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Date: 10/27/2021
EASTHAMPTON – The Easthampton City Council met on Oct. 20 to discuss funding for a new ambulance and to continue discussions regarding Mayor Nicole LaChapelle’s Pledge to Reimagine Policing.
The motion set forward by Council member Dan Rist and Fire Chief Chris Norris is using funds from the cannabis stabilization fund to replace two of three ambulances. “This is an excellent use of cannabis stabilization,” said Rist. The Finance Committee supported the Fire Department’s request for $298,872 for these ambulances with a 3-0 vote. “By buying two ambulances at once Chief Norris is saving the city $30,000,” explained Rist.
Norris went on to explain that new ambulances have been needed for quite some time. “When I started a year and a half ago we conducted a needs analysis and part of that looked at the vehicles. What rose to the top of that needs analysis was two ambulances,” he said. Norris also stated that two of the three Easthampton ambulances now have over 100,000 miles on them and have required extensive maintenance.
Norris explained that trips to Westhampton and Baystate Medical Center have taken a toll on the vehicles. “Not only are call volumes going up, but the severity of calls are going up and that’s increased some of our transports to Baystate Medical Center. On average we go there about 275 times a year. We go to Westhampton 90 times a year,” said Norris.
Several council members were supportive of the appropriation of funds. “This is what cannabis money is for, to buy this kind of equipment. I’m really glad that we’re using the money to buy the right equipment for the safety of the city,” said City Council member Homar Gomez. City Council member Salem Derby agreed with Gomez stating, “I’ve been noticing a lot of appropriations lately from our cannabis fund and I want to acknowledge the fact that it’s doing some tangible good. I’m really happy we’re able to use that money in this way.” Derby also said he thinks money made from a local tax on alcohol could also be put to good use. Councilor Erica Ann Flood agreed. “I would support that idea wholeheartedly,” Flood said.
Ultimately, the council voted unanimously to appropriate the funds necessary from the cannabis stabilization fund to the Fire Department to replace two ambulances.
The council then continued discussion about the Mayor’s Pledge to Reimagine Policing. The Public Safety Committee had a series of suggestions for LaChapelle’s pledge. Police Chief Robert Alberti said of the pledge, “The vast majority of the recommendations in the Mayor’s Pledge and a vast majority of the recommendations in the public safety document have already been addressed by the Police Department.” He continued, “So I’m confident that the things we as police officers need and the community needs and the need of us are going to be in place moving forward.”
Councilor Owen Zaret explained, “We need a police force that understands what systemic racism is and a community that has an open channel to talk to their police department.”
Councilor Lindsey Rothschild conveyed her frustration toward the matter saying, “I feel like we get locked into this conversation of ‘are the police good or bad?’ but that’s not what we’re looking at here and it’s not the question we’re asking. The question that we’re asking is how can we make sure to prevent implicit bias in our police force?”
Community member Emily Rothwell agreed with Rothschild, “My main concern with the report as stands is that the revisions of the document include amendments especially proposed by Councilor Zaret that now include the Easthampton Police Department (EPD) in the activities rather than consider the alternatives to any police department,” she began. “I’m not targeting the Easthampton Police Department specifically, it’s just that any structure that’s about accountability, transparency and reimagining is thinking outside of what structures are already in place.”
Zaret put forth revisions that would allow the EPD as a department to play a larger role in the reimagining of policing in Easthampton. Several community members disagreed with the proposed amendments. Resident Shelby Lee said, “The idea that the department itself needs to be heavily enmeshed and in control of the process is not only counterintuitive, but it’s also a big red flag of the harmful ideology that currently operates the department.” Fellow resident Donovan Lee agreed stating, “These amendments stand to increase public interaction with the police, give them more control over the reimaging process and I don’t believe this is in the best interest of our community.”
The City Council also brought up an interview in which LaChapelle discussed the pledge along with ideas pertaining to the budget. LaChapelle clarified, “My interview discussed a concept that I’ve talked a lot about for fiscal year [20]23 that starts July 1, 2022. Shrinking different departments’ budgets not by taking away, but consolidating those services and departments with specific expertise.”
To that point Rist believed that reducing the police budget doesn’t correlate with police reform. “We don’t have to reduce the budget to have police reform. I strongly support police reform at the state level and I support the Public Safety Committee’s work along with the mayor’s pledge group’s work, but reducing the police budget isn’t necessary to achieve those reforms to the point where we don’t have as many officers on the street,” he said.
Flood agreed with Rist saying reducing the EPD’s budget and force won’t be helpful to the community in the long run. “I think we have an amazing police force here in Easthampton and I think we have a community policing model that works,” she said.
While many discussed the reimagining of policing, resident Megan Fowler wanted the City Council to think strongly about preventative safety. “I don’t think policing as we know it does that,” said Fowler. She continued, “I think we need to look at independent organizations or entities with similar authority to the Police Department who can help keep that accountability level real. I don’t think positions of power are able to keep themselves accountable in the ways we need them to.”
“We aren’t voting on policy, we’re affirming the work done by our colleagues to send some suggestions to the mayor,” said Zaret. A motion was made to send back to the mayor the Public Safety Committee’s report on the Mayor’s Pledge.