.00,” according to a presentation by Finance Director Sean Mangano and Principal Assessor Kimberly Mew. Within this classification, it was also voted that there shall be no residential or small commercial exemptions, which would allow residential property owners and small business owners to pay a lower tax rate, nor will there be an open space discount.
The second item was a series of new parking regulations on Sunset Avenue, Lincoln Avenue and Elm Street After reports released on this neighborhood indicated its higher than average rate of accidents, due to blind spots, lack of width and high traffic going to and from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, it was decided that new parking regulations would be one way to combat these accidents.
On the east side of Lincoln Avenue between McClellan Street and Amity Street, parking will be prohibited as a tow zone Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., during the period between Sept. 1 to May 30.
Parking will be prohibited as a tow zone on the east side of Sunset Avenue between Elm Street and Amity Street.
On one side of Elm Street, parking will be prohibited as a tow zone.
Town Manager Paul Bockelman presented his self-evaluation after his recent evaluation on the behalf of the council. He began by listing a few of the accomplishments he’s most proud of over the nine-month evaluation period.
“I’m really proud we got the CRESS program up and running…The DEI [Diversity, Equity and Inclusion] Department, we really couldn’t have gotten a better person than we did with Pamela Nolan-Young…having her engage and provide guidance with all things, not just DEI, has been really pivotal because she’s just a smart person who knows how the world works and gives me really frank advice on a lot of things. She’s been an incredible addition… One of the things I’m really proud of is – and we saw it this week – was the million dollars in grants all in a week, our staff being recognized statewide…” said Bockelman.
He also mentioned a few areas that he was ready to improve upon.
“Affordable housing, it’s really remarkable what the community has done, but we also need to have more moderate income housing opportunities. I think that’s something to articulate in the goals…The strategic partnerships with the university and the two colleges, we need to get those…We’ve always had productive conversations with the institutions, we look forward to more of that,” he said.
He ended his presentation by acknowledging the frustrations of the teachers and school staff in attendance, and by thanking all town employees for their commitment to serving the community.
“What the teachers and others from the school talked about tonight is real, that morale is challenging in this environment because we have really qualified professionals doing their job on a daily basis and then getting picked apart. I’ve always welcomed how much the council has acknowledged the staff’s commitment so I really thank you for that. …It’s been a hard year, [and I feel] intense loyalty to our staff because they put a lot into it, but I have to always balance that with the needs of the community, which is our number one goal: what are the needs and requirements of the community? Trying to figure that out can be very complex, so thank you for all the time you’ve put in.”